Which cable has the best Mid-Bass Performance?
- Thread starter caesar
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
If you try a lot of cables in your system, they all have strengths and weaknesses. Yes, they all pass the signal, but some pass along more musical information in the signal. I'm wondering which ones do the best job passing the midbass musical information.
it's all system/room dependent. One man's best cable may not be your best cable. This thread topic is an exercise of futility.
Sorry Caesar, but I'm going to have to agree with Christian on this as well. It seems rather pointless to me.
Caesar, it may not be as pointless as it appears. Do you have a budget? That could be a big differentiator.
Sorry to be somewhat of a sceptic, but sure...let's throw money at it...that'll solve everything.
Actually, my inquiry was intended precisely to demonstrate the opposite. You don't need expensive cables to have very good performance. A quick look at Audiogon shows these moderate and affordable listings. My preference among these (bang for the buck) is the Spectral 770 II, long a reference quality speaker cable and one that I've owned for years until I replaced them with something far more expensive up the MIT ladder. The Spectral is a steal and offers 80-90% of the performance as its modern siblings for a fraction of the price of the modern day spreads from Spectral or MIT. The CVT termination is the key to the entire Spectral/MIT line as it prevents back EMF from corrupting the amps. Bass has always been a strength of networked cables such as MIT and Transparent due to the impedance matching that the Zoebel networks employed provide. However there are several very good choices below for less money and this is by no means all of the choices that can be found easily on Agon.
Shunyata Aurora
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sp...the-line-2015-02-21-cables-94086-sunnyvale-ca
Spectral 770II
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sp...r-cables-2015-02-09-cables-98290-snohomish-wa
Cardas Cross
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sp...r-cable-2015-02-15-cables-20037-washington-dc
Kimber 12tc
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sp...ward-winner-2015-02-20-cables-78750-austin-tx
The top of the line speaker cable (Zitron Anaconda) now from Shunyata only cost $4k new. That is quite a drop from the $15k for the Aurora.
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I followed this thread and agree with the comments, but also have some experience with some of the speaker wire mentioned. For me a sound system is like a painting. Hopefully you are focused on the end result and not too aware of how the artist achieved that desirable end result. This is why it is impossible to determine what is best without knowing the associated components because the end result is an amalgam of the parts.
During the past several years I have used a number of different IC's, digital cables, speaker wire brands and models and many different AC products. With regard to AC products, for me it is simple, Shunyata Research's system approach creates a huge benefit in all areas and once understood is essentially impossible to be without. It probably makes more difference than any of my other components.
IC's, digital cables and speaker wire are another matter all together. They are like paints on the artist's pallet as they create the picture (the overall sound). For me the most important part of great sound is the midrange, which of course must have great bass, clarity, reality, soundstage and most important believability. I learned this years ago with a large Tannoy system that was weak on highs, okay on the bass, but exquisite on the meds
I agree with Marty's assessments about Kimber 12T, Cardas Light, Spectral 770II and Steve's comment about Shunyata Anaconda speaker wire because I have owned all of them, but currently use none of them because I use MIT Matrix HD 60, which for me is far superior in my system and to my taste. All of the others were fine and very enjoyable, but none as real when combined with my other components.
As I worked my way up the sonic ladder to my current state several things happened: 1) the cost benefit diminished seriously because the products are absurdly priced and any one change typically mandated another more costly change somewhere else; 2) my enjoyment increased dramatically because the sense of realism increased somewhat, but enough to forget that I was listening to a system; 3) I listen to music now and not my system and most important, 4) I really no longer care about what is better because I like what I have.
I am 65 and think about time more than components these days. If my system makes me happy, then great, even if it playing back the sound track of House of Cards, which is superbly done btw. If it gives me concert quality music, then even better.
What got me to this point aside from years of playing and many many dollars is the acceptance of just how much interconnects, digital cables, speaker wire and AC products matter to the overall end result of the sound just as the quality of the paints does to a painting. These components comprise more than 50% of my system cost at this point and are essential to my final experience. Like someone viewing a painting, only the listener can determine what is best for their taste.
The key is learning how the pieces go together. Just buying the products does not make a great experience.
Don't listen to the crazy naysayers here. Your question is a valid one. Every cable accentuates some frequencies and de-accentuates others. Even power cables do this.
Some cables that do a good job with midbass that come to mind are Kubala Sosna (Emotion is known for this) and Tara Labs (I haven't tried these but would like to).
everyone's room and componentry are different for the most part, so what you may recommend to your ears for mid bass may not apply with the same cable in a different room/system/ears. Cable manufacturers (good ones) strive for a relatively flat frequency response throughout the range.....hence nothing will be accomplished for the OP in this thread other than the recommendation to try various cables to see which one works best for his system, room, ears. Recommending cable brands is a waste of time in this context.
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