Well Guys and gals, the cables have arrived! Thanks Doucanoe!
I have to concurr with the other reviewers the the visual quality is very good. The cables are nicely made, and excellent connectors are used. One thing, I dont find them to be overly stiff, compared to the cables I already have. At the price-point they sell these for they already look like an excellent value.
On to the review!
My system:
Amplifier: Bedini 150/150 mk II
Speakers: Apogee Duetta II's
Preamp: Luxman CO2
CD player: Marantz SA 8260
Speaker cables: Speltz Anti-cables on the Tw/Mid ribbons, Radio Shack 16ga flat braided copper on the bass panels.
Ic's: custom computer grade OFC teflon wrapped, Gold Plated RCA (very good quality, but no-name)
Cd's: In order and tracks used for each comparison:
1. Evanescence, Fallen, Track 4, My immortal
2.Norah Jones, Feels like home, track 9, Humble Me
3.Ry Cooder, Jazz, Track 7, Flashes.
4.Muddy Waters, Folk Singer, Track 4, Good Morning Little School Girl
5.Nickel Creek, This Side, Track 10 Beauty and the Mess
6.Riuichi Sakamoto+ Danceries, The End of Asia, Track 4,Boku no Kakera
7.The Tannahill Weavers, Land of Light, Track 2,The Scottish Settlers Lament & Track 3, Donald MacleansFarewell to Oban/Dunrobin Castle/The Wise Maid/Iain's Jig (whew!).
I started out warming up the system for two hours before comparing. All tracks were listened to with my system as-is, then with the Zebras installed from the CD player to preamp.
From the on set the Zebras clearly out-did my old cables. On "My Immortal" it was apparent that the soundstage was wider, with better front to back separation of vocals (back up). The piano was also sized properly.
On the Nora Jones, it was easy to hear the increase in bass extension, detail, and more of a "thereness". I heard a few things that I had not heard berfore! (players moving around)
On the Cooder track, his positoning was now slightly left-of center, and his guitar was more well defined. It was clear that he is sitting on a stool.
The really telling track was the Muddy Waters. Again the soundstage was wider, but at the same time "tighter". Muddys guitar was now slightly inside the right speaker, but also just behind it. The drummer is clearly to the left, and bass player centered, and in the back. All the players had the correct width and depth that you would expect from a live performance. The speakers really "dissapeared" on this track.
The Sakamoto was even better! This track starts out with a large drum setting the fundamental beat for the song, with viola and violin joining in. Normally the drum was centered and about 4-5 ft back from the plane of the speakers. The strings came in left, but were never clearly defined from each other. Now it is very easy to hear the slight delay of the drummer's hand hitting the drumskin on one side and then being able to hear the size of the drumhead from it's reverberation, and then the decay of the room. The drum was also placed back a foot or two farther within the stage. The strings are now well separated and are defined within they're own space. This is an incredible recording!
With the Weavers, the the goodness continued. Again, the ability to pick out separate insturments/vocals at the same time, was very,very, good. Bass detail was another step-up from what I was used to. Very quick, very detailed. With vocals the percieved height of the singer/s was more realistically presented, being on average about a foot higher, with the lead singer slightly ahead of the plane of the speakers.
One thing, the Nickel Creek is my only SACD. I found the vocals a tad "hot" and etched, though very "lively". I'm not sure I like this, though it's not a fault of the cables or speakers, just the recording.
All of this points to better low-level detail retreival, and a much quieter noise floor, with the sense of the old worn out saying, "vail being lifted". You just feel closer to the music.
Honestly for the price I dont see how you could go wrong with these cables. They really surprised me with the ammount of detail they can retrieve. I've heard other cables do as well, but at 3x plus the price, why bother?
Highly reccommended. :thmbsp:
P.S. I'm keeping these puppies for my allotted time! I gots lots-o-music to listen to!