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King Cobras vs Straightwire Chorus II, unintentional comparison

I go back and forth on just how much difference exists between the various brands and levels of Interconnects,  HDMI cables, etc.  I've probably spent more than I should have through the years on cables.  My system consists of primarily AQ and Straightwire cables.  Yesterday my pair of AQ King Cobras (RCA connections) crapped out developing some type of short for the second time this year.  See below paragraph for more information.  They simply stopped working.  They were connecting my Marantz UD5007 to my Integra surround sound processer.   I went to my box of surplus cables and grabbed an older pair of 1 meter Straightwire Chorus II ICs (level 2) as back up. Still work perfectly.  Well OMG, they sound just as open, clear, sharp and detailed as the King Cobras.  I've got them on now and honestly I cannot tell the difference.  I paid $200.00 for the Cobras about 4 years ago and only about $65.00 for the pair of Chorus IIs.   What the ???   Discussion or have we beat this topic to death here on Audiogon? 

About my pair of King Cobras (RCA), I noticed this problem earlier this year and returned them to AQ under an RMA.  Received them back bench tested and thoroughly checked out.  No problems found.  They worked for a while until last evening.  I'm done with them and will probably just chuck them out in the trash.   Unbelievable. 
pdn
jafant
18,804 posts
 
I can relate- pdn

a few years back I had my 1st taste of Straight Wire cabling, lower tier ( I do not know the exact models). The SP, IC were in a Rogue Audio, Rega and Sonus Faber system. Simple 2-channel, excellent synergy, very musical.

I,too was shocked. I was in a position to listen to the same cabling at the same dealer/retailer (The Listening Room- MD) in an ARC and SF system.
Again, very musical.
pops
2,272 posts
 
I concur Jafant.  I have a pair of Maestro II speaker cables and they are very nice.  I would love to see SW get back into the game in a bigger way in the U.S.
nutty
2,661 posts
 
I am in total agreement. I have been a Straightwire fan for years.  Straightwire offers a nice selection of cables. I have used several models at different price points in the past.

 I am currently using a one meter pair of Crescendo balanced interconnect on my CD player. However Straightwire offers very affordable options also. The Encore II interconnect is a nice star quad design costing $125 that will compete with many in its price range. I recently heard them on a Caimbridge Audio CXU universal player. I have used their Octave II Biwire speaker cable with a Anthem I225. 

Straightwire has recently released the new Expressivo and Expressivo Grande interconnect and speaker cable:

Expressivo Grande II speaker cable is composed of 6 (CCT)  positive "air suspended" conductors at 15AWG of OFHC Copper around a non-conductive, low resonant core. Multiple low dielectric insulations are employed to optimize mechanical and electrical performance. This ULTRA low resistance speaker cable utilizes dual opposing spiral shields for the negative conductor path(s) and familiar Straight Wire anti-static micro-fiber braid.

The cable is custom jacketed with durable mesh (various colors at no up-charge) rather than the Straight Wire traditional clear jacket. This preserves the micro-details throughout the audible spectrum for clear and effortless presentations. Critical enthusiasts should audition this cable together with premium interconnects to find the ideal compliment for their high level system(s).

IBW (internally bi-wireable cable)

Mesh choice over Fiber Braid
16.0mm (.63") diameter


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