Are these wires worth the trouble,money?

Dozer · « **on:** 22 Jul 2003, 03:08 am »

Although it's causing me to roll over in my own grave, I have decided to try exotic wires - if only to satisfy myself that I'm not cheating myself out of any enjoyment...

I found what I think were good used deals on the following wires:

Zu Varials, from CDP to integrated amp... about 50 hours burn-in so far. I can hear them trying - flashes of greatness... and they look bitchin, so I'm cool with these so far. < $200.

MIT MH-750 Plus HE, 25' pair speaker wires (actually need only 18' to farthest speaker)... well used already so I don't expect these need burnin... I think they sound good but here's the thing - I don't have time or energy to do some hard-core AB testing. I will say that I believe these things quiet down the background a good bit for sure, maybe punch up the bass... <$300.

Anyway, here's the guts of my question - those MITs are the ugliest f'in things I have ever seen. I've never seen a boxer, woman, boss, teacher, dog, or piece of crap look so ugly. It's a big garden hose with a huge box hanging down from my stand mount monitor speakers. I'm telling you this is the WAF challenge to end all WAF challenges.

I have four more days to "try them" and can return them. I believe the sound is good.. how good my ears aren't golden enough to say with confidence.. but better than before I think.

Should I try to live with the disgusting fat white wires? Or is there something out there in my price range with a little more WAF (hey, even Self Approval Factor is in play here - these things are UGLY)?

Appreciate any advice. I officially believe wires matter (whew that was hard)... I want to have good cabling from CDP through speakers... I know for sure I'm half way there with the Zu, but I don't know about the speaker wires.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 03:14 am »

Since you have a Zu IC, why not try their speaker cable,WAX or IBIS.I have the WAX,sounds good,takes a while to break in.They run auctions on Ebay and Audiogon.

bubba966 · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 03:18 am »

I've been quite happy with the Cables I've had Wayne (of Bolder Cables) build me.

For $350 you could get a 20' pair of his M-80 speaker cables. They're supposed to sound pretty damn good. And they're not big & ugly...

beat · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 04:00 am »

I'd have to say,
If you are not blown away sonically and are second guessing them at this point, you should keep shopping for sure. When you find the right cable for your setup you should know and not be hesitant. There are a million cables out there and alot of them really rock, you just have to find one that gets along with all your other gear. I'd say give zu a try also. I have a pair of the julians and I have a set of kimbers on the HT..worlds apart but I appreciate them both in their own rights..

Chops · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 04:04 am »

Let me tell you something. I thought with my current interconnect selection, and how much it all costs, I couldn't get much better sound, if any.

Here's the list: Cardas, Transparent Audio, Kimber Kable, Analysis Plus, IXOS, L A T International.

Well, one of my brother's has been upgrading all of his interconnects and speaker cables with Stout-Interconnects cables, and he let me try a new pair of his interconnects that just came in today.

All I can say is WOW! These all silver cables really open the whole system up. And that's just one pair of interconnects going to my mains amp! I can hear much greater depth, more natural soundstaging and imaging, and sweeter, smoother highs without being muted.

Needless to say, I am going to be switching out all of my current stock of interconnects to these Stouts. They are just simply amazing and can not be beat for the price.

By the way, about a year or so ago, I bought a bunch of those MIT interconnects and speaker cables from Audio Advisor because they were having a close-out on them. Two months later, I ended up junking all of them. They just flat out sucked! They had shrilly, tinny highs, weak midrange, and nasty, sloppy bass. I have never really been a believer of little passive circuits inline with the signal anyway, and now I know why!

If I were you, I would ditch those MIT's for something else, anything even!

Dozer · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 04:17 am »

Thanks for the inputs so far.

"My" MITs aren't the ones that AudioAdvisor had (I read a lot about those an Audioasylum). I think they cost about a thousand dollars or something new... but I think the ugly looks are going to be dealbreakers anyhow. I have to say that even with my anti-difference bias, I'm impressed with their sound... I just suspect that there are some skinnier wires that will sound just as good.

The only Zus I could afford new are the Julians. I don't see any Agon deals on the wax in a long enough length.

Guess I have a couple days to sleep on it. Maybe I should return these and just stall... wait for that KILLER deal to fall into place. I really need a 20 + 10 pair of used wax under $300... HA!

Tyson · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 04:18 am »

I agree, the MIT's I've heard do kinda suck.

The m80 speaker wire mentioned before is a good cable, and visually unobtrusive. I also 2nd the Zu Wax recommendation.

Whatever you end up getting I would suggest also trying a Bybee in-line speaker filter. Every setup I've heard one in, it made a nice improvement in sound.

satfrat · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 07:07 am »

Quote from: Tyson

Whatever you end up getting I would suggest also trying a Bybee in-line speaker filter. Every setup I've heard one in, it made a nice improvement in sound.

I`m with Tyson on this one, BIG TIME! Although I use Bybee`s from my power source, thru my digital coax, to my speakers, I feel the Bybee speaker filters made the biggest impact.(the Bybee inlines on my digital coax was a damn close second) . I have them on all 5 speakers in my 5.1 system. No matter what speaker wire I end up with, the Bybee speaker filters are there to STAY. Regards, Robin

BlackCat · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 03:12 pm »

Disregarding the performance of the MITs, if you like them (and after all, it comes down to a matter of personal taste), you can dress them up with some TechFlex, available from Parts Express. They have several nice "fabric" looking sleeves available in different colours that may make the wife a bit happier.

Carlman · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Jul 2003, 03:32 pm »

I haven't heard MIT so I can't comment on comparisons to them.. However, I have tried a variety of cables recently.

Consider Audience, they have a free trial as well. (www.audience-av.com) They are the least coloring cable I've ever heard.

A silver coated copper may also work for you... as in Audio Magic Extreme, very good cheap cable, and DH Labs T14.

Keep in mind, long length will affect the sound. I think low-inductance cable is the key for longer runs.... Correct me if I'm wrong.

vpolineni · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Jul 2003, 01:46 pm »

if you're looking for zu WAX,
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=3741

satfrat · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Jul 2003, 01:51 pm »

Quote from: vpolineni

if you're looking for zu WAX,
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=3741

Nice try,in the next post, it states they`ve been already sold! Regards, Robin PS. did I say sold, I meant shipping inc.!

bubba966 · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Jul 2003, 01:55 pm »

Quote from: satfrat

Quote from: vpolineni
if you're looking for zu WAX,
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=3741
Nice try,in the next post, it states they`ve been already sold! Regards, Robin

No where does it say that they're sold in the next post.

But Dozer says he needs a 18' pair. Which makes Josh's 2M pair a bit too short...

satfrat · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Jul 2003, 01:59 pm »

DUHHH, should have had 3 cups of coffee this morning, sorry bout that. Regards, Robin