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Mr Peabody
11-25-2005, 10:24 PM
I just ordered a pair of Siltech "New Yorker" RCA connectors to try. I wondered if anyone here has tried any of the Siltech line.

Pat
11-26-2005, 03:31 AM
Never tried them but they look pretty well made. Thanks for mentioning, it has just been bookmarked for a later time when I am in the market for new cables.

Mr Peabody
12-22-2005, 08:56 PM
In case anyone should happen to read this post, I bought a pair of Siltech New Yorker RCA connects and they are very good. As they should by the cost. I haven't done A/B comparisons yet but they made a night & day difference from the basic Monster cables I was using temporarily. The Siltech took my Conrad Johnson separates to a new level of performance.

Florian
12-22-2005, 11:23 PM
Siltech are very good cables, all my Sphinx gear is internally silver wired with Siltech :D

musicoverall
12-30-2005, 05:06 AM
In case anyone should happen to read this post, I bought a pair of Siltech New Yorker RCA connects and they are very good. As they should by the cost. I haven't done A/B comparisons yet but they made a night & day difference from the basic Monster cables I was using temporarily. The Siltech took my Conrad Johnson separates to a new level of performance.

I liked 'em, too. I found something else that I preferred in my own system but the Siltech's were a frontrunner. I recall my listening notes on these and all I could say was that they sounded like nobody messed around with them to make them sound a certain way or to highlight or downplay something. They just sounded "right". A pretty meaningless to anyone but me description but there it is!

Congrats on your new purchase. Enjoy!

Mr Peabody
12-30-2005, 10:40 AM
Which cables did you end up using, was it the Audioquest you have listed under "equipment"? You have a nice system. I looked at ASL when searching for tube gear but their line is vast and I didn't find anything I thought would be powerful enough to push my Dynaudio. Which ASL are you using and does it push the Sonus pretty good? I bought Conrad-Johnson separates and love them. The MV60, 55 wpc, pushes my Dyn's to adequate levels but I wish I had a little more power.

I typically like using the same brand of cables throughout my system and had all Transparent. Now i ended up with a bit of a mix. I bought some Audio Note cables to use with a DAC I bought and they seemed to sound better, or preferrable than the Transparent between the DAC and the preamp. The AN were more expensive which could have made a difference, the AN just seem to maintain the organic quality of the DAC's sound better. Then I wanted something good to go between the CJ pre and power, so I went with the dealer recommendation for the Siltech. Not to mention a Zu digital cable I picked up because it was the exact length recommended by AN.

musicoverall
12-30-2005, 12:45 PM
Which cables did you end up using, was it the Audioquest you have listed under "equipment"? You have a nice system. I looked at ASL when searching for tube gear but their line is vast and I didn't find anything I thought would be powerful enough to push my Dynaudio. Which ASL are you using and does it push the Sonus pretty good? I bought Conrad-Johnson separates and love them. The MV60, 55 wpc, pushes my Dyn's to adequate levels but I wish I had a little more power.

I typically like using the same brand of cables throughout my system and had all Transparent. Now i ended up with a bit of a mix. I bought some Audio Note cables to use with a DAC I bought and they seemed to sound better, or preferrable than the Transparent between the DAC and the preamp. The AN were more expensive which could have made a difference, the AN just seem to maintain the organic quality of the DAC's sound better. Then I wanted something good to go between the CJ pre and power, so I went with the dealer recommendation for the Siltech. Not to mention a Zu digital cable I picked up because it was the exact length recommended by AN.

Sonus Faber? Man, that was awhile ago! I must have had a brain fart when I listed them! I switched to Maggies and now own the 20.1's. I use the ASL Hurricane's and they're just enough for the Maggies. I've tried massive SS amps and while the controlled the bass better, Maggies aren't known for their bass anyway and I don't care for the transistory sound of SS. I actually could use a bit more power but I don't play at concert levels in my home, anyway.

The cables I decided on were Cardas Neutral Reference - I/C's and speaker cables. At first blush, they sounded a little closed in but I think they're just more honest than the Audioquest. They are soundstaging and imaging champs! They actually seem to "do" more than I thought the Siltech did but with my system, I preferred what they did although they may be a tad less accurate as a result. I find that I don't worry about accuracy. Accuracy is just a word that people throw around and they either don't understand it or they understand it only as it's measured. Measured accuracy by the numbers I've heard and it sounds to my ears similar to what I hear on a skating rink's PA system. My propers to E-Stat for that analogy. :)

Mr Peabody
12-30-2005, 09:56 PM
My thoughts on accuracy have loosened from what they were. Accuracy is more subjective than I once thought. When I first started out buying higher end gear accuracy, or what I thought was accuracy, was my goal. I used Krell and to me they still deliver the impact of live music better than anything I've found but something still tells my brain it's artificial. Or, my daughter told me it sounds like the vocals are coming from a microphone. Where the Conrad Johnson with the Audio Note front end makes everything sound more natural and has a more believable presence but without the impact of Krell. So which is more accurate? They each are more accurate than the other but in different ways or different realms of a performance.

Coloration is still an enemy to me. So when looking for cables I'd like to find honest ones. I don't believe in using cables as a bandaid or equalizing measure.

musicoverall
12-31-2005, 12:09 PM
Coloration is still an enemy to me. So when looking for cables I'd like to find honest ones. I don't believe in using cables as a bandaid or equalizing measure.

My two goals are system synergy and the attempt at reproducing live music in the home. I don't knowingly offset one coloration with another but I've found that not all components go well together... and not just the power amp/speaker interface. If a component brings me closer to live music by its inclusion into my system, that component is "good". So while that component may be more "colored" than another (or not), it has wrought improvements in my system and satisfied both my audio system goals.

With cables, I seldom hear much in the way of FR deviations. I do, however, hear very specific changes in soundstaging and imaging, both of which are to my ears two of the primary reasons a system sounds realistic. These changes may be more realistic than real (realism to me being the perception of real while real is simply real) but I'm the supreme subjectivist in that my own ears are all that matter as far as what my system delivers. If it sounds real, the component is a success regardless of its measured accuracy or lack thereof. I fall back on many, many years of playing live music and many more years of regular attendance at live unamplified concerts... all of which is probably meaningless to anyone but me. :)

Mr Peabody
12-31-2005, 10:53 PM
You are using tube amplification and have a nice turntable rig so you and I very well have the same idea of which realm of "real" is preferred. I dont' want to generalize all solid state and tube gear but at least in comparing Krell with Conrad-Johnson the Krell made most everything sound like it was amplified where the CJ makes the sound more organic.

I too am a firm believer in synergy. Synergy is what started me off. My CD player went out and I bought an Arcam Alpha 9 some years back. I should have left it at that but then I picked up my first Krell, a 300i integrated at a good price, and the Arcam and Krell was good but you could tell the synergy wasn't there. I auditioned a Krell 250cd and used the balanced connections and there it was. I still think the Alpha 9 may have had an edge on detail but the synergy was there with the 2 Krell pieces and the presentation had more weight, you could just tell it was more correct.

musicoverall
01-01-2006, 01:51 PM
You are using tube amplification and have a nice turntable rig so you and I very well have the same idea of which realm of "real" is preferred.

Indeed. As for LP's, I've lost count of the number of times visitors listening to my system have commented that they just heard the "best sounding CD" they've ever heard, only to discover it was an LP! I have to concur, although either CD's are getting better or I'm just getting more used to their particular distortions because I certainly complain much less about them.

Tubes vs SS is different. I just don't care for the sound of SS. I guess that makes me a lover of the "sound of distortion" as some objectivists claim. I counter that if measured distortion makes the sound more realistic, then isn't the lack of distortion actually distorting the sound? Tubes just sound more like what I hear live. I prefer live, therefore I prefer tubes. I guess more 2nd order distortion works on my ears better than lesser amounts of higher order distortion.

Have a great New Year!

Mr Peabody
01-01-2006, 07:51 PM
There are people on these boards who claim there's no difference between CD players and cables don't make a difference, yatta yatta because it can't be measured or backed up by measurements. They are fools and letting the pleasure of this hobby pass them by. Most A/V receivers have better specs than either of our amps and anyone who has ears, and honest, should be able to plainly hear our amps superior sonic quality over the receiver. Who knows why when I upgraded my power cable it gave me a significant improvement in sound and I doubt if there is a measurement to prove it but it did. You can't measure the difference between your brand of cables and mine but I bet we could hear one. The people who really make me laugh are those who claim the improvement is psycological. Those are the ones who need therapy because who in their right mind would want to spend several more hundred dollars on cables. My psychi, and wallet, is hoping I, don't, hear any improvement.

I know when I listen to my gear I don't hear any distortion and everything is very clear. So if the distortion of tubes can be measured, it must appear somewhere out of my hearing range. Or, as you say, maybe this distortion is a good distortion.

Florian
01-02-2006, 02:54 AM
Mmm, maybe i am not alone in this forum afterall-

Bernd
01-02-2006, 03:32 AM
At last a meaningful exchange. I also prefer the sound of Tubes and Vinyl over SS and Digital. I did start with SS and went to a hybrid amp and then full Tube set up. And everytime the sound opened up and changed for the better (to these ears anyway). I had a friend listen to Vinyl and he did not believe that it was not digital-You are hiding the player somewhere don't you.Enough said.
As for cables I certainly hear differences in different cables. I tried QED Silver spiral,van den hul-the first,Audioquest-sky,mount blanc,Python etc,Chord,Nordost-Red Dawn and Cardas-Golden Reference. I stuck with Cardas for the IC and speaker cable and use Kimber PK 10 and PK 14 Palladian for the Powercords.
The Cardas work incredible well with my gear. The Audioquest Sky was fantastic but I found it a touch sterile. Nordost was just bright.QED-great budget cable.
I also believe that it is oh so important to have clean current to your system. After all it is that what we listen to.
New years wish-more of the same.

Peace

Bernd

musicoverall
01-02-2006, 04:56 AM
My psychi, and wallet, is hoping I, don't, hear any improvement.
.

Actually, I hear more cables that do sound alike than those that sound different. If I have to listen too carefully or focus on one thing, it's not worth it to me. The cable I chose worked well with my system, as did the Siltech. The Nordost Valhalla worked the best but I could not afford it and, quite frankly, my system doesn't deserve Valhalla. :) I tried to find that sound with a lower level Nordost cable and could not, although I didn't try them all.

But a few of the other brands I tried did not distinguish themselves. Nor did power cords. However, I use a power conditioner and only replaced the cord from it to the wall rather than all the components.

hermanv
01-05-2006, 05:14 PM
On a different forum "ana_log" says that most power supplies are poorly designed. She (I assume from the user name) says that when the rectifiers are replaced with soft recovery, the capacitors are properly bypassed and the MOVs removed that suddenly improvements from exotic power cords dissapear. An interesting claim. I can easily believe that the average power supply is just that, average off the shelf diodes, capacitors etc. No effort spent there because there is no advertising value there.


Mmm, maybe i am not alone in this forum afterall-
Maybe you just got lucky. So far in this thread I seem to be the newbie with only 269 posts.

Mr Peabody
01-05-2006, 07:30 PM
Herman, I don't have enough knowledge to debate this person but I have a couple of what I think are logical problems with her theory. First, it's generally more expensive gear that even offer a detachable power cord and secondly, when I upgraded my power cord it improved all my gear, including Krell, who I'd think would have one of the industries best power supplies. The power had the least improvement but it was audible enough to get me to shell out the money, the CD player improved greatly and the best improvement was with my phone stage which is a $1,600.00 AcousTech which should have a decent power supply.

It could also be that when you make the change she suggests it has an adverse effect on sound and high end manufacturers choose not to do it. If that statement is stupid it shows how much I've forgotten on how things work under the hood.

hermanv
01-06-2006, 10:24 AM
I submit the input from ana_log as an interesting point. I haven't tried this so I can't speak one way or the other. Engineers can certainly stake out positions based on training that might be incorrect, certainly I had that experience with cables. My proffesional training and math told me the whole cable phenominum was bunk, my ears fortunately disagreed and disagreed strongly.

My point is that even engineers at quality name brand audiophile companies MIGHT dismiss power supply issues as irrelevant at least those circuits in front of the regulator. For those inclined to experiment it is a simple, relatively inexpensive upgrade with no known downside. Many have posted that their amplifiers improved with the use of slow diodes in the rectifier circuit. Many of the tube folks especially the SET crowd feel that vacuum tube rectification sounds better than silcon rectifiers. I think tubes do not have a mechanism equivalent to silicon diode reverse recovery.

So I tossed the idea into the ring, maybe some enterprising soul will decide to test the idea.