Audioquest cables with DBS

eteller

Addicted Member
Anybody got em' thoughts? I'm putting together a small system and just swapped a Evergreen from pre to amp with a Big Sur and the wife heard the difference, I've heard the cables with DBS are impressive. I want advice before I drop $259 on a 0.6m Victoria.
 
Last edited:
I use CV-6 speaker cable with DBS and Jaguar IC's with DBS (pre-amp to x-over). I've played with a number of AQ DBS cables and they are good. if you fall into the camp of folks who hear a difference in cables (some do and some don't) then they are worth the coin - great cables. I'm not sure that they are "better" than some other cable w/o DBS, but the DBS system does something - and it is good. I also make a lot of my own IC's (tri-amped system) using a high quality solid core pure silver IC cable and quality RCA's and or XLR's (as is needed) and I have to say that I like those quite well also . But ... you won't go wrong with AQ DBS cables, and if I felt comfortable parting with the cash - I'd use them on all my IC's and speaker runs.
 
Yes.

I went up the AQ interconnect and speaker cabling line and tried several others before finding what I believe is the synergistic sweet spot.

Surprisingly an older set of Jaguar 48DBS interconnects won my own in-house shoot out.

Rockefeller 36DBS speaker cables were not a good match for my system setup.

So, imho, it's about ears on listening to pick what works best.
 
I use CV-6 speaker cable with DBS and Jaguar IC's with DBS (pre-amp to x-over). I've played with a number of AQ DBS cables and they are good. if you fall into the camp of folks who hear a difference in cables (some do and some don't) then they are worth the coin - great cables. I'm not sure that they are "better" than some other cable w/o DBS, but the DBS system does something - and it is good. I also make a lot of my own IC's (tri-amped system) using a high quality solid core pure silver IC cable and quality RCA's and or XLR's (as is needed) and I have to say that I like those quite well also . But ... you won't go wrong with AQ DBS cables, and if I felt comfortable parting with the cash - I'd use them on all my IC's and speaker runs.

This brings up a good point where do you source your silver wire from please? I want to make a nice ground wire and might play with IC's.
 
This brings up a good point where do you source your silver wire from please? I want to make a nice ground wire and might play with IC's.
The silver interconnect wire is from Parts Connexion. It's made by DH Labs for Parts Connexion. Unlike most of the DH Labs cable it is solid silver instead of silver plated copper (I don't care for the sound of silver plated copper). It's the Connex brand and its called BL-Ag - 23 guage solid core silver x2 with an additional ground wire. This works really well with the KLEI RCA's - great sounding IC. It also works well with XLR's (Vampire, etc.) to make a nice sounding balanced cable.
 
Anybody got em' thoughts? I'm putting together a small system and just swapped a Evergreen from pre to amp with a Big Sur and the wife heard the difference, I've heard the cables with DBS are impressive. I want advice before I drop $259 on a 0.6m Victoria.

I've dabbled in the audioquest line and found them to be the real deal. I went from Morrow MA5 to Audioquest Sydney, and it was a clear improvement in my system. The Sydney is a really nice cable, and I imagine that the DBS system would be better. The thing is, it depends on your system, whether it's resolving enough to display improvements or not.

And Audioquest doesn't solder anything. That's one area where the diy cable idea has its weakness.
 
Update: I found a guy on ebay who uses Van Damme silver coated low capacitance cables with WBT locking ends and silver solder to make IC's. I ordered a 0.5m pair. I got em' yesterday and demo'd them back to back with my Audiquest Evergreens and the stock Pro-Ject cables. I preferred the new cables, more detailed. To rule out a placebo effect I blind tested all three with my wife and 17 year old, I did not tell them what I was swapping just played the same song three times and told to pick which sounded better 1,2 or 3. Both picked 2, the Van Damme cables.I am going to order another pair to run between the pre and amp and do the same thing with my Audioquest Big Sur's. We'll see how the $34 cable holds up against the $105 Audioquests.
 
The Evergreens I found were really easy to improve upon--I found them to be thin and noisy in my system, a downgrade even from the old no-name interconnect I had in the system originally. Sent mine back after a couple of weeks. My home brew cables were much better (DH Labs Silver Sonic cable, Neutrik RCAs) and now the Cardas cables I'm using have taken things even higher. The Big Sur is a whole different animal, so your new comparison with the Van Dammes will be interesting! :thumbsup:
 
Update: I found a guy on ebay who uses Van Damme silver coated low capacitance cables with WBT locking ends and silver solder to make IC's. I ordered a 0.5m pair. I got em' yesterday and demo'd them back to back with my Audiquest Evergreens and the stock Pro-Ject cables. I preferred the new cables, more detailed. To rule out a placebo effect I blind tested all three with my wife and 17 year old, I did not tell them what I was swapping just played the same song three times and told to pick which sounded better 1,2 or 3. Both picked 2, the Van Damme cables.I am going to order another pair to run between the pre and amp and do the same thing with my Audioquest Big Sur's. We'll see how the $34 cable holds up against the $105 Audioquests.
FYI those are Chinese knock off WBT connectors, not the real thing at all. I bought a pair of those too, and I thought they sounded ok but not great. If you're happy that's all that matters though.
 
FYI those are Chinese knock off WBT connectors, not the real thing at all ... I thought they sounded ok but not great.
If we're talking about knock-offs of the same WBT RCAs (WBT has more than one model) I have the same knock-offs. I also have 2 pair of ICs terminated with the real WBTs. Both use the same cable, same solder, same age — so comparison is valid.

The WBTs must be better — they're obviously much better made, much better plating, etc. But frankly, I heard no difference. So it must be me.

Maybe my ears are knock-offs, and my parents got scammed.
 
Let me remind folks to read the forum sticky - the rules are a bit different in this forum.
If it was me specifically then I apologize. I was just trying to let the OP know what he was getting for his money. Next time I'll send a PM.
 
Teachable moment, thanks! I did know WBT makes ends all over the price range but these did seems a little light on German precision. They do sound good though but I'll prolly look elsewhere for my 1m cable.
 
I played around with a bunch of cables at all different price points and ended up with AQ Colorado. I purchased them at 50% off but still expensive. I really didn’t want to believe cables would make a difference but my ears and/or brain convinced me they did. Fast forward and I replaced most of my cables to Colorado’s. They just seem to work with my setup.
 
Update: I found a guy on ebay who uses Van Damme silver coated low capacitance cables with WBT locking ends and silver solder to make IC's. I ordered a 0.5m pair. I got em' yesterday and demo'd them back to back with my Audiquest Evergreens and the stock Pro-Ject cables. I preferred the new cables, more detailed. To rule out a placebo effect I blind tested all three with my wife and 17 year old, I did not tell them what I was swapping just played the same song three times and told to pick which sounded better 1,2 or 3. Both picked 2, the Van Damme cables.I am going to order another pair to run between the pre and amp and do the same thing with my Audioquest Big Sur's. We'll see how the $34 cable holds up against the $105 Audioquests.
My experience with silver clad copper cable is mixed. I own a spool of AQ cable that is silver plated copper so I've made quite a few cables with it using a number of connector brands. I've also used a number of silver plated copper "branded" interconnects. Ultimately, I find that the "extra transparency" eventually becomes irritating and reveals itself to be somewhat unnatural sounding. I find that I like either solid core copper or solid core silver better than silver plated copper. We all have our preferences and no "preference" is right or wrong - just providing my "opinion".
 
My experience with silver clad copper cable is mixed. I own a spool of AQ cable that is silver plated copper so I've made quite a few cables with it using a number of connector brands. I've also used a number of silver plated copper "branded" interconnects. Ultimately, I find that the "extra transparency" eventually becomes irritating and reveals itself to be somewhat unnatural sounding. I find that I like either solid core copper or solid core silver better than silver plated copper. We all have our preferences and no "preference" is right or wrong - just providing my "opinion".
And it also depends on the system as well. The same cables likely will sound different in your system vs. mine, for example.

My silver plated copper interconnects were pretty good, but I thought maybe I could do better. I'm happiest so far with copper litz wire interconnects I picked up last year, and they are good enough that I will get a couple more sets as they become available (used).
 
Update, so a member on here Sandstrom was kind enough to let me demo a pair of AQ Victoria's. I ran them a few days without the batteries, then installed fresh batteries. There is a positive difference with the DBS functional. Good cables on par with my Nordost Blue Heaven's with a little warmer tone.
 
Update, so a member on here Sandstrom was kind enough to let me demo a pair of AQ Victoria's. I ran them a few days without the batteries, then installed fresh batteries. There is a positive difference with the DBS functional. Good cables on par with my Nordost Blue Heaven's with a little warmer tone.

One thing to note when comparing with and without DBS is that I have heard that it may take up to 2 weeks for the DBS effect to wear off. So the difference may be bigger than you are hearing now.

AQ cables are fantastic and their service is just as good. Been using AQ for a while now and they tend to be on the neutral side (maybe a tad warm). They are on the higher end for price, but build and sound quality is top notch. Make sure you get a good deal on them, rarely have I paid retail on any of the cables.

I have Colorado and Earth ICs and upgraded my Mont Blanc speakers cables to Oak. In my system, each time I upgraded a component the improved moved up a notch or two. I have heard their higher end silver cables are pretty amazing, they give the clarity and resolution of silver without the tendency to be too bright like some other cables. I don't think AQ makes silver plated copper anymore. They tend to mix copper and silver strands to give best of both worlds, though price goes up exponentially.
 
Back
Top Bottom