I'd be curious about the IC's too. |
I'm curious and may borrow a couple sets of his Holograms to audition with his speaker cables.
I just switched over to Paul's Shotgun speaker cables from AntiCables (still an excellent value) but in my system the Clear Day silver cables really outclass them in smoothness, warmth and quietness (double shotguns are on the way) |
Pat, I own double shotguns and you are in for a treat if you like his other cables. |
Several months ago, after reading many glowing comments about Paul's Clear Day cables, I bought a pair of his Dbl-Shotgun speaker cable for a second system and was thoroughly impressed. After break-in, I compared it to some rather pricey Siltech 770L that I use in my main system and while the Siltech, at more than 10 times the price, was marginally better, they were more similar than different.
Actually, I was so impressed with the Clear Day speaker cable that I asked Paul about buying interconnects. Unfortunately, he had stopped making them, saying the connectors had gotten rediculously expensive unless he bought them in bulk, and at the time, it wasn't feasible.
Not to be deterred, I talked him into selling me some of his silver wire, shielding, and outer jacket material, then bought my own RCA and XLR connectors and made my own.
Long story short, they sound great! Again, I compared them to Siltech 770i interconnects I use in my other system and the results were pretty much the same. The Siltech's were somewhat better, but my homemade Clear Day's come fairly close and for a heck of a lot less money.
As I mentioned, I hooked up with Paul several months ago, have used his cables in both of my systems, and bottom line, they're keepers.
If Paul is in fact making interconnects again, they're definitely worth checking out.
One final thing, I used double runs(shotgun) of the silver wire and am of the opinion that you get a fuller, more fleshed out midrange and better bass, as a result. |
Rfogel8 - So... you do not use the double shotguns but a double run of the shotgun? |
I use an 8' run of his Double Shotgun speaker cable. It really is very good. The more strands, the better.
For the interconnects I made, I used two strands of Paul's silver wire for each leg of each interconnect, 2 for each pos. & 2 for each neg. as opposed to the single strand he would normally use.
This isn't the first time I've done this and I've always found the sound to be a bit fuller and weightier by going with a heavier gauge. Images are more fleshed out. |
Another vote for Clear Day Cables. I own the Double Shotguns and love them. Paul is by far one of the best guys in the biz. No bull, no overpriced goods,,,just an honest guy selling a great product.
Miles |
The Double Shotguns have about 40 hours on them and sound fantastic, even right outta the box.
I'd like trying two pair of Paul's interconnects to hear how they'd match.
I borrowed a friend's pair of Onda Silver Rush interconnects and loved what I heard, except the $$ is little high for me now.
Rfogel8, I wonder if doubling-up Paul's interconnects might keep my sound at or near the same level, since they're so darn good. |
Rx8man, when you say doubling-up, do you mean buy a new pair from Paul, having him double the conductors? How else would you double them?
As for the couple pairs I have, they sound very similar to his speaker cables; very open and transparent, extended and smooth, with just a hint of natural warmth. I like 'em! |
02-13-12: Rfogel8
Rx8man, when you say doubling-up, do you mean buy a new pair from Paul, having him double the conductors? How else would you double them?
Talking interconnects that's the only way I know, two conductors per run(+ -) same awg. |
Rfogel8, the model Rx8man and I have is called the double shotgun. It is a single run of wire with double the number of conductors of the shotgun model. It is a significant improvement from the shotgun to the double shotgun. The naming scheme for these confused me at first also. |
Chris, Rfogel8 and I were referring to Paul's interconnects, not the speaker cables, sorry. |
Pat, your post just above my last one was not there when I posted. I should have read farther up and I would have understood. My bad. |
I borrowed the Clear Day ICs. They are very close to the Crimson Music Links, which are world class cables, in terms of sound signature. Very dynamic, great bass, very open sounding. Overall, the Clear Day double shotgun speaker cables are a diamond in the rough that outclass very expensive speaker cables at a fraction of the cost. The IC's are very similar in terms of how they sound. Overall, I would say the ICs are a great cable at a great price. The speaker cables are a revelation -- great cables that are stellar regardless of price. If you are on a budget, Clear Day ICs and double shotgun speaker cables are better than Gabriel Gold Revelations at a very reasonable price and should be considered by anyone who doesn't want to pay outrageous markups. |
Great to hear Mcondon, a product that performs well beyond it's price point is welcome, my double shotgun speaker cables sound phenomenal btw. |
I ordered a set of the ICs when Paul told me he was thinking of bringing them back, because my experience with the Double Shotgun speaker cables I purchased from him was stunningly good. I absolutely swear by his speaker cables, so trying the ICs was a no brainer for me.
Previously I had been using a pair of MAC Ultra+ silver ICs hooked up between my phono preamp and my amp, so when the Clear Day ICs arrived I decided to replace the MACs with them to directly compare. I could hear the difference (and improvements) immediately, and they were not even burned in yet. The clarity of sound, the bass and mid range, and the soundstage were all improved noticeably. My experience with his ICs was not nearly as dramatic as when I switched to his speaker cables, but it was enough of an improvement for me that I decided to order a second pair of his ICs. For $175 the Clear Day ICs are a bargain IMO. Paul uses the Eichmann RCA plugs on these, which are much nicer than Neutrik RCA plugs than many high end cable makers use. Paul also offers a free 30 day trial on all his cables so you have nothing to lose in trying them other than return postage if you end up returning them. |
I've had a pair of Paul's ICs for about 5 months now, and they easily outclass other IC's I've had by XLO, anticable, Morrow Audio, and another pair of boutique silver ICs I tried and returned. And the pricing is ridiculously reasonable for what you get!
I run the pair into my tube output CDP, and across the board they are a very nice improvement. I also have the Clear Day single shotguns for my speakers, and together they've taken my system into a whole new dimension of musical enjoyment.
Very highly recommended - and Paul has a great no risk demo period. |
Been enjoying Clear Day interconnects between pre-amp (Soderberg updated Threshold SL-10) and amp (Soderberg updated Threshold Stasis 2) for the last month and a half now. While it does require an extended burn-in; I'd say it took 100+ hours before it's sonic signature of a bit of a hot top end completely disappears, leaving only a clear (Day!) view of the music.
In addition to it's most impressive attribute of disappearing from the playback, this interconnect is also noteworthy for it's frequency extension, both bass and treble; both are outstanding. Remarkably, midrange bloom is excellent as well; comparable to OFC single crystal offerings from Harmonic Technology. Much like Clear Day's Double Shotgun speaker cables (between the Stasis 2 and B&W Matrix 801 Series 2 ...with woofer Zobel circuit intact...speakers), resolution of inner detail is world class.
All in all, I consider the Clear Day interconnect to be among the greatest values in sound reproduction that I'm aware of. Really, the only other entrants at this level of value, in my opinion, are Soundcare Superspikes and Clear Day's own Double Shotgun speaker cables. |
Xeno, that's interesting. Are the Clear Day ICs directional? Also, do you know if they're cryo'd? Just curious. |
Hi Geoff,
The Clear Day interconnects do have an arrow on them and Paul cooks them on a cable burner in that direction before shipping.
I can chime in a bit on the Clear Day RCA interconnects (sound, not directionality) from my experience with them in my system a couple months ago: Oppo BDP-105D / Peachtree Nova125 integrated amp / Clear Day Double Shotgun speaker cables and jumpers / Magnepan 1.6QR. Shunyata Venom3 power cables on the Oppo and Peachtree gear, all gear plugged into an APC H15 power conditioner.
Though the Clear Day interconnects did mellow out some after some burn-in, they never lost their harsh, brash sound in my system. This was after hundreds of hours of burn-in. I'm not sure whether this was because they are silver, unshielded, or both. FWIW, both Blue Jeans and Cardas are very outspoken as the importance of shielding interconnects because of the delicate signals they pass and the magnified negative effects of EMI/RFI that enters the signal at that crucial stage.
I replaced the Clear Day interconnects with a set of Blue Jeans LC-1 and the difference was a relief. No more cringing on acoustic tracks, gunshots in movies, etc.
I've now settled on Cardas Golden Reference interconnects in the same system listed above. This came after both (i) an extended comparison of the Golden Reference, LC-1, and Golden Cross and (ii) after a one-night A/B session between the three on the same guitar track that made my wife and I cringe using the Clear Day interconnects.
This in no way lessens my opinion of Paul or his products. He's still the most honest and pleasurable person I've done business with in the audio industry. |
I always reverse ICs regardless of direction of arrows, you know, just in case they actually sound better that way. It's not that I don't trust them. ;-) |
Cables are usually directional because there will be a foil or drain wire that is connected to one end only to drain off any static electricity, etc. i believe they are designed to drain away from the source but I could be wrong. |
Cables that do not have a drain wire are also directional due the directionality of the conductor. So, hopefully whoever attached the drain wire in thise cables was aware of the inherent directionality of the conductor, otherwise the cable with drain wire will be forced to go in the "wrong" way. One can image cases of multiple conductors or even stranded conductors which hopefully are assembled with directionality in mind, otherwise there will be chaos. |
I have been using ClearDay cables for more than a year now. They have been a great match in my system. I think, in my system, they have provided the "drive" that was missing with the previous cables. Does that mean, they deliver more current to the speakers? I don't know that. They do not sound harsh in my system. In fact I think they bring out the details in the mid-bass that was previously missing in my system. This was especially important for some older 50-60s recordings that I have on cassette tapes.
Yes, the ICs and speaker cables from ClearDay are directional. |
Re Clear Day double shotguns, I have a 8 ft pr which I can take or leave on my Meadowlark and Gallo Speakers .
Where they SHINE is on my Omega 3XRS single driver 94 db speakers .
The slight peak is just right on symphonic strings and they have the best instrumental sepreration I've heard .They are spot on with leading transients playing to the new Omega RA 5 drivers strength .
Made the Omegas go from an OK classical speaker to a go-to classical
speaker !
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heh. just thought i'd smirk in geoff's direction, whichever that may be. somehow his last comment got lost in the shuffle.
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