Well, my understanding about the 1z is that it has a 'warmer' signature than the 1a. Concerning the cables, I feel it can get a little complicated. I've listened to several copper cables with my 1000M, and AndromedaSS, and Xelento's, and then CL2, different tips; I think the boutique cable industry complex has gotten too sophisticated to generalize. I dont think the the old rule of thumb, copper=lows and silver = highs really apply anymore. I think copper generally has more texture and therefore a more 'dynamic' sound, making them sometimes present as 'bassy'. My whiplash 8 wire copper is like that, its SO dynamic, it turns the sound inside out and presents like a 'wall of sound' that took me a little getting used to; there is no lack of treble, or bass. Silver cables are not so much more 'trebly' they just handle the highs differently, usually in a 'less dynamic' smoother presentation. I listened to $1,500 ish EffectAudio cable at Canjam, and I didn't like it at all because it sounded 'overproduced'. The highs were so polished and smooth, they sounded dull to me, I much preferred the ErosII+ at $400 because there was a good balance between the benefit to the texture and complexity of the lows, but a 'smoother' yet sparkly and detailed highs that are complex and dynamic with an open soundstage... Perhaps someone using a super detailed iem like the U18 and liking it's sound sig would prefer the more expensive silver, gold, palladium types of cable. The copper/silver hybrid of the ErosII+ benefited my dynamic driver Xelento more than the BA design of the Andromeda's, tho. The CL2's, being planar and theoretically more revealing, seems to be the most vulnerable to proper pairing and maximum synergy. Also, I've read about the Cleopatra, an all silver cable, being easily mistaken for a copper cable because of it's texture and handling of the bottom end... Then factor in tips... The JVC spiral dots are by far my favorite for the CL2, having a profound effect on sound signature, really bringing them alive... Not to get off topic, but my point is concerning cables, it can get complicated...you know I always thought my 1z was less treblier then other devices. to my surprise 1z do treble slightly higher then others... But I also learned that silver cables can be less trebly then copper! weird but true fact or maybe its just me liking more silver cause it performs better then copper?
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