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MAD
01-11-2009, 10:22
System set up

1. MAD Elgar Loudspeakers
2. YBA CD Player - MAD Maddy Power Cord
3. Perraeux 250w integrated - MAD Maddy Power Cord
4. MAD No.20 Power Conditioner - MAD England Power Cord
5. Speaker Cables - MAD The Queen Bi-wire

Test tracks

1. Sound of Silence
2. Lulaby - Proprius Cantate Domino (Female Vocal)
3. Money for Nothing - Dire Striat

Group test - entry level cables

1. Barry interconnect with Neutrik plugs - 1m

2. Chord Chameleon - 1m

3. Mark Grant Cable - 1m
(Not the legendary £20 one we are expecting for, it's a new model which is yet available on the MG website - I been told by Marco the price is £70, but needed to be confirmed with Marco again)

4. MAD My Baby - 1m

5. MAD My Ox - 2m

Test structure:

It was a blind test, tracks mentioned were played 5 times. Cables had been changed randomly to avoid prejudice.

Feedbacks and opinions:

(1) Rather Boring, some people getting bore. Chatting noise (My own opinion)

(2) After the same track played a few times, listeners may get better impression on the later one's being tested, as they are more familiar with the music. (Dave)

(3) No one should name out the cable, after recoginze what is being played. (David)

Please feel free to contribute ideas, feedback for a better, impartial and interest test .

I also would like to invite John, Barry, Nick + Ali to listen to all these cables in their own environment.

Steve Toy
01-11-2009, 10:42
So what were the findings? Do the numbers of the results (only 3) correspond with the 5 numbered cables?

After 5 plays familiarity with a track may be outweighed by boredom.

MAD
01-11-2009, 10:50
So what were the findings? Do the numbers of the results (only 3) correspond with the 5 numbered cables?

No, three tracks played five times on each cable

Themis
01-11-2009, 10:58
You have a lot of courage organizing a group blind cable test... usually people don't like that. Needs too much concentration. Even with the appropriate switching material. :)

I'm keen to know the results and opinions of the participants. :interesting:

Steve Toy
01-11-2009, 11:09
Given the convivial backdrop to the event I would have avoided a blind test and kept it as hands-on. Hands-on testing is effective in a group because a broad consensus can be reached provided people are honest.

Joe
01-11-2009, 11:12
Nah, blind tests are the only way of eliminating bias IMO, especially where differences are likely to be quite subtle.

Steve Toy
01-11-2009, 11:57
Subtle differences are also exaggerated in blind testing as people over compensate for lack of other cues when they do hear the differences.

DSJR
01-11-2009, 12:14
Chord Chameleon an "entry" cable?

Methinks I mix in the wrong circles........... :scratch:

DSJR
01-11-2009, 12:17
P.S

Steve, many "differences" aren't even heard in blind listening. The "hands on" experiences allowing emotions to rule. Take Quad 57's for instance; if you know they're playing, you make all sorts of allowances for them because where they're good they're still awsome, but if heard blind, their shortcomings are all too obvious and they used to be marked down because of it........

Mike Reed
01-11-2009, 12:17
I prefer to listen to music..........

A blind drunk test; now there's a thought!

DSJR
01-11-2009, 12:18
:lol: :D :cool:

John
01-11-2009, 12:27
Yes I agree probarly no need to do a blind test I think most of the listeners are experienced listeners and I think the only way is truly to judge is in your own systems But for me Barrys were the strongest in the first test closely followed by MarK Grants new cable The Mad cables came next with the Chord in last place
On the second test MAD siver cable came first (and for me the difference was quite big) and not sure if the Audioquest was any better than the Mark Grant cable
I myself am not really cable MAD! and do not worry about it in my system so someone who a bit more passionate about cables might have other thoughts

John
01-11-2009, 12:34
Probarly the real star of the show was Dave C DAT Denon Headphones and and ANT headphone amp stunning

DSJR
01-11-2009, 12:38
How much are the silver MAD cables? The old silver Shark cables from Maplin properly terminated were always streets ahead of the likes of Chords up to £200 per metre pair (1m from plug tip to plug tip too...........) and you could make a set up for far less than £30 as I remember...

Some of the Audioquest cables had a deliberate "damping" effect on the music played via them. The old Quartz was used with early nineties Arcam players to finish off the "voicing" although Les's tweaks on the AAA5 may change this..

MAD
01-11-2009, 15:33
How much are the silver MAD cables? The old silver Shark cables from Maplin properly terminated were always streets ahead of the likes of Chords up to £200 per metre pair (1m from plug tip to plug tip too...........) and you could make a set up for far less than £30 as I remember...

Some of the Audioquest cables had a deliberate "damping" effect on the music played via them. The old Quartz was used with early nineties Arcam players to finish off the "voicing" although Les's tweaks on the AAA5 may change this..



Chord is a good cable, it is well designed well marketed but pound to pound value will not be as good as our one. We can do it cheaper barely because we don't have a full page ad on every magazines, as well as the Charter of the MAD 'it is your audio design'.

The Silver one was Diamond Signature, which is the one reviewed by David Price in Hi Fi World recently, they are 449+VAT. The Audioquest we tested yesterday was a $1500 cable, it was their flagship called 'Niagara'! I am not suprise at all of the result. One of my customer compare it with his Audio Note flagship Audio Note AN-CABLE-SOOTTO £4,200.00 & LFD Reference Silver, the Diamond Signature outperformed both of them. In Hi-Fi Critic cable test, the LFD & The Audio Note had received the highest marks.

In fact even our entry Silver cable My Pleasure (only 250+ Vat) can easily out perform the Audio Niagara & MIT Shotgun etc... :eyebrows:

MAD
01-11-2009, 15:43
Probarly the real star of the show was Dave C DAT Denon Headphones and and ANT headphone amp stunning

I agree with you! It is unbeatablely good, and there was no competitor. I should had just playing my cables, however I want to know what's it like in your ear when compare the others. Will you be interesting to compare the cables you listened to in your home environment. It wasn't really a good test yesterday:mental:.

MAD
01-11-2009, 15:50
You have a lot of courage organizing a group blind cable test... usually people don't like that. Needs too much concentration. Even with the appropriate switching material. :)

I'm keen to know the results and opinions of the participants. :interesting:

Well, it was a gathering rather than a hi-fi show or road show for our products, but I ignored that is boring!!! When we testing our things, musicians and pro listeners were sitting down for weeks and listen to the same track over and over again. It was a shame we didn't have the ''£20 Super MARK GRANT'' there! We had a new model, which is yet available on their website!:mental: Strange!!! I think next time we must get this legendary product out for test!

MAD
01-11-2009, 16:01
So what were the findings? Do the numbers of the results (only 3) correspond with the 5 numbered cables?

After 5 plays familiarity with a track may be outweighed by boredom.

We should ask NickyB + his noble wife (who were concentrated all the time, even everyone were distracted and chatting with each others), Barryhunt & Dave as well. I think it would be good to ask these people to test them (same cables) in their own environment, so that we can have more references on how these cables behaves on different systems.

MAD
01-11-2009, 16:04
:gig:
Chord Chameleon an "entry" cable?

Methinks I mix in the wrong circles........... :scratch: I think performance wise it was the entry level one, although it is £100+.

MAD
01-11-2009, 16:10
I think performance wise the Chord was an entry level one, although it is £100+. I was standing next to the speaker yesterday, without a proper listening position, I didn't hear much differences between these cables, except the Chord one, it was not as good as any of the cables on test.

John
01-11-2009, 16:56
JJ I do not use any named cables in my system so I would have no real comparision with other makes. But more than happy to hear them and give you my impressions for what its worth

Marco
01-11-2009, 22:17
Hi guys,

Just a quick one, as I'm only just in the door :)

It was great again to meet John, Dave Cawley, Alex, JJ, David Price, and their respective good ladies; and to meet Barry and Nick B for the first time - I enjoyed our chat, chaps! :cool:

Del and I really enjoyed the event. A huge 'thank you' must go to JJ for setting up the gathering (we must do more of these again in the future!), and also to the chef who produced, quite frankly, the finest Chinese cuisine we have ever eaten. Del and I are well used to tasting authentic Chinese food, but the delicacies on offer at the MAD dinner were simply in another league altogether!

I'll write up my thoughts on the cable test tomorrow, which differ slightly from some of the observations I've read here so far...

Right, I'm off to catch up on some sleep! :goodnight:

Laters,
Marco.

P.S one of you buggers has me Nils Lofgren CD... JJ, I think your good lady may have popped it into her bag by mistake (with all the other CDs) :smoking:

Alex Nikitin
02-11-2009, 02:21
I will post a bit more tomorrow, however as I don't see any pictures, I've uploaded some of mine. All in all - a very good evening indeed - thank you, JJ!

Alex

Alex_UK
02-11-2009, 09:34
Thanks for posting the pics Alex, looks (and sounds) like you all had a great time.

Could someone add a "who's who" commentary to the group photo, or do we have to guess??! I know a few, and is this actually a photo with Marco in it??? Like vampires, I didn't think his image could be captured, and especially not on Halloween! :eyebrows:

;)

Marco
02-11-2009, 09:46
Hi Alex,

In the first photo, starting clockwise from the left....

Barry, moi, my wife’s head, JJ’s wife, Wu (David Price’s wife), the wife of one of the other guys who came (sorry forget what her name is), Alex’s wife, Alex, David Price, Dave Cawley.

Standing at the back: JJ (MAD cables), the unnamed chap above, and another guy (again, sorry, whose name I forget).

In the second photo I'm also at the front (trying to stay awake, haha ;)) sitting beside Wu, with my wife to the right. John is behind Wu’s head holding a beer. The lady sitting at the back is Nick B’s wife, then there’s Dave Cawley and Nick B himself.


There ya go! :cool:

Marco.

Alex_UK
02-11-2009, 09:59
Thanks for that Marco, you look better than you did in your preamp! ;)

The "unnamed chap" is Frank Skinner, by the looks of it?! :lol: Sorry, whoever you are! (John? NickB - both attended, didn't they?)

Marco
02-11-2009, 10:07
Hi Alex,

See the recent edit in my last post. There were two tables - Alex has just included one of them. John, Nick B, etc, were on 'Table B'.

'Table A' was reserved for the glitterati! :lol: :lolsign:

;)

Marco.

Alex_UK
02-11-2009, 10:13
Yep, I see now - Dave Cawley has posted some more including the non-VIP's ;) on the other thread so clarifying that there are more than just in Alex's photos.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=76665&postcount=118

MAD
02-11-2009, 10:14
[QUOTE=Alex_UK;76664]Thanks for that Marco, you look better than you did in your preamp! ;)

The "unnamed chap" is Frank Skinner, by the looks of it?! :lol: Sorry, whoever you are! (John? NickB - both attended, didn't they?)[/QU

No no, John is not on the picture! I will upload some pictures and show you who is who. I think I can remember everyone, fortunately I had conversation to all.

In real life Marco is a great sweet guy, his wife is even nicer. However he may joined the vampires with mini skirts with two big pumpkins on their upper body at the night club opposite to the Sole Luna, I saw all of them had blood around their sexy mouths. Did they suck your blood Marco? :lol:

Barry
02-11-2009, 10:15
Hi Guys (and Gals),

Again belated thanks to JJ for organising the 'MAD' event and for arranging for such an excellent meal to be served after the listening session. I have travelled a fair bit in China, visited a lot of places 'off the beaten track', so have eaten genuine Chinese cuisine; Saturday's meal was one of the best I have had. In fact the whole evening went very well, suitably lubricated with draught Peroni.

JJ is also to be congraulated in putting together a system which to my ears sounded neutral and balanced, and one which was a whole lot better than many of the systems demonstrated recently at the National Audio Show at Whittlebury Hall.

I'll give you my thoughts on the cable listening tests later when I have studied the notes I took and able to give a considered response.

It was good to meet everybody, which apart from Dave Crawley, Alex and David Price, was for the first time. I can now put some faces to names, and confirm that AoS members (and by association their partners) are just as friendly face to face as they are on-line.

Thanks again JJ for the most convivial evening.

Regards

(P.S. Knowing that Marco cannot have his true likeness captured on camera, he very cleverly sent along a body-double!)

DSJR
02-11-2009, 10:21
You know, looking at the pics and regarding the comments regarding a great sounding system, did you see how the boxes were piled on top of one another with a rats nest behind? I'm not criticising, but it has appeared to me that a good room and a well chosen set of components is far more important than Aspergically setting the supports up and fastidiously "dressing" the wires.....

My excuse and i'm sticking to it :ner:

NickB
02-11-2009, 14:33
Hi Dave

Have to agree, any self respecting rat looking behind my system would throw him/her self on a trap without hesitation!!!

Nick and Ali (who is not his wife yet but will be next year which hopefully will take place somewhere hot and sunny with a diving holiday in the Maldives after)

MAD
02-11-2009, 17:58
Hi Guys (and Gals),

Again belated thanks to JJ for organising the 'MAD' event and for arranging for such an excellent meal to be served after the listening session. I have travelled a fair bit in China, visited a lot of places 'off the beaten track', so have eaten genuine Chinese cuisine; Saturday's meal was one of the best I have had. In fact the whole evening went very well, suitably lubricated with draught Peroni.

JJ is also to be congraulated in putting together a system which to my ears sounded neutral and balanced, and one which was a whole lot better than many of the systems demonstrated recently at the National Audio Show at Whittlebury Hall.

I'll give you my thoughts on the cable listening tests later when I have studied the notes I took and able to give a considered response.

It was good to meet everybody, which apart from Dave Crawley, Alex and David Price, was for the first time. I can now put some faces to names, and confirm that AoS members (and by association their partners) are just as friendly face to face as they are on-line.

Thanks again JJ for the most convivial evening.

Regards

(P.S. Knowing that Marco cannot have his true likeness captured on camera, he very cleverly sent along a body-double!)

Thanks for coming Barry! You are a real gentleman and well done on your cable. I think it would be an interesting thing for you to listen to all these cables again at your own environment and let us know the differences.

I am glad to here you like the system, quite a number of people told me that they love the sound of the MAD Elgar speakers. It is a big encouragement! The system should have had sounded much better, the speaker cable I used was very new and it was born on saturday morning. The conductors I used is from a very honest breed, the best 99.9997% diamond silver. You also may noticed the amazement when I plugged in the MAD Diamond Signature IC, they are better than Audio Note & LFD silver cable. There was a lot of hard work on it.:ner:

Barry
03-11-2009, 01:01
Entry level cable group test – AOS event 31.10.09

Having read some of the feedback on the cable listening tests conducted by JJ, I will now add my own. However for reasons that will become apparent, I need to provide some background information to explain my approach and viewpoint on cables: “where I’m coming from”. This will take some words so I apologise in advance for the length of this posting.

First of all I shall come clean and state that having had a scientific background (I retired from being Principle Research Scientist at the former GEC-Marconi Research Laboratories), exotic and, usually, expensive cables are a particular bête noir to me. I believe that as long as the cable is of reasonable quality, then it should have no significant effect on the sound. If it does, then that is more of a comment on the design of the items between which it connects. Contentious maybe, but that is my opinion and one that has a bearing on my finding. The cables of mine that were used for the cable comparison were made specifically to test these opinions, which I have just made.

I must also say that I’m not very good at hearing subtle differences. If a change is important to me, it will be obvious, clear and repeatable. I will hear the difference without having to listen for it. This is not a matter of semantics but my way of expressing how it ‘works’ for me. It could of course mean that I am not particularly discerning!

So to the tests themselves: Three pieces of music were played using a YBA CD player, through a Perreaux 250w/channel amplifier into JJ’s own Avondale speakers. The cables under test were:

1. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Baby’ (MB)
2. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Ox’ (MO)
3. Chord’s: ‘Chameleon’ (CC)
4. Mark Grant’s cable (sorry, I didn’t take down the details) (MG)
and
5. My own efforts (BE).

The order of the cables used changed randomly throughout the tests. I was sat in the third row, slightly off-centre and could not see which cables were being used.

The first piece of music played (A) was Simon and Garfunkle’s ‘Sounds of Silence’. Without actually quoting my notes, the cables (IMO) were ranked as follows:
1. CC
1. BE (i.e. equally preferable),
so
3. MG
4. MO
5. MB.

The next piece of music (B) was that of a solo female singer in a reverberant acoustic. Again without going into detail, I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. CC
3. MG

3. MO
5. MB.

Finally, the third piece was Dire Straits's ‘Money for Nothing’. I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. MG
2. CC
thus
4. MB
5. MO

To summarise and score the cables (1 st = ‘5’, 2 nd = ‘4’, … 5 = ‘1’) then:

_ (BE) (CC) (MG) (MO) (MB)

A 1(5) 1(5) 3(3) 4(2) 5(1)
B 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 3(3) 5(1)
C 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 5(1) 4(1)

Thus my overall ranking and total score is
_ 1(15) 2(13) 3(10) 4(7) 5(4)

I find these results surprising, unexpected and slightly embarrassing. Surprising, because there does seem to be some consistency in my ranking of the cables, though I have to say that most differences were, to my ears, very slight and my comments were usually terminated in a ‘?’. Unexpected, as I was expecting not to hear any difference at all, however in some cases the difference was immediately noticeable, I heard it straight away and did not have to listen for it. And embarrassing, since I seem to have preferred my own humble efforts.

My findings do of course have to be qualified. I was listening to a system that was unfamiliar to me, so a certain amount of ‘learning’ had to be done. I’m not sure if the tests were repeated my findings would be the same. Any comments that I picked out my cables because I recognised their ‘sound’, can be countered by saying that they were made specifically for JJ’s cable test a few days before the Saturday evening and had not been used until then. They had not been ‘burnt in’ (I don’t believe this is necessary with cables) all that had been done was to check for continuity using an ohmmeter and an insulation test using a ‘Megger’.

In the light of my findings I hope you can understand the need for my lengthy preamble. My findings were of course just that; I fully expect others to differ.

Regards

Alex_UK
03-11-2009, 07:42
Very interesting and comprehensive write up Barry, thanks. Are you able to reveal any "trade secrets" on the construction and components of your interconnect, and are you taking orders? ;)

John
03-11-2009, 09:00
Lovelly in depth write up Barry The only place where we had a diiferent opinon was the chord and agree with you hard to be really fair on a system you do not know and with music you do not know either

MAD
03-11-2009, 10:15
Hi Barry ,

I think there are some confusion of the orders, let me check the order and scan the thing, e.g the first one for the first test I think it was My Baby, not the Chord.



1. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Baby’ (MB)
2. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Ox’ (MO)
3. Chord’s: ‘Chameleon’ (CC)
4. Mark Grant’s cable (sorry, I didn’t take down the details) (MG)
and
5. My own efforts (BE).

The order of the cables used changed randomly throughout the tests. I was sat in the third row, slightly off-centre and could not see which cables were being used.

The first piece of music played (A) was Simon and Garfunkle’s ‘Sounds of Silence’. Without actually quoting my notes, the cables (IMO) were ranked as follows:
1. CC
1. BE (i.e. equally preferable),
so
3. MG
4. MO
5. MB.

The next piece of music (B) was that of a solo female singer in a reverberant acoustic. Again without going into detail, I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. CC
3. MG

3. MO
5. MB.

Finally, the third piece was Dire Straits's ‘Money for Nothing’. I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. MG
2. CC
thus
4. MB
5. MO

To summarise and score the cables (1 st = ‘5’, 2 nd = ‘4’, … 5 = ‘1’) then:

_ (BE) (CC) (MG) (MO) (MB)

A 1(5) 1(5) 3(3) 4(2) 5(1)
B 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 3(3) 5(1)
C 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 5(1) 4(1)

Thus my overall ranking and total score is
_ 1(15) 2(13) 3(10) 4(7) 5(4)

MAD
03-11-2009, 10:27
Entry level cable group test – AOS event 31.10.09


So to the tests themselves: Three pieces of music were played using a YBA CD player, through a Perreaux 250w/channel amplifier into JJ’s own Avondale speakers. The cables under test were:

1. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Baby’ (MB)
2. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Ox’ (MO)
3. Chord’s: ‘Chameleon’ (CC)
4. Mark Grant’s cable (sorry, I didn’t take down the details) (MG)
and
5. My own efforts (BE).

The order of the cables used changed randomly throughout the tests. I was sat in the third row, slightly off-centre and could not see which cables were being used.

The first piece of music played (A) was Simon and Garfunkle’s ‘Sounds of Silence’. Without actually quoting my notes, the cables (IMO) were ranked as follows:
1. CC
1. BE (i.e. equally preferable),
so
3. MG
4. MO
5. MB.

The next piece of music (B) was that of a solo female singer in a reverberant acoustic. Again without going into detail, I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. CC
3. MG

3. MO
5. MB.

Finally, the third piece was Dire Straits's ‘Money for Nothing’. I placed the cables in the following order:

1. BE
2. MG
2. CC
thus
4. MB
5. MO

To summarise and score the cables (1 st = ‘5’, 2 nd = ‘4’, … 5 = ‘1’) then:

_ (BE) (CC) (MG) (MO) (MB)

A 1(5) 1(5) 3(3) 4(2) 5(1)
B 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 3(3) 5(1)
C 1(5) 2(4) 3(3) 5(1) 4(1)

Thus my overall ranking and total score is
_ 1(15) 2(13) 3(10) 4(7) 5(4)

I find these results surprising, unexpected and slightly embarrassing. Surprising, because there does seem to be some consistency in my ranking of the cables, though I have to say that most differences were, to my ears, very slight and my comments were usually terminated in a ‘?’. Unexpected, as I was expecting not to hear any difference at all, however in some cases the difference was immediately noticeable, I heard it straight away and did not have to listen for it. And embarrassing, since I seem to have preferred my own humble efforts.

My findings do of course have to be qualified. I was listening to a system that was unfamiliar to me, so a certain amount of ‘learning’ had to be done. I’m not sure if the tests were repeated my findings would be the same. Any comments that I picked out my cables because I recognised their ‘sound’, can be countered by saying that they were made specifically for JJ’s cable test a few days before the Saturday evening and had not been used until then. They had not been ‘burnt in’ (I don’t believe this is necessary with cables) all that had been done was to check for continuity using an ohmmeter and an insulation test using a ‘Megger’.

In the light of my findings I hope you can understand the need for my lengthy preamble. My findings were of course just that; I fully expect others to differ.

Regards

The first cable for the Sound of Silence is definitely not Chord, after checked with Santosh I believe it was the My BABY & your cable was played last (5th). I think the order for the first test is as you stated above for the name of cables, I will go to find my paper or we can ask the people like Nick, Ali & John to reconfirm the order.

1. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Baby’ (MB)
2. JJ’s MAD: ‘My Ox’ (MO)
3. Chord’s: ‘Chameleon’ (CC)
4. Mark Grant’s cable (sorry, I didn’t take down the details) (MG)
and
5. My own efforts (BE).






Do you want me to send you the cables for a test in your own setting? Your findings are very interesting, although it is not to my favour. I will put all cables on my cable cooker for three days b4 I send them to you to ensure all of them are at an equal state. The cables are not burnt in (not sure about the mark grant one).

Alex_UK
03-11-2009, 14:02
:confused: JJ - I don't think Barry has said anything about the order they were played in except to specifically state "The order of the cables used changed randomly throughout the tests" - the ordered lists are the order that Barry placed them in terms of sound, not the play order. :scratch:

I don't think a recount is going to help! ;)

I'm sure Barry will confirm one way or the other later, but that's how I read it?

MAD
03-11-2009, 15:12
John

I think it was a surprise to most how the cable test went, the silver cables were very good at the end but I am not sure which they were - names or prices.

It was great to meet everyone and to find that Marco really is a very scary person in real life as well.


Thanks for a great night JJ, and hope we can do one again sometime.

Nick and Ali

The Silver Cable was the MAD Diamond Signature retailed at £517, compared against with Audioquest Niagrara £1xxx.

MAD
03-11-2009, 15:16
:confused: JJ - I don't think Barry has said anything about the order they were played in except to specifically state "The order of the cables used changed randomly throughout the tests" - the ordered lists are the order that Barry placed them in terms of sound, not the play order. :scratch:

I don't think a recount is going to help! ;)

I'm sure Barry will confirm one way or the other later, but that's how I read it?

You're right! I see it now!:lol: Congratulation to Barry!

Marco
06-11-2009, 12:07
Ok, sorry about the delay chaps, but this is my busy time of the year work-wise. I like to consider my opinions carefully before I post them, so that takes a little time :)

JJ and I have already had a chat on the phone, so he knows my thoughts, although those didn't include my impressions of his 'My Baby' and 'My Jocelyn' cables he let me borrow for a few days, which I've now listened to and my opinions of which will be included in a separate thread either here or in Strokes of Genius.

As I said to Tim, as far as the event from a social point of view is concerned (and the superb food) it was a great success, and I thank him again for all his efforts and generosity there. Del and I had a wonderful time. However, for me, the cable test just didn't work on a worthwhile level, and as such I couldn't really form proper conclusions on the differences I heard between the cables tested.

Where did it go wrong?

Well, I have to be honest, first of all the choice of music was terrible (sorry, Tim!) It was either dreary commercial pap, depressing female vocalists or typical 'hi-fi demo' material you often hear at shows, none of which I would normally choose to listen to. I was honestly losing the will to live listening to that stuff, especially when some of it was played SEVEN times on the trot!

The trouble is, if the music is boring you it is very difficult to concentrate on analysing what various cables are doing in a completely alien system. The system demonstrated was a YBA CDP, Perreaux amp and Tim's own speakers... It wasn't until I played some 9 Below Zero, Nils Lofgren and Stanley Clarke that things perked up a bit! Judging by the reaction of others, they seemed to agree :eyebrows:

The other thing is, with no disrespect to Tim, it was obvious that he hadn't carried out a demonstration like this before, as his overall presentation was a bit haphazard.

Both Del and I lost track of when 'cable A' was changed to 'cable B', etc, and also exactly how many cables had been demonstrated in total. It was all rather vague and confusing with both Tim and Santosh randomly plugging and unplugging cables from the system without clearly stating when one set of cables was being substituted for another (without of course revealing their identity, as it was after all a blind test), hence Barry not being able to remember the correct order in which the cables had been demonstrated. Don't worry, mate, I wouldn't have known either! :lol:

Tim also handed out sheets with adjectives listed describing merits that hi-fi equipment should have, which apparently were going to be discussed in relation to the system and cables demonstrated. We were asked to list what sonic and musical priorities we considered were most important in equipment or a system and told that these would be discussed together later, but none of this happened, therefore that particular exercise was completely pointless... :scratch:

Ok, so despite all of that (!) what did I hear in terms of differences between the cables?

Well for me, given the above limitations, the stand-outs were Barry's home-made creations, the MAD silver cables and the Mark Grants. I'm afraid that the rest didn't do much for me at all.

Barry's cables, to my ears, were the most consistent throughout and seemed to make most sense of the music played. They appeared to have little sonic signature of their own and simply allowed music to flow naturally without over-emphasising any one aspect of the sound or how the music was presented by the system as a whole.

I'm unsure if this was because they were intrinsically excellent cables or simply because they best complimented the sonic signature and presentation of the demonstration system. The only way to determine this for sure would be to try them in a variety of different systems and see whether they did the same trick too in those. I would also have to listen to them in my own system at home in order to get a proper handle on their merits or otherwise.

I also liked the MAD sliver cables, but probably more because they did the (usual) 'sliver cable thing' than anything else, by adding some incisiveness and clarity to a system that I found a little laid back and 'inoffensive'. However, I wouldn't attempt to conclusively judge a completely alien system in such an environment, particularly as due to lack of space it wasn't in any way optimally set-up.

Given my observations with the MAD silver cables it was interesting to note that John thought they were better than the Mark Grants. In the context of the demonstration system I would definitely agree, but in my opinion that was likely because they had more of a pronounced sonic signature than the MGs, and so (perhaps) therefore superficially appeared more 'impressive' sounding by emphasising the presence region and adding a little 'sheen' to the top end. I personally thought that the Mark Grants were overall better balanced even if they didn't suit the demonstration system as well as did the MAD silver cables.

Don't get me wrong, the MAD silver cables are excellent, providing one likes what they do, and I think that they represent superb value for money in comparison to other silver cables on the market from major, well-established cable manufacturers. In that context, the MAD silver cables would appear as somewhat of a bargain.

As I've mentioned before, the Mark Grant G1000HDs possess the least sonic signature in any cable I've heard so far - they're rather an 'open window' in that respect and will therefore show exactly what a system is doing. Because of their lack of 'flavour' they will also not emphasise any part of the frequency range, unlike the MAD cables which to my ears possess a very definite 'sound' that will work to superb effect in some systems and fall flat on its face in others.

All-in-all, I'm very glad that I attended the event, certainly as I've stated from a social point of view. It was great to see some familiar faces again and meet some new ones, but it was a long and rather tiring journey for Del and I (five hours in a train there and back), leaving very early in the morning to get there, and arriving late in the evening on the way back, so from that point of view I doubt that we'll attend another such event in London.

This is probably where Dave Cawley's suggestion of an AoS organised event in future somewhere more centrally located in the country will come into play... I'll leave the good man himself to discuss this in a separate thread, so we can all vote on a suitable location and how it is best organised, when it should be held, etc.

Anyway, I'd just like to end by once again thanking Tim (and all others involved) for setting up the event. Despite a few teething troubles, it was all worthwhile! :cool:

Marco.

snapper
06-11-2009, 12:19
This is probably where Dave Cawley's suggestion of an AoS organised event in future somewhere more centrally located in the country will come into play...

Marco.


This is an excellent idea.

I nominate Ayrshire.

:)

Marco
06-11-2009, 12:27
LOL - that's not even central in Scotland! :lol:

Marco.

Spectral Morn
06-11-2009, 12:34
This is an excellent idea.

I nominate Ayrshire.

:)

I second that...easy to get to, even for me. Or perhaps we could have an AOS event in Scotland.


Regards D S D L

Marco
06-11-2009, 12:41
LOL... Any comments on the contents of the write-up, Neil? :)

Marco.

John
06-11-2009, 12:57
I think a balanced assessment Marco yes I did perfer the silver cables in the system when listening to Nils Lofgren for me it was the most musical sound I heard. I am also used to what silver cables do and like the transperacy they offer.
Is there anyway we could get David Price to do a comparision this might be the most fairest way to really do this justice.
I have Barrys cable and the others at the moment apart from the Mark Grant and silver cables so I will give my thoughts for what its worth after compairing to my system.
I think Marco are views are not to different we both enjoyed Barry cable and I think the Mark Grants punch well above there weight and offer very good value for money. I will give the cables back to Tim next week and perhaps he can pass them onto you after I finished with them.

Marco
06-11-2009, 13:35
Hi John,


I think a balanced assessment Marco yes I did perfer the silver cables in the system when listening to Nils Lofgren for me it was the most musical sound I heard. I am also used to what silver cables do and like the transperacy they offer.


It's a difficult one to judge in an alien system. One man's 'transparency' could be another's 'sonic signature' or coloration - it's difficult to tell in such an environment.

The only way to know for sure what particular cables are doing, to you ears, is to test them in your own system. To that end, I would more than welcome a loan of the MAD silver cables to assess them properly once you've finished with them :)

What's important to remember here is that there is no 'perfect cable' for every system, therefore it's impossible to give a universal recommendation that's going to work best for everyone.

We mustn't allow ourselves to get bogged down with which cable is 'best'. There is no 'best' - there is only 'best' in the context of our own ears and systems, so if anyone reading this is looking for a lazy way to find the 'ultimate cable' without actually listening to the examples for themselves, then they could be making a big mistake. Written here are only our personal opinions - nothing more.

For those seeking something more definitive, they should listen themselves first and judge - it's the only way!

Marco.

Peter Galbavy
06-11-2009, 14:01
While I appreciate the amount or organising and work that's gone into this and the relativeness of the words "entry level" I think the thread title is very very misleading. Yes, this forum is occupied and contributed to by many who are heavily financially invested in their equipment and love of the music, but "entry level" implies, in any context you use it, the starting point. If the thread was called "£100-£200" or "£250-£1,000" cables test then that would be clear to everyone. To me, entry level is cheap and nasty - what can you get for £1-£20 ?

In that vein, I was expecting to see someone comparing "included" nasty phono leads to Maplin's £10, Mark Grant £20, etc. cables and then raving about what a little bit of non-mainstream can get you...

Marco
06-11-2009, 14:50
Point taken, Peter. It wasn't me who named the thread title, though :)

Marco.

John
06-11-2009, 15:03
Marco I do not have the silver cables belonging to MAD Just the silver I use in my own system which are DIY jobs using 99.99 silver
Totally agree no right cable for every system but for myself its something I usually not think about as happy with my sound

Barry
06-11-2009, 15:07
Hi Guys,

Now that we have had a reasonable amount of feedback concerning JJ's blind cable test last Saturday, I'll be posting an addendum to my initial feedback later.

However to answer Peter's comment, my cables (a pair, 1 metre long) cost me £32 to make. Full details later.

Regards

Marco
06-11-2009, 15:26
Marco I do not have the silver cables belonging to MAD Just the silver I use in my own system which are DIY jobs using 99.99 silver


Ah, sorry, my mistake - I misunderstood you :)

Barry, I look forward to reading your further thoughts later :smoking:

Marco.

Barry
06-11-2009, 20:18
Following feedback of the interconnect listening tests conducted by JJ last Saturday, a couple of people have asked me to make some interconnects for them. I have agreed to do this, but I do not really want to get heavily involved in manufacture. To allow others who might be interested in making their own cables, the following is a description of my interconnects used in the listening tests.

The cable is a conventional, inexpensive microphone cable, available from Maplin.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88/barrydhunt/xs241.jpg

This cable (Maplin part code XS24B) is a coaxial cable using copper conductors. The inner conductor consists of 20 strands of copper, 0.12mm dia, having an overall cross-section area 0.23mm2. The outer conductor is a lapped copper screen. Between the two there is a PVC dielectric insulation and over this, a 0.25mm thick semi-conducting layer. The purpose of this layer is to reduce triboelectrically generated noise and microphonics through cable flexure. A soft flexible cladding, 6mm OD, completes the construction.

The quoted capacitance is 135pF/metre. (Based on this figure, the characteristic impedance of the cable is calculated to be 45.6Ω; not that this has any relevance at audio frequencies.)

The RCA phono plugs are Neutrik ProFi NF2C-B/2, RS components part no. RS 484-8884.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88/barrydhunt/R464707-021.jpg

I regard phono plugs as not being a particularly good design, but having been adopted as an industry standard, we are stuck with them. The Neutrik designs go some way towards addressing design shortcomings of the RCA phono plug. They are equipped with a spring-loaded sliding outer barrel which allows the outer connection to be made first on mating and broken last on de-mating. When mated with a phono socket and fully pushed home, the Neutrik plugs grip firmly.

The interconnects were made up using Ersin Multicore 60/40 tin/lead solder.

When making up cables take your time, don’t do it in a hurry. Work under a good light and use a thermostatically controlled iron (I use a Weller). Trim the cable following the dimensions supplied with the Neurik connectors. I prefer to use a scalpel with a sharp blade for this. Tin the conductors first; making sure that any excess solder is removed. Solder the outer conductor first and inspect it thoroughly before soldering the inner conductor. The plug has a solder bucket for the inner connection. Make sure that this is filled with solder, making a neat fillet with the inner conductor of the cable. Carefully inspect the solder joints and remove excess flux. Fit the black coloured cable collet and screw home the outer part of plug casing tightly. Finally check for continuity and isolation using an ohmmeter. Either conductor should display no more than 0.1Ω/metre.

That’s it: no cable ‘sexing’ (having a true coaxial construction, they cannot be directional); no pixie dust; no need to assemble when there is a full moon!

Regards

anthonyTD
06-11-2009, 20:19
Marco I do not have the silver cables belonging to MAD Just the silver I use in my own system which are DIY jobs using 99.99 silver
Totally agree no right cable for every system but for myself its something I usually not think about as happy with my sound
hi john,
what silver wire did you use in your cables out of interest?
A...

Alex_UK
06-11-2009, 20:49
no need to assemble when there is a full moon!

But that would help, right? ;)

Seriously though Barry - well done!

Joe
06-11-2009, 20:51
Ok, sorry about the delay chaps, but this is my busy time of the year work-wise. I like to consider my opinions carefully before I post them, so that takes a little time :)
.

Thanks for the write-up, it was like being there!

I think it brings home the fact that you can't beat a prolonged home trial, with a money-back guarantee, because of the issue of musical taste (and preferred listening volume). I'm also quite relieved that I'm sorted for cables!

John
06-11-2009, 21:11
hi john,
what silver wire did you use in your cables out of interest?
A...
I just use dead soft silver 99.99
I always wonder around quotes that are higher than this purity as its my understanding it is not possible to measure beyond this point but as always I may be wrong

Barry
06-11-2009, 22:02
There are some loose ends to be tidied up on my findings of the listening tests. First of all I seem to have mis-labelled the speakers. Sorry JJ. I also made no mention of the later cable tests, an omission I’ll correct now.

The fourth listening test used more up-market and exotic cables to those used in the first three tests. The cables used were: Audioquest ‘Niagra’; JJ’s ‘My Audio Diamond Signature’ and Mark Grant’s cable. All these cables used silver conductors (?), and I assume that the Mark Grant cable used here was a different design to the Mark Grant cable used in the first three tests. The CD used Nils Lofgren ‘Acoustic Live’ (Demon Records, FIEND CD 934). Again without quoting my comments, I ranked the cables as follows:

1. Mark Grant
2. My Audio Diamond Signature
3. Audioquest Niagra.

No doubt if the tests were repeated the ranking could change. I can’t honestly say if the silver cables sounded any better to me than the copper cables, and thus justify the extra expense.

Finally we returned to Dire Straits’s ‘Money for Nothing’ to listen to JJ’s system, with and without, a mains conditioner (identity unknown). Frankly I could hear no difference whatsoever, despite the central London venue: ‘dirty’ mains polluted with SMPS spikes; the venue being flanked by two restaurants with their microwave ovens.

Regards

John
07-11-2009, 05:20
I guess for me this raises just how subjective sound can be and how important it is to hear equipment in your own system
The Mark Grant cables were the same used in the first test

anthonyTD
07-11-2009, 11:18
I just use dead soft silver 99.99

I always wonder around quotes that are higher than this purity as its my understanding it is not possible to measure beyond this point but as always I may be wrong
hi john,
i agree,:) i think whether you use copper or silver conductors the performance can be great, depending on the configuration' and insulation materials used of course. its when you mix materials ie; silver plating copper conductors for eg, this is IMHO where the problems occur in audio frequency signal transfer, :eyebrows:
regards,anthony,TD...

Marco
07-11-2009, 11:42
I also agree. Solid silver cables rarely exhibit the problems created by silver plated copper ones, which I always find add a forwardness/brightness to the sound that is unnatural.

I really liked the My Audio Diamond Signature cables. They worked very well in the demo system (no surprises there, I suppose ;)), which was a little laid back sounding for me, but I'm not sure if their sonic characteristics would work as well in systems where their boosting of the presence region (midrange lift) is unnecessary.

The only way to find out for sure though is to try them in my own system. Thing is, I'm more than happy with what the Mark Grants do, as they are quite astonishing considering their cost. The days of me spending £500 on interconnects are long gone (not that I think the My Audio Diamond Signature cables are necessarily expensive in the grand scheme of things), but if I tested them it would be purely for reference/curiosity value.

Marco.

John
07-11-2009, 14:58
hi john,
i agree,:) i think whether you use copper or silver conductors the performance can be great, depending on the configuration' and insulation materials used of course. its when you mix materials ie; silver plating copper conductors for eg, this is IMHO where the problems occur in audio frequency signal transfer, :eyebrows:
regards,anthony,TD...

Agree mixing copper and silver does not work give me either as pure as possible and I am very happy with the sound

John
07-11-2009, 15:12
I also agree. Solid silver cables rarely exhibit the problems created by silver plated copper ones, which I always find add a forwardness/brightness to the sound that is unnatural.

I really liked the My Audio Diamond Signature cables. They worked very well in the demo system (no surprises there, I suppose ;)), which was a little laid back sounding for me, but I'm not sure if their sonic characteristics would work as well in systems where their boosting of the presence region (midrange lift) is unnecessary.

The only way to find out for sure though is to try them in my own system. Thing is, I'm more than happy with what the Mark Grants do, as they are quite astonishing considering their cost. The days of me spending £500 on interconnects are long gone (not that I think the My Audio Diamond Signature cables are necessarily expensive in the grand scheme of things), but if I tested them it would be purely for reference/curiosity value.

Marco.

Yes its only in our own systems can we truly know what works best. Like you Marco my days of spending fast sums of money on cables are gone but I did like Tim's My Audio Diamond cable a lot in the system he was using for the demo

Gazjam
07-11-2009, 20:07
I second that...easy to get to, even for me. Or perhaps we could have an AOS event in Scotland.


Regards D S D L

Count me in for that one!

I'll bring my Hitachi LC-OFC cables to fend off all comers!

Barry
09-11-2009, 00:56
Following the recent cable listening test conducted by JJ, I would like to draw my thoughts together and present the dilemma in which I now find myself.

As I prefaced my report on the cable tests, I come from a practical ‘no nonsense’ background. To give you an example, I’ll quote an anecdote, purportedly ascribed to the late Peter Walker of Quad. (If he didn’t say it, then it’s the sort of thing he might well have said; having had a strictly engineering approach to electronics design.) The anecdote goes roughly as follows:

“There are only two things to be considered in the design of an interconnect. Firstly and most importantly, it should be long enough to reach between the two items being connected, and secondly the colour should match the décor of the room.”

Clearly said with sarcasm, but more or less covers my approach to interconnects: as long as they are made using good quality cable, having reasonably low resistance and capacitance and with good quality connectors, there is no need to consider anything more exotic and expensive.

Knowing that JJ’s listening test would almost certainly include cable that I would regard as ‘exotic’, I thought I would make up some modest, but good quality, interconnects to test out my opinion (or prejudice if you will). I had not heard them before the test and I was not expecting to be able to hear any difference between the cables myself. I was however expecting other members to be able to hear differences and, as such, be able to pick mine out as not necessarily being particularly good.

You can understand my surprise that I could clearly hear differences, albeit small, and that there was some consistency in my ranking of the cables tried. It also transpired that my own cables were well received. So does this mean that the success of my modest and inexpensive cables supports my opinion, or does it mean that they suited JJ’s system better than the others, and if so why? If the tests were to be repeated, would I rank the cables in the same order - would others?

To test the ’synergy’ thesis, it would be nice if some of those members who were at the listening test were to try out all four cables in their own systems. It wouldn’t be a blind test of course but I think the results would be interesting. I believe the cables are with John (Music room Moderator) at the moment. I would like Marco to try them in his system and also for NickB (and Alex) to listen to them as well. After that I would like to try them out in my system. Would that be possible JJ?

Too many questions, but perhaps AoS members can help me out of my puzzlement.

Regards

Dave Cawley
09-11-2009, 08:01
Hi Barry

That would be a good idea. Remember though that I and Alex (to a degree) pondered on the ability of the amplifier to drive the loudspeakers. Also we were in a high RFI environment so the better screened ones might have helped?

Regards

Dave

MAD
14-11-2009, 15:35
Finally we returned to Dire Straits’s ‘Money for Nothing’ to listen to JJ’s system, with and without, a mains conditioner (identity unknown). Frankly I could hear no difference whatsoever, despite the central London venue: ‘dirty’ mains polluted with SMPS spikes; the venue being flanked by two restaurants with their microwave ovens.

Regards

Hi Barry,

I am very suprise you found there's no difference on the conditioner, BJ found there were a huge different in every aspect! I guess it was because there were so many people talking and moving during the last test. In fact John has one of these and he couldn't live without it and considered this is the biggest upgrade in his life.

Over the weeks I kept blaming myself about these unstructured boring tests! I think next time we shall make it more interesting with more interaction, rather than following the boring ways of how our musicians and we develop and fine tune stuffs.


Now John is sending you a bundle of cables via post. It's a shame I am not able to send you Marco's 'Mark Grant', as he wanted them back, perhaps we can ask Mark for a pair. It would be very interesting if you could tell us more in a more descriptive way of the characters of every cables and what make you determine which is your favorite. Then your presentation probably will become a show model for the next AOS lay reviewer, ''AOS GEC lab standard?"
:lolsign:

I must say that I really like your presentation, extremly professional and convincing, if in a more descriptive way it is perfect.

MAD
14-11-2009, 16:59
Hi Barry

That would be a good idea. Remember though that I and Alex (to a degree) pondered on the ability of the amplifier to drive the loudspeakers. Also we were in a high RFI environment so the better screened ones might have helped?

Regards

Dave

The sensi of the speakers are around 91db, I am not familiar with this amp and never listen to it b4 the day. My impression was not as transparent as usual. I am suprised when I been told it is a very good system setup compare with a lot of rooms at the hi-fi show.

None of the MAD cables are screened, not even for the co-axial one, this is not the design concept of the SPL series, we belive less is more but I strongly agree with you that in a high RFI environment shielding have many advantages.

Dave Cawley
14-11-2009, 17:59
Hi JJ

No screening can be a problem, it relies on the amplifier to reject RFI at any level. So we have an amplifier that we don't know if it is RFI immune and if the manufactures condone non-screened cables, and in my view a possible issue with the loudspeakers reactive load and the ability of the amplifier to drive it.

But yes, you are right, the sound was better than most at the last show. How people get away with that is a mystery!

I'm sure with a better amplifier and matched cables your loudspeakers would sound really rather nice. I hesitate to offer to bring the electronics next time..............

Regards

Dave

John
15-11-2009, 10:25
From my own experience of the balanced mains transformer I find that it best left running for one day before it really shines In my system it works but with all thing mains this will very; but at the event it was hard to hear a difference the music seemed a bit more vague to my ears without the transformer
As for feedback from the cable test. Well pretty similar to what I heard at the event I really disliked the chord cable very messy made the music unpleasant to listen too
The MAD cables were next and brought about a big improvement to the sound I still prefered Barrys cable it was the cleanest only slight critism compaired to my own silver cable a slight lack of clarity in the treble but I am being really picky.
I did not hear the MAD Silver reference cables
JJ also lent me his mains copper cables and they were pretty good
On my power amp SAC KT88 it was a step backwards compaired to the silver mains cable I use
On the CD transport hardly any difference but a lack of treble clarity
On the DAC actually helped a lot it seemed to change the tonality of my system as for the last month my system has been sounding to dark in the mid bass system and helped the system to sound balanced again I cannot explain this but if anyone interested I will try and explain what is happening in more detail (i now use my silver mains not going through the the transformer and this gives me the sound i enjoy the most)
Tim I do not think Transformer was the biggest upgrade but do think good mains is the foundation to a good sounding system and in my circumstanses this works well for me

MAD
15-11-2009, 21:13
Hi JJ

No screening can be a problem, it relies on the amplifier to reject RFI at any level. So we have an amplifier that we don't know if it is RFI immune and if the manufactures condone non-screened cables, and in my view a possible issue with the loudspeakers reactive load and the ability of the amplifier to drive it.

But yes, you are right, the sound was better than most at the last show. How people get away with that is a mystery!

I'm sure with a better amplifier and matched cables your loudspeakers would sound really rather nice. I hesitate to offer to bring the electronics next time..............

Regards



Dave

Well! It would be great to demo the Royal Salute or Elgar with your Marantz 7 & 9 at a Hi-Fi show along with ANT + a good turntable, the MAD Queen cable & My Power Con. I can't imagine how good it can be. Last time it sounded best to my ears were with Unison Research SL9. :ner: Will you go to the London Hi-Fidelity Show 10?

MAD
15-11-2009, 21:25
From my own experience of the balanced mains transformer I find that it best left running for one day before it really shines In my system it works but with all thing mains this will very; but at the event it was hard to hear a difference the music seemed a bit more vague to my ears without the transformer.


At the time when I put the transformer on and off, there were so many people talking and running around, also those little friends in your stomach were playing drums inside you and asked for King prawns...... Anyway, next time will be more structured. Perhaps just do the dem things at my place first, then we can walk up to Mr. Lee's new restaurant at Piccadilly Cirus.:ner:

I don't want to move tonnes of stuffs again!! There's no fun for that and the result was very unsatisfactory to me!!! I am a hopeless pervertionist!!! Sorry! I mean perfectionist!:eyebrows: Anyway, obession obession and compulsion....:cool:this can heal!

Barry
19-11-2009, 20:37
Hi Marco,

I believe that after the JJ listening test, conducted in London about three weeks ago, you took some of the cables back with you to listen in your own system. What were your findings? I, and I'm sure other members, would be very interested.

Come on, I'll let you off the Whittlebury Hall Audio Show report, if you will report on the cable testing in your system. ;)

Regards

Spectral Morn
19-11-2009, 21:21
Hi Marco,

I believe that after the JJ listening test, conducted in London about three weeks ago, you took some of the cables back with you to listen in your own system. What were your findings? I, and I'm sure other members, would be very interested.

Come on, I'll let you off the Whittlebury Hall Audio Show report, if you will report on the cable testing in your system. ;)

Regards


I won't, where is it?


Regards D S D L

Marco
21-11-2009, 00:14
LOL...

Barry, I should do a write-up on the cables JJ lent me. I'd get onto it when I get a chance :)

Marco.

Barry
21-11-2009, 19:42
LOL...

Barry, I should do a write-up on the cables JJ lent me. I'd get onto it when I get a chance :)

Marco.

Great Marco,

I look forward to reading it. I'm supposed to be getting the MAD leads, and my own back, to try out in my system. (John, have you sent them off yet?) I'm hoping to do this before I see JJ at the next MAD fest, but I'll be pushed for time, as I shall be out of the country for about a fourtnight before then.

So, get writing; I'm intending to drop by on you in the New Year, so we will be able to compare notes.

As an incentive: no report - no decent bottle of wine when I see you! Now there's an inducement you can't refuse!

Regards

Marco
21-11-2009, 20:31
LOL - how can I refuse now? :cool:

On the subject of wine, we took a trip to Shrewsbury today to our favourite wine merchants and stocked up on various goodies for Christmas...

http://www.tanners-wines.co.uk/TannersSite/category/Bordeaux_Red/

:)

Marco.

aquapiranha
21-11-2009, 22:24
Marco, did you drink that Chateauneuf du Pape that I brought round? What did you think? I am not a wino so I have no idea about them.

Marco
21-11-2009, 22:38
Yes, Steve, and it was f*cking ace - many thanks, matey! :cheers:

Marco.