New Audioquest Earth Interconnec Review


Category: Cables

System is as fallows.

COMPONENTS
Marantz CD6004
Marantz PM8004
B&W CM-5
Furman Elite 15-PFI

CABLE
Audioquest NRG-4 power cables to both Marantz units as well
as the Furman.
Audioquest Rocket 88 single bi wire speaker cables.

*Had been using Audioquest Columbia between the CDP and Integrated amplifier. Review of the Earth cables will be in comparison to the Columbias.

Review~

I had read a number of reviews on the Audioquest Columbia and Colorado that mentioned upon hearing the Colorados that "they were everything people had wanted the Columbias to be. I finally decided after owning my Columbias for over a year and really liking them but not loving them to purchase the Colorados. Upon placing my order I was told the Colorados were no longer available and they had been replaced by the new Element Series Earth, I was allowed to purchase then at the Colorado price but would need to wait a couple of weeks for them to arrive, no problem I was excited and could wait. I received them last week, Thursday right before heading out the door to work, I had a few minutes to play song quickly that was very familiar "Forgrt About It" by Alison Krauss.
With the Columbias I knew what to expect a slight edge or almost shrillness to the opening part of the song, the bass was always incredible and kids were very warm and enjoyable as always. The fiddle section 2/3s of the way through is my favorite part! As a violinist I appreciated the Columbias ability to really shine here and brought the musician truly into the listening area just off to the right of center!

I unplug the Columbias and plug in the Earth RCA. DBS was plugged in at time of termination roughly one week prior. I don't touch the volume at all and system is being run in source direct complete analog signal pass through.

Press play.....

The song starts and it's not volume that has changed that would be impossible as I understand how this works, but the instruments are more natural and present sounding, her voice comes in and is well layerd slightly amongst the instruments in a very three dimensional texture. The shrillness or slight edge the Columbias had was gone and my jaw just dropped. I have been in the music and audio world for well over a decade and speak only in the way an isntrument would sound or voice in a certain environment. The Earth really showed me everything on a seemingly larger scale far more height and slightly more width than the Columbias. I had to go to work and have been letting them run in as well. I will fallow back with more info and some updates!

Tim
tim12232
I would like to also offer my own review of the Audioquest Earth interconnects on this thread.

COMPONENTS:
Cambridge Audio 751BD Universal player
Bryston BDA-1 DAC
Bryston BP25 Preamp w/phono
Bryston 7B SST2 Monoblocks
Monitor Audio Silver RX6 floorstanders

I picked up my Earth interconnects (with XLR terminations) approximately 6 months ago. Some of my equipment has changed since then but the Earths were to replace/upgrade from my AQ Colorado RCA interconnects and that's what I will be comparing them to.

Currently the Earth's are installed between my DAC and my Preamp and (for me) that is where they sound the best based on some A/B testing.

IMHO, they are fantastic cables. Audioquest has successfully produced another quality product and they certainly did not disappoint. The Earths definitely performed better than the Colorados and are intended to replace them in their product lineup as their highest quality copper interconnect.

Compared to the Colorado's they are much quieter. That can be partly attributed to the Earths being balanced (vs my single ended Colorados) but also because of the extra shielding. Very clean and coherent with an open and airy sound stage. Bright, detailed highs. Silky midrange and wonderful bass extension.

The Colorado's are still excellent cables as well. Some of the best that AQ has produced and in fact I still use them elsewhere in my system.

If I could find a particular fault in the Earth interconnects it would have to be that they are quite a lot more stiff and harder to work with than previous AQ interconnects. This is likely due to the additional shielding and insulation. The XLR plugs also use a 2 part design and can come unscrewed relatively easily.

Otherwise, I am confident that the Earths would make a great addition to nearly any system. I hope this review helps others in their future purchasing decisions!