ProAc Studio 130

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I have a Creek evolution integrated amplifier and Creek evolution 2 cd player which connected to ProAc. Now I have Cardas crosslink - acoustic cable and chord cobra 3 - interconnect cable. I think change my acoustic and interconnect on higher cardas - cross or neutral reference. Please help me make a right choice of my cables.

P.S. Now I haven't any power cord except default with my creek and I would to know also about good power cords.
 
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Anonymous

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Does anyone have ProAc? What acoustic and interconnect cables are recommended to them?
 
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Anonymous

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Dear Yura84,

It is difficult to advise on changes, if you don't tell us what you dislike about your current system.

I use Chord cables with my system (Chameleon Silver+ and Carnival Silverscreen bi-wire), and I like it.

What do you feel is missing from your current setup?

Hedgehog

PS I also use a Chord power chord (the cheapest, forgot its name) on the CDP, and that really helped.
 
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Anonymous

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Now I have a cheap cables - cardas crosslink ~250$ and chord cobra 3 ~ 100$. I should change them on m?re expensive cables (~500$ unit). I want to hear a more details from audiorecords and a good scene. That's why I think change my cables. I like a cooper acoustic cables (without sharp sound from silver). I saw a high-price chord cables but almost all have a silver. I think they add the "silver flavour" to the sound or not? I think try in my setup a more top cables from cardas and XLO. They should have also a neutral balance just like my ProAc 130. What do you think about these cables? Which cables I should try from other brands? I need a neutral transfer of sound without "embellishments".
 

Singslinger

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Few people might think of this, but it could be worth trying Naim speaker cables (NAC A5). You can't bi-wire with them, but they are pretty decent for the price.
 
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Anonymous

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Singslinger:Few people might think of this, but it could be worth trying Naim speaker cables (NAC A5). You can't bi-wire with them, but they are pretty decent for the price.

As I know Naim speaker cables (NAC A5) give the best results only with naim and in other setup he will be useless. Of course I can take him for test but I doubt in the good results. Could you say something good about Cardas (I have a very little information about this brand)? I want to try audioquest but he is chinese brand now and not worth the attention. Could you write a few models of different cables on your discretion?
 
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Anonymous

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I have tried Cardas Golden Cross, Golden Ref and Neutral Ref. Ended up with GR interconnects and speaker wires. They were not far from each other, Cross slightly warmer and bassier, Neutral slightly less dynamic but very good. All these cables were an audiable step up from typical VDH (D-102 III, CS122) and Kimber (Hero, 8TC) that I compared with. My speakers are MA PL300, no idea how your speakers and equipment would react. Cardas higher end cables are not cheap, better to try.
 
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Anonymous

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zelkop:I have tried Cardas Golden Cross, Golden Ref and Neutral Ref. Ended up with GR interconnects and speaker wires. They were not far from each other, Cross slightly warmer and bassier, Neutral slightly less dynamic but very good. All these cables were an audiable step up from typical VDH (D-102 III, CS122) and Kimber (Hero, 8TC) that I compared with. My speakers are MA PL300, no idea how your speakers and equipment would react. Cardas higher end cables are not cheap, better to try.

Thank you. I think to try also neutral reference and cross acoustic cables. I like cooper cables better than silver for their warm and lovely sounding. Silver interconnect gives a metallic flavour in the high frequencies in the most case. I want to save a neutral tonal balance of sounding my system and don't break him.
 
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Anonymous

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Yes, there is a general thought that copper is warm, silver harsh, but in my experience it all depends on the rest of your system. And once you try really good silver cables (i.e. Kimber KS-3033), thoughts may change ... :) Again from my experience, cable differences are much easier to detect in the higher end systems. I think you will be happy with Cardas copper cables. If you fancy warm and are not able to try, start with Cross, it is warmer than Neutral Ref.
 

pete321

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I use QED Revelation speaker cable with my Studio 140's, although a silver cable it gives an articulate, but not harsh sound. For interconnect cables I use DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs.
 
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Anonymous

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pete321:I use QED Revelation speaker cable with my Studio 140's, although a silver cable it gives an articulate, but not harsh sound. For interconnect cables I use DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs.

I think that your ProAc playing on ~40% from their potential. Your cable is very low budget. Do you try connect ProAc to the more costly cables? I wonder how long your AS is warming (when you byied them)?
 

Big Chris

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Yura84:

pete321:I use QED Revelation speaker cable with my Studio 140's, although a silver cable it gives an articulate, but not harsh sound. For interconnect cables I use DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs.

I think that your ProAc playing on ~40% from their potential. Your cable is very low budget. Do you try connect ProAc to the more costly cables? I wonder how long your AS is warming (when you byied them)?

QED Revelation is £15 per metre, and they're "very low budget"? Blimey! Hope you don't come across anyone running QED Micro!
 
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Anonymous

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Big Chris:Yura84:
pete321:I use QED Revelation speaker cable with my Studio 140's, although a silver cable it gives an articulate, but not harsh sound. For interconnect cables I use DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs.

I think that your ProAc playing on ~40% from their potential. Your cable is very low budget. Do you try connect ProAc to the more costly cables? I wonder how long your AS is warming (when you byied them)?

QED Revelation is £15 per metre, and they're "very low budget"? Blimey! Hope you don't come across anyone running QED Micro!

Yes. I think that will be better take Audioquest CV-8 (80$metre) or prepared speaker cable ~ from 700$ (example for ProAc 140)

I have Dali red waves - speaker cable (10$metre) but he is a very simple acoustic cable for low-end systems and sounding respectively
 

ID.

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I like your way of thinking. Spend more on the cable than on the speakers themselves. But even at $700 per metre, how can you be sure you are getting the most from our speakers unless you buy the most expensive speaker cable? I hear Nordost Odin is suitably pricey.

Of course you could spend much less on cable, and buy speakers that cost twice as much instead, but then you'd need some really expensive cables
emotion-14.gif


Edit: Sorry, Odin is silver plated, so no good
 

drummerman

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Yura84:

pete321:I use QED Revelation speaker cable with my Studio 140's, although a silver cable it gives an articulate, but not harsh sound. For interconnect cables I use DNM Reson with Eichmann bullet plugs.

I think that your ProAc playing on ~40% from their potential. Your cable is very low budget. Do you try connect ProAc to the more costly cables? I wonder how long your AS is warming (when you byied them)?

That much?
emotion-2.gif


Well, you seem to know a lot about cables to narrow it down to %. Even more impressed that you know what a Naim cable can do in your case without having used one.

Can't help you with your query other than saying that I used a very similar cable to the Naim with my old system, which included ProAcs, to good effect. In fact, I still use the same one and have done so for a few years apart from the odd occasion when a home dem was accompanied by a dealer suggested brand of cable.
 
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Anonymous

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I just say that 10-15% of the budget is not enough for the cables. You are need a more money for quality sound. This is solved only by one way - experiment. I also doubt that naim cable can sounding for my system because he is designed only for naim's equipment.
 

pete321

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My speakers are bi-amped, that's £30 per metre, more than enough for speakers of that cost. As for the DNM Reson, don't knock it until you've tried it. I've used more expensive cables over the years and always fallen back to this one. Spend a little bit more and the Cyrus interconnect provides a little more refinement & depth with the detail.

Whilst I don't underestimate the difference good cables can make, I'm using my Proacs with an AV amp, that's going to be more of a hinderance than the cable. To spend more wouldn't be justified, I reckon you'd get better results by spending more on speakers, say going up to the Proac D18's used with QED Revelation than you would by spending a fortune on cables for Studio 130's. With respect Yura, I think you've got your priorities wrong on where to spend your money to get the best results.
 
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Anonymous

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Yura84:I just say that 10-15% of the budget is not enough for the cables. You are need a more money for quality sound. This is solved only by one way - experiment. I also doubt that naim cable can sounding for my system because he is designed only for naim's equipment.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!!!.

Yes, I believe it is true that, at one time, a 5 metre run of NAC was built in to the equation when designing Naim amps but not now. Have you ever used NAC?? Do you know what it sounds like??. I doubt it. From your previous posts, you seem to rate your cable by the dollar. That doesn't work. The fact of the matter is that NAC works with any system. I know. I've used it.
 

SteveR750

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Ricky, out of interest, what cable do you use for internal connections? and what about the coil? The thing that I struggle with is the huge cost of supposedly technical connection between amp and speaker, but what about the bit between terminal and driver.....
 
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Anonymous

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As for ProAc D 18 - He is not suitable for my room (18 square meters) - studio 130 is top for such small room. Unfortunately I can't take qed speaker cable for test in my setup and nothing to say about this cable. I already contracted with my friend about test of nice interconnect - Audioquest jaguar and today I got the other interconnect - taralabs spectrum (I already tested him but difference is very small with my chord). By the way - the difference between interconnect cables depends more from sensivity stereo components and the most - is not sensitive. I definitely know that my Creek is sensitive to the interconnect and I will be try further in the search of most successful.
 
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Anonymous

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EB Ricky:
Yura84:I just say that 10-15% of the budget is not enough for the cables. You are need a more money for quality sound. This is solved only by one way - experiment. I also doubt that naim cable can sounding for my system because he is designed only for naim's equipment.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!!!.

Yes, I believe it is true that, at one time, a 5 metre run of NAC was built in to the equation when designing Naim amps but not now. Have you ever used NAC?? Do you know what it sounds like??. I doubt it. From your previous posts, you seem to rate your cable by the dollar. That doesn't work. The fact of the matter is that NAC works with any system. I know. I've used it.

I know a naim's products - Nac 122x and Nap 150x. My friends have them (with ProAc studio 110). This is a very good and musicial device but I don't like Naim in generally for various reasons.

By the way what setup you have?
 
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Anonymous

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SteveR750:Ricky, out of interest, what cable do you use for internal connections? and what about the coil? The thing that I struggle with is the huge cost of supposedly technical connection between amp and speaker, but what about the bit between terminal and driver.....

I know you didn't ask me, but all I can suggest is that the cables chosen by the designers of the amp and the designers of the speakers were a known factor for them. They chose whatever cable they did to get the performance they wanted. And it's sort of a moot point because you cannot do anything about it now. You can't change them. But what can change is the speaker cables and the interconnects you use to hook everything up, and when the signal is running through those things they have the potential to mess things up.

I visited a dealer here a week ago. I brought my amp and speakers to his shop, along with my cables. We tried various things to improve the sound and one of them that worked was a change of speaker cables. It was a big improvement and came as a big surprise to me. So I will be moving from my Atlas cables to a set of LFD cables. Now there is nothing wrong with my Atlas cables, but as the dealer explained (and I might be messing up his explanation), you have to match the load of the amp with that of the cable. It went something like that. In short, he said certain cables have always worked well with Exposure amps, and LFD was one of them. And when we put the LFD into the chain the sound became a lot more organic and natural, and the organization seemed to improve.

So I believe the key is really in how the amp and cables work together. Can you know what cable will work ahead of time? I don't think so, you just have to try it and see how it sounds. By the way, if you are using terminated jumper cables try switching those out for short runs of unterminated speaker cable. This along with the LFD speaker cables made a huge difference for me.
 
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Anonymous

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Fusion:
SteveR750:Ricky, out of interest, what cable do you use for internal connections? and what about the coil? The thing that I struggle with is the huge cost of supposedly technical connection between amp and speaker, but what about the bit between terminal and driver.....

I know you didn't ask me, but all I can suggest is that the cables chosen by the designers of the amp and the designers of the speakers were a known factor for them. They chose whatever cable they did to get the performance they wanted. And it's sort of a moot point because you cannot do anything about it now. You can't change them. But what can change is the speaker cables and the interconnects you use to hook everything up, and when the signal is running through those things they have the potential to mess things up.

I visited a dealer here a week ago. I brought my amp and speakers to his shop, along with my cables. We tried various things to improve the sound and one of them that worked was a change of speaker cables. It was a big improvement and came as a big surprise to me. So I will be moving from my Atlas cables to a set of LFD cables. Now there is nothing wrong with my Atlas cables, but as the dealer explained (and I might be messing up his explanation), you have to match the load of the amp with that of the cable. It went something like that. In short, he said certain cables have always worked well with Exposure amps, and LFD was one of them. And when we put the LFD into the chain the sound became a lot more organic and natural, and the organization seemed to improve.

So I believe the key is really in how the amp and cables work together. Can you know what cable will work ahead of time? I don't think so, you just have to try it and see how it sounds. By the way, if you are using terminated jumper cables try switching those out for short runs of unterminated speaker cable. This along with the LFD speaker cables made a huge difference for me.

Your post is very interesting but I don't understand which cable change your system?

By the way - Atlas cables are is worst of cable's brands. That's why the changes in sounding are so huge.
 
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Anonymous

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I have Proac speakers and use Van den hul interconects and chord oddy 4 speaker cable.

You may not be served well spending so much on cables with the creek evo's.

I have had creek evo amp before and creek use DNM cable with the epos speakers they are designed to be used with.

Atlas cables are very good and wel recieved in the hifi press.

What is it your trying to improve in your system?

Save your money and put it towards an upgrade in amp.....
 

drummerman

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Yura84:

... I want to try audioquest but he is chinese brand now and not worth the attention ...

Whilst I can't comment on audioquests quality or otherwise, I find your statement slightly questionable.

I appreciate the difference cables can make but I think potboy's advise on keeping it realistic considering the system you have seems entirely reasonable.
 

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