Jim, simply put, the three lines of cables are all designed similarly, according to modeling and measurements done by Galen Gareis, who, if I recall correctly, was not just an engineer, but head of development at Belden. Audiophiles should rejoice that here in 3 different price categories one finds the optimum design offered, not two compromised designs and one optimized. The geometry and construction is the same in all 3, which is very rare for a cable company.
Though I have not compared in my room all three, just the top of the line, Galen explained it to me as the cables having three levels of refinement/definition. There is not a skewing toward different sonic signatures, as happens when the geometry and construction as well as conductor material are changed. The sonic signature is similar in all three, but the degree of refinement improves as one goes up the line.
Just this past weekend I tried three different sets of power cords again on the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amps, just to see if I could get improvement with the rest of the Iconoclast set. Nope; the affordable Belden BAV power cords match the best with the Iconoclast cables. Best focus and resolution without stridency, and lovely tonal balance.
Don't expect that kind of result merely by slapping some of the BAV power cords into a mixture of cables. If you're not using a set of cables, you're making a mess. Maybe a nice sort of mess, but a mess nevertheless. :)
Though I have not compared in my room all three, just the top of the line, Galen explained it to me as the cables having three levels of refinement/definition. There is not a skewing toward different sonic signatures, as happens when the geometry and construction as well as conductor material are changed. The sonic signature is similar in all three, but the degree of refinement improves as one goes up the line.
Just this past weekend I tried three different sets of power cords again on the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amps, just to see if I could get improvement with the rest of the Iconoclast set. Nope; the affordable Belden BAV power cords match the best with the Iconoclast cables. Best focus and resolution without stridency, and lovely tonal balance.
Don't expect that kind of result merely by slapping some of the BAV power cords into a mixture of cables. If you're not using a set of cables, you're making a mess. Maybe a nice sort of mess, but a mess nevertheless. :)