Anyways, I too have Kimber 8TC in my system before this cable, my Kimber sounded good but like the other reviewer said it does sound jerky or to me never fully broken in or not consistant from listening session to listening session and all different types of music. AudioQuest River Series Red River Analog Interconnects. Conclusion I definitely have been in the camp of poo-pooing optical cables for the last few years. For me, if I were trying to save money, I'd probably go for the Big Sur or the Sydneys. In the past, I’d seen/heard cables that plugged into the wall to accomplish the same exact purpose. If you want to go the extra mile when it comes to inter connectors, I would suggest getting AudioQuest. I switched back and forth on two different inputs on the preamplifier via remote. Good bass response. The result is, gibraltar is better!!! Choose options Quick view. In system #2, I connected the optical and coaxial cables similarly to system #1. I question your business ethics if you can deliberately make such ludicrous claims as cables causing distortions, or cables requiring break in, etc. Next up was track 5, “Please Send Me Someone To Love,” by Sade, from the soundtrack to Philadelphia. AudioQuest. | audioreview.com. This speaker cable is the step-up option to the excellent Rocket 11 – the one that broke Chord Company’s formidable stranglehold to win our Accessories Award in 2018. It makes the impact of a power cable so much greater. It has great dynamic range with good bass, and if you aren’t ready for the “gunshots” you might just jump out of your seat. I personally believe that AudioQuest products are not snake oil despite knowing the retail markup on their audio cable products and that it often makes me highly uncomfortable paying for some of their cables anyway, because in my system their stuff makes a positive difference -- and I'm highly motivated by the cost, because I can return them with zero loss/hassle if I choose, to find that there is … Highly recommended. It beats my previous MIT in mid and hi but maintain more or less the same bass. In both the Optilink-3 and Optilink-5, Audioquest utilizes multiple fibers to transmit light from end to end. This is the best way to describe the differences although they were on a much, much smaller scale. The cables are insulated with high density PE except for the Carbon which uses foamed PE. But over time, the other speaker that isn’t quite as “emphasized” begins to sound more natural and realistic. The Optilink-5 is fairly heavy duty for an optical cable and has a somewhat large diameter making the cable less likely to bend and/or break. Very balanced cable, no stress of certain frequencies. This cable has an obvious personality, it is full sounding, very clean with soft highs and good bass response, not the tightest you will come across, but tighter than most. I was drawn into the performance more with the Audioquest optical cable in the system. In the Optilink-3, the fibers are polymer, while the Optilink-5 utilizes Quartz. Track 2, “Banditen Galop,” from Telarc Sampler #3 is always a lot of fun. … The bass sounded deeper and tighter somehow. May 6, 2015 at 11:53 PM. Switching optical cables was more difficult, but my rack is accessible from the back, and usually took no more than 30 seconds. In any case, whether you believe the hypothesis or not, the advantage of an optical cable is…no break-in is necessary. With the coaxial cable, there was added richness and the voice was warmer with a slightly puffy quality to it. The comparison only served to reinforce my original choice to use the Discovery coaxial cable. In the Forest, Audioquest has produced a cable that's a very close rival to Chord's all-powerful Supershield. Audioquest claims that you can hold one end of the cable against a well-lit printed page, and via a magnifying glass, view the text at the other end with the naked eye. Localisateur de Revendeur/Distributeur; Ressources Revendeurs; Contacter AudioQuest; Localisateur de Revendeur/Distributeur; French Price Book; Recherche De Produit: It was clear to me that the Optilink-5 outperformed all the Toslink cables I had on hand for comparison. It will still be necessary to evaluate preferences and different system “sounds,” but the Optilink-5 gets a solid recommendation. A link to that review is at the end of this report. I had a clear preference with the cymbals playing for the Optilink-5. Kimber 8TC on comparison is a little more airy and the bass is not quite as full and deep as the AQ. The piano sounded a bit dull with the coaxial cable although the high frequencies sounded smoother. He was referring to the new DBS cables, from which come the Sky interconnects ($2100 USD per meter pair) and Volcano speaker cables ($3500 per ten-foot pair) I received for review. The differences were extremely subtle, but I assume that anyone willing to spend over $400 on a digital cable is listening for those differences and willing to pay for them. I won’t be so quick to ditch this cable. Review of Audioquest USB digital audio cables Home. The bass is tight enough. Apparently, there is a transition going on in some of their interconnect cables, and the new cables will include batteries to keep the dielectric constantly charged. From $430. like it buy it, hate it ignore it. But once the cable is unplugged and/or no longer in use, the cable reverts back to its original state. The solution? Setup In system #1, I ran the coaxial cable from the DVD player to a second input on the Krell preamplifier. Thats when AudioQuest River XLR Cables come in. Sky is AudioQuest's top-of-the-line interconnect, while Volcano is a step down from Everest in terms of … In some situations this will come as e benefit, are you looking to chill the sound sof your system, or is it a little lean sounding or hasr, this will be the cable for you, but when you are looking to pull the maximun out of your system look further. When it was my turn to listen, I tried to focus on the areas that he seemed to find objectionable. The optical seemed to produce a touch more high frequency sound. Like many IT professionals, I invested significant time and attention in my home network out of interest, and not just because of surreptitious Gremlin activity. A real entertainer, thanks to the chunky bass delivery and enthusiastic presentation. Associated Equipment System #1: Krell DVD Standard, Krell Home Theater Standard, Krell Theater Amplifier Standard, B&W Nautilus 802 Speakers, Audioquest speaker and Interconnect cabling, Panamax 5500 Power Conditioner, Audioquest VSD-4 Coaxial digital cable ($325) and Monster Interlink Lightspeed 100 ($40) for comparison testing. Audioquest Castle Rock Water and Yukon Cables Review Summary: The Audioquest Castle Rock Water and Yukon cables will allow a high performance system to really shine with superlative resolution of details, deep extended bass and dynamics and exemplary recreation of … Smooth operator with refined and pleasing sound, and a really well-made feel. System #1—Comparisons to Audioquest VSD-4 coax cable The initial comparisons were with the VSD-4 coaxial digital cable. 29 Amplifier, Smart Devices Power Conditioner, Audioquest Interconnect, Triad Silver Monitor speakers, Triad Silver Subwoofers (2), Discovery Coaxial Digital cable (<$100) and a generic optical cable (that normally comes free with a satellite receiver~<$10). Th… A good analogy would be to the sound of a speaker. For me, the Carbon absolutely improved sound staging and the general "character" of instruments as compared to a generic USB cable. AudioQuest Crystal Speaker Cables user reviews : 4.8 out of 5 - 17 reviews - audioreview.com Most cables use gold-plated connectors because gold has a high conductivity property and better resistance to corrosion than silver and copper. I did the same while he compared the cables as well. This, purportedly, is the advantage of so-called cable “break-in.” The normal break-in process (according to Audioquest) takes weeks. Don't know how to explain, try it yourself. Choose options Quick view. AudioQuest Earth (balanced): $824.95/0.5m pair ★ KR, who hates wrestling with stiff cables even more than Rick Grimes hates wrestling with stiffs, has welcomed into his home a set of AudioQuest's Earth balanced interconnects, terminated with XLR plugs and featuring AQ's 72V Dielectric Bias System (DBS). The AudioQuest cable is a little more expensive than most cables we review here, but the build quality is superb including the connectors. At this point with just a switch once or twice, he picked the Monster each time as his cable of preference without any trouble. It was my first +$500 cable. Further listening left me with the impression that the coaxial cable was compressing the range and emphasizing the middle. In parts when the vocals got louder and softer, the transitions seemed more dynamic and pronounced. Unfortunately, I did not have a magnifying glass to try this. I had to remind myself that I had over $30,000 of equipment going. A little lacking in dynamics and extension in highs. Basic Description Toslink (EIA-J) fiber optic cable utilizing 65 Quartz (glass) fibers. By Rebecca Armstrong 12 December 2019. The Hurricane immediately shows that it lives up to its name. It falls into the sweet spot of the AudioQuest lineup, giving maximum quality without reaching a painful price point. I switched to track 7, “Love Song,” from the Mobile Fidelity release of Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection. I use the single bi-wire version. Everything comes trough, but it comes through in an controller and relaxed way. If you believe all digital cables sound the same, stop reading now. At first, I thought the image was slightly smeared with the cheap cable, but I then realized that it wasn’t firmly plugged into the DVD player. Judging from Wind’s performance, those efforts have gone a long way toward making an interconnect that seemingly vanishes from the system. 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