looking for new interconnect...

indietronic

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rca2rca cable needed to connect amp with cd player... [gear is : nad 7001 amp (all capacitors changed with new made in jap, slightly bigger capacity) , marantz 5003 cd, epos m12.2 speakers.

what i use now is a €20 (?r so) oehlbach interconnect .. what i really need is to get a richer wider (taller and longer, you know what i mean) soundstage and a TIGHTER bass.... i put on some ixos studio second-hand ic that i friend of mine was selling the other day and heard BIG difference.. it was expensive so i didnt buy it though.

lenght should be at least 80cm, even better 1m.

i read about chord, qed, nordost and van den hul . i dont want to spend a fortune, and am sure that i can achieve big results with little money in the area of cables...

finally i've seen this : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WBT-0144-Interconnects-OFC-Cable-Best-RCA-Phono-1m_W0QQitemZ300306275485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item300306275485&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

on ebay . has anyone tried it yet ?

so please suggest some good interconnect (with a price up to 60-80€, if i can get a much better soundstage and a tighter bass (than what i get with my current oehlbach) with even less money. it would be even better !

thank you

indietronic
 

lazar1980

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Dont have experience with cable you mentioned, but take time and look at this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chord-Company-Crimson-Interconnect-1-0-Metre-Pair_W0QQitemZ250396763644QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item250396763644&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chord-Company-Cobra-3-Interconnect-1-0-Metre-Pair_W0QQitemZ250400008500QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item250400008500&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
 

stephennic

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Hi,

I recommend the chord crimson - nice warm fairly detailed for the price, chord cobra 3 is more detailed and open but a little more expensive. The van den hul 102iii I found a little bright or harsh on my system - not recommend. The kimbers PBJ are lovely tight bass (not as fat as chord) slightly brighter thinner sound but more dynamic. The new Kimber timbre are good too (some say slightly smoother than pbj).

Cheers,

Steve.
 

indietronic

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stephennic:
Hi,

I recommend the chord crimson - nice warm fairly detailed for the price, chord cobra 3 is more detailed and open but a little more expensive. The van den hul 102iii I found a little bright or harsh on my system - not recommend. The kimbers PBJ are lovely tight bass (not as fat as chord) slightly brighter thinner sound but more dynamic. The new Kimber timbre are good too (some say slightly smoother than pbj).

Cheers,

Steve.

thank you Steve, can you describe the character of cobra3 ? and compare it with Chord Chameleon Silver Plus? and all these compared to nordost sound ? i like nordost from what i've listened to (mainly red dawn).

what i want to say is that if i get MUCH MUCH better soundstage AND a tighter bass (than my current Oehlbach budget cable) with some badget Chord (perhaps) cobra 3 it's ok i'll go for it. But if the difference between chord3 and chameleon silver plus (in soundstage and basstight) is huge i'll buy csp .. i dont think i like vdh character...it's not as transparent as nordost... anyway ..
 

stephennic

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Hi,

Well the chord crimson, is fairly detailed, warm musical a safe interconnect for a starter system(for e.g. Cambridge 340c. The chord cobra 3 is more open in the mids a little cleaner and bit more air up top with a little more detail and sightly larger soundstage ( better for mid price system like cambridge 640c v2 and above). The vandenhul I found not as natural sounding for e.g. voices sound more processed and harsher. The kimbers I like -the Kimber pbj is leaner than the chords but clearer not as warm but punchy/tighter bass cleaner mids maybe not as smooth than the cobra 3 but more lively or exciting . The kimber hero is nice but a little rolled off at the top end (lacks a little sparkle) and has a fatter sound.

The nordost blue heaven is certaintly more detailed and open but on some systems can be a bit bright and clinical - the nordost red dawn I found to be smoother. The nordost sound pretty ordinary new and take quite awhile to lose some of their harshness/brittleness but when burned in can be impressive on a warm to neutral system. The Nordost blue heaven can be a bit lean, some say lacks bass but I say it has a fast lean bass that can impress - it is a very transparent cable. The chord chamelon silver plus I have not heard - but people who compared them them with NB Heaven say the Chord has a fuller bass and it is warmer tone and is perhaps safer on brighter systems.

Please note these are interconnects that I have tried on my system with a valve pre and Rotel power amp with B&W speakers with a consonance cd player. These interconnects may sound different on your system as they interact with your components and always try before you buy. I have bought interconects like vandenhul and they did not work well on my system. I tried Ithe cheaper IXOS and QED not bad, but I found on my system not as good as chord, kimber and nordost.

All the best.

Steve,
 

jaxwired

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I've used the Chord Crimson and the Chameleon Silver Plus with my NAD kit. I found the Crimson to be fantastic for the money. Great detail and clarity. Big improvement over the audioquest interconnect I was using. However, the crimson lost some of the bass that the audioquest provided. This was acceptable to me though because the detail was so great.

Recently switched to the Chameleon Silver Plus and this cable has the detail and clarity of the crimson, but with much more solid low frequency content. I highly recommend the chameleon if you can swing it.
 
A

Anonymous

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The Crimson is excellent value for money and a fair all-rounder. The Cobra 2 (I haven't tried the 3) is rubbish so don't bother. The CSM is superb but you might open the floodgates to the bass so an audition is probably worthwhile. The Blue Heaven would trim big bass quite nicely but seems to be quite bright to my ears.

The only way to be sure is to try some from a local hifi dealer if you can. It opened my eyes (ears?!).
 

indietronic

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oehlbach-NF-Set-ICE-blue/dp/B000P8AO2G

this is the one i use right now Oehlbach NF SET ICE BLUE 1,0m. i cannot say i'm satisfied. i get boomy bass and less detail than i.e. ixos, and the soundstage is narrow (just around the speakers) i realised all these when i put on that used ixos...

so, you believe that chord crimson will do a definite difference from what i get with Oehlbach NF SET ICE BLUE ?

i'd be happy to spend just around ?40 (that's the cost of crimson 1m) BUT please help me decide whether cobra3 or even Chameleon Silver Plus would be an even better choice for my system . all i want is to get clearer sound with more detail, more open and wide soundstage, and a TIGHTER bass....i don't want to go boomy no way. that's why i'm not sure about van den hul...

anyway, which chord 1m for me ?

anyone with opinion on this : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WBT-0144-Interconnects-OFC-Cable-Best-RCA-Phono-1m_W0QQitemZ300306275485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item300306275485&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

finally is there someone that has experienced a-b comparison between each pair of the following three crimson, cobra 3, CSM especially between Crimson and Cobra3 ...
 

chebby

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Hmmm.

I was going to ask a similar question today.

I already use 0.5m Chord Crimson betwixt DAC and Solo-Mini and a 2m pair Chord Carnival Silver speaker cables.

I was going to suggest changing to 0.5m Chord Cobra 3 (for the extra clarity and better imagery) and a 1.5m factory terminated pair of Chord Carnival Silverscreen (copper with no silver plating despite name) to see if it makes a difference.

So it seems Chord Cobra is rubbish?

Maybe I should stick with the Crimson and just do the speaker cable.

Thanks for answering my question too.

PS Not 'fault fixing' here but just wanting to enhance the extra space and clarity I am now getting since the DAC upgrade and rid speaker connections of silver plating to see what will happen. (Ok, ok I fancied a payday 'tweak' and both 'upgrades' would cost about £40 from the Chord outlet on ebay.)
 
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Anonymous

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chebby:So it seems Chord Cobra is rubbish?
Sorry, my technical analysis was rather unhelpful. I spent hours comparing I/Cs with a friend and the Cobra 2 I had at the time was one of them. If you can excuse the terribly subjective environment we were testing/playing in, we both agreed that the Cobra 2 lacked. The Chord Chameleon was a good step up and was more bassy and open. More signal!

For you Chebby, I'd heartily recommend the Chameleon as an upgrade from the Crimson. I'm not sure that the (on paper) advantages of the Cobra 3 will be enough to make you feel that you've made an upgrade.

For someone trying to reign in bass, the Nordost Blue Heaven is well worth trying. I'm sure there's a lot of good cables to try out there but life's too short. If I were to upgrade from the Chameleon then I'd just order a Nordost Baldur as it performs well in my system. I'm not going to though
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