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In Reply to: RE: Accuphase 40th Anniversary Edition ( Cloned ) IC's posted by KanedaK on January 03, 2024 at 23:48:23
Hello Francois,As my only remaining Pure Silver IC's are a pair of Yannis Tome Analogue Audio Designs Cables called the Gaia Hybrid 220VariGauge | 1.2M @ $1000 with WBT RCA Connectors, as shown here:
https://specialdesigns.cabledesigns.co.uk/html/220varigauge.html
After having own his lower two levels of IC's since 2016, basically starting with the Silver Core ( Purple ) then the Gaia, which essentially is the only brand of said IC's I'd ever use..., but in this case come to simply adore what I've continued to hear from the Xangsane SP-9003Ag sterling silver IC's, said Gaia Hybrid never made it into the system as of yet | as I'm very very reluctant to lose the sense of attack | nimbleness | top end layering of notes | bass impact which offers substances I never knew exited before now, as well as the manner in which it seemingly allows bass notes | rimshots, cymbal decay | taps and whacks on the skins to clearly pop out of the speakers in a manner to which I've simply found is hard to beat | something I'd rather not live this life without.
Yet on the other hand | my absolute favorite Pure Copper IC's to date are the recently released Curious Cables from Australia ( 1.5M | $650 ) which bettered makes like In-Akustik | LessLoss both of which I managed to sell off about 18 months ago, and I found them lacking in balance | dynamics, and a tad to rolled off for me to fully appreciate | knew within 3-7 tracks they weren't going to be welcomed in our space much longer, both simply did music in either an overly smooth of overly analytical manner that struck me as being slightly off key | unnatural are the words which come to mind.
As it stands said Accuphase 40th Anniversary Edition IC's | initially struck me as offering a very very defined sense of balance | scale | textural and tonal wise, yet in the end I found for my taste ( preferences ) which is still based upon the concept as put by the British as in P.R.A.T. | but with an added sense of tonal beauty | agility taken even further, yet not at the expense of coming off as in one's face sort of detail.
Besides the above mentioned Curious Cable Copper IC's, I've chosen to lived with a pair of the cloned Tara Labs Vector 2 IC's because of their very unique styling of which I find looking upon as rather beautifully done, as well as their flexibility of which doesn't hurt.
That being said, the Accuphase offer a type of sound one had ( has ) to struggle to find in pure copper IC's ( be they OCC | PU-OCC or UP-OCC | priced upwards of $600 ) but as with voicing our individual systems by ear, as lovely sounding as it were, they lacked the resolution | upper treble sense of bending the notes in such away as to only be put as the having the ability to hold onto and release notes within a nano-second as it relates to the overall timing of said Xangsane SP-9003Ag IC's, of which are to my mind superior sounding to the SP-9001Ag IC's, of which I've both in-house and have taken the time to listen very very carefully to both, the formed gets my vote as being a purer means of getting out of the way of notes, of which I personally can't see ( hear ) as being bettered, and in truth, i care not tomorrow brings cable wise?, I'm done with chasing an illusion of better | these cables engage me where much more expensive ones I've owned in the past | didn't make a dent in the amour, plainly put " it isn't as engaging ".
I can only speak my truths as I see | feel | hear them..., and in the end have to go with what moves me from a purely emotional standpoint.
Edits: 01/04/24 01/04/24Follow Ups:
Thanks Oscar. I've ordered two short pairs and will try them between active crossover and amps.
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Francois,
You're more than welcome | yet I'd ask that you look into that little WiiM Integrated Amp as I believe it reads as if it's worth it and will be getting myself one next month.
Happier New Year once again.
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As I sit here trying to logically made sense of how I see | feel things should be chosen wisely by anyone of us seeking to optimize the sound of our systems by ear | in so much as a particular sound in which we're trying our best to achieve at any given price point.
It seems to me that Westerns views upon the reproduction of music within one's home setting differs from that of other nations | as Europeans | Eastern Europeans | Germans | South Americans | Brazilians | Cubans | Latin Americans | Spain | Asians ( including Philippines | Japanese | Taiwanese | Malaysians | Mainland China and so on ) all tend to gravitate to music | or a sound embedded by our cultures..., and while some music is more complex in its nature, some is of a more relaxed gentle nature.
So in an effort for each of us to grain more insight based upon each | every note is meant to be rendered in a manner that's the closest to bringing about an emotional response when it's done correctly as possible to what each of us grew up listening to as in our parents homes or cultural rich ( diverse ) neighborhoods if you'll.
For me it always comes down to how the music feels or sounds, based upon a truer sense of tonality | truth of timbre and it's ability to offer prefect pitch.
In saying this..., I've to say being of African American - Canadian descent and spending times in my youth befriended by all types, especially those in Canada whom chose to hold onto their British roots, owned systems which specialized in accuracy of displaying the human voice | so speakers from the likes of Quad | Spendor | Rogers | KEF | Harbeth | BBC inspired brands ) were the norm during said youth.
Yet as I've learned during this journey which for me began at the age of 6, and more so at the age of 18 when I purchased my very first system while stationed in Japan in 1976, and having spent plenty of evening encountering listening sessions with native friends whom welcomed me into their homes, I came back to America thinking very differently about the importance of family | true friendships | and finding a sense of balance of which was and is the only Japanese Kanji symbol of 平衡 (heikou) I've proudly had tattooed on my forearm, as the elders would always say " One has to relearn how to listen ( connect ) with the music, instead of merely listening to the system ( boxes ) themself ", and while it took me until the age of 29 to fully understand what was said | more importantly how to listen.
All this to say..., as I see things now, if one pays attention to the norm system building wise, as the Brits say " it's all about synergy ", so why do many continue buying electronics or speakers while are known to be on the more analytical side and wonder why they suffer from listening fatigue within minutes, it's because somewhere in the mix, there has to be either a neutral or slightly warmer piece, whether it be some form of soft domed tweeter or pure copper cabling | in my case that sole piece of copper cabling is a power cord.
My biases runs towards detail | pacing | timing and top end extension, so my perfected choice of mini-monitors often use some form of metal dome or ribbon tweeters, where I rely strongly upon the speed offered by either pure silver | silver plated copper or my current favorite sterling silver as the cabling nearest the source component in my case meaning at or on the DAC or music steamer, followed by placement on any of my integrated amps as rotated in and out of the main system here I've to rely upon it used as an IC | USB Cable | Power Cord, meaning I only dare think about using a pure copper PC further downstream or possibly even as a Speaker Cable | even that's up for debate.
My entire perspective is based upon the speed of the signal needed to transfer transient response as quickly as possible from the source to the means of amplification, and thereby thinking by adding copped cabling downstream in someways offers a sense of restoring balance in adding just a touch of warmth | textural beauty to the mix but not at the cost of making the notes themselves overly dull | glossed over or boring or lacking in derail.
YMMV?. But I just wanted it on record as to how I hear | what I more importantly listen for.
My simplest of truths is " I don't like slow speakers | overly dulled down amplification " it's all about the ability of said components to be able to start | stop on the dime transient wise.
One World | Let's Love | Listen With Our Hearts.
Oscar - Regarding the RCA connector on your 9003, what type of metal is it ?
Is it the stock connector?
If this has been addressed earlier somewhere, my apologies for missing it.
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Said needed to restore balance RCA Connectors:
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Just a heads up, I took a file to these and it exposed brass as being the main core metal, you can see the colour to the side of the top screw!
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Thanks Tangram,As many have long mentioned said possibles all things aren't what the seem when it comes to claims of said base metals on not only Chinese connectors aren't actual pure copper base metal, as I've a few items from a few domestic cable manufacturers that state in advance their connectors are some form of plating over brass, where WattGate ( my bad, as this company along with Furutech are both Taiwanese ) as well a few of the Cardas Audio ( which to my ears don't sound half ass bad | I'm speaking on their RCAs | Banana Plugs ) connectors come to mind.
I've also read over on the What's Best Forum | how some actually prefer connectors where the base metal is nickel | bronze | unplated brass, as a matter of fact I just found said quote:
* So, to cut to the chase, my current preferences regarding AC outlets and Power cords are:
Base metals
1) copper
2) brass
3) phosphor bronzePlating
1) none
2) nickel over copper or brass (for outlets) and palladium over platinum over copper (for cable termination)
3) rhodium over solver over copper
4) gold over copper (better for bottom end than mids/top end, which is dark sounding)
5) rhodium over copper- should be avoided completelySo it seems noting is a given | much like I ended up placing 7 different orders for both Rhodium Plated "?" AC Male connectors, ( of where I of course found myself canceling all of them and starting from scratch before I felt I made a sound choice ) and seeing as how some claimed theirs were rhodium plated over palladium or platinum and so on, which lead to the confusion of which range within a certain brand I should be looking to buy?, then I noticed the pricing discrepancy of said options on several sites, where one would've a pair priced at $38, whereas the exact same pair was later found on eBay for $18.
In the end | I went with the options of both Monosaudio | Xangsane rhodium | pure ( raw | red ) copper pairings ax per your recommendation, and discovered the closer I looked at various brands for their pure copper offerings, there weren't many differences to be found, yet I recall that Duster | a few others had warned us that both Viborg | Furutech were adding some form of deoxidizing lubricant on theirs.
Hence my earlier research into the offers from Vanguard | SonarQuest where many felt them to be on par with the plugs from Viborg | but with an even better plating process. But in the end isn't all by choice is it not?, and I've to guess it's the implementation along with how many microns of plating is actual used?, that has to weigh in as far as sonics go, but I'm just trying to find logic behind one's options over another.
Damn if you do | Damn if you don't. At this point | I'm just trying to obtain the best balance I can from the Accuphase 40th Anniversary Edition PC?. As I see it, it's here to stay.
Edits: 01/04/24
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daveM1,
It was in fact the stock gold plated brass? ? I've to assume ) connectors, in which case I'm inclined to believe as Jon L. stated if one was looking to increase their sense of snap | speed | timing and detailing capabilities at the extreme top end ( which is the only area I found them lacking ) one should be looking to add either a set of Xangsane or Furutech ( screw down wiring types here ) Rhodium Plated Copper or Brass RCA Connectors of while I've to believe would ideally make this a very very very capable and easy to recommend pair of simply wonderful sounding IC's.
" PERIOD ".
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