[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROB968323 DA Does that bare wire on the end of the speaker cable hold up well? It seems to me like it's real easy to destroy that bare wire...then you're kind of screwed. Just so that others know...the speaker cable is $24 per stereo foot. Has anyone tried Grover's digital cable? Is this the same cable as his ICs? Rob

I have no problems with bare silver wire.......it is solid silver and therefore easy to bend without causing break. If you really clamp down hard it may flatten out.

Also the speaker cable itself is light and flexible so it doesn't put much stress or torque on silver wire. One caution you have couple inches of exposed wire so just make sure it doesn't touch something it shouldn't. You may want to shorten exposed silver wire or carefully bend a hook at the end.

If you did break it off somehow I'm sure Grover would repair for nominal cost.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Well ... I just sent my original Grover SR's back for the upgrade to MK II so hopefully should find out what they sound like in a month or so (ie mail both ways, customs, burn-in, etc

).

In the meantime, I would appreciate any comments from anyone else trying them out . Yikes ... this hobby is a disease!

Gord SW Ont.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel I have no problems with bare silver wire.......it is solid silver and therefore easy to bend without causing break. If you really clamp down hard it may flatten out. Also the speaker cable itself is light and flexible so it doesn't put much stress or torque on silver wire. One caution you have couple inches of exposed wire so just make sure it doesn't touch something it shouldn't. You may want to shorten exposed silver wire or carefully bend a hook at the end. If you did break it off somehow I'm sure Grover would repair for nominal cost.

Having just had mine repaired, yep. He will repair it for a nominal cost.

The issue is not the pin so much as the absence of significant strain relief. It's very easy for the sheathing to come down from the pin. An ancillary effect of this is that connection between wire and pin simply breaks apart.

I discovered this the hard way, when one of my cats failed to gauge one of his leaps properly...

 

[DarkAngel]

Grover Huffman + Michael Wolf have new cables!

Check this out peeps.
Was looking at MW's Audiogon system that showed it was newly updated with Empress Cables and look what I found when I searched for info.

Empress

The cat is out of the bag.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel Grover Huffman + Michael Wolf have new cables! Check this out peeps. Was looking at MW's Audiogon system that showed it was newly updated with Empress Cables and look what I found when I searched for info. Empress The cat is out of the bag.

Wow I can attest that each person makes fine products.

I use the carbon source and it is by far the best power cord I have used in my system.

Biggie.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

It will be interesting to see if the Empress and the Grover SR series (especially the MK II) is close in construction and/or sound???

Wonder if this mean Grover will no longer provide his product directly?

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gord SW Ont It will be interesting to see if the Empress and the Grover SR series (especially the MK II) is close in construction and/or sound??? Wonder if this mean Grover will no longer provide his product directly?

Just last week I exchanged e-mail with Grover and purchased new SR II cables and sent old ones in for upgrade directly through him. So I guess till we hear any different Grover still sells his own cables direct.

 

[ROB968323]

Is that price for the Empress list or what? It looks like the speaker cable is nearly 3X the price of the Grover SR II. Has anyone ordered from Wolff...does he offer discounts from the displayed price?

Rob

 

[Gord SW Ont]

DarkAngel wrote:
Quote:

Just last week I exchanged e-mail with Grover and purchased new SR II cables and sent old ones in for upgrade directly through him. So I guess till we hear any different Grover still sells his own cables direct.

Thanks for the reply DA.

I exchanged emails with Grover recently as well and sent my SR MK I back for the upgrade on Friday. Just wondered re his direct business??? This Empress thing is still not noted on the Hoffman website but Grover mentioned that this was the last upgrade to the SR's (he was taking some flack about the many upgrades ... hard to imagine when he has an upgrade fee that is so reasonable). He said he'll be too busy to in the future??? I was curious if this is his way of telling us know something was in the works as it wasn't until this thread that I heard about Empress???

At any rate I'm looking forward to your (or anyone else's) comments.

BTW thanks also for this latest info ... Gord SW Ont.

 

[Beav]

Quote:

It will be interesting to see if the Empress and the Grover SR series (especially the MK II) is close in construction and/or sound???

I've been evaluating not only the Grover MK I & II ICs but also the new Empress line. I should have the new Empress speaker cables next week. If they are anything like the ICs it will surely be something to hear, as my system will be fully "royalized" at that point

So, what are the differences. Between Grover MK1 & II, the main difference I noticed was more potency in all the things that the MKI did well. I'd coin it as a higher octane version of the Mk. I. The Empress is a combination of two technolgies; Grovers Silver Reference process and Michael Wolff's carbon shielding technology. I was there at the birth of the Empress. I got to hear the Grover MKII in the same system as the new Empress. The Empress, though still having the qualities of the Grover MKII, is a different lady. The carbon shielding refines the sound, making it more natural and vibrant. At the birth of the Empress there was another IC that was being used as a benchmark to determine the level of audio quality the new technology might be providing. This particular IC has been touted by professional Reviewers as being one of, if not the best IC made (and at $7K for the balanced version it ought to be!) In the a/b comparison we ran that day, the Grover MKII was competitive, but the $7K IC did have a decent edge in the sonic characteristics we were looking for. Once the Empress version was put in, things got harder to call, I'd still give the slight edge on transparency and high frequency extension to the $7K product, but not to the degree where forking over the cash needed to get at it would be a well considered choice. I'm really impressed with the Empress; I rarely use the term giant killer, because it usually isn't the case, but this time, I believe we have a true contender.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Thanks for the comparison Beav!

Now all I need is a comparison of the new SR MK II to the Bogdan BSSR and Eric's Nitrogen (sheesh ... I'm starting to sound like Elerno in reverse

).

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gord SW Ont It will be interesting to see if the Empress and the Grover SR series (especially the MK II) is close in construction and/or sound???

Why don't we find out.

Biggie.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gord SW Ont Thanks for the comparison Beav! Now all I need is a comparison of the new SR MK II to the Bogdan BSSR and Eric's Nitrogen (sheesh ... I'm starting to sound like Elerno in reverse ).

Just send the Grovers down here when you get them and I'll do a comparison for you.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Elnero wrote:
Quote:

Just send the Grovers down here when you get them and I'll do a comparison for you.

Sorry for mis-spelling your name

I'm not sure all that saltwater you have in PEI would be good for them.

It's weird how we all are so interested in listening to other equipment ... but I guess that's the only way to learn, eh?

Biggie wrote:
Quote:

Why don't we find out.

Now Biggie ... behave yourself.

I just hope I can get them sooner, rather than later, so that if I can make it up to that mini meet we can have a listen to them.

 

[ROB968323]

Hey guys....I've got a question regarding digital cables vs. standard ICs. I've been in contact with Grover regarding ordering some Empress cables. I will be getting a set of speaker cables. I'm using a Panasonic digital amp which I'm now using Toslink to connect to my DVD player. The Toslink is the one advertised on Audiogon. It's called the Glass cable. It really is quite good. I've compared it to a $250 Kubala/Sosna RCA digital cable and honestly there was not a helluva lot of difference. Perhaps the Toslink sounded a slight bit more "Digital". It was pretty close though.

The general consensus is that the Panasonic amp sounds best using "Digital Connection" not stereo RCA ICs. I think this is because it keeps everything in the digital domain. Grover suggested that I purchase a pair of the Empress ICs and give that a try. I don't think he sells single "Digital RCAs".

Is there a difference in design between standard RCA ICs and digital RCAs(single cable).

I'd like to know what you guys think...DA, anyone

Thanks,

Rob