Thanks Lak, Bear Lab cable is the best


Last one year I tried out many cables including Cardas Golden Ref, Nuatral ref, Cross, Jps Super Conductor 2 and the plus, Alpha Core Micro Purl Silver, Audio Analysis Silver, Harmonic Technology Silkway II, Silver Audio Hyacinth, Mit 330 Shotgun, Transparent music wave xl, Acoustic Zen Silver Ref, Audio Quest Python, Lat, Kimber KCAG, Nordost Red Dawn, Blue Heaven, Pure Silver Sound etc, but here in AudioGon discussion forum recently I wrote a review for Harmonic Technology Silkway II and Silver Audio Hyacinth, then person name Lak mentioned about Bear Labs silver cable. I was intrigued and ordered the cable direct from Bear Labs, it cost me only $150 for .6 meter rca ic. I did not expect much, but now I am very satisfied with this cable. Only thing I am going to say it is very nuatral and detail, without usual silver cables harmonic bleachness in the mid or any copper cables warmness. In my estimation only cables that can beat the Bear Labs are and I am not 100% sure Nordost Valhalla or NBS statement (I heard in my friend's place). So, Thank you Lak for the recommendation.

Here is the direct qoute from www.bearlabsusa.com site about his cable and I agree completely:

"Silver Lightning is arguably one of the finest interconnects ever. What makes it different than other 'silver' cables? Aside from a very high build quality, premium components, custom manufactured ultra high purity silver wire and Cardas connectors? It is what I call "natural timbre and tonal balance."

Almost anyone can buy solid core silver wire and fashion a home brewed silver cable. That's not all bad. However, after you experiment even for a little while you'll notice that somehow the silver wire sounds different than copper or even silver plated copper wire - especially when used as interconnect. I have found that when used between a turntable and pre-amp (very low level signals) that the
effect is even more pronounced. Generally speaking, silver tends to exhibit "tinkly " and clean sounding highs, while being a bit thin and anemic in the lower mid registers
and bass region.

If you want this particular effect in your system - a "tone control" of sorts - then just about any silver wire is fine. My philosophy is to avoid creating products that act as "tone controls." It is impossible to completely adjust or correct one error with another. Trying to do this is (what I call) "complementary colorations." An example might
be using a "dark" amp with bright speakers, or dull cables with a bright amp, etc. I feel that this is a common trap for "high-end" audiophiles and should be avoided. So, I offer Silver Lightning as an interconnect that is virtually free of its own character or "sonic signature." Now you have the opportunity to eliminate interconnects as a source of coloration in your system, and focus elsewhere.

Silver Lightning is made from multiple gauge strands of high purity silver wire which is then extruded into a jacket of genuine DuPont FEP (one of their Teflon tm products) resulting in approximately 20awg wire. I then braid the wire, isolate the braided conductors inside a
clear 0.375" PVC sheath, and cover that with black fiberglass mesh, finally Cardas SRCA (silver plated) RCA plugs with "Teflon tm" insulation terminate the interconnect. Electrically, Silver Lightning is also very low capacitance - on the order of 12-14pf/ft.
The result is a durable, rugged and sonically wonderful interconnect. One that truly sets the standard for performance and quality."
manzoor
A friend of mine placed an order for some speaker jumpers this year and paid up front as Bear said he needed to. My friend waited MONTHS to get his order filled...use caution.
Bear Labs is still around. They are evidently a build-to-order audio custom shop for electronics and speakers. And they still make those Silver Lightning Cables.
I wonder if these are the same Bear Labs cables that I tried several years back
I didnt like them.
They sounded rolled off and dull.
If anyone has any experience with the Bear Labs Speaker cables I would definitely like to hear about it. Brian
Hi Gregm,

Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for the encouragement; my system is described in the www.audioasylum.com web page in the member system. My moniker is manz66. Good Luck.

Btw, I checked your previous comments in audiogon, and looks like you have two keen side of ears, I am impressed.

Regards,
Manzoor.
Hi Tom,

I have heard your particular system (Arc Ls2 MKII, ARC d300). Usually, Arc amps are very detail, fast, and color of timbre is little bit white. Your choice of Cardas Golden Ref and Golden Cross is a good choise. Between the
two I liked GR than GC, GC is more bloomy but slower sounding than GR, which is more accurate, revealing, but still has enough bloom and lush sounding in the midrange. If you want to go cheap around $300, then check out Audio
Analysis copper Oval or Coincident CST interconnects, both are very good. As far as Bear Lab, it is a silver cable but very accurate and neutral, so it might show weekness in your system, still you can try out for 30 days trial period from Bear Lab direct. I use BL from source to pre than
to power amp. I hope these informations will help you to get the right cable for your system, main thing is system matching from top to bottom. Good luck, and let me know which cable you finally decide to keep.

Regards,
Manzoor.
Manzoor and others

WOuld like to hear more about your cable comparisons. I saw your SA Hyacinth and HT Pro Silway II writeup at AUdioreview and had similiar results Was wondering how would you compare the Cardas Golden Reference and Golden Cross to the BearLabs cables

thanks

Tom
Doug: Whatjb is taking a breather from the site right now, but he has just installed a set of the Innersound IC's in his setup and likes them a lot. Drop him an email and get the real poop on them.
i find bear labs' description of i/c's & their effects as "tone controls" quite interesting. it makes sense to me to have i/c's that are as neutral as possible, not "tone-controls".

there is another mfr - innersound - that feels the same way about i/c's, and actually thinks that the mega-bucks cabling is nothing but that - costly tone-controls. they are conwinced that all "properly" designed & constructed i/c's will sound the same. (excuse me, while i now run for cover!) but, that's the catch - what's "proper"? and, if a mega-bucks cable sounds different - why? is it cuz it's a tone-control? anyway, innersound is conwinced their cables *are* properly designed & constructed, and they sell for only $49/pair w/rca's, $79/pair w/xlr's. this is for *any length*. i have a couple long runs of i/c's that may need upgrading, & i may give 'em a try. they offer a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. i've heard from a couple folks that they're nice; nice enuff for them to sell their mega-bucs stuff. hmmmm...

doug s.

I can honestly say the Bear Silver Lighting speaker cables are VERY GOOD on my system and I am still breaking them in. I highly recommend them! They sound as good or better than speaker cables costing $1000-$3000. You would have a hard time beating them at the Bear website introductory price!
Manzoor, what's your system? (sorry for new post, the edit function isn't working).
Good for you, Manzoor! Larry, I use S-Thunders -- in fact, i have bearlabs throughout the main system (ss). Connected "out of the box", the Thunders made a perceptible difference over the Nordost SPM refs I was previously using. For one, they sounded more "entended" on either end of the spectrum. However, the biggest difference (to my ears) came when: a) I connected IC & speaker cables on the same rig, b) I allowed some time -- 50+ hrs. of operation. In my system this seemed to give more extension and more "fluidity" /"prat" (in wont of better words).
The S-Ts alone made a big difference in a friend's YBA->S-Faber system (ss again). Judging from what you say about your S-Ls, I expect they would perform very well on your system. The "synergistic" effect could also be beneficial.
Good luck!
Manzoor, You're more than welcome! (First off, let me say I am in no way associated with Bear Labs) When I find something that makes me a true believer, I like to pass it along to my fellow Audiophiles. Some of you know me via posts on Audiogon or email. Obviously, most of you don't know me. I run a small set of Cary 2A3 monoblocks (5/watts per ch). When I switched to the Bear Lab Silver Lighting Interconnects I heard super lows, great mids, and highs I never heard before, after trying many different interconnects. This also worked on my Conrad Johnson Premier 11-A and my solid state system as well.

Next item I would like to try is the Bear Lab Silver Thunder Speaker cables, I have emailed with some Audiophiles that tell me they are also great. I guess I'll just have to save up some $ and try them also.

I'm glad I could be of some assistance.

Larry