Audioquest Sky Interconnects

If I may, I would suggest checking into the Virtual Image Pile Driver 18 interconnects. I've tried the Audience Au24 cables in my system before and didn't really care for them, I found the Au24's to be thin on the bottom end. At that time I was doing an A-B between the Au24's and some Straightwire Crescendo's, I preferred the Crescendo's. I then heard that V.I. had introduced some new IC's and couldn't resist the urge to try them out, I use their power cables and love them. After giving the V.I. cables some time to burn in, I started doing an A-B with the Crescendo's. After about 5-6 days worth of burn in I found them to equal to the Crescendo's and after 9-10 days they surpassed the Crescendo's. The V.I. cables have better bass, more air, and cast a wider soundstage. I can't recommend these cables highly enough. If you would be interested in trying them you can contact Al at Virtual Image via e-mail, [email protected] ,he is in New Jersey. He offers a 30 day money back policy on all of his standard cables, in this case it would be a 4 foot pair of interconnects w/ Cardas RCA's. He has the cables priced at $175 for a 4 foot pair and $150 per pair if you buy more than one. If you have any questions that I can answer about my experience with the Virtual Image interconnects, or power cables, feel free to e-mail me. I have also placed several posts here on Audiogon about the V.I. products, you can look them up in the discussion forums by searching for "Virtual Image".

My view on the SKY cable is that it is way to expensive for the results yielded with use. You can pick some up used for the $800-$900 range. There is SOO much better for less money. I do not spending money either on gear or cables as I have owned tons of products.

The AQ had a somewhat wierd characteristic when I played around with it. It sounds artificial to me. It did offer great dynamics and a big sound stage but it was forward and not tonally accurate on my system. Not to mention, my system is pretty simple as it consists of a Cary Tube Integrated, a single source, and a pair of monitors.

I had better results with the Au24. I have seen many comments on it having less bass than other cables and I would regard that comment as accurate. However, I would also categorize the Au24 as accurate and not BLOATED like the AQ cables.

Anyway, give them a try and see because it is all about Syngery with you system but I was NOT impressed. Good Luck.

i agree with the kid...it is system synergy and your taste. my taste runs towards "plush" - smooth and accurate

i have had good luck with the following:

straightwire crescendo ic's(current)- neutral / big & bold / does everthing right.
xlo signature - neutral ( can sound lean in some systems)
discovery plus 4 & essence - slightly "silky" cable
Wireworld Eclipse V - similar to straightwire but slightly differnt mid presentation.
nordost valkyrja. - nice but wayyyyyyy overpriced. the crescendo does somethings better and 1/3 the price. the nordost is a little leaner.

try to auditon as many cables as you can and different combinations. you might be surprised on what works.

hope that helps,

Mike