[Big Red Machine]

  Then I got Dana Cables.  It was sort of like the bass I thought I was always missing had been found.  I don't know what it is about these cables, but they solved my anemic bass issues.  I was really shocked as I used to be a cables do not matter kind of person.  I was wrong.  I use Ziro Audio interconnects.  I highly recommend the Dana Cables. They are very thick, but work really well for me.  I am running a tube preamp...

That's good because Salk is in the Dana Cable/Wells Audio/Ginkgo Audio room at Newport I believe.

[Big Red Machine]

Gingko Audio
Room - 1144, Booth - The MarketPlace F37
- Salk Exotica Speakers - DanaCable Reference Cables - Cloud Vibration Control platforms - Wells ...

[Tomy2Tone]

Gingko Audio
Room - 1144, Booth - The MarketPlace F37
- Salk Exotica Speakers - DanaCable Reference Cables - Cloud Vibration Control platforms - Wells ...

Sweet! I think Lampizator is in there as well...

Wonder if DanaCable will have the Diamond series..I wanna see what 30lbs of copper speaker cables look like. 

[Big Red Machine]

http://theshownewport.com/profile/106/

Yes, the big 7.

[sfox7076]

Which is also the DAC I have.  It will sort of be like my living room.  I have a Concert Fidelity preamp though.  And my amps are not Wells...

[sfox7076]

Yeah, the cables I have are huge enough.  Diamond scare me.  I have tried a bunch of other cables, and the Dana's made me come back to them.  They are really good.  Some complain that that much copper could be an RFI nightmare, but I have not experienced that.

[Vulcan00]

I am glad you younger guys can enjoy these premium cables. I don't think my old ear would benefit from a $5k set of speaker cables.

[JonnyFive]

I am glad you younger guys can enjoy these premium cables. I don't think my old ear would benefit from a $5k set of speaker cables.

Just for fun I visited Dana Cable's site.  I see that at some shows they have an A/B switching box that allows you to test their cables versus another brand.  I would like to try this.  Being a mathematician (and unfortunately, a statistician) I'm not expecting to be able to tell a difference. But I'll keep an open mind and give it a whirl.

[FireGuy]

Just for fun I visited Dana Cable's site.  I see that at some shows they have an A/B switching box that allows you to test their cables versus another brand.  I would like to try this.  Being a mathematician (and unfortunately, a statistician) I'm not expecting to be able to tell a difference. But I'll keep an open mind and give it a whirl.

I too would like some day to perform this test in a live situation.  Like loud speakers, best way to evaluate is the double blind method.  Even when we know judgment needs to be objective... there's an underlying bias when we can see quality and understand the price difference.   Best build quality and higher prices should yield better results right?  Not always the case.

[ernest787]

Yeah I don't know if I could ever justify $5k for cables... wait... even if I could my wife would definitely kill me.

[jsalk]

Two years ago we were showing at the California Audio show.  I had just finished setting up the room and was curious as to how much our entire setup (SS8's, amp, preamp, dac, etc.) cost.  So I tallied it up and it came to $23,000.

Walking around the show, I stopped by a cable manufacturer and asked about his "best" cables.  "That would be these," he said.  "They are $20,000 per pair."

I asked myself which I would rather have...all the equipment in our room or a pair of speaker cables.  Tough decision...

- Jim

[sfox7076]

I didn't want to like more expensive cables.  I really did not want to spend money on cables.  Then I put them in, and, well, I bought them.  It was weird for me.  The cables just worked better in my application.  Not sure why.

[sfox7076]

And my cables were nowhere near $5k.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AKTDn1hp2I has the switch video.  About 17:00 in.  not likely you can hear the difference on your PC, but there was one.  It's kind of odd.  I don't know why it sounds better in my room, but it does.  And no, there was no double blind.

[Big Red Machine]

I didn't want to like more expensive cables.  I really did not want to spend money on cables.  Then I put them in, and, well, I bought them.  It was weird for me.  The cables just worked better in my application.  Not sure why.

Ditto.  Bit the bullet and tried them and I'll be darned, they were gamechanging for me.  Oh well.  And then I went even higher than the AZ cables to another plateau. 

[sfox7076]

I know someone selling their 8' Diamond series speaker cables if anyone has interest.  I am pretty sure they are around half of the retail.  Still a lot of dough.  I am not at the Diamond level and I need 12'.

[Vulcan00]

This is a little off topic of this post, but as a follow up to relative components:

I started out wanting a home theater system and spent a fair amount for me to set one up (not Salk speakers). Later I found out that was not what I really wanted, HT systems are dramatic not saying anything against them.

Some have the best of all components, some are interested in electronics more, some like experiment more with tweeting equipment and enjoy that.

I my thing has always been speakers ,I can not remember how many sets or brands I've had. Every time I see a pair of SS8 or E3 come up it kills me , I want a set so bad, I just can not justify it because of my tentative living arrangements, once that changes I will be hot after a pair.

[Nuance]

Thanks for your write-up, Jon.  It was very well done and I really enjoyed it!  Congrats on your E3's!

[Saturn94]

Two years ago we were showing at the California Audio show.  I had just finished setting up the room and was curious as to how much our entire setup (SS8's, amp, preamp, dac, etc.) cost.  So I tallied it up and it came to $23,000.

Walking around the show, I stopped by a cable manufacturer and asked about his "best" cables.  "That would be these," he said.  "They are $20,000 per pair."

I asked myself which I would rather have...all the equipment in our room or a pair of speaker cables.  Tough decision...

- Jim

 

[JP78]

My general experience with Accuton has been that they really do require exellent-for-music electronics to come to life to really pull on the heartstrings of the listener.  Most folks on AC know that we can get world-class sound from equipment at at relatively reasonable prices - I'm not stating the equipment must be super expensive or anything. I think JonnyFive's case is a prime example of how it's not a function of the cost of his equipment but rather his needs to have his speakers coexist with HT equipment.

I think if you really can't feed Accuton drivers with equipment that is optimized for music then it may really be worth considering another set of drivers.  I think Accuton can sound exceptionally-detailed-but-soulless if not paired properly. They're really not forgiving drivers at all.  However, when all the pieces fall in place I think the ceiling for what's possible with them is truly special.

I have not listened to the SS8 so I can't comment on the bass.  However I  do have a neighbor with Marten Birds (a speaker with all Accuton drivers) and I never cared for them until recently.  I previously thought they sounded spectacularly detailed but did not really grab me.  He had recently swapped out from Halo to Atma Sphere and the sound is incredibly captivating.

I think if I had $6K to spend on speakers that I knew were sharing HT equipment I would be a little scared to go with a speaker with an Accuton midrange driver.  I think Accuton takes more work to get sounding right but ultimately can reach heights few other speakers can.  If you can make a commitment to working with a less forgiving speaker it seems like the SS8 still represent a tremendous value for an affordable reference quality speaker.

[sfox7076]

The Exoticas are going to be at Newport with new electronics.  Dac will be a Lampizator Lite 7 and Wells audio amps.  I am not sure if the Lite 7 has a volume control or if there is a preamp.  Interested to hear what people say.

Shawn