"What cables work best with the NuForce 9SE?"

Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Ever since I wrote that Amp/Preamp Asylum series about the NuForce 9SE, I commonly get asked about what cables to use with them. These cable questions strike me as a little odd. After all, anyone in the market for the 9SE already has experience and good ideas about cables.
Some users said that the 9SE "was sensitive to cables." Others see it as the cables exerting influence over the 9SE. Either way, look, if you're going to have the 9SE in the system, you want to arm yourself with as much info as you can, so that you can pick and choose what'll work for yourself.
N.B.: all of my cables go through at least 2 days on the Cable Cooker, followed by two weeks of regular use (usually between CD player and preamp, with the former on infinite repeat).
The three primary speakers were the Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor, Thiel CS2.4, and Totem Mani-2 Signature. The M2S is a bi-wire model. Primary room measures 19' x 15'. Smaller rooms didn't work out; too much bass boom.
Nordost Valhalla ICs/Valkyrja SCs. Note that we have the "old style" Neutrik RCAs on the single-ended ICs. We refuse to use those awful locking-barrel RCAs that now come with Nordost's ICs. More so than any of the other cable systems we tried, the Nordost family allowed the 9SE to sound "all over the place." A closer inspection reveals that the Vallhalla interconnects could be described as "transparent," or "highly resolving." Which means that it just got out of the way, and let the equipment and recordings speak for themselves. In a general sense, this was all good. But on some recordings, sigh, we wished for some some sort of EQ. If you listen to pop music on vinyl, look out. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Yet, on these multi-track recordings, no other cable was so good at letting us feel like we were at the console. It was neat how our ears were free to follow whatever track they wanted to hear. There was less "bleed" between tracks, so it was cool to follow whatever musical line you wanted to follow.
Shunyata Antares/Orion. The Shunyatas have just as much "resolution" as the Nordosts, but that resolution is presented in a different way. The Shunyata is smoother, less incisive. Some shine was lost, but sometimes, the whole was easier to take. Put it this way. The Nordosts reminded us about the times we got all "knob crazy" behind the recording console. The Shunyatas reminded us more of the time we just pressed "record," put our feet on the console, and let the band play.
Tara Labs The One ICs/Air 1 SCs. The Air 1 speaker cable is a shotgun model. That means a separate run for +, a separate run for -. If you have to bi-wire with this stuff, yes, that means a total of four runs behind the each speaker. I hate the locking RCAs on the single-ended ICs. They never fit quite right. Plus, if you have a crowded preamp, it is damn near impossible to twist and twist and twist.
Oooh, ooh, ooh, what a see-through, airy, transparent, glossy sound. Processed? Yes, but not in an offensive way. Some listeners will demand more texture, harmonics, and grit, but the Tara Labs cables sure coughed up a burnished, polished, breathtaking sound. When I was in high school, we used to go to San Mateo's Fashion Island ice rink. When my classmate's sister, Crystal, casually skated by, damn, I not only felt the air brush by, I swear I could smell her sweet innocence. I saw the sparkle in her eye, as she looked back at me and her brother. Even though Justin and I couldn't skate, Crystal's ease and friendliness, made us overcome the fear of falling. A few steps onto the ice and ....BAM, Justin and I bumped into each other, and fell to the ice. Crystal smiled, and even though it was embarrassing and painful to fall, Crystal made me and Justin not feel like losers. And that is the essence of what the Tara Labs cables sound like, when used with the 9SE. In fact, the Tara Labs cables made the SF Cremona Auditor come alive in a cohesive way that was unlike any of the other cables. Put on Steely Dan's "Home At Last," and be done with hi-fi.
XLO Limited Edition ICs/Unlimited Edition SCs. If you think the 9SE is "lean [I don't; I think of it as centered, while most other high-end amps sound too plump]," you might like the way the XLOs effortlessly reveal, boost, and feature harmonics and decay. Nothing ever seems to get out of whack, when the XLO is in place. However, the loss of incision, crystal clear backgrounds, and speed was too much for me. In this regard, the XLO reminded us of the CJ MV60SE [which was a comparison amp to the 9SE]. It wasn't a question of power or slam. Rather, the whole didn't lock in and boogie. It's like swaying your head gently all the time. But damn it, sometimes the music (we listen to a lot of thrash metal) DEMANDS that black and blue, slammin', spastic jolt. The music is supposed to cut through the air. With the XLO, it more more polite, refined, earthy, and genteel than it should have been, and this was a major downer.
Having gone through several top-notch cable systems, we came to the conclusion that the 9SE can take whatever bass is present, and kick it into gear. There is no bloat, no sludge, no reticence, no boom, no loss of focus. If you need an amp to grab hold of your speaker (and the Totem M2S has a reputation for being problematic), the 9SE is a bass master. When you have your speakers set up properly, the 9SE allows you to hear what is going on in the bass. You are now more aware of the direction of kick drum taps and stomps. You can tell if the bass notes drop into the floor, or radiate horizontally 2-3 feet above the ground.
Users often report diametrically opposing character, when it comes to the 9SE's treble performance. Indeed, cable choice comes into play here. I can easily see how someone could complain that the 9SE's treble is "hashy" with the Nordost Valhalla. I could easily see how someone would call the treble "dark and silky," if she were using the Shunyatas. I understand that someone would call the treble "mechanical," is she were using Tara Labs. I can easily see where someone would say that the treble is "sweet, rolled off, and blunted" if the 9SE were used with the XLO.
Whether you see the situation as the cables influencing the 9SE, or the 9SE being "neutral" towards to cables is academic. In the end, you're looking for the right combo, the best TEAM. As in sports, you just can't throw a bunch of highly-paid all-stars together, and expect them to bring home a championship. And then you have to think long term. What about next year? And the year after that?
Well, you and I will never be able to buy a major league sports franchise. For that, we'll just have to fantasize. Heck, high-end audio is every bit a dream as owning a sports franchise. But here in audio, we can try stuff out, report what we heard, and have fun putting together these wacky combos. Thank goodness we don't have to deal with the players' agents, injuries, and the luxury tax. Enjoy!
-Lummy The Seahorse

Lummy's World (Open in New Window)

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Topic - "What cables work best with the NuForce 9SE?" - Luminator 11:14:44 02/20/07 (1)

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