New XLR's

[blackraven]

I just ordered a pair of Audioquest Colombia XLR's from Music Direct who is selling them on clearance for over 1/2 off. I bought a 1m pair for $200 and they normally sell for $500. I don't know if they will sound better than the 1 pr of BJC XLR's that I am using along with my Cardas Parsec's but I figured that I could turn around and sell them if there is no improvement in sound. They also have the cables in single ended for the same price and cheaper in shorter versions.

I will give a report on how they sound next week.


Music Direct has a lot of stuff on closeout at excellent prices right now.

[blackraven]

Well, I received my XLR's today and all I can say is WOW! I have them placed between my amp and preamp where I was using Cardas Parsecs. I placed the Parsecs between my DAC and preamp and took the BJC XLR's out of the system. At first I tried the AQ's in place of the Parsecs and noticed an improvement is sibilants which was driving me nuts on certain recordings. I also noticed a slightly more neutral presentation with a blacker background and a little more detail. Bass was tighter but there was an ever so slight decrease in the bass and mid bass. High frequencies were more detailed with more transparency but smoother at the same time..

Then I removed the BJC's and inserted the Parsec's back into the system between the DAC and preamp and there was a much bigger improvement in clarity, texture, sound stage and detail with a little warmth added back into the system. Bass and mid bass are still a bit toned down but I can live with that and adjust my dual subs accordingly. Sibilants were further decreased and high frequencies further improved. Overall the sound is smoother, more liquid if you will with more detail and a blacker background.

Next week I will swap the AQ and Parsec positions to see if there is any further improvement or a little more bass.

This is the first time that I have heard a major difference in interconnects. I am very impressed. My system tended to have a little upper frequency edginess and sibilants on some recordings and that is totally gone.

What a steal at the price I paid.

[Mr Peabody]

Good deal. Your level of gear should be revealing differences in cables.

[blackraven]

Well, I could not wait till next week to swap cable positions. I just swapped them and the bass and mid bass is back to about where it was. Things are still much improved. The AQ's definitely give a blacker background than the Cardas Parsecs along with more transparency. I lost a little of the black background and transparency compared to when the AQ's were between the amp and preamp. But it is still better than with the BJC's. I think I prefer the sound this way.

It is almost like I have a new system in a way. I am stunned.

[Mr Peabody]

What about getting another set of AQ for between the amp & pre to see what happens?

[blackraven]

What about getting another set of AQ for between the amp & pre to see what happens?

I think that the AQ's would take too much of the tube bloom out of the sound. Although currently I have my subs crossed over at about 48hz, I could bump that up to 60-80 and see what happens.

I am really diggin the sound now.