Speaker Cables

dtanclim, in my experience cardas cross are very
musical but expensive,I think the AZ are more like
of harmonic technology, HT are excellent cable for
the money.IMO the AZ might probably match your
system, but try this 3 cables.

My 2 cents is that Harmonic Tech is knowhere close to as good as Acoustic Zen cables. I have owned both as well as many others including Nordost SPM, Silversmith, NBS, and most recently a 2 month demo of Audience cables. I am without a doubt convinced that Acoustic Zen cables sound the best in my sytems. I have both Hologram and Satori, and the Hologram is definately better, but I still think a lot of the Satori, they sound very similar, the Hologram just gives you more of what the Satori does. If you want to spend less just get the Satori and don't even worry about it, it is a refrence quality cable and one of the biggest bang for the buck out there.

I had the Santori head to head with a pr of Kimber ks 3035 and a few others popular speaker cables (dealer loans). All I can say is the Kimber ks 3035 made the Santori look like a Honda Accord compared to a top model Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc. Wasn't close. I ended up with the 3035, no contest at all,, not even close, a commoner to royality, middle class to wealth. For the price the Santori is OK but there are much much better speaker cables out there. If your looking for a great cable,,, forget about the Santori and look else where. It's common for it's price range. It's a laid back presentation with good tonal balance,,, I would say good for helping tame a hot top more aggressive speaker. It's not a bad speaker cable for the price but there are much better.

I think this thread has already gone a long way toward demonstrating once again (as if we needed it) that speaker wire selection is *very* dependent upon system context, particularly as it regards the amp/speaker combination. But then, this is what we love, isn't it? Who cares about music when you've got CABLE...

Zaikesman makes a very salient point here, that it is very dependent on both amp and speaker combination and on personal tastes. I personally do not like the sound of Cardas, but I find the AZ stuff very good and similar to my own designs. When you are talking about cables with excellent inductance measurements, low dielectric absorption and good metallurgy, you cannot really go wrong. At this level, the cables will sound technically correct and neutral on virtually any system. However, the personal taste thing still comes into play. I have run into folks who dont really want a lot of detail and dynamics. They just want a warm, reserved sound that is not live at all. There are cables out there that appeal to these folks as well.

Amps and speakers are another thing. This is undoubtedly the most sensitive area of system design that must really synergise. With a low-efficiency, low-impedance speaker, there will really be no speaker cable out there that will fix a synergy mismatch with a gutless amp. IMO, this is where folks need to focus the most energy. Once you get this right, then the right cables can really put the icing on the cake. But if you dont have this synergy figured-out, it can be very frustrating.