Balanced ICs panic - pls help me choose between Anti-ICs, Shunyata or Eichmann

anubisgrau · « **on:** 29 May 2007, 03:01 pm »

I am definitely fed up with my old VdH Second balanced ICs I use to link EAR 864 preamp and active ATC 20A.

What I am seeking for is a fast, dynamic, full of life and energy but non-bright cable, the one that would retain a neutral (or whatever) tone balance set by my sources (AAA5 CDP, Attraction DAC, Kuzma Stabi/Stogi TT) and my preamp.

I am forced to buy either reasonably priced items such as Anti-ICs or used and what currently seems on offer is the following:

Anti-ICs copper $250
Anti-ICs silver $350 (i think)
Shunyata Aries $500 s/h
Eichmann eXpress 6 S2 - $300 s/h

I need them 2 m long.

I like the sound of Chord Signature except I would prefer just a tad less tension in the upper mids. The rest of the cable is fantastic except I can't afford. Fast, dynamic and neutral - full of PRaT.

I also kinda lika A+ Oval Crystal Plus except it is too laid back for my taste - just a tad more speed and energy would be great.

Pls let me know your thoughts.

Has anyone had a chance to hear Eichmann eXpress 6 cables? They can be found cheap where I live.

1000a · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 May 2007, 05:57 pm »

anti-cables are magnet wire why not just make your own. Google magnet wire, or better teflon magnet wire. study some successful IC designs and start there. hope this helps - you can make an incredible cable for peanuts. Magnet wirte does not need a cover on it it has a thin enamel or best choice the thin teflon version, placing covers on top of it just increase the dielectric. CV also has a DIY silver cable you could do or a spin off of it done with the magnet wire. just my thoughts

anubisgrau · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 May 2007, 06:54 pm »

too late i'm afraid. there was someone travelling from the states to me so i took an opportunity and just ordered anti-ICs. i know they are easy to DIY but i have two left hands - not very good with solder. anyway for $250 there was not that much risk involved and i suppose they are easy to sell in europe as there is no distibution - just for case they don't fit.

aries were $550 for similar length and with eichmanns i wasn't confident enough to buy in faith, unless the auction i'm watching seems like ending with a low price.

gooberdude · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 May 2007, 07:06 pm »

Have no fears going with the Anti-IC's...they are about as good as they come for the $ IMO.

Thelonious Monk · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 May 2007, 10:26 pm »

if you can't solder you should ask some of the resident diyers if they can craft you a cable. you could probably get something nicer looking with better materials for the same price; like slap some of these on. big shiny xlr plugs. mmm.

richidoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 May 2007, 12:05 am »

I own anti-cables, great value. I have since heard Grover Huffman "S" ICs and Gregg Straley Reality Cables ICs, both of which are also exceptional, and sound better to me in my system than my Anti copper. I bought the grovers. Read about them on Steve Hoffman forum. The prices are all in the same ballpark.
Rich

rollo · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 May 2007, 03:09 pm »

Believe it or not the Anti- Cable silver is one hell of a cable. This is coming from a copper guy. To date I have to hear a silver IC that outperformed this cable. They are a pain to break in 200 Hrs plus. The end result however is quite rewarding.
With a money back guarr. its a no brainer IMO

rollo

anubisgrau · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Jun 2007, 04:52 pm »

i'll post my reports on anti-ICs as from early next week. a friend from the NYC who picked them up is already in europe. this will be a great weekend i suppose

anubisgrau · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 11:35 pm »

Anti-ICs arrived - fully balanced, 2x2m to replace Van den Hul The Second.

They are 60 mins in my system and the only what I can say is: bloody hell!!! Why I have waited for so long.

Can't remember when I had such a great upgrade in my system, for so little money!

But you knew it anyway.

The next order will be silver Anti-ICs to go between Attraction DAC and EAR 864. I expect to be a killer there.

1000a · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 06:15 am »

awesome, great choice

richidoo · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 12:32 pm »

So what are silver anti's? Silver plated copper, or solid silver signal conductor? My copper IC is poly coated crystal copper. Thanks

Imperial · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Jun 2007, 12:34 pm »

Quote from: anubisgrau on 4 Jun 2007, 11:35 pm

Anti-ICs arrived - fully balanced, 2x2m to replace Van den Hul The Second.
They are 60 mins in my system and the only what I can say is: bloody hell!!! Why I have waited for so long.

Yes, why did you?

I think it's you that I talked to in october of 2006 on that Norwegian forum about
the VdH's. About not using them I believe it was.
Getting better sound is always fun!

The anti's are great, I agree on that!

Imperial

1000a · « **Reply #12 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 06:12 am »

also curious on the anti silver ICs are they enameled type of wire or more traditionally sleeved?

Say · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 12:23 pm »

I recently purchased a pair of the unbalanced silver anti's a couple months back. They look just like the regular copper dudes with a few subtle differences. The plug is a silver bullet from eichmann and the signal wire is supposedly all silver. No silver over copper hookup here. The enamel protective covering is also present as it is with the other Speltz cables. Burn in is at 400 hours. The cable terminations also have one of the Caig lubricants to preserve the integrity of the silver in order to withstand oxidation.

Note - I'm still burning it in. At initial start up I noticed a level of detail that is simply tremendous. I thought to myself that such a cable would be great in a forgiving system. Then I hooked it up to an unforgiving system and now know that I better finsih my burn in process. All the hallmarks of a very good cable are there. Bass, treble, mid range and so on. Just needs more time for a proper evaluation.

anubisgrau · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 02:29 pm »

Quote from: Say on 6 Jun 2007, 12:23 pm

I recently purchased a pair of the unbalanced silver anti's a couple months back. They look just like the regular copper dudes with a few subtle differences. The plug is a silver bullet from eichmann and the signal wire is supposedly all silver. No silver over copper hookup here. The enamel protective covering is also present as it is with the other Speltz cables. Burn in is at 400 hours. The cable terminations also have one of the Caig lubricants to preserve the integrity of the silver in order to withstand oxidation.

Note - I'm still burning it in. At initial start up I noticed a level of detail that is simply tremendous. I thought to myself that such a cable would be great in a forgiving system. Then I hooked it up to an unforgiving system and now know that I better finsih my burn in process. All the hallmarks of a very good cable are there. Bass, treble, mid range and so on. Just needs more time for a proper evaluation.

a good silver cable should certainly be more revealing and critical of upstream components, however once things are settled i found them to be a must. i didn't but silver balanced ICs for my system only because i wanted to try if anti-ICs work as a principle in my system as well as because of the costs, but now i would be really curious.

cheers gordan

gooberdude · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 02:31 pm »

Hey Say,

from what i've read one of the benefits of Silver is that when it does oxidize, the oxidation is just as conductive.

this isn't the case with copper (at least i'm led to believe that).

richidoo · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 03:05 pm »

Interesting idea gooberdude~. As a trumpet player I can tell you it sure tastes better!

Lots of copper in brass, silver mouthpieces.

Thanks for the lowdown on anti-silver Say. Glad to know the silvers are also a hit. The Grover silvers took about 50 hours to break in and mellow down, maybe a little more. Silver is nice for ICs. I was afraid of it at first because until recently it was too expensive, but also heard it made system too bright, but that doesn't have to be true.

Say · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Jun 2007, 07:08 pm »

Eventually, when enough time is spent with various cables you will notice some preferences in the kind of sound you want. For me, diffuse blurring is a no no. Tilted octaves such as treble boost, heavy bass or missing bass is also doo doo. Eventually it comes down to detail and musicality. Normally this is an either/or proposition, yet this domain is actually filled with some very good cables on the market. Case in point. A long time ago I dug out some old kimber pbj and kcag. Both similar in design yet different in metalurgy and coating, not to mention the price tag. The good value for the money, pbj, has almost everything that the kcag (silver) has but to a lesser extent in the detail department. Both had very good bass capabilities. I would even say that the silver went furhter down with a better controlled register. That eventual eye opener told me that silver is not the tizzy culprit it's portrayed to be. In fact, silver is a necessary component of the cable in order to retrive information that is not detected with the lesser cable. One caveat, silver takes a longer time to burn in for the resultant virtues to shine. Once you pay your dues you should be in for a happy time.

Now, both of those cables have been replaced by better ones in my system once the criteria of 'better' had been met. I look forward towards sharing a more descriptive explanation of my ride with the anti silver ic's in a few weeks.