best cost no object, cables
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Taste rules. I like cables to be a little bit on the warm side, which in conjunction with other parts of the system draws me into the music and musicians’ artistry. That means “neutral” doesn’t work for me, making it hard if not impossible to get past listening to the hardware (“audiophile effects”). When posed this way, the Cable Co. rep steered me away from High Fidelity and toward Purist Audio Design, Pranawire and Synergistic Research for an s/pdif cable (I went with the first and also use a couple of HF’s s/pdif magnetic adapters with it). An audition of Sablon power cords similarly led to a return. I don’t have experience with the others.
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In their listening rooms, PS Audio switched from their own to the AQ Dragon. From Paul McGowan's description of the process of choosing another power cord to sell instead of their own, he approached Purist Audio Design and one other company first, but they couldn't handle the volume, so he took up Bill Low's offer and liked them a lot. I remember reading user reviews, and some thought the next step down in the Storm series, the Tornado, was a better deal sound wise for the money (the step up improvement to the Dragon was not as great as to the Tornado).
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The Dragon’s are definitely not a deal price wise. But the improvement they made over the Hurricane’s is so vast it’s hard to even quantify. It transformed my system to another level.
FWIW, my PSR-14 and PSR-11 silver ribbon cables have been preferred over the Dragon in many comparisons so far. My PSR is far less expensive, and I offer free demos.
They are not warm though, pretty sure highstream would not like them
...but I do have a copper version as well that is a touch warm and costs a lot less too.
It's worth it for folks to try out a cable like the Dragon or my PSR just to see what happens. Most would not think a power cable can have such a large effect, and with that perspective understand how much AC power influences the sound you're hearing.
They are not warm though, pretty sure highstream would not like them
...but I do have a copper version as well that is a touch warm and costs a lot less too. It's worth it for folks to try out a cable like the Dragon or my PSR just to see what happens. Most would not think a power cable can have such a large effect, and with that perspective understand how much AC power influences the sound you're hearing.
FWIW, my PSR-14 and PSR-11 silver ribbon cables have been preferred over the Dragon in many comparisons so far. My PSR is far less expensive, and I offer free demos.
They are not warm though, pretty sure highstream would not like them
...
LOL. Oh, I use MG Audio Design’s silver IC’s between components and to the active speakers. As they advertise, they are smooth and don’t leave me feeling like I’m listening to the hardware. Paul McGowan at PS Audio, who tends to like a touch of warmth in his gear, used them in their listening rooms for years before switching over to AQ across the board in the last year (the marketing side partner of MG Audio died a few years back, so they are very small scale).
Fwiw, I tried the AQ Dragons and didn't hear anything to make me want to ditch my Alan Maher Designs cables. However, the Sablon cables, with the Bocchino terminations, changed by mind. Sablon is smooth with greater dynamics.
Interesting, that's similar to what I heard about the Dragon vs my PSR-14 on a MSB Select, but I don't think this is typical for the AQ cables, which imo are generally pretty good.
Entreq cables have brought magic to my system.
I would never have believed how transformative cables could be until i witnessed it for myself. I would love to know how they compare to the favourites Stateside. They just bring such a clesn, natural sound with unfathomable bass extension
For me the other contender is Dalby Jundo, but given he is a boutique operation and builds to order, borrowing a pair to sample at home can be a challenge.
The one thing i do know is signal grounding for interconnects is here to stay, chez gav. I can't wait to try it on my speaker cables
I would never have believed how transformative cables could be until i witnessed it for myself. I would love to know how they compare to the favourites Stateside. They just bring such a clesn, natural sound with unfathomable bass extension
For me the other contender is Dalby Jundo, but given he is a boutique operation and builds to order, borrowing a pair to sample at home can be a challenge.
The one thing i do know is signal grounding for interconnects is here to stay, chez gav. I can't wait to try it on my speaker cables
I found the same with the Hurricanes on my Vandersteen monoblocks. Tried Analysis Plus and they were even worse. Put back on the stock cords and the world was right again. Very finicky amps.
Ken
I like the look of your speakers Ken. I wasn't familiar so googled.
The rear-firing tweeter is appealing.
My only criticism of my Stellas is they aren't dipoles, but their replacements likely will be, unless i go down the Avalon route.
May i ask, does the bass performance fulfill the promise of the design?
The rear-firing tweeter is appealing.
My only criticism of my Stellas is they aren't dipoles, but their replacements likely will be, unless i go down the Avalon route.
May i ask, does the bass performance fulfill the promise of the design?
The bass is amazing. I’ve had a half dozen pairs of high-end speakers in my listening room and the Model 7’s are the first that totally satisfied me with their bass response. With tunable 11 band analog equalization, adjustable gain and Q curve, the bass can be dialed in for nearly any room. The dealer will do this by playing the “Vandertones” in your room and calibrating for each of the 11 bands. It takes quite awhile but the results are startling. The bass is perfectly dialed in without any acoustic treatments needed for the low frequencies. Even at lower volume levels, the bass is full and provides a great foundation. A brilliant design by Richard Vandersteen. I would never purchase another pair of speakers without active adjustable bass response.
Ken
Fascinating, thank you for your reply.
And they do say that the mid-range is where Vandersteen speakers really set themselves apart?
Definitely one to add to the 'would like to hear' list.
Unfortunately one doesn't hear much about them in Europe.
I'll have a rummage, see what i can find
And they do say that the mid-range is where Vandersteen speakers really set themselves apart?
Definitely one to add to the 'would like to hear' list.
Unfortunately one doesn't hear much about them in Europe.
I'll have a rummage, see what i can find
Fascinating, thank you for your reply.
And they do say that the mid-range is where Vandersteen speakers really set themselves apart?
Definitely one to add to the 'would like to hear' list.
Unfortunately one doesn't hear much about them in Europe.
I'll have a rummage, see what i can find
The midrange and treble are the main reason I purchased the Model 7’s. There is a stunning level of purity and clarity with carbon-balsa-carbon sandwich cone drivers that are utilized in the 7” mid/woofer, 4.5” midrange and 1” dome tweeter. Using identical materials in all three drivers creates a seamless cohesiveness and transparency between the drivers. You just can’t hear where one ends and the other begins. There is a total lack of coloration in vocals and instruments that truly enables the listener to forget about the speakers and focus on the lifelike performance they so accurately reproduce.
Ken
Ken may i ask what sort of music you play?
I listen 50% to bass driven electronica like deep house, trip hop, drum & bass, and 50% to rock, pop, folk and acoustic, with a large helping of so-called alt-rock like Zero 7 and Alt-j
Btw apologies to the thread for off topic- ness
I listen 50% to bass driven electronica like deep house, trip hop, drum & bass, and 50% to rock, pop, folk and acoustic, with a large helping of so-called alt-rock like Zero 7 and Alt-j
Btw apologies to the thread for off topic- ness
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