When I saw that Danny Richie was having a summer sale the last month or so, I asked about speaker cables that he had on hand. After talking it over, I ultimately ordered a new set of 8ft Electra B-6 speaker cables. I first put them in for a listen about 2 weeks ago and was really surprised by the level of improvement they made. For several years, I had been happily using Gregg Straley cables, first with Epiphany line sources and then Super Vs. This weekend I swapped both cables in and out to compare them more systematically. I usually listen to a variety of music but usually small jazz groups, a few big bands, and chamber music. For a quick comparison, I pulled out Steely Dan, Gordon Goodwin, Bela Fleck, Sarah McLachlan, Bill Charlap, and Nils Lofgren. For my particular situation, this was not a close call. Instruments acquired more accurate timbre and better texture. Trumpet and cymbals were less splashy. A more rounded sound is present and low frequencies have greater definition and impact. Instruments are also more resonant. Detail retrieval improved. The sound of strings being struck is more evident. Regardless of whether voice or instrument the sound is more relaxed and involving, and conveys much more information. This provided a better sense of space on Steely Dan Peg and Bill Charlap Blueskies, greater impact of low frequencies for Gordon Goodwin and Bela Fleck, more realistic trumpet timbre on The Phat Pack, and more character to the voices of Sarah McLachlan and Nils Lofgren.
The living room (17X24X9) doubles for streaming internet content and stereo. Using UberBuss, MacMini, PureMusic, AIFF files, external firewire harddrive, AQVOX power supply to Stello U3, Metrum Octave, tube buffer, Clayton Audio S40 SS class A 50W x 2, and SuperVs. The room has some treatments built in. Corners at 45 degrees with acoustic vent, acoustic vent at the ceiling level with rigid mineral insulation in wall, mass loaded vinyl sound dampening material between two layers of contrained layer plywood floor.
Thanks to Danny for the suggestion, this has been a big help. Thought it would be good to share the experience.
Stephen
