Author Topic: Silver IC's in a SS system (Read 4742 times)

scervin · « **on:** April 08, 2005, 08:19:38 AM »

Anyone have any experience here? I ordered the Pulsars (copper-silver hybrid) and am wondering if I should even concern myself with ordering some silver IC's from Homegrown Audio (Diva or Super Silver), RS Audio (Silver Illume), or Signal Cable.

I've always used copper IC's as I was afraid the system would become too bright. Any comments concerns?

SC

scb · « **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2005, 09:50:48 AM »

through audiogon, i'm found some killer deals on various audio magic cables. they don't make my system overly bright at all. now i don't know about other silvers, but i have never found audio magics to be overly bright

i've got:
a pair of spellcaster II rcas going from my DAC to the AV8 (pre/receiver)

a pair of excalibur II rcas going from my player to the AV8 for front 2 channels

pair of sorcerers going from AV8 to P7 (7 channel power amp). these 2 channels power the lows of the my front speakers.

pair of excalibur IIs going from the 2 "low" front channels of the p7 to 2 more channels of the p7 for the mids and highs of the front speakers

pair of biwire sorcerer speaker wires for front channels.

everything else in my system is cheapo cable, but my main stereo pair is all silvered up and i get a monsterous, deep sound that's not too bright at all

Daryan · « **Reply #2 on:** April 08, 2005, 09:53:08 AM »

I agree with Scott. I run all silver stuff from Bolder, and I don't find my system bright either. I don't have a tube anywhere near my stuff either fwiw. I say try it. Personally, I really prefer the sound of silver to copper, but as always, trust your ears with this stuff.

scervin · « **Reply #3 on:** April 08, 2005, 10:25:54 AM »

Scott B,

No Clairvoyant's?? I've looked into those as well, but need to find a 30 day trial offer.

Thinking about it a little more, my system probably won't become bright ever as I will never own metal dome tweeters. With the Arcam gear leaning towards warm I could see using silver wouldn't be a problem. Very nice warm sounding gear. The Onkyo SP1000 is headed to my home next week and I've heard from a few that this leans towards the warmer side of neutral.

I plan to A/B the silver vs. copper and will then scrap one of the two and then begin to compare different silver or copper depending on what is chosen. I'm just really hoping I don't have the lip sync on this Onkyo.

sc

scb · « **Reply #4 on:** April 08, 2005, 11:06:26 AM »

Quote from: scervin on April 08, 2005, 10:25:54 AM

Scott B,

No Clairvoyant's?? I've looked into those as well, but need to find a 30 day trial offer.

Thinking about it a little more, my system probably won't become bright ever as I will never own metal dome tweeters. With the Arcam gear leaning towards warm I could see using silver wouldn't be a problem. Very nice warm sounding gear. The Onkyo SP1000 is headed to my home next week and I've heard from a few that this leans towards the warmer side of neutral.

I plan to A/B the silver vs. copper and will then scrap one of the two and then begin to compare different silver or copper depending on what is chosen. I'm just really hoping I don't have the lip sync on this Onkyo.

sc

not sure if you were serious about the clairvoyants or not. those things are damn expensive!

the most expensive pair of rcas in my system is the sorcerers, and i still paid under 200 for them. the 8ft biwire sorcerer speaker cables should have been over $1500 but i paid 400. (tax refund got me cables last year). so paying over a grand just for a pair of rcas isn't happening anytime soon...unless i win the mega-millions jackpot. hell, then i'll buy YOU a pair too

i've found my "new" arcam gear to be more neutral than my "old" gear. i used to have alpha series integrated amp & cd. they were warmer. i'm loving the av8/p7 combo, and damn the p7 has some power. like 1600 watts (that's a conservative estimate) when all 7 channels are used

anyway, if you ever want to borrow a pair of rcas to test for a week, let me know.

scervin · « **Reply #5 on:** April 08, 2005, 11:20:20 AM »

Yeah, it was a joke sorry I forgot the smile

What are they around $1200? Might take you up on that offer if I decide i want to go with silver IC's.

sc

scb · « **Reply #6 on:** April 08, 2005, 11:53:22 AM »

i think a pair of clairvoyants might be 1200 USED. ridiculous. but there's a ton of silver in there. weight has to be pretty high

yeah just let me know about borrowing some. i can pull the spellcasters or a pair of excaliburs to send your way for a week

BCostigan · « **Reply #7 on:** April 08, 2005, 05:05:36 PM »

You might wanna try Legeddy's Bumblebee MiAGi-II cables. They're silver clad copper and he does excellent work....and for the quality you get they are realitivly inexpensive. (I *think* a one meter pair is $60...but check with Marc). The cable he uses is very similar (I'd say the same but I'm not 100% certain) to the cable Audio Magic uses in it's hyper lite conductor cables. I have a pair now and another pair on the way.

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=36812.0

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=36140.0

scervin · « **Reply #8 on:** April 08, 2005, 06:00:51 PM »

I've contacted him and will probably place an order when he gets back with me. I PM'ed him earlier this week, but it looks like he is on vacation or something. I'm first going to try a copper and silver cables of equal value, pick one and will then begin to compare. Just needed to get the ball rolling on some cables.

SC

BCostigan · « **Reply #9 on:** April 08, 2005, 07:14:26 PM »

Quote from: scervin on April 08, 2005, 06:00:51 PM

I've contacted him and will probably place an order when he gets back with me. I PM'ed him earlier this week, but it looks like he is on vacation or something. I'm first going to try a copper and silver cables of equal value, pick one and will then begin to compare. Just needed to get the ball rolling on some cables.

SC

Yup....he is away from home till Sunday.

Tim · « **Reply #10 on:** April 08, 2005, 08:19:47 PM »

I would love to know what you thought of his cables Scott. I'd be interested in hearing what any of the big cable spenders thought really...

BCostigan · « **Reply #11 on:** April 08, 2005, 09:49:12 PM »

Quote from: Tim on April 08, 2005, 08:19:47 PM

I would love to know what you thought of his cables Scott. I'd be interested in hearing what any of the big cable spenders thought really...

Ditto

scb · « **Reply #12 on:** April 08, 2005, 11:38:52 PM »

i only became a cable spender when uncle same gave me a lot of reasons to at tax time last year

plus, i figured if i never noticed a difference i could always make my money back since the deal was so good to begin with

Tim · « **Reply #13 on:** April 08, 2005, 11:43:51 PM »

Some of you have just have a lot more experience with the build quality and sonic capabilities and characteristics of the highend cable... I'm a complete n00b to the world of cables in comparison

BCostigan · « **Reply #14 on:** April 09, 2005, 08:40:31 AM »

Quote from: Tim on April 08, 2005, 11:43:51 PM

Some of you have just have a lot more experience with the build quality and sonic capabilities and characteristics of the highend cable... I'm a complete n00b to the world of cables in comparison

Again Tim....I completely agree. To ME.....a pair of leegeddys cables, a pair of AM extremes, blue truths etc are high end cables. I know when I first started getting into all this I thought a pair of $30 monster cables were the shiznizzle and couldn't believe that a $150 pair of rcas would sound any better.....of course I was wrong. Now I wonder if a pair of $300...or $600 rcas would sound even better? Cables of course fall into that diminishing returns category.

I'm really curious to hear what Scott and anyone with very extensive cable experience think of Leegeddys cables!

scervin · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2005, 09:56:31 AM »

I don't think I would really consider these "high-end". When I think high end I'm thinking about the offerings from Purist Audio, Nordost, Transparent, Acoustic Zen, Synergistic, etc. I'm looking mainly into Some of the more popular DIY cable maker that took it to business. The ones I'm looking at have compared nicley to some of these hier end guys. Most I'd probably spend on interconnects is $500. I just can't wait until we can get SACD and DVD-A over a digital connection. Firewire is about the best we have, but not everyone has the ability to run it all. I think Sony is the one preventing an across the board solution. When this happens I'll be able to get a high end set for 2 channel and not have to worry about the other three pair for my MC.

sc.

Mic D · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2005, 11:07:20 AM »

Quote from: scervin on April 09, 2005, 09:56:31 AM

Most I'd probably spend on interconnects is $500.

For that much, you could get a couple nice pair of ic's (used) off audiogon. All the ic's in my system are Acoustic Zen, and almost every set I purchased from A'gon have been discounted by almost 50%. For me, it's easier to justify spending $500 on a pair of speaker wire, when you know they would cost $1100, new.

Kevin

PS: I can loan out a pair acoustic zen's if you ever wanted to compare them with straight silver's.

scervin · « **Reply #17 on:** April 09, 2005, 12:09:43 PM »

Again purchasing from a'gon is great if you know you will like the cable. Not run into many with a return policy. I believe system synergy exists, so just because it is a $1200 cable doesn't mean it will sound good with the stuff I have. Might take you up on that offer to demo the Acoustic Zen's.

Thanks,
sc

Tim · « **Reply #18 on:** April 10, 2005, 03:04:47 AM »

I have some mid-fi interconnects that I'd be happy to loan out to anyone here, some Synergistic Research and some Audio Quest...

feel free to PM me and we can work out some details...

leegeddy · « **Reply #19 on:** April 10, 2005, 10:36:49 PM »

i'm back home after 7 days in Oak Brook, IL. good to be home

i have gone through many ICs in my system... AQ, Transparent and few others. i feel that some of the high end stuff is just ridiculously priced and i really can't afford them.

as far as the MiAGi-II ICs, they are $60 for a 1m set and they sound great to me. hopefully, some of you will feel the same.

marc