btbluesky
100+ Head-Fier
Let me say this first. This is the first time I post in this cable forum.
Now even in my mid-fi system, I use...not the best...but passable cables. Zu bok and Magic power cable. I could hear a very small different in the high roll off.
Speaker cable, I got the WhatHiFi product of the year for several years, QED XT silver anniversary, and it's very nice, brings out the mid and high much better, but not too bright.
For interconnect, I never gotten around to get anything "statement-like". Just picked up the oxyfuel from Zu cable, thinking, it should get the job done. And it does, until now.
MY coworker who has more experience in this hobby lend me his cable, the Audioquest Columbia. I looked at it, asked him what the hell is that back enclosure is, he just said it's battery and ask me to AB this w/ the Zu and see if I hear any difference.
When I got back home, I was very skeptical at first. Thinking about all the negative press this hobby gets about cable while I'm holding a $400 interconnect. Surely it can't be that difference w/ the Zu. (I have not AB audition purely interconnect, man even typing it out sounds too geeky already).
My Jolida 1000A has 4 input, so I plug both in, and using my MHDT Havana, I just fire up some of my favorite female vocal. Instantly I thought I might have touched the vol knot abit, because the audioquest sounds just less vol overall. I mean its so obvious, tone deaf person can hear it. But when the vocal and strings kicks in, man the details are all there, with smoothness to spare (not tubey kind), it just more pleasing (sending new chills to my spine on Aria passage). The vol gotten lower, but you can hear more detail, in very pleasant way. Soundstage wise, the Zu cable actually hold its own very well, as to my bookshelf and my ears, they're equally good. Overall they are more laid-back yet detail to me comparing to Zu oxyfuel.
Now I know now it definitely makes a diff, and I definitely enjoy this cable. And if I have a 15k system, it'd be good upgrade. But for my mid-fi setup, not sure. And I searched around for the DBS system, which is simply put, it apply a very very small charge to the cable to minimize the resistence (citation needed)...Think I read somewhere Monster has a patent similar and is suing audioquest for it or something.
Anyway, this is just my experience w/ my setup. The $64000 question would be are there ANY other super bang-for-buck cable that can do this same thing without this price tag. Maybe Anti-cable?
Anyone?