[Matt]

Hello, all.

I have a KGSS with Omega II's and a Bottlehead tube phono preamp. The preamp is relatively rich, tubey-but-extended-on-both-ends, etc. and the tubes are warmer and fatter sounding, with nice, sweet treble. It is not as speedy with leading-edges as I'd like (hasn't fully burned in, though, to it's credit).

I am currently using Magwire Nakeds which sound nice enough, but I am looking for the next large step in terms of refinement in a DIY IC cable. I am mainly looking for:

- speed (to counteract the slight tube sluggishness)
- clear as a bell (to communicate all the lovely, refined tube treble)
- full-range, timbrally rich sound (bass is not muddy but has impact and realism, treble comes through beautifully with realism).
- No false, "added" brightness (like I am thinking silver might do)
- STUNNING, RICH MIDRANGE

Any suggestions?


Regards,
Matt

 

[jboehle]

Check out nearsota.com. The website might not be much, but I'm good friends with Larry Grac, the owner. He's designed an excellent silver cable that has all the good attributes of silver, but has taken out the bad brightness associated with most silver cables. His spiral silver design takes the bright harshness off of the silver, but still fast and detailed. Might be just what you're looking for. It's a good value!

-Jason

 

[Matt]

...$275 is more than I want to spend. I am thinking more like $50 - $100 total. I am thinking about DH Labs silver sonic or some of that Homegrown stuff. Anything that is tonally rich, not "dented."

Any other suggestions?

- Matt

 

[jboehle]

Also check out RS Cables, they have a silver cable for < $100.

-Jason

 

[minya]

Eric's Nitrogen cables would work very well, I think.

I also enjoyed Bolder's M80 cables, but they don't have the detail or bass response of Eric's cables.

- Chris

 

[Matt]

...Well, I've done a little research and Audiogon banging and have isolated two that look good to me:

1. Cables made with Cardas connecters and DH Labs BL-1 cable

2. Bogdan Princess with Eichmann Silver Bullet connectors


Any ideas which might be better with my rig? These will both come out to under $100, with the BL-1 cables being less.

I guess another question is, how close to "winner" are these cables on the price/performace ratio scale? I don't care about ABSOLUTE performance if it's a teeny difference costing hundreds of dollars. If I have to go above $100, that's fine, but I'd prefer the superior value of DIY or small-operation stuff to get the most for my money.

- Matt

 

[eric343]

Check Mall-Fi!

Also, I authored a BL-1 vs. VD Nite review (in the Featured Reviews section of the cable forum) that you might be interested in.

 

[Matt]

...I couldn't exactly swing the $100+ cables, so I hit up Bogdan for a good deal and he gave me one on his Princess cables, so I bit.

I will let you guys know how it goes vs. my Magwire Nakeds and Transparent Audio IC's.

By the way, a great way to make your current cables sound really excellent is to purchase a new set of cables with the full intention of having them sound better than your current ones. Suddenly, the current ones start to sound REAL good.

Geez.

 

[pirate]

eagerly awaiting your review

im thinking of going magwire => silver princess as well