bronzeage
13-10-2012, 16:26
I recently was fortunate enough to sample various speaker cables and a No 5 power cord, courtesy of that helpful gentleman David from MainsCablesRUs.
I'll start with the comparison of speaker cables:
Chord SilverScreen Plus (what I already had)
TQ Blue
TQ Black
Vermouth Black Curse
It was easy to switch between cables due to the A/B speaker switch on the amp, plus the bi-connection on the speakers. I no longer use the Bushmaster as I found I prefer the internal DAC on the Harman Kardon HD990 - if any body is looking for an alternative to the normal DAC choices put forward, I can give it a big thumbs up, and you can play CDs with it too, of course.
First up, Black Curse vs Chord. Easy winner here, the Curse just did everything better. Clearer, more defined bass, a very sharp sound.
Next Black Curse vs TQ Blue. While the TQ certainly had a softer quality, there was something about it, the way it made instruments sound more 'real', that made it a tough choice. Would still give the nod to the Curse in a pinch.
Finally, Black Curse vs TQ Black. Well now, this is something else. The TQ Black takes that 'real' sound up to another level, and the bass is just plush. The Curse was still better in picking out certain details, but in terms of enjoying the music, for me the TQ was the clear winner.
Next up, the power cable. Having already benefited from an MG DSP 2.5 on the CD player, I was looking for something to improve the amp. The MG made the sound just a bit too sharp and stinging for my tastes when used on the just amp, but was great on the CD.
The No 5 is a substantial and great looking cable. It has an MK silver plated plug and IEGO IEC connector. The cable is thick and chunky, must be near 4mm conductors. Stuck in on the amp - woof, like somebody ramped up the volume control, and bass was frankly out of control, as I had previously placed the speakers close to a back wall to beef up the tone. After moving the speaker out a bit, I was getting a good and lively sound, but still not really what I was after.
So I switched the cable around, No 5 now on the CD. Very nice ! An even better clean up job, and the bass tightened up even more. But a little of some of that stinging treble came back.
So, replaced the MG with just a standard power cable. To my surprise :scratch::scratch:, I really preferred what I was hearing - the bass was deeper, the sting gone, and I was left with a sound I can now listen to all day without fatigue. :harp::harp:
So there you have it - I'm not sure what is going on with the Arcam A38, but that's how it is. At some point I would like to try pairing up with another No 5, but that's for another day.
I found it quite a surprise on some other threads that the TQ Blue was preferred over the Black, to me it was clearly the other way around - but that is the beauty of opinions, who cares as long as YOU like it.
Many thanks to David from MainsCables - you could not ask for better service and help (and kudos also to Mark Grant, another very fine seller, his HD1500 interconnect is super value)
Hope that is of some use to anybody thinking about those products.:scratch:
I'll start with the comparison of speaker cables:
Chord SilverScreen Plus (what I already had)
TQ Blue
TQ Black
Vermouth Black Curse
It was easy to switch between cables due to the A/B speaker switch on the amp, plus the bi-connection on the speakers. I no longer use the Bushmaster as I found I prefer the internal DAC on the Harman Kardon HD990 - if any body is looking for an alternative to the normal DAC choices put forward, I can give it a big thumbs up, and you can play CDs with it too, of course.
First up, Black Curse vs Chord. Easy winner here, the Curse just did everything better. Clearer, more defined bass, a very sharp sound.
Next Black Curse vs TQ Blue. While the TQ certainly had a softer quality, there was something about it, the way it made instruments sound more 'real', that made it a tough choice. Would still give the nod to the Curse in a pinch.
Finally, Black Curse vs TQ Black. Well now, this is something else. The TQ Black takes that 'real' sound up to another level, and the bass is just plush. The Curse was still better in picking out certain details, but in terms of enjoying the music, for me the TQ was the clear winner.
Next up, the power cable. Having already benefited from an MG DSP 2.5 on the CD player, I was looking for something to improve the amp. The MG made the sound just a bit too sharp and stinging for my tastes when used on the just amp, but was great on the CD.
The No 5 is a substantial and great looking cable. It has an MK silver plated plug and IEGO IEC connector. The cable is thick and chunky, must be near 4mm conductors. Stuck in on the amp - woof, like somebody ramped up the volume control, and bass was frankly out of control, as I had previously placed the speakers close to a back wall to beef up the tone. After moving the speaker out a bit, I was getting a good and lively sound, but still not really what I was after.
So I switched the cable around, No 5 now on the CD. Very nice ! An even better clean up job, and the bass tightened up even more. But a little of some of that stinging treble came back.
So, replaced the MG with just a standard power cable. To my surprise :scratch::scratch:, I really preferred what I was hearing - the bass was deeper, the sting gone, and I was left with a sound I can now listen to all day without fatigue. :harp::harp:
So there you have it - I'm not sure what is going on with the Arcam A38, but that's how it is. At some point I would like to try pairing up with another No 5, but that's for another day.
I found it quite a surprise on some other threads that the TQ Blue was preferred over the Black, to me it was clearly the other way around - but that is the beauty of opinions, who cares as long as YOU like it.
Many thanks to David from MainsCables - you could not ask for better service and help (and kudos also to Mark Grant, another very fine seller, his HD1500 interconnect is super value)
Hope that is of some use to anybody thinking about those products.:scratch: