Need to warm things up a bit...


My new LAT-1000 speakers were lush and musical right out of the box. However, in recent weeks they have lost a bit of this, and dare I say it, sound at times almost brittle in the upper mids and highs.

firstly, may this be a break-in thing with the speakers? They have about 150hrs on them at present, I thought that should be enough.

secondly, what speaker cables can I try to warm up the highs/upper mids? Currently using Siltech LS-188 Classic Mk2.

My speaker cables are bi-wire setup, and I have both sets spades connected to a single binding post on the speakers,(as speakers only have one set binding posts);is this ok for performance? I can't see how that would cause a problem...

Opinions please...
davidbigeye
Expensive but will warm your sound. Use Cardas anything- ICs or of course better yet speaker cables. Stay above the " crosslink " except the one that says Neutral or something like that. I have a pair of old 2 meter IC s between my pre and mono blocs. The older Golden reference which was a very high end set. You will be astonished that they actually warm up a harsh system.
i must differ on the cardas cable. i have owned cardas cable for many years. they are not warm. the company is aiming at neutrality.

it is very hard to find any warm cable. i am on the lookout for such cable. i have reviewed many cable produtcs. i have only found two company's products that i can live with, namely element cable signature copper line cords, element cable signature speaker cable and soundstring interconnect cable.
I'd try the MAC palladiums ICs instead. I bought a pair for pretty much the same reason and was very impressed with the difference. More musical, less harsh. Basically the cables are modifying the sound. In other words, they aren't neutral. I proved this by buying a second pair and adding them to the ends of the existing ICs in my car. They had the same effect.
I will agree with Mechans. I don't know what pre & amp your using, but when I used Cardas with my Krell system it really took the edge off. So much so, that I swapped out their Golden Ref. interconnects for the Quadlink version. To each their own of course. Good luck, John
The warmest, yet still highly musical speaker cable that I've ever used, is the now-discontinued Stealth Premier ( original version). You can find them used occasionally here on Audiogon for very good prices ( @ $250.00/ 8 ft.pr.).
you can keep your SC and use an Stealth Nanofiber interconnect between your source and preamp. It will also make things more relaxed. It worked with Siltech LS110 spkr cables and it might work with the LS188.
I have tried the Cardas Golden Cross for a few weeks now, and yes, they do seem to warm things up a bit...they smooth out the top end and mids, which I like, but unfortunately they also kill resolution on the mids and bass. The mids and bass are mush compared to the Siltech. I replaced the Cardas with the Siltech last night and was totally shocked...I guess I had gotten used to the Cardas, but now there is no way in hell that can I put the Cardas back in the system.
Anyone heard the new Siltech emporer?
Davidbigeye
you gave very good description, I agree 100% between the Cardas vs Siltech findings of yours.