Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
JM, did you have the later, multi-stranded AQ Slates in the black jacket? I just picked up a 12" pair from a local on craigslist for use with my 603's and just want to get an opinion on some positive qualities of these cables, if possible.

I upgraded from standard wal-mart 14 gauge wire and noticed right away that the AQ cables are terrible out of the box. I assume they were unused when I bought them from the first owner as they have opened up substantially after two weeks. At first, the upper range sounded veiled, if not blanketed, mid-bass around 200-250Hz was over-proportioned and almost boomy. When I moved to the seductive Rotel from the harsh yet precise Yamaha a week before getting the AQ's, I was really enjoying the open and airy nature offered by the Rotel. The AQ slates seemed to take that away completely. The music was extremely closed-in, as if the various instruments were being performed in a tight huddle.

After a few days, the soundstage opened up a bit and some of the airiness returned, but it still seemed a little concentrated. The highs opened up as well- far smoother than the wal-mart cable. Bass is definitely "thicker"- say fuller and just as tight, which was nice.

Now having used them for two full weeks, the tonal balance has shifted upward, away from the 500-1000 Hz range and more toward the area of 1500-3000. Much more balanced overall. The boomy mid-bass has toned itself down, the highs have broken free, and the midrange has gained depth. Soundstaging is still more narrow than I generally prefer, but it seems to be improving by the day, even still. Depth is sensational. Definitely moved the focal point back about 7-10 rows from the front and center stage I'm used to by the B&W's presentation.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied by my purchase. Though the bass does seem a tad embellished, I've written off any further mid-bass boom to crappy acoustics of the house that I wasn't bought out by the wal-mart cables. My favorite album thus far has been Natalie Cole's unforgettable. Her voice hits in that sweet range of 2kHz that really sings with the AQ's. The piano is true, with no glare or roll off thanks to slightly curtailed/smoothed out highs. Brass is bold and weighty. So far, so good!


My AudioQuest Slates are solid core not stranded. There are a total of eight solid core wires per run. Mine are also bi-wired with 4positive and 4 negative lengths connecting at the amp end and at the speaker wire there are two solid core cables for both low and high frequency and both positive and negative.

The sound is smooth and well focused.