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Original Message
REVIEW: AudioQuest Slate Cable
Posted by Joe Blow on November 12, 2002 at 16:14:41:
Model: Slate Category: Cable Suggested Retail Price: $260 / 10' pair Description: Circular Array Hyperlitz LGC-OHFC Speaker Cable Manufacturer URL: AudioQuest Model Picture: View
Review by Joe Blow (A) on November 12, 2002 at 16:14:41
IP Address: 63.78.179.4Add Your Review
for the SlateI admit it, I'm a skeptic about cables at seemingly extreme prices. Up until a few months ago I had been using generic 16 gage radio shack speaker cables and had been happy. What convinced me to try a "real" speaker cable stems back to this spring when I picked up a Musical Fidelity A3 integrated amp (a wonderful amp, by the way). The amp's long depth made my old audio cabinet obsolete (it didn't fit), so I built a varient of the TNT flexy rack. When that was finally done in late summer, I moved everything onto the rack and noticed my 10 year old RS cable was badly oxidized and corroded. That put me in the market.I initially considered just getting more and heavier generic speaker cable, but decided I might try DIY to get a good speaker cable inexpensively. I quickly stumbled onto Jon Risch's site which shares a plethora of information and demystifies much of the snake oil and mystique of speaker cables and interconnects. The CAT-5 cable sounded nice but, quite frankly, I don't think I have the time for something like this. I thought I might try my own DIY design with braided 18 gage twisted pair teflon wire, however the cost for this put it in the league of low end off the shelf cable, and my lazyness got the best of me. I will one day know if my DIY cable is success though, as I recently found a buch of wire in the scrap bin at work and will make a cable for my center channel speaker...eventually.
Anyway, based on the advise of this forum, I picked out the Audioquest Slate being closed out on Audio Advisor as being a relatively neutral to slightly warm cable. Normally a $260 cable, it currently sells for $90. Note this is the old "garden hose" style 8 conductor cable, not the paralleled four pair shown on AQ's web site.
The Slate employs eight mulitple gage "spread spectrum" conductors. Each conductor is claimed to pass certain frequencies better due to skin effect. I remain skeptical that this happens to a significant degree in the audio band, but so-be-it. The wires are solid "long grain copper" and oxygen free to improve conductivity, and finally are wound in a spiral "hyperlitz" over a core material (composition unknown).
Upon reciept my first impressions were for a solid cable it seems remarkably flexible, though it is stiff and heavy none-the-less. The termination appears first rate, but solder is used. Hook them up and turn it on and listen to a few CD's. I was not very impressed. These cables sounded exceedingly dark to the point that I wanted to return them. I perserviered though and put some hours on them. They have opened up imensley (I never thought I would be writing about the effects of cable run-in, much less speaker cables).
These cables add a very slight warmth to a very slightly warm amplifier and the resulting ballance seems to be just about "right" for me. This does an excellent job of helping to tame digital nasties and would very likely go a long way in taming overly bright or nauciously detailed sources (and may explain why I very much enjoy my AT440ML cartridge where others complain of it's brightness).
Product Weakness: Out of the box this is a dark sounding cable. This is a heavy stiff cable not for wimpy binding posts. Product Strengths: Mostly transparent - i.e. does no apperent harm to the music but will add just a hair of warmth.
Associated Equipment for this Review: Amplifier: Musical Fidelity A3 Integrated Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None Sources (CDP/Turntable): Philips CD-50, Pro-Ject 1.2 w/Audio Technica 440ML Speakers: Boston Acoustics T830-II Cables/Interconnects: Audioquest Slate Speaker, Pro-link IC Music Used (Genre/Selections): Pop, Rock, Folk, Classical, Jazz Room Comments/Treatments: large and irregular shaped living room (furnished as such) Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 months Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Panamax Max1000+ Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
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