[bacobits1]

 

D

[rockadanny]

OH MY HOLY MODAL MAJESTY!!! Are these freakin' wires ever freakin' GOOOOOOD! 

I had a pair from Alex (CDP to pre) which I really liked. Clear, revealing, and well balanced (end to end frequency spectrum). These were the first wires I heard which excelled at all frequencies, top-middle-bottom, with no anaomalies, at least none which I noticed in my system. And I had tried some well regarded cables costing well over $1k retail.

So I decided to try a 2nd pair (12 feet), this time for my pre to monoblock amps. Out of the box I did not like them at all (sounded thin and harsh to me), as if one set in my system improved clarity, but adding a second set was too much for most digital recordings. They seemed sort of OK for very well recorded music such as Art Pepper CDs, but not for lesser or hot recordings, such as Bloomfield Kooper Stills' Super Session. At the time I had no more patience to burn in yet another cable so I put out an APB for anyone out there who could burn these on a cooker for me - I thought to give them a fair shake this way before passing judgement. The kind and generous Mr. Bacobits cooked both sets of cables for me. I hooked them up today and ... WOW!! These are awesome! Clearest, cleanest, best sounding cables I've ever had by far. Tonal quality is spot on. Cymbals sound great as well. 

Thank you Alex for these wonderful cables!!

[Gopher]

New blood!  Excellent to hear they're working so well for you.  I had heard through the grapevine that you weren't blown away by the 'raw' wire.  Glad to hear burn in/cooking made all the difference!

Check out his power cords!  They're probably the easiest pair in his line to recommend as they're priced so fairly.  I got one through the beta program to test on my Pass design amp (which I'm hoping arrives back from service tomorrow...)  but have had to use it on my preamp for the time being.  Even there the upgrade from a respected MAC cable was profound. 

I haven't even posted much about it in terms as impressions as it is not in the position Alex asked me to evaluate it on, but after spending three days with it on the pre as I wait for my amp to come back, I decided I don't want to move it from that spot to experiment and purchased another pair!

[wywires]

I guess I am learning a lesson here. The out of the box, WyWires leave much to be desired. I am now convinced that I need to cook them before they go out. Thanks All...

[bacobits1]

Out of the box you can definitely hear the huge improvement over other wires I was using. Far from much to be desired Alex. He's being modest. These wire as far as I'm concerned are KILLER!

After extended listening (a few days) you can pick out areas that stand out like piano for instance. So I decide to cook at that point. What happens after 48 hours (the interconnects I'm talking about here) things start to flow more gracefully and that bit of a peaky sounding piano just vanishes. These cables are so airy and clear you hear everything. As I mentioned cymbals, drums, and especially recording venue excel. That is the depth and separation of instruments in real space. That is reality. It is fun to listen to what is going on in the background on familiar music that was there all the time but you didn't pay attention to.

The speaker cables take about 3 days break-in with the same effect as on the Interconnects. As I found out and commented in another area, termination matters here. Solder your ends on.

On the "Juice", I did not do a cookaroo. I don't think it needed it. Just as "Gopher", I did order another one. I'm hooked.
All this change as these cables are added is cumulative and not over the top in any way. Just Amazing.

These observations are in my system and my way of hearing them. I have a pretty simple and modest system, I wanted it that way.

As I mentioned there is a fair amount of communication between all of us that beta tested the WyWires. Behind the scenes so to speak. All of it pretty much the same reactions as the Pro review but even more enthusiastic.
You see, in the past I was never a wire believer.

I am glad that Dan can hear the differences cable break-in makes. He also has some specific tastes with his current cables he does not want to change or lose. It's good the WyWire now can play nice with those attributes he wants to keep. Dan, nice setup too!

I will break-in anyone's WyWires if they wish to send them in with return postage. Just PM me here. Some people are charging some pretty hefty prices for this.

As always kudos to Alex.

Den N.

[eclein]

Cymbals, hand percussion instruments, acoustic based sounds just are so much more real!!
From the start I have always been astounded at how much difference these cable could make and how they improved my listening pleasure. They are an incredible example of what can be done-"correctly" when it comes to cable production with audio in mind.

Like Den said the speaker cables took about three days for me as well to really unfold and as each day passed just got better and better.
The last cable I got was the one that had the largest impact quickest...right out of the box the change was easily heard. The dynamics of music are the absolute hardest thing to record let alone playback, for whatever reason the formulation that Alex has created allows that dynamic playback more easily.

My setup has changed dramatically since I put into play the first of Alex's Wywires, I've gone from a very average setup to a more detailed and revealing sound and all along the way the Wywire cables brought out the best of each new component. I'm not sure what the reason is or why they work so well, they just do!!! Someday I hope to hear what the Juice brings to the table..I bet its fabulous!

[rockadanny]

An addendum to my satisfying reaction to Wywire ICs ...

The more music I listen to the more I realize that with other clear sounding ICs I'd tried, CDs which had too steely an edge to their sound at greater than low to medium volume (Rory Block, Mike Bloomfield, Eva Cassidy, Weather Report), now sound perfectly natural with the Wywires. The overly steely edge is gone without sacrificing clarity and openness. For example, on Weather Report's Black Market CD which has lots of different types of cymbals and gong, they are more easily individually identified as opposed to sounding like similar crashes. And Wayne Shorter's sax, though brilliantly clear in sound, is no longer overly piercing. The mids and bass are extremely clean, clear, and naturaly well reproduced as well. Well done!

[Big Red Machine]

How do you get the power chords?  Can you order on line?

[Phil A]

How do you get the power chords?  Can you order on line?

http://www.wywires.com/contact-how-to-buy.html

[wywires]

How do you get the power chords?  Can you order on line?

I require a consultation with you before any money or cables change hands. If you are interested, please email me at alexs@wywires.com and we can set up a time to talk via telephone at my expense.

Alex

[etcarroll]

+1 

I was listening to Donald Fagen's "The Night Fly" early today, and had to sit down and really listen for awhile, because I was struck by how much better the cd sounded than I remembered from the past.

Gotta be in part due to the WyWires that connect my cdp to pre.

An addendum to my satisfying reaction to Wywire ICs ...

The more music I listen to the more I realize that with other clear sounding ICs I'd tried, CDs which had too steely an edge to their sound at greater than low to medium volume (Rory Block, Mike Bloomfield, Eva Cassidy, Weather Report), now sound perfectly natural with the Wywires. The overly steely edge is gone without sacrificing clarity and openness. For example, on Weather Report's Black Market CD which has lots of different types of cymbals and gong, they are more easily individually identified as opposed to sounding like similar crashes. And Wayne Shorter's sax, though brilliantly clear in sound, is no longer overly piercing. The mids and bass are extremely clean, clear, and naturaly well reproduced as well. Well done!

[rockadanny]

Now that I have both sets of ICs implanted in my system (and here to stay) and have listened to them extensively, I went back to reread RL's review in PF. He does nail it in describing these cables and I agree, they lead the $1k and under pack.  But when he states, "I would like a bit more high band sparkle. If he can get them to yield even more overall definition, he would have a game changer.", I have to disagree. For me, this is precisely what sets them apart from the other cables and makes them better to my ears. My common area of complaint for all other cables I tried in this price bracket was exactly that, the "high band sparkle". Too much for me. Always sounded artificial, or at least, inaccurate. I don't want added sparkle. I want natural sounding music. And to me, these sound the most natural.

[bacobits1]

I agree.
No need for "sparkle", very natural just as they are.
I think speakers are most of the time the offender for being too bright.
Too much sparkle at first listen can translate to detail but that gets
old fast. I also know any brightness can be tamed more than a bit by cooking and further settling in.
People have to hear these cables , on trial or whatever in their system to appreciate what we are saying. We all have pretty much different systems too and this naturalness is characteristic in all of them.

Oh, and Alex is not using a $100k system to voice all these compared to some pro reviewers doing cable reviews. My system to me sounds like a $100k now.
 
But, of course cables make no difference. Right?

D

[jtwrace]

Oh, and Alex is not using a $100k system to voice all these

What is he using?

[bacobits1]

Check Alex's "system".
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=systems;area=browse;system=1385

D

[jtwrace]

Check Alex's "system".
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=systems;area=browse;system=1385

D

thanks.  Very surprised to see that he doesn't use any acoustic treatments.   

[Gopher]

I recall seeing pictures of his system on some forum or other.  Can't look for the link now, but IIRC it was in the midst of a nicely decorated living space as opposed to a man-cave. 

For better or worse, he's "voicing" his product under similar conditions as most of us will have in our homes. 

You should hop on the tour and give 'em a whirl in your own rig.  I'd like to see what someone who errs to the objective side thinks of 'em.

[jtwrace]

For better or worse, he's "voicing" his product under similar conditions as most of us will have in our homes. 

Maybe he should use "The only acoustically correct cable"

You should hop on the tour and give 'em a whirl in your own rig.  I'd like to see what someone who errs to the objective side thinks of 'em.

I thought the tour was complete for one.  Second, I've been on the cable merry go around and am done with it.  Do cables change sound?  Yes, but there are always pros / cons to every cable.  Cables are like a woman, they all have flaws but you have to find the one that has flaws you can live with.  Oh, and for the woman that read this, it works for us men too.     Last, at $1,000 per cable, I have a hard time with that.  I have a closet FULL of cables that are that much and they do NOTHING for me except loose me money.  In the end, what makes this cable truly worth $1,000?  Certainly Alex isn't making his own wire....wire is all purchased and terminated and sold.  I know a company that sells their cable to a company that puts there name on it and mass marketing and sells it for 300% more and that's not a joke.

I'm not saying that Wywires isn't good or anything I'm just stating my opinion.  If they work for someone and they're willing to spend the money that's GREAT.

[wywires]

It has always been my belief that an audio system should be shared and enjoyed by the entire family, friends, guests and other visitors. The system should exist in an environment that is comfortable, attractive, inviting and accessible and therefore not intimidating.

At my house, the system is in the living room and it's a great conversation piece and many people have been converted after listening.

If the system is such that it requires a perfectly damped and sized enclosure in order to sound musical, then there is something very wrong with the setup, IMO. Yes I am well aware of all the arguments that suggest speakers and room treatments are the primary paths to sonic nirvana. In the real world, few people have the means to be able to have a dedicated listening room or have the domestic circumstances that allow for damping materials on the walls, tube traps and the like.

If you feel that you MUST have all the room treatments, then maybe its time to evaluate your decisions.

Thar's my 2 cents.

[jtwrace]

It has always been my belief that an audio system should be shared and enjoyed by the entire family, friends, guests and other visitors. The system should exist in an environment that is comfortable, attractive, inviting and accessible and therefore not intimidating.

At my house, the system is in the living room and it's a great conversation piece and many people have been converted after listening.

If the system is such that it requires a perfectly damped and sized enclosure in order to sound musical, then there is something very wrong with the setup, IMO. Yes I am well aware of all the arguments that suggest speakers and room treatments are the primary paths to sonic nirvana. In the real world, few people have the means to be able to have a dedicated listening room or have the domestic circumstances that allow for damping materials on the walls, tube traps and the like.

If you feel that you MUST have all the room treatments, then maybe its time to evaluate your decisions.

Thar's my 2 cents.

I'm speechless.