[reflex]

Not the full review/comparison yet...

I've had the RC speaker cables for just under a week now, and added some break in to what Gregg puts them through before shipping and the used RC Special Edition IC's arrived today.

You want realism?  Without making the wife work two jobs?  And shipping the kids off to a third world country to do child labor?

Get ya some RC's...

These cables are way under-priced for the level of realism they contribute to a system.

reflex

[lonewolfny42]

Not the full review/comparison yet...

So....you heard a difference ....right away ?

[reflex]

I'll have to spend alot more time (alot...), but yes.  There's a level of three dimensionality that is...well...more Real(ity).  Very appropriate name for the cables.  Transparent.  The Varials are wonderful IC's, but the IC comparison was like taking the Varials and opening up the vocals. 

Palpability...thereness.  The image is shaped wider in it's depth, if that makes sense.

I had chance to hear a Esoteric UZ-1 player yesterday (mine will be here in a week or so) and it is just so "liquid" compared to what I've heard before.  We had a Cambridge Audio 840C and the highly regarded Ayre CX-7 and the Esoteric just destroys them both.  I can't wait to replace my Musical Fidelity A3.5CD with it.  After I break it in, the real comparisons will begin.

[Big Red Machine]

You have to spend quite a bit more or go to silver or gold to do better than Greg's cables.  And then only if you wish that "color" of sound.  Really nice cables.

[poseidonsvoice]

I agree as well. Gregg's cables are the real deal at a down to earth price. Clobbered my Cardas Golden Cross cables, and a bunch of other pricier models. I use Gregg cables as interconnects and speaker cables.

Best,
Anand.

[ZLS]

Yes, the Reality Cables offer extraordinary value!  Every time I put them in I am astounded by how wide the soudstage becomes; it is indeed noticeable from the first note. 
    It does not hurt that Gregg is a true gentleman to deal with.

[denjo]

I have never tried Gregg's speaker cables but his ICs (SS version) were very neutral and simply voiced the system as it was! Now that I am in tubeland, I might try his "tube version"!

[kbuzz3]

i enjoy them as well. I use both the sc and the ic.  Super product at a real world price.  I also find them to have a noticable lack of sibilence but still revealing.... 

[reflex]

i enjoy them as well. I use both the sc and the ic.  Super product at a real world price.  I also find them to have a noticable lack of sibilence but still revealing.... 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I heard a Esoteric UZ-1 the other day and will have one soon.  One of the things I noticed about this player, and the first thing I looked for using a cd that can sound bad on a system with sibilence problems, was what it did to that edge on a vocal.  It was fast and smooth.  And that's not to say it rounded it off.  It just handled the transient far better than the other players I've heard this cd played on.  When I do my shootout (and I have 2 more cables on the way), I think I'm going to use both the UZ-1 and the A3.5 and try to report what differences there are in the IC's auditioned when you use different sources. 

I don't think anyone should try to use cables as a tone control for their system.  To me that's somewhat of a bandaid to fix a problem that should be fixed somewhere else in the chain.  But, every cable's performance is system dependant and a cable that might not exaberate an inability of the source to be totally pristine should be considered, even though, in absolute terms, it might not be the most accurate.  If slightly rounding off the transient of a vocal sibilence, but tonally accurate, dimensional and dynamic makes the overall presentation more listenable, then it might be a better choice. 

I know I mentioned the comparisons/reviews a number of days ago and started this dialog...but this is going to take some time to complete.  I've purchased some other IC's to add to the mix, as well.  I want whatever observations I have to be as valuable as possible, within the context of my personal taste and system.  So I'm not going to rush to verdict. 

[kbuzz3]

This statement may be a bit of heresy but i have no problem using cables to tune a system.  With regard to sibilence, I do not hear it when listening to live unamplified music.  As such i dont want to hear it in my stereo system. If cables eliminate that problem without "distorting" the rest of the music -well then good.

I dont care how accurate or realistic a component is, if it sounds harsh, or distracting on the top end its not fun. Then its not a hobby either. Its equipment worship/fetish ...

What i am trying to say without stirring up a hornets nest, is i find there is often too much dogma about systems, and reguritation of this dogma on a lot of boards.  The "no cable for tuning" dogma is one that i hear repeatedly and inmho wrongly.  The sibilence issue is IMHO part and parcel of this. 

In contrast, here is some more positive dogma which should be repeated more often instead. If your system is such that only audiophile approved recordings can be played without enjoyment or even wincing...well thats a system preference which i dont subscribe to.

I posted this a few years ago regarding dvd or sacd offerings which should help articulate what im saying.
Name your 10 favorite records of all time, with respect to music only.  How many of them are offered in dvd sacd?

The answer to that question should reflect your system preferences and listening priorities. My answer  (excluding kind of blue) is none

ff you answer includes many, and patricia barber;s modern cool- then different conclusions should be made. One should take that into account when posting opinions on equip. and systems.

No offense ment to any poster above. Just trying to add a bit of perspective here. A slight rant due from a bit of burbon last night, but one i think should be injected ever so often

[reflex]

This statement may be a bit of heresy but i have no problem using cables to tune a system.  With regard to sibilence, I do not hear it when listening to live unamplified music.  As such i dont want to hear it in my stereo system. If cables eliminate that problem without "distorting" the rest of the music -well then good.

I dont care how accurate or realistic a component is, if it sounds harsh, or distracting on the top end its not fun. Then its not a hobby either. Its equipment worship/fetish ...

What i am trying to say without stirring up a hornets nest, is i find there is often too much dogma about systems, and reguritation of this dogma on a lot of boards.  The "no cable for tuning" dogma is one that i hear repeatedly and inmho wrongly.  The sibilence issue is IMHO part and parcel of this. 

In contrast, here is some more positive dogma which should be repeated more often instead. If your system is such that only audiophile approved recordings can be played without enjoyment or even wincing...well thats a system preference which i dont subscribe to.

I posted this a few years ago regarding dvd or sacd offerings which should help articulate what im saying.
Name your 10 favorite records of all time, with respect to music only.  How many of them are offered in dvd sacd?

The answer to that question should reflect your system preferences and listening priorities. My answer  (excluding kind of blue) is none

ff you answer includes many, and patricia barber;s modern cool- then different conclusions should be made. One should take that into account when posting opinions on equip. and systems.

No offense ment to any poster above. Just trying to add a bit of perspective here. A slight rant due from a bit of burbon last night, but one i think should be injected ever so often

I agree...I don't listen to "audiophile" recordings.  I listen to music I like that is, at least relatively, well recorded.  I have cds that I feel are a challenge for a system to resolve to a pleasant, listenable level.  To me that is far more important than only listening to a few cds because only those are "audiophile" in execution.  The purpose of a system is to enjoy listening to music and should not to be constantly analytical.  When doing any kind of comparison/review an analytical approach needs to be taken, so as to listen beyond the music itself, but to it's actual presentation.

And when I said I don't believe cables should be used as tone controls or "fixes" for another problem, I would equate it to pouring steak sauce on a poor steak so it be edible...rather than just eating a better steak.  What you end up with is the experience of tasting steak sauce rather than tasting steak.  But, with that said, it can be beneficial to use a cable to NOT exaberate a real problem in another part of the system, when correcting the real problem may be cost prohibitive.

[Double Ugly]

While I didn't care for the Reality ICs (at all ), Gregg's speaker cables are the best I've had in my system, regardless of price.

Having owned hyper expensive (to me) SCs before, I have no intention of trying to find something better.  I'd likely have to spend several times the retail price of Gregg's cables to find something which might be subjectively better in some way, and I honestly can't imagine the return on such an investment being remotely justified.

kbuzz3-
I don't understand why you chose to "rant" in a review thread, but maybe posting after hitting the sauce isn't an ideal sequence for you.

[kbuzz3]

double: my post was in reaction to some earlier discussion on not using cables as tone controls.  INMHO they all do something to the sound, RC and everything else included.

And i was giving a thumbs up to the RC products, so i wanted to give some perspective on my biases and listening preferences for those looking to try the RC products. Absolutley love the RS speaker cables, on both my alnicos and hemp driven omegas.

With that said, it was bit of a rant. I will take the post down if others think its totally off topic and rambling...It was more of a reminder in the context of cables to take into account the system of the poster.  That way you may be able to identify things that are consistent among different systems or are totally system dependent.   In other words, my opinion is to listen to posters, follow thier systems and biases, not rigid dogma.  Folks like gregg at RC make that possible by offering in home trials.  which we can all agree is the best and ultimate arbiter of any part of the system.



I enjoy AC and dont want it to degenerate into the stuff on other sites.....

[reflex]

double: my post was in reaction to some earlier discussion on not using cables as tone controls.  INMHO they all do something to the sound, RC and everything else included.

And i was giving a thumbs up to the RC products, so i wanted to give some perspective on my biases and listening preferences for those looking to try the RC products. Absolutley love the RS speaker cables, on both my alnicos and hemp driven omegas.

With that said, it was bit of a rant. I will take the post down if others think its totally off topic and rambling...

I enjoy AC and dont want it to degenerate into the stuff on other sites.....

No...keep the post here.  Valid points made...well said.

[reflex]

This is a "discussion" forum, not a "lecture" forum.  One point of view is useless, even to he who owns that point of view.  The opinions of "all" are far more valuable than the opinions of "me".  When I begin the formal comparisons of IC's, speaker cables and power cords, the results will not be based on my opinions alone and quite possibly may involve a number of systems to be used for the comparisons.

I was part of discussion on another forum recently and it was highly interesting to hear other's points of view, but the thread was killed by the moderator because it was stated that "debates are not allowed here, subjective or objective".  Seems like a rather worthless place to spend time to me and I doubt I will make any more posts there.

[reflex]

A "rant" is only a rant when you refuse to acknowledge other's questions to you and or opinions stated...when you just seem to want to go blindly on making statements.  Otherwise, it becomes your "opinion" and has as much value as anyone else's.

[Philistine]

Another from me for Gregg's SC's - I went through this exercise just over a year ago.  I was prepared to pay whatever necessary to get the best sound possible from my system and auditioned as many SC's as I could (including Stereophile A rated), and Gregg's wiped the floor with all those I tried.  Just very clean, neutral and transparent.  It was Danny Ritchie that put me onto them, and I'm pleased he did.  Good luck with the rest of your review.     

[BrianM]

Hmm, given that they're relatively sanely priced I might have to give the speaker cables a try some time.

[DeanSheen]

I've been running the IC's & SC for about 2 years in my system and they are destination cables for me.

Gregg is a friendly knowledgeable guy to deal with and offers excellent customer service.

I have no qualms about giving my business to people like Gregg and he has some more coming from me in the near future.

YMMV but I'm pretty darn happy.

[mfsoa]

I bought my first pr of Reality ICs the other week (Thanks Neil ("Walkern")), tube version. They are currently between pre and amp, replacing DIY Canare L2T2S cable.

What I'm hearing is openness, speed, power, cleanliness, dynamics. This is only relative to my other cable cause I don't think any of us can really say if a cable is "true to the source" or "adds nothing of it's own..." since the source ain't nothin' till it's amplified somehow. (There, that's my audio dogma rant - That we can say that anything is faithful to the source - How the heck do you know that? - The source is pits on plastic or grooves on vinyl - These things have has no sound, so how can we say that the sound some component makes is true to something that has no sound of its own  )

And my Canare cables were much more open than my wet-blanket make that nice 'n smooth (Hey I may want to sell them someday ) Tara RSC Reference Gen IIs, go figure.

OK, sorry for the diversion, I feel better now.

So, I am very pleased w/ my Realities. I hear a big soundstage, more up-front than I was used to but hey, I like it! Does anyone think that this quality might be too much for some systems? I think the tube versions are supposed to have more treble energy (or more up-front balance, whatever) and maybe that's what I'm hearing.

Missed out on some Reality SCs on 'Gon last week. Maybe someday I'll get a quad.

Agree that Gregg is great to deal with - Never spoken but have emailed; great service and advice.

-Mike

PS - Lonewolf - My son Dan wants to say what's up - Here goes:   "What's up, and good luck on the quest for 10K!  "