Suggest me a sub $200 warm, smooth IC

Get some used Synergistic Research Alpha Sterlings for $100. They cost $200 new and have very good bass and detailed yet sweet highs.

Another cable that would match those characteristics would be the Straightwire Encore II. It's a very good cable and is not too expensive. It's $140 for 2 meters.

Cardas Quadlink is a very rich smooth cable with killer bass.

star quad

Too bad that Eric343 (Audiogeek) is not making cables anymore.
I've been very happy with the Nitrogen. Couldn't ask for more.

Hmmm. If you change your mind about silvers, I've got some wonderful Luminous Audio Synchestra Silver standards (2 pair) I might do you a deal on. PM me if you're interested.

I'm a VH Audio Pulsar man myself. 1m cryo with the standard gold bullets will be 170 new, plus you have Chris' 60 day MBG. Very transparent and neutral cable, after talking with a bunch of people from the asylum, many owners assert that its definitely reference quality. however, the details up top are nowhere near shoved down your throat, i have learned and experienced that a cable can be detailed yet warm at the same time, those two terms are not mutually exclusive of each other and i have them both in spades with the pulsars.

BHD812 was over on saturday night, listening to my rig. We have identical rigs, only one being his G08 and raptor vs. my G07 and HR2. He brought over some of his bocelli and commented on how he heard things he never heard before on his system. Our only real difference is that I use the pulsars and he uses MIT term 2's, which i had and found slightly slow and rolled off on top. He commented how the pulsars were more detailed yet warmer at the same time, and couldn't understand how that could be. A big part of why they sound like that is that Chris has his own wire after many years of research, beta testing, and listening, its a solid 28awg copper core surrounded by a solid FEP dialectric, with a foil and silver plated copper braid which doubles as the shield and return. Go to VH Audio's site and he gives you all the details as well.

If you want to save dough and have DIY skills, you can buy the parts yourself from him and make it yourself, can save yourself some good money too, and he'll be able to help you out as well with construction. And he has a 60 day MBG no questions asked which is nice.

Good to hear. The pulsars are idiot proof as well to build, not saying your an idiot, but you know what i mean

The wire is top notch, its manufactured by him under his own very specifications, and is only sold under his company, you cant find that wire anywhere else. you can also experiment with other terminations as well - he offers the bullets and nextgens, but you could also consider cardas. If you didnt want to go the bullet route, i would recommend the vampire 800c or the DH Labs HC ultimate rca. I am expecting some pulsars terminated by the DH Labs Ultimates sometime this week, and will compare with my eichmann gold bullet pulsars, but apparentyl the DH labs is supposed to offer a more robust sound, more bass impact and presence and a more dynamic lively sound, we'll see. The vampire 800c is also considered to be a top connector as well.

You have tons of options and wont break the $100 barrier barely. I would also ask you to reconsider your predisposition on silver cables. Silver done right sounds amazing and has nothing related to those typical stereotype generalizations we've come to know about silver.

Have you thought about using an equalizer?

$200 can get you a pretty decent equalizer that should give you much much more precise control of which frequency ranges you want to tone down and boost up.

Audiogon sure is decent for everything audio-related. Only problem with my TOSLink that I ordered was that it took a bit, say 2-3 weeks, to get to me. Because of me living in Europe and most sellers being people living in America.

Sure, foobar's EQ is excellent.

Then why are you messing with expensive interconnects that muddy up the sound? Interconnects that change the sound signature often have weird impedances, etc., that often degrades the sound signal.