Hi , I feel your pain as I’m a cost driven Mid Fi guy. My system is tube pre and power to Zu omens. I got away from silver early on as it was too bright. I went to Anti Cable interconnects and speaker cables ( level III ) and Silnote power cables. About a year later I switched to Morrow level 4 interconnects and speaker cables. Both of these brands solved my brightness issues. When I switched to the Morrows I gained some detail without getting brighter. Mike upgraded my burn in to 10 days ( 240 hrs ), but they need about 400 to break in. A few months after that I changed my power cables to Morrow. Then when everything was settled in I added a Richard Gray power filter with no noticeable change. Having already switched to upgraded 20 amp outlets on my 15 amp circuit’s, I added a 20 amp Shunyata Venom cable to the power supply. I could tell an immediate difference. My other cables are a Cardeas Clear USB to my DAC and a Morrow digital coax from my transport. Also noticed your tube logo and would like to say that Telefunkens work best for me as Siemens ( especially silver plate ) not so much with CCa and Phillips Holland exaggerated the upper third of the frequency in my system. I also went with a lower voltage rectifier tube in my amp. All of this was to get as close to that limit of open and airy, but not too bright. I always think of Goldilocks and the Bears. Happy Hunting , Mike B.
This cable game is making my head spin
Hello all
I'll start by listing my system for reference.
Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black cart.
Tokyo Sound Phono stage (A late 90's Japanese Audio company)
Aric Audio Unlimited all tube preamp
Odyssey Khartago w/ upgraded power supply and internal wiring
Divine Acoustics Proxima speakers
Now the story of my Frankenstein cable setup. When I started purchasing cables I found an independent cable maker online who used silver in all his cables. I had purchased 3 power cables for my phono pre, preamp and amp. Unfortunately we had a falling out and I decided not to purchase any more cables from him. I was very green in the whole cable game and I still am but have learned a bit since. Most notably is how silver can brighten a system and the Ortofon 2M black is known as a bright sounding cart to begin with.
Being on a budget and wanting to upgrade all my interconnects at once I came upon vintage western electric interconnects being sold on here and elsewhere. Purported "giant killers" so I bought those for the time being at $114 a pair. But I needed a phono cable and being as green as I am/was thought you needed a cable with an attached ground and extra shielding. I couldn't find a western electric specific phono cable so I bought an Audio Sensibility impact SE phono cable. For speaker wire I went with the Belden 9497 from the same place I got the western electric. A nice budget cable and also a purported "giant killer". For my turntable I got a western electric power cable from the same place.
So I'm running 3 silver power cables to phono amp, preamp, amp and a western electric power cable to the turntable. Audio Sensibility phono cable. Western Electric interconnects from phono to preamp and preamp to amp, and the Belden 9497 speaker wire. What a mess right lol.
I want to streamline all my cables so I bought a pair of Audio Sensibility impact se interconnects. Same make as my phono cable. When I put them in between the preamp and amp I was shocked how dull and lifeless the sound was. Granted they are not broken in and only went through the 3 day burn in process Audio Sensibility offers but I was not expecting that dramatic of a change. The phono cable sounds good so maybe it is break in? Or the phono cable being OCC copper is taming some of the harshness of the Ortofon cartridge but the interconnect from preamp to amo is taming it too much?
I'd like to start auditioning cables from different manufacturers in the "mid-fi" price range and actually get this done right this time around. Given my system is there any advice to be offered on where I should start? I don't want things too bright sounding but not as lifeless as the Audio Sensibility (occ copper) either. And I'm a sucker for lush mid bass and mids hence the all tube preamp.
Sorry for the novel and thanks for any help!
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THIS step is where you noted the drastic change, correct?
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A solid choiceWire World Eclipse, uses silver copper connectors far better then gold brass in sonics as well as much lower resistance , patented lowest dielectric lower then Teflon, And the highest 6-9s Copper ,in a flat Litz independent conductors ,no micro arching , great quality and value vs the competition , compare see what the competition offers for similar monies. |
- 49 posts total