Looking for additional cable ideas...


I am currently experimenting with a variety of speaker cables. My system consists of Cary 306, Kimber Hero, Cary SLP 2002 pre, Kimber Hero, Cary Rocket 88 push-pull triode mode driving Spendor SP 1/2. I own Cardas cross and Kimber 8TC, and have on loan Purist Elementa (soft and uninvolving), Discovery, Goertz MI 2 Python, and Nordost Solar Wind. The cable that comes closest to what I am looking for is the Goertz. It has glorious mids, it is open and natural, with plenty of detail. It is by no means bright, but does have some noticeable sibilance. By comparison, the Nordost has a far superior high end performance, with clarity, detail, focus and no sense of grain or harshness. Right now I have the Nordost on top and the Goertz on the bottom and am enjoying the best of both worlds. Naturally however, I would prefer to find one brand of bi-wire that can give me what I am looking for. I am looking for ideas. If I had to choose one or the other from what I have now, I would take the Goertz, as it gives me a better overall presentation. The leanness of the Nordost in the mid-bass/lower midrange robs piano and sax of their natural timbre.
mike7142

Showing 2 responses by sean

For the record, i found your comments right on the money regarding the "lean" sound of Nordost. I also agree that it is very focused sounding from about 6-800 Hz and up. It is that inherit lack of "warmth" or "body" that kills it in my book. Then again, if one has "tubes in full bloom" or speakers with slighly elevated mid-bass, you might not notice this as it would tend to act in a complimentary fashion.

As to the Goertz, I second Scott's thoughts on the MI-2's. I would take the "less conventional" appearance and improved sonics of their flat cables over the "more conventional" appearance of the Pythons any day of the week. The increased involvement of the dielectric on the Python's is responsible for the high end "sibilance" and slight bass bloat that you might hear with the "round" cables. This is also true of their "flat" vs "micro-purled" interconnects going by my recent experience. The Python's and Micro-Purl's are more suited to HT work as they tend to sound a little more "exciting" or "hyped up" at the extremes. The original "flat" series works better for music reproduction as it sounds so "creamy" and "seamless" : )

The fact that the newer Goertz MI and AG speaker cables make use of Teflon should make them even better than the versions that Scott and i are talking about. In order to obtain the Teflon versions though, you would probably have to contact Goertz directly. I'm sure that most of their dealers have "old stock" at this point in time as their use of Teflon is pretty much brand new. This might not be a big deal though as Goertz would be glad to give you an in-home trial period just to check things out. Keep in mind my "standard disclaimer" when it comes to Goertz flat speaker cables though: their high capacitance has the potential to create problems with specific amplifiers. At least check into the use of the factory supplied Zobel's that they offer for this purpose.

Whatever route you decide to go, please keep us posted. It seems as if you're tastes and observations are very much in-line with mine. Like you, i'm looking for the best of both worlds i.e. detail and musicality : ) Sean
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Sorry bout that. Forgot that you were running a tube amp. I don't see the Goertz cables creating a problem for you. As to "unstable designs", you would have to put Spectral, Pass Labs, etc.. into that category as Goertz WILL "play" with these amps.

I've not tried the newer Teflon series of flat cables. I had mentioned this to Scott just a while back and had wanted to contact Goertz about checking some out, but i just haven't gotten around to it.

As to the differences in MI-2 and MI-3, i happen to like the MI-2's better as a general rule. If you had mono-blocks, i could send you some "shorty" MI-3's to check out as my mono-blocks are currently getting a breather. Keep in mind that i've never tried any of my copper based Goertz with tubes. I've been told that tube based systems work much better with the AG ( silver ) series.

As far as jumpers go, i would talk to Goertz about what they would recommend. I don't see a problem with them making a set of bi-wires. Just keep in mind that their bi-wires are a little different from most others as they only use one conductor per polarity.

Most factory jumpers are crud to say the least. Try replacing the jumpers with a single strand of solid copper wire for each polarity. You can vary the gauge to suit how "hot" or "soft" you would like the treble to be. Heavier will present a softer approach with more midrange weight and thinner gauge will tend to highlight treble detail. I'm sure that you can find a happy medium if you've got the time and resources.

Philjolet, i've never experimented with the LAT speaker cables, so i can't make a comparison. If someone would like to send me a set of LAT's ( or any other cable for that matter ), i'd be glad to post my comparitive results : ) Sean
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