Poetik
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Oct 27, 2007
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Quote:
I've had the Quads for close to a year now.. been listening exclusively with the stock (Westone-styled) cable during time period. To say I'm familiar with the nuances of their sound/tuning would be an understatement.
The Quads are (specifically tuned as) an intimate sounding phone, they're quite smooth and have tremendous dynamic range (more than the Miracles, IMO). The chief complaint among HF'iers who don't use them for stage use is that the treble rolls off a little too early and that certain parts of the bass frequencies are bumped up more than some prefer. In terms of the professional environment they're expected to be used in (stage monitors), I find them exquisitely tuned.. one of the "truest" stage monitor I've heard. Smooth, clear, crisp, detailed, balanced, and non-fatiguing.
A few days ago, I swapped an SPC cable (that came with my Aurisonics ASG-1) onto them and I definitely liked the subtle (but noticeable) shift in sound. The entire sound tightened & refined vs with the stock cable. Soundstage was one of the most noticeable changes as it was certainly wider. I heard better spacing around instruments & improved note articulation. The treble, in particular, has more presence, air, and crispness. The really nice part about using this cable was that the 1964/Quads house sound was very much in tact. As stated earlier, the changes were subtle, but certainly noticeable.. and enjoyable, in my experience. It brought some 'audiophile'-type balance to the overall sound. Bass too was tighter and more nuanced. I've always maintainted how lovingly neutral but dynamic the Quads' mids are.. and that's one aspect of the sound I appreciate even more with the improvements the SPC cable brings.
I also received a custom, silver cable today and it essentially took how the Quads sounded w/ the SPC up to another level up. Treble gains more presence (but remains very much in balance with the rest of the sound).. it's crisper and has a touch more sparkle, bass is tighter, and better textured, mids remins incredibly accurate and possess fantastic timbre (they're a touch more forward, though).. while dynamics improved & the soundstage widened.. again. They simply sound more clear & refined than with the stock (or SPC) cable. The Quads still (thankfully) sound very smooth, crisp, and non-fatiguing.. they're very much still 'stage monitors' and remain true to their tuning.. but going back to the stock cable, it felt like there was a certain 'fuzz' at the edges of notes & bass sounded noticeably more dominant and thicker. I've never heard the Quads quite so balanced as they do with the silver cable. The Quads will never have an RE0 type treble airiness & sparkle.. they're simply not tuned for that.. but with the Silver cable, I'm hearing what the Quads' treble tuning is truly capable of.
The SPC cable that came with the ASG is quite affordable (relative to what most custom IEM cable cost these days). For those who want a little more articulation, treble presence, and extension from the Quads, I definitely recommend trying out this cable. With both the SPC & pure silver cables, the Quads as a whole sound more involving & dynamic than with the stock cable.
I'm not interested in turning this into a(nother) debate on if cables actually affect the sound (there's a million other threads for that), I'm simply reporting what I'm hearing when swapping cables & comparing against a stock setup who's sound, once again, I'm intimately familiar with (I've listened to the Quads w/ the stock cable on a near-daily basis since buying them almost a year ago). I'm not trying to come off as flippant, but please don't tell me it's my ears adjusting, it's psychological, etc.. cause quite, frankly it isn't. I'm very aware of what I'm hearing & I have no bias for or against custom cables. As I've mentioned before, the change isn't on some drastic night & day level.. it's subtle, but definitely noticeable.. w/o 'golden ears' mind you. Do I find the change/improvement to warrant spending on the SPC cable or a custom IEM cable.. that's for you to decide but for me? Certainly.
It's amazing what a silver cable can do to a warmer sound signature huh? I bet those quads sound so much better now with a wider soundstage, tighter bass, and more emphasis on the highs. I'm assuming you went with a TWag but what silver cable did you go with?