Macca's Lash Up 2: Lash Harder

[Macca]

Got these Cambridge Audio speaker cables from Jerry:



Funny thing this is with speaker cables at the moment. I've been using Chord Odyssey 2 for several years since, in a moment of madness, I bought a 3 metre bi-wire set brand new. Made no difference at all in my system at the time but I carried on with them. But when I got the JM Lab speakers and the Krell power amp they just were not working. Great clarity, but the sound was unbalanced, too much upper mid masking everything else. It was, as they say, 'fatiguing'.

At the time I had no way to know this was the speaker cable, indeed some would say that it is not possible that it could be. I had just changed amp and speakers, could be anything going on. But I thought I would try the cable first. Put some NVA cable in, much better balanced but still too much mid. Vocals shouldn't be blotting out everything else. And the sound was bland. Clean but bland.

So it was a change in sound, even if still not quite right, it did seem to indicate to me that the Krell/JM Lab pairing was sensitive to the nature of the wires in between them. So I got some NVA LS5 which I had used before and which is not shy in the bass. Initially this seemed to be the perfect balance. Lots of weight down below, actually thought I might be able to give up my ambition of upgrading the speakers to JBL 4365.

But after extended listening I again started to think that the sound was a bit bland. Trying to work out what exactly was happening I concluded that the upper mids and top were quite far back in the mix. Now I hate systems that put the vocalist out on the carpet in front of the speakers. That just isn't right. The stereo action should all be behind the plane of the speakers. But this was just too far that way. Also I could detect a little distortion in the mid-bass unit when playing stuff with pumped up and compressed bass, Steely Dan doing 'Jack Of Speed' set this off.

Adding to the complication here, the speakers are bi-wire and came without the links. I'd made up some jumpers, only about an inch long, from 79 strand. So I wasn't using the same cable all the way to the mid and top. The Krell amp does not have the facility for bi-wiring.

So, I was looking for some (3 metre or more) cable that was 2 into 1 (or 1 into 2 I suppose if you are going from amp to speaker) and that might provide a 'Goldilocks' solution, in that it would be balanced somewhere between the Chord and the NVA. Jerry was selling this cable that was exactly that so I thought I would give it a try.

It's weird stuff, like computer ribbon connector. I suppose the idea is that it is flat and you can run it under the carpet. Anyway I connect it up, sounds very different to the NVA cables, much livelier, a bit more like the Chord, but more balanced than the Chord. Nothing swamping anything else. First test passed. So far I've had a listen to:

Sade: 'Diamond Life' (I know what you are thinking and your right, this is not an album to test with. But it was already in the player and I had to check to see if I had wired everything up right, then ended up listening to it all).

Steely Dan: 'Countdown to Ecstasy' In 'Show Biz Kids' there is someone hitting a big tambourine all the way through over on the right. That came across very well. You could practically see it.

Isaac Hayes 'Don't Let Go' - bass is good, not weak, although would prefer more. But I think that is the speakers, I could use another octave down below and they just don't have it. Too small for the room. Bass tone is very good though, and no wooliness. Different bass guitars sounded different.

The Cult 'Love' - Thought I would go for something a bit raucous to see if it got fatiguing. It didn't. Owned this since it came out, have the vinyl and the cd, played both a hundred times and know every note. What I noticed this time was the recording itself, much more details came out, it sounded like what it is, a good but not particularly slick recording made on a budget. Not heard it like that before, ever. It was no less enjoyable, more so.

Jerry sad these cables have 'good rez', he is right. What I'm trying to get with this system is a good balance between an uncompromising window on the recording and something that sounds good to listen too as well. And again I know what you are thinking and you're right (again). 'The moon on a stick.' Well, we shall see.

But that is it so far. I have learnt not to make any judgements until I've played through at least half my collection Or at least twenty or thirty particular albums. It can be the thirtieth that finally shows up what you really knew all along but were denying. Plus I intend to get a DAC and that might change things again anyway.