I think I've made up my mind

Congratulations on the 3.7's! I have owned 3.6's for 10 years and would lean towards a 3.7 if I ever got the serious itch to move to something slightly different. However, I have auditioned many speaker systems and have learned once the Thiel sound gets in your blood its hard to move on!

I have auditioned and owned tons of cables, more than I would like to admit. Although they are system dependent (you can view my system here) I have found Analysis Plus Pro 9 SC to be a match made in heaven for me. They allow my system to deliver a coherency from top to bottom with a full and satisfying midrange - something many speakers cables cannot achieve with Thiels. They are also virtually impossible to beat for the money. However, all tastes are different, systems are different and cables while a vital link/component are system dependent, you will have to piece that last link together with auditions. Hopefully some of the advice on this thread will help get your further along than scratch - Jim and Unsound both have great suggestions. Jim nailed the Magnum description from my experience and I have used both Goertz and Straightwire and lived with both for a while. Goertz and SW are also great bargains in the performance/price ratio. But as you know there are a lot of choices! Good luck.

Rrog said: > How many of you believed Spectral when they said their amps would go into oscillation if you didn't use MIT speaker cable?

I did and do, and it's easy to demo - they run considerably hotter w/o MIT cables. That's because - if you cared to look into it - the amps offer no input choke or output coil, leaving those functions to the cables, and therefore the MIT/Spectral cables are specifically and specially spec'd.

What's your point?

Maril555, I still like the Avantgardes. They are very revealing but in an effortless way. Vocals are very well served by the Avantgardes. I find that the Thiel CS3.7 matched them in that respect. The downside of the Avantgardes is the bigger than life but rather narrow soundstage. Various instruments seem to accumulate together. Also, when listening to the Avantgardes, I feel like I'm at the front row of a concert where I have to cock my head up to watch the performance. It's thrilling but can be fatiguing for long listening sessions. I find that I get very realistic soundstage and imaging with the CS3.7. Finally, I still prefer passive speakers to active ones.

The truth is they don't want you to screw up the sound with a cable that doesn't mate well with their amp. So, they tell you to use MIT or it will void your warranty.

I have heard Spectral with many other speaker cables and the amplifier worked just fine.

Maybe more companies should do this to ensure satisfied customers.

My point is; what's at the end of the speaker cable?