Speaker cable for Aelite 3 - QED silver anniversary sounds too sharp

[admin_exported]

Hi, this is my first post so please be nice, 'cos I have a few questions

My current system is an Arcam CD73, Nad C352 and Aelite 3 with qed cable (bi-wired). I had some Mission speakers before and always felt the overall tone was too bright, but I didn't think it was anything to do with the speaker cable until I read about it here.

I figured the Missions + Nad were just a bright combination and I accepted it (without being fond of it!) But now I have new speakers and the sound is still too bright. Is it more likely to be the Nad or the cable that's contributing to the brightness? I can pick up the Ixox xhs553 from Richer Sounds for £9.99 per metre (not bi-wirable), but does anyone think that might tame down the brightness? And if it manages to tame it, will I lose a lot of detail through not being able to bi-wire them with the Ixox?

I'm going to Sevenoaks hi-fi at the weekend to upgrade the interconnect for the cd player/amp (I think the one I have now is a Cambridge Audio one from Richer Sounds that cost £40) and can pick up cable there, but I don't really know what I'm looking for. If someone can give me a few ideas for cables and interconnects within the next 7 hours I'd be really grateful as I'll be heading out then.

Budget would be about £10 per metre for cable and maybe £60 for the interconnect, unless anyone thinks the proportion is wrong? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

Sorry for such an ignorant post but I want to have some idea of what to ask for when I'm out.

 

[Anonymous]

Have a listen to Chord's offerings... The Rumour speaker cable in particular which suits your budget nicely. I would ditch the QED and run single wire (which I prefer), this means you can have twice as good wire for the same money as a bi wire run of a lesser cable I would highly recommend an MIT AVT3 interconnect, although they are not sold widely in the UK. If you want to try an MIT (which you should) give Larry at the Audioworks a bell on 0161 428 7887, they may be able to lend you some, which in my opinion is a very very worthwhile excercise indeed. Have fun, Alex.

 

[batonwielder]

As far as I know NAD C352 is rather warm sounding. I've tried QED Silver Anniversary in my system, and they were quite bright without much depth. Try some copper cables and see what you think.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks BigGuads and batonwielder. It's kind of a relief to know the cable I have IS considered too bright since it's a lot cheaper to replace the cable than anything else. Now at least I have an idea of what to get.

Thanks again both of you