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Review 2 of 6
Price Paid:
$20.00
from FutureShop, Vancouve Summary:
I am using the highly-rated Cayin TA-30 integrated tube amp with a Marantz CC4300 CD player. I was using a RadioShack gold-plated 6' RCA interconnect, which I thought did the job well.
But nothing prepared me for the improvement when I replaced the RS interconnects with these AR Performance Series (AP031) interconnects. The improvement was immediate and not subtle. The improvements were from top to bottom: better soundstage (i.e., wider and deeper), better imaging (i.e., image position in sound objects are narrower and more defined), improved highs (i.e., highs are smoother and more extended), more resolution (i.e., less smear), more revealing (i.e, more audible texture from instruments and voices) and more clarity (i.e., sounds are more precise).
Having read a lot about the controversy surrounding cables, I never thought that cables could make this much of a difference. But from what I have read, the effects of impedence, capacitance and interference (EMI/RFI) DO influence the sound in interconnects - much more so than speaker wire. So a well designed, properly shielded interconnect will perform better than a cheap one. (Whereas it is difficult to tell differences between any well constructed 12AWG or higher grade copper speaker wire - regarless of cost).
Because of the absense of smear with these new interconnects, I found myself turning up the volume in my amp a little higher without being fatigued. I never realized that my Cayin TA-30 amp and Marantz CC4300 combination could be this revealing.
In case you are interested, please read my review of the Cayin TA-30.
These are directional cables and the funny thing was I never would have believed that the direction of RCA cables makes a difference. But when I set them up wrongly (with the arrow pointing away from the CD player), there was no sound! Just a faint buzz! When I set them up correctly (with the arrow pointing to the CD player), the sound came out correctly. Go figure! Strengths:
Very resolving, neutral and revealing. Improved the soundstage and imaging. Weaknesses:
None at this price range! Similar Products Used:
RadioShack 6' gold plated RCA interconnects.
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