I recently bought a set of semi-ridiculous speaker cables. You know, the kind that the usual parlance among audio forums is that they're made for people with more money than brains? But they were used (already broken in!), the seller very highly reputable, the price right, and the "fit" perfect with correct length and connector configuration. And I guess I wasn't as satisfied with my current cables as I could have been, so my fidelity strayed. (See what I did there?)
Anyway, I'll say it... damn, these sound fantastic. I wasn't quite prepared for how different they would sound - we're talking speaker cables here. It's one of those cognitive dissonance moments as the left part of my brain struggles with how one 6' hunk of copper wire could possibly SOUND this different than another 6' hunk of copper wire when placed between an amplifier and a speaker, but my ears and the rest of my brain say it does. And less subtle than you might expect.
A little background: Since the upgrade to the Harbeth speakers and Pass Labs amp, I've had it in my mind that the speaker cables ought to be better. I've used a set of homebrew cables from a surplus of older, but high-quality stock, and plenty big - a (M)onstrous amount of shiny, happy, oxygen-free copper between the tight-fitting gold-colored banana connectors. I've also tried Kimber 4TC and 8TC, Nordost Blue Heaven (which I liked a lot, but they were bi-wires and that wasn't a good fit), and some Avanti cables that were good, too. I recently bought a set of Anti-Cables ("Reference Level 3.1") as my brain thought they might be a good fit. They were OK, but frankly not much different (or better) to my ears than the homemade ones - an improvement, but less than hoped. So I've experienced different speaker cables having different sounds, but it's usually subtle shades of differences - I have found speaker cable differences to be less obvious than, say, interconnects.
Now the Acouztic Zen Satori cables are in, and indeed I think I am experiencing a bit of satori. The difference is less subtle than any other speaker cable switch I've ever made. There's a new level of transparency, revealing more in the recording than what I'm used to, and a brilliance and ambience that gives a wider (bigger, really) soundstage. This is more like a component upgade than a cable upgrade, and therein lies my confusion. But I'll stop thinking about it and just listen to the music.
It does address (better this time) one of the "weak link" upgrades I've had on the radar, and reveals in even more clarity the next weakest link to work on.
Anyway, I'll say it... damn, these sound fantastic. I wasn't quite prepared for how different they would sound - we're talking speaker cables here. It's one of those cognitive dissonance moments as the left part of my brain struggles with how one 6' hunk of copper wire could possibly SOUND this different than another 6' hunk of copper wire when placed between an amplifier and a speaker, but my ears and the rest of my brain say it does. And less subtle than you might expect.
A little background: Since the upgrade to the Harbeth speakers and Pass Labs amp, I've had it in my mind that the speaker cables ought to be better. I've used a set of homebrew cables from a surplus of older, but high-quality stock, and plenty big - a (M)onstrous amount of shiny, happy, oxygen-free copper between the tight-fitting gold-colored banana connectors. I've also tried Kimber 4TC and 8TC, Nordost Blue Heaven (which I liked a lot, but they were bi-wires and that wasn't a good fit), and some Avanti cables that were good, too. I recently bought a set of Anti-Cables ("Reference Level 3.1") as my brain thought they might be a good fit. They were OK, but frankly not much different (or better) to my ears than the homemade ones - an improvement, but less than hoped. So I've experienced different speaker cables having different sounds, but it's usually subtle shades of differences - I have found speaker cable differences to be less obvious than, say, interconnects.
Now the Acouztic Zen Satori cables are in, and indeed I think I am experiencing a bit of satori. The difference is less subtle than any other speaker cable switch I've ever made. There's a new level of transparency, revealing more in the recording than what I'm used to, and a brilliance and ambience that gives a wider (bigger, really) soundstage. This is more like a component upgade than a cable upgrade, and therein lies my confusion. But I'll stop thinking about it and just listen to the music.
It does address (better this time) one of the "weak link" upgrades I've had on the radar, and reveals in even more clarity the next weakest link to work on.