AudioQuest Columbia interconnects

[Lance B]

I have just purchased a set of RCA AudioQuest Columbia interconnects for my Marantz SA7001 KI SACD player to my Plinius 9200 amp. Previously I had a set of Monster Cables from 20 years ago.
These new interconnects have a battery which supplies a voltage to the ground to keep it charged.
I have only had them playing music for about 3 hours, but I am not sure what to make of them. They sound good, but also a little strange in some way but I cannot put my finger on it. I don't whether it is the natural decay that is missing or what.
Bass seems tighter and there is plenty there and the stereo image is rock solid in the centre but with this mid range that is rock solid in the middle it also seems to make it louder and more piercing due to its pinpoint sound source. It is quite amazing to hear how these cables have made the stereo image so pinpoint, which I didn't think could be achieved to this amount.
Should I let the cables "burn in" more and if so for how long?
Has anyone else tried these cables or anything like it in the AudioQuest range?
Any suggestions?

[dingus]

the piercing characteristic makes think they will require some break in period, how long i havent a clue, but fairly soon you should notice that aspect smoothing out. AQ's are well regarded, considering your previous IC's were 20 years old i would guess that you will like these more.

[Lance B]

the piercing characteristic makes think they will require some break in period, how long i havent a clue, but fairly soon you should notice that aspect smoothing out. AQ's are well regarded, considering your previous IC's were 20 years old i would guess that you will like these more.

Thank you for your input. I will give them about 50 hours and see what happens.

[PeruvianSkies]

I've tried several sets of AudioQuest cables over the past few years, both speaker cables and IC's and was never really impressed considering the dang price. I am stuck with PS Audio now after going through a variety of cables and finally landing on the ones that seemed to do the least amount with the signal aside from delivering it as accurate as possible, which is what a cable should do, nothing more, nothing less.

[dingus]

... I've tried several sets of AudioQuest cables over the past few years, both speaker cables and IC's and was never really impressed considering the dang price.

my IC's are DIY silver wire jobs that cost me about $24 a set, plus the time to construct them. i like how they sound, somewhat better than Kimber PBJ's, not a huge difference but a nice improvement. i just forked out $125 for an optical toslink cable. it will be my first try with a cable that remotely approaches high end. it will replace a $12 toslink cable from the local supermarket, i just hope there is a noticeable improvement.

[PeruvianSkies]

my IC's are DIY silver wire jobs that cost me about $24 a set, plus the time to construct them. i like how they sound, somewhat better than Kimber PBJ's, not a huge difference but a nice improvement. i just forked out $125 for an optical toslink cable. it will be my first try with a cable that remotely approaches high end. it will replace a $12 toslink cable from the local supermarket, i just hope there is a noticeable improvement.

Yeah, I use handmade Silver IC's from WhiteZombieAudio that are awesome, this is the ONLY IC that I am using, and they also made me a Coax for my digital connection and a subwoofer cable. They are very good quality and the fact that they are handmade really shines through. They don't make speaker cables that I am aware of, so I went with PS Audio and have been happy with their cables, except for one minor flaw...they are so dang big that they are sometimes too stiff to really work with around tight corners and such.

[Fred333]

Great thread I was looking for information on DIY job. I was looking to do one myself.

[dingus]

Great thread I was looking for information on DIY job. I was looking to do one myself.

looks like we hijacked the topic and turned to towards DIY. since we are here i'll add that making your own IC's is pretty simple and straightforward (speaker cables are even easier). the trick is finding the best materials and components that fit within your budget.