After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Interconnect advice
- Thread starter Kevin Stephens
- Start date
I think that the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus would be ideal. I discovered it when I was trying to inject a bit more balance into a bright system and it worked well. Why? The biggest change was in the bass, with more of it addressing the tonal balance nicely.
See if you can borrow one from a dealer to see what you think. I've heard that Atlas cables are quite good at this too, as are VDH. I have no direct experience of these two at home.
See if you can borrow one from a dealer to see what you think. I've heard that Atlas cables are quite good at this too, as are VDH. I have no direct experience of these two at home.
Try some out at home - I have to say my experience has been that I don't see a difference on cables going from around a tenner up to £60-odd of the ones I've used (Audioquest, Monster, Van den Hul, QED) against my current one. I found the construction and content of the wire more important, so bear that in mind when taking the various brands into account. Home loan's the way to go though if you can and I think there's a good few dealers who'll accommodate this.
as you are using the Chord Odyssey 2 speaker cable i would go with the chord chameleon silver plus too, i'm currently saving to upgrade to these.
id recommend van damme LC-OFC which is generally far cheaper than the named brands and far better quality
Kevin Stephens:
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
shooter69:Kevin Stephens:
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Good point shooter. A quick dealer loan of some cables should help to solve or eliminate the easy option first.
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Good point shooter. A quick dealer loan of some cables should help to solve or eliminate the easy option first.
igglebert:shooter69:Kevin Stephens:
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Good point shooter. A quick dealer loan of some cables should help to solve or eliminate the easy option first.
After initially being very pleased with my system being very clean and analytical I'm beginning to feel some more warmth would be good when listening to CDs, I'm beginning to think my 15 year old Cambridge Audio "Studio Reference" interconnects may be the weak link, the tuner sounds very musical and emotive through the amp but lacks the detail of my CD player. I'm thinking the CA interconnects may be OK for the old budget tuner but restricting the CD player and that a better matched (more expensive!") interconnect would improve enoyment of my CDs. I'm rather sceptical of spending lotsof money on bits of wire but I would appreciate it if anyone can give me specific advice based on the kit in my signature before I go to my dealer to ask for home demo loan of some potential upgrades
Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital.
MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Good point shooter. A quick dealer loan of some cables should help to solve or eliminate the easy option first.
shooter69:Kevin Stephens: Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital. MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Interestingly my "Analytical" CD player sounded a lot warmer and musical when my dealer was testing it through a Quad 909 system after repairing the transport. I'm not convinced all the difference was due to the different and more expensive amplification. This points to the interconnects being the weak link
I'll call into Doug Brady at the weekend and see if they can lend me some better / more suitable interconnects so I can compare them with the existing old CA leads. The list price of the amp and CD was 1k each, is there a benchmark on how much I should be prepared to spend on interconnects? Woulsd it be worth trying some of those fancy mains leads too?
Interestingly my "Analytical" CD player sounded a lot warmer and musical when my dealer was testing it through a Quad 909 system after repairing the transport. I'm not convinced all the difference was due to the different and more expensive amplification. This points to the interconnects being the weak link
I'll call into Doug Brady at the weekend and see if they can lend me some better / more suitable interconnects so I can compare them with the existing old CA leads. The list price of the amp and CD was 1k each, is there a benchmark on how much I should be prepared to spend on interconnects? Woulsd it be worth trying some of those fancy mains leads too?
Personally I think the mains leads can add to the improvements, nothing massive but enough to make them worthwhile.
How much to spend on ICs? Whatever it takes. For that system consider trying cables in the league of the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus (£130 'ish).
Is there a chance that your room's acoustics are making things sound the way they are? Do you toe the speakers in? Try moving them out a bit. What about room reflections? Here's a guide that may help or may just be teaching you to suck eggs.
How much to spend on ICs? Whatever it takes. For that system consider trying cables in the league of the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus (£130 'ish).
Is there a chance that your room's acoustics are making things sound the way they are? Do you toe the speakers in? Try moving them out a bit. What about room reflections? Here's a guide that may help or may just be teaching you to suck eggs.
If you go for a mains lead, in my experience it needs to be a good 'un. I also preferred the vdh D102 III to the Chord Silver Plus.
Gusboll
Well-known member
See also this thread on Silver High Breed which I hope to add to once I've reviewed my new pair:
http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/478184.aspx
http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/478184.aspx
Kevin Stephens:
shooter69:Kevin Stephens: Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital. MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Interestingly my "Analytical" CD player sounded a lot warmer and musical when my dealer was testing it through a Quad 909 system after repairing the transport. I'm not convinced all the difference was due to the different and more expensive amplification. This points to the interconnects being the weak link
I'll call into Doug Brady at the weekend and see if they can lend me some better / more suitable interconnects so I can compare them with the existing old CA leads. The list price of the amp and CD was 1k each, is there a benchmark on how much I should be prepared to spend on interconnects? Woulsd it be worth trying some of those fancy mains leads too?
It could be worth finding out what interconnects your dealer was using when you was testing the repaired CD.
I'm not sure interconnects can change a presentation from analytical to warm, more detail to soft or loose IMO.
From personnel viewpoint i've tried VDH and found them a bit wooly around the edges. I've only tried Chord iChord so cant comment on their interconnects.
I do use Kimber and found the Timbre at around £140 very good and compared it directly to a +1k cable and came in very close sonically just a little lacking in overall weight of presentation, but what would you expect?
You can get Kimber from Russ Andrews and they give a 60 day home trial service with a no quibble return.
shooter69:Kevin Stephens: Hmm, if your using the CA inters for the CD and tuner what your hearing is the difference in organic analog and analytical digital. MF gear is analytical, high in detail etc. (except Nu-Vista) and the interconnects by all accounts are good so changing those wont really help IMO. I think you need to look at a decent outboard DAC, maybe a pre-owed Chord QBD or valve DAC to give you the emotive organic sound your after.
Interestingly my "Analytical" CD player sounded a lot warmer and musical when my dealer was testing it through a Quad 909 system after repairing the transport. I'm not convinced all the difference was due to the different and more expensive amplification. This points to the interconnects being the weak link
I'll call into Doug Brady at the weekend and see if they can lend me some better / more suitable interconnects so I can compare them with the existing old CA leads. The list price of the amp and CD was 1k each, is there a benchmark on how much I should be prepared to spend on interconnects? Woulsd it be worth trying some of those fancy mains leads too?
It could be worth finding out what interconnects your dealer was using when you was testing the repaired CD.
I'm not sure interconnects can change a presentation from analytical to warm, more detail to soft or loose IMO.
From personnel viewpoint i've tried VDH and found them a bit wooly around the edges. I've only tried Chord iChord so cant comment on their interconnects.
I do use Kimber and found the Timbre at around £140 very good and compared it directly to a +1k cable and came in very close sonically just a little lacking in overall weight of presentation, but what would you expect?
You can get Kimber from Russ Andrews and they give a 60 day home trial service with a no quibble return.
Steady on with some of this stuff - bog standard generic can work well; the mark-up on this stuff is frightening (ever wondered why dealers will sometimes chuck in a pair of cables for free when you've bought some new kit?) so before you start swallowing the "it's in a fancy box so it must be good" chat, put some store in weighing up the differences. Compare, it'll cost you - what - a tenner for the cheapie one? Have a mate swap them round. See if you can tell the difference. Come on here and wax lyrical by all means, but don't be too surprised if the difference is negligible to the point of "is there one...?".
the record spot:Steady on with some of this stuff - bog standard generic can work well; the mark-up on this stuff is frightening (ever wondered why dealers will sometimes chuck in a pair of cables for free when you've bought some new kit?) so before you start swallowing the "it's in a fancy box so it must be good" chat, put some store in weighing up the differences. Compare, it'll cost you - what - a tenner for the cheapie one? Have a mate swap them round. See if you can tell the difference. Come on here and wax lyrical by all means, but don't be too surprised if the difference is negligible to the point of "is there one...?".
Fair comment RS, but if Kevin is looking for cable advise then what do we do? Not give it?
All i can do is inform from experience and advise accordingly. I've owned cables ranging from free to +1K of certain brands. I like to use Cardas and Kimber and the service from Russ Andrews is excellent regarding the Home Trial and returns policy. This way you can make your own mind up from any advise given.
Fair comment RS, but if Kevin is looking for cable advise then what do we do? Not give it?
All i can do is inform from experience and advise accordingly. I've owned cables ranging from free to +1K of certain brands. I like to use Cardas and Kimber and the service from Russ Andrews is excellent regarding the Home Trial and returns policy. This way you can make your own mind up from any advise given.
idc
Well-known member
Both views on cables need to be presented. The view that cables either provide no or negligible differences (attenuation of the volume only) is an important balance to claims certain cables sound better than others and can affect sound quality in specific ways e.g "buy 'Chomber' cables and you will get a wider sound stage".
Saying cables make no difference and you may as well buy a cheap, well made made one is not the same as giving no advice.
My advice is not to buy any IC as the ones you have are perfectly good. If you do want those new ones, make sure you get someone to do a blind test on you swapping the ICs around to see if you can really hear a difference. Then decide if they are worth keeping.
Saying cables make no difference and you may as well buy a cheap, well made made one is not the same as giving no advice.
My advice is not to buy any IC as the ones you have are perfectly good. If you do want those new ones, make sure you get someone to do a blind test on you swapping the ICs around to see if you can really hear a difference. Then decide if they are worth keeping.
I'm a believer that changing I/Cs can affect your sound.
When I first bought my system in '02, it came with a free pair of VDHs 'The Bay' I/Cs (about £40/£50 IIRC).
These were fine to start with, but I became bored with the sound I had (Too wooly & dull). I didn't have the means to alter my core components, so thought I'd have a shot at some new I/Cs. I managed to snag some Kimber Silver Streaks off eBay for £60 (Current RRP £250). This was in '04. I think I even managed to get 20 quid or so for my VDHs.
The sound was drastically different. The soundstage was much wider and the top end was much clearer, (if a little too pronounced) than it was with my VDHs. I was very happy with the change. Ideally, I wanted a cable that had 75% of the traits of the Kimber and 25% of the VDHs. Clarity and drive across all frequencies.
I ran the SSs quite happily for 6 years, I used them when upgrading my CDP and amp last year. Until buying a power amp required 2 pairs of matching I/Cs for seamless biamping. The SSs are just flat out too pricey to buy new, and there was a dearth of them on the used market. So I took a bit of a gamble. Atlas Titan I/Cs are being discontinued and there were some great prices out there for brand new ones (I paid £82 per 0.5m pair, RRP was £250). I thought that if I'd made a terrible mistake, I could get my money back without too much hassle selling them on.
Now this is the sound I've been after. No area has been enhanced or left out. A very neutral sound but plenty of drive and punch.
Some may tell me that the changes I've noticed are all a figment of my fevered imagination, and as I have no actual proof of anything, just my own honest assessment, I'll have to take whatever comes my way.
When I first bought my system in '02, it came with a free pair of VDHs 'The Bay' I/Cs (about £40/£50 IIRC).
These were fine to start with, but I became bored with the sound I had (Too wooly & dull). I didn't have the means to alter my core components, so thought I'd have a shot at some new I/Cs. I managed to snag some Kimber Silver Streaks off eBay for £60 (Current RRP £250). This was in '04. I think I even managed to get 20 quid or so for my VDHs.
The sound was drastically different. The soundstage was much wider and the top end was much clearer, (if a little too pronounced) than it was with my VDHs. I was very happy with the change. Ideally, I wanted a cable that had 75% of the traits of the Kimber and 25% of the VDHs. Clarity and drive across all frequencies.
I ran the SSs quite happily for 6 years, I used them when upgrading my CDP and amp last year. Until buying a power amp required 2 pairs of matching I/Cs for seamless biamping. The SSs are just flat out too pricey to buy new, and there was a dearth of them on the used market. So I took a bit of a gamble. Atlas Titan I/Cs are being discontinued and there were some great prices out there for brand new ones (I paid £82 per 0.5m pair, RRP was £250). I thought that if I'd made a terrible mistake, I could get my money back without too much hassle selling them on.
Now this is the sound I've been after. No area has been enhanced or left out. A very neutral sound but plenty of drive and punch.
Some may tell me that the changes I've noticed are all a figment of my fevered imagination, and as I have no actual proof of anything, just my own honest assessment, I'll have to take whatever comes my way.
shooter69:
Fair comment RS, but if Kevin is looking for cable advise then what do we do? Not give it?
All i can do is inform from experience and advise accordingly. I've owned cables ranging from free to +1K of certain brands. I like to use Cardas and Kimber and the service from Russ Andrews is excellent regarding the Home Trial and returns policy. This way you can make your own mind up from any advise given.
Fair comment likewise shotter, but if Kevin is looking for cable advice, it's as valid to point out that the construction and capability of what a cable can do/achieve is as valid, if not moreso, than what a cable manufacturer peddling to the domestic audio market claims it can.
There's a big difference between saying "cables make no difference" to "in my experience, a cable of (such and such construction and content) performs no differently from the cheapest up to one costing ten times as much" - in effect, that is my point.
Fair comment RS, but if Kevin is looking for cable advise then what do we do? Not give it?
All i can do is inform from experience and advise accordingly. I've owned cables ranging from free to +1K of certain brands. I like to use Cardas and Kimber and the service from Russ Andrews is excellent regarding the Home Trial and returns policy. This way you can make your own mind up from any advise given.
Fair comment likewise shotter, but if Kevin is looking for cable advice, it's as valid to point out that the construction and capability of what a cable can do/achieve is as valid, if not moreso, than what a cable manufacturer peddling to the domestic audio market claims it can.
There's a big difference between saying "cables make no difference" to "in my experience, a cable of (such and such construction and content) performs no differently from the cheapest up to one costing ten times as much" - in effect, that is my point.
Thanks for the response. Today I borrowed sets of Chord Chameleon Plus, Chord Chorus 2 and VDH First Ultimate from my dealer Doug Brady. I've had an interesing evening testing them on a range of music. My findings below may be of interest to those faced with a similar problem and/or similar equipment.
As mentioned in the OP I was a little disapointed in the sound from my system, being rather less than the sum of the parts and suspected the old interconnects as being responsible for the lack of warmth and musicality (for want of a real adjective). Being an engineer I am a little sceptical over magical powers of bits of wire but also open to the possibility that poor bits of wire may be blocking or distorting the weak signal between the CD and amp; so I tested the cables with as much of an open mind as I could. All of them seem expensive for bits of wire, but I would be happy to achieve an incremental improvement equivalent to spending similar money on a more expensive amp/CD/speakers.
First music Joni Mitchell Hits (repeated Chelsea Morning, Big Yellow Taxi and California a couple of times) with my current vintage 20 year old Cambridge Audio cables; I wanted to remind myself of what I disliked with the sound. Most noticably a shrillness to upper frequencies and a general lack of emotion. Next up the Chameleon plus, immediate rounding of the sharp edges, more rounded sound and lost most of the shrillness, also maybe a little better definition to the soundstage. (Hmm maybe there's something to this interconnect lark!). I expected that to be end of story as the percieved wisdom here and elsewhere is that the price point of the Chameleon Plus is appropriate for the rest of my system, just to confirm with the Chorus 2............
Wow, like the Chorus 2 is the final destination with the Chameleons only being half way there, much more tune to the bass and real emotion to the music. I switched back and forth between the Chorus, Chameleon and CA a few times to make sure the difference wasn't due the the gear warming up and/or me chilling out but this only confimed the benefit of the Chorus
Next stop the VDH, similar price to the Chorus so i had high expectations - but no good on my system; I lost a lot of treble and bass definition, which I had just found by GS10 speakers can excel at with the Chorus 2.
Time to change the record (CD) Stones let it Bleed and specificaly Gimmie Shelter and You Got The Silver. This followed the same pattern as Joni with the Chameleon being a noticible but incomplete improvement over the CA. The most striking difference with the Chorus us a big whole opening in the floor re tuneful base and just so much more musical. I was begining to realise that the VDH (on my system anyway) is maybe better suited to those who prefer "like a Rolling Stone" sung by Andy Williams than Bob Dylan.
Corine Bailey Rae Just Like a Star: CA: Cold shoulder, Chameleon: well maybe?, Chorus 2: on my lap
Change to Classical with Mahler 9 (Deutshe Grammaphon, Pierre Boulez) first up VDH - wow! opening bars suddenly sound sublime but loses it when the brass and lots of other stuff comes in. Looking forward to the Chorus but the opening now sounds less good then the VDH, however Chorus holds it together when the brass etc.. Intersting the strength of the VDH seems to be on mid range which may be good on some systems. Once again the Chamleon only seems half way there. keen to explore the VDH/Chorus difference I went to Schubert Piano Sonata 21. SLightlu disconcerted wiht weird background noises on both cables then realised it is pianist breathing (not noticable on CA interconnects) The comparioson confirmed that the VDH was agin not up to the Chorus.
next up Led Zep 3. The Immigrand Song confirms that no interconnect can convert the GS10s to a Marshal Stack. However the more tuneful bass riffs on "Since I've been Loving You" and "Gallows Pole" stand out much more on the Chorus than the other options.
Conclusions:
Cheap or old cables stifle good components, good cables can realise potential of good components. I suspect there is a great profit margin on cables but they are probably better value than more expensive components with poor cables. I'm not sure if some expensive cables are not very good or just more suited to addressing particular system foibles
Upgrading to Chorus 2 enables my system to give a sound very close to what I heard when my CD player was on test with the Quad system in the dealership as i mentioned in my earlier post.
Over and out.
As mentioned in the OP I was a little disapointed in the sound from my system, being rather less than the sum of the parts and suspected the old interconnects as being responsible for the lack of warmth and musicality (for want of a real adjective). Being an engineer I am a little sceptical over magical powers of bits of wire but also open to the possibility that poor bits of wire may be blocking or distorting the weak signal between the CD and amp; so I tested the cables with as much of an open mind as I could. All of them seem expensive for bits of wire, but I would be happy to achieve an incremental improvement equivalent to spending similar money on a more expensive amp/CD/speakers.
First music Joni Mitchell Hits (repeated Chelsea Morning, Big Yellow Taxi and California a couple of times) with my current vintage 20 year old Cambridge Audio cables; I wanted to remind myself of what I disliked with the sound. Most noticably a shrillness to upper frequencies and a general lack of emotion. Next up the Chameleon plus, immediate rounding of the sharp edges, more rounded sound and lost most of the shrillness, also maybe a little better definition to the soundstage. (Hmm maybe there's something to this interconnect lark!). I expected that to be end of story as the percieved wisdom here and elsewhere is that the price point of the Chameleon Plus is appropriate for the rest of my system, just to confirm with the Chorus 2............
Wow, like the Chorus 2 is the final destination with the Chameleons only being half way there, much more tune to the bass and real emotion to the music. I switched back and forth between the Chorus, Chameleon and CA a few times to make sure the difference wasn't due the the gear warming up and/or me chilling out but this only confimed the benefit of the Chorus
Next stop the VDH, similar price to the Chorus so i had high expectations - but no good on my system; I lost a lot of treble and bass definition, which I had just found by GS10 speakers can excel at with the Chorus 2.
Time to change the record (CD) Stones let it Bleed and specificaly Gimmie Shelter and You Got The Silver. This followed the same pattern as Joni with the Chameleon being a noticible but incomplete improvement over the CA. The most striking difference with the Chorus us a big whole opening in the floor re tuneful base and just so much more musical. I was begining to realise that the VDH (on my system anyway) is maybe better suited to those who prefer "like a Rolling Stone" sung by Andy Williams than Bob Dylan.
Corine Bailey Rae Just Like a Star: CA: Cold shoulder, Chameleon: well maybe?, Chorus 2: on my lap
Change to Classical with Mahler 9 (Deutshe Grammaphon, Pierre Boulez) first up VDH - wow! opening bars suddenly sound sublime but loses it when the brass and lots of other stuff comes in. Looking forward to the Chorus but the opening now sounds less good then the VDH, however Chorus holds it together when the brass etc.. Intersting the strength of the VDH seems to be on mid range which may be good on some systems. Once again the Chamleon only seems half way there. keen to explore the VDH/Chorus difference I went to Schubert Piano Sonata 21. SLightlu disconcerted wiht weird background noises on both cables then realised it is pianist breathing (not noticable on CA interconnects) The comparioson confirmed that the VDH was agin not up to the Chorus.
next up Led Zep 3. The Immigrand Song confirms that no interconnect can convert the GS10s to a Marshal Stack. However the more tuneful bass riffs on "Since I've been Loving You" and "Gallows Pole" stand out much more on the Chorus than the other options.
Conclusions:
Cheap or old cables stifle good components, good cables can realise potential of good components. I suspect there is a great profit margin on cables but they are probably better value than more expensive components with poor cables. I'm not sure if some expensive cables are not very good or just more suited to addressing particular system foibles
Upgrading to Chorus 2 enables my system to give a sound very close to what I heard when my CD player was on test with the Quad system in the dealership as i mentioned in my earlier post.
Over and out.
Well Kevin, based on your findings you have just found my next cable. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself to stop at the CSP but I still get niggling feelings that I can get a tidier sound with more openness. Of course, for the new price of the Chorus 2 you can have one of Chord's new Cadenza cables. Food for thought. Now, ebay....
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
igglebert:Well Kevin, based on your findings you have just found my next cable. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself to stop at the CSP but I still get niggling feelings that I can get a tidier sound with more openness. Of course, for the new price of the Chorus 2 you can have one of Chord's new Cadenza cables. Food for thought. Now, ebay....Thanks for sharing.You might be better off eschewing ebay for the cables and audition a range from your local HiFi shops, as you would for any other piece of equipment.
I'm assuming interconnect cables make a difference, of course, though I couldn't hear any between the ones I auditioned.
I'm assuming interconnect cables make a difference, of course, though I couldn't hear any between the ones I auditioned.
Well if you buy a used cable on ebay there's usually a good chance you can get back all or most of what you paid for it in the same place. My nearest Chord dealer is miles away and I'd have to do four trips to borrow cables, so I'd rather just take my chances. I don't think he stocks anything either!! I won't be doing so for a while anyway, other things to think about. For the price of a couple of Chorus cables I can monoblock my Quad!
igglebert:. For the price of a couple of Chorus cables I can monoblock my Quad!
Yes but which will make the greatest improvement to the sound? I suspect you may be surprised.
Yes but which will make the greatest improvement to the sound? I suspect you may be surprised.
Well, I've tried the Nordost Baldur (£370) cable and found benefit but I can't imagine it'd give me the benefits that doubling current availability would. I'll find out in good time!
idc
Well-known member
To actually audition the sound of a new IC you should get a mate to swap cables without you knowing which is which. Otherwise you are really auditioning the price, looks, brand image and reviews of the cables.
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