Stevenbell

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I paid $15.00 for a set of these and listened to them after burning in for two days. I got rid of every other IC I had in my system asap. I ordered three more sets and for what some IC's cost a set I now have four sets. I will put these up against any cable less than $150.00 a set. I have a budget I have to stick to so I get the best I can with what I have. These cbles cleared up my mids and highs, the bass if faster and tighter if thats the right word. My Monster M1000's can't hold a candle to these! For the money they cannot be beat.Yes I am sure there are better cables but at what price? I know when to say when! I have thousands tied up in equipment and when I find something this good for so little I say so.I am not caught up in I gotta have what that guy has bullship. THESE WORK GREAT PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!

Tubehed

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I’ve used the AR Pro Series PR-130 cables (one step below the Master Series) in my system for about four years now and have always been very impressed with their performance. I prefer their sound to the other more “expensive” cables I’ve tried in the past, including Cardas Crosslink and Monster Interlink 400mkII and M1000i. We’re not talking huge differences here, but the AR cables definitely sound more neutral and transparent, especially in the midrange, than the others do. Ironically, the M1000I, at about $200/meter sound the most colored with a signifcant loss of detail and extension at the upper frequencies.

Recently, I picked up a pair of MS231’s to see if they could improve upon the already terrific performance of the PR130. Spec and appearance wise, the 231’s are far more impressive. They feature upgraded connectors, slightly purer and heavier guage silver coated copper wire, as well as better insulation. They also incorporate some type of RFI supression technology (ferite?) that the company doesn’t really go into any kind of detail about. The 231’s wouldn’t look out of place among much more expensive botique cables. The PR130’s, by comparasson, look fairly cheap.

Of course, it’s the sound quality that matters, right? Well, I do notice a subtle difference between the two models. The MS231’s bass sounds a bit tighter and focused. The noise floor has appeared to drop slightly, resulting in a touch more detail and image focus. I’ve never really understood the concept of “blacker backgrounds” but I suppose this is what reviewers are referring to. There is more “air” around percussion instruments with longer cymbal decay.

I believe it’s worth doubling or tripling your money for the MS series cables. Even though the sonic improvement is, in my experience, very subtle, you will still only be investing about another 20 to 30 dollars. If you go beyond the MS231, you’re really entering the land of diminishing returns.

Strengths:
Outstanding sound and construction for the price.

Weaknesses:
You need a phillips AND flathead screwdriver to open the damn package!

Similar Products Used:
see review

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I’ve used the AR Pro Series PR-130 cables (one step below the Master Series) in my system for about four years now and have always been very impressed with their performance. I prefer their sound to the other more “expensive” cables I’ve tried in the past, including Cardas Crosslink and Monster Interlink 400mkII and M1000i. We’re not talking huge differences here, but the AR cables definitely sound more neutral and transparent, especially in the midrange, than the others do. Ironically, the M1000I, at about $200/meter sound the most colored with a signifcant loss of detail and extension at the upper frequencies.

Recently, I picked up a pair of MS231’s to see if they could improve upon the already terrific performance of the PR130. Spec and appearance wise, the 231’s are far more impressive. They feature upgraded connectors, slightly purer and heavier guage silver coated copper wire, as well as better insulation. They also incorporate some type of RFI supression technology (ferite?) that the company doesn’t really go into any kind of detail about. The 231’s wouldn’t look out of place among much more expensive botique cables. The PR130’s, by comparasson, look fairly cheap.

Of course, it’s the sound quality that matters, right? Well, I do notice a subtle difference between the two models. The MS231’s bass sounds a bit tighter and focused. The noise floor has appeared to drop slightly, resulting in a touch more detail and image focus. I’ve never really understood the concept of “blacker backgrounds” but I suppose this is what reviewers are referring to. There is more “air” around percussion instruments with longer cymbal decay.

I believe it’s worth doubling or tripling your money for the MS series cables. Even though the sonic improvement is, in my experience, very subtle, you will still only be investing about another 20 to 30 dollars. If you go beyond the MS231, you’re really entering the land of diminishing returns.

Strengths:
Outstanding sound and construction for the price.

Weaknesses:
none for the price

Similar Products Used:
see review

machani

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $35.00 from AmbientWeather.com

Summary:
This review is for Acoustic Research MS230 (3 ft version) interconnects. This is my second set of Acoustic Research interconnects. Almost a year ago I tried the Acoustic Research Professional Series AP031 interconnects and raved about the improvement they made over RadioShack interconnects (see my review on AP031). I thought those cables were the ultimate budget cables until I added the excellent TAD-150 preamp to my Cayin TA-30 amp. The TAD-150 added a new level of transparency to my system so I upgraded the interconnects to BlueJeans (Belden 1505F), which took my system a higher level of transparency. However, I found the BlueJeans to somewhat lacking in detail at the upper mids. So I tried a DIY design of all silver interconnects (Greg Weaver's "silver SST" design) and this cured the blurryness. However, the all silver cables took my system to the brighter side of neutral. I liked the sound of silver, but was looking for something warmer while preserving the detail. This lead me to the Acoustic Research MS230, which has silver plated oxygen free copper (OFC)conductors with teflon insulation. The design and construction of the AR MS230 is extremeley good and state of the art. They have 95% copper braid over 100% mylar foil shielding and 'WBT style' locking plugs. With these new Acoustic Research MS230 cables in place, all the detail of the DIY silver ICs is maintained while being tonally warmer like the BlueJeans cable. The noise floor is lower than the BlueJeans cable and timbre is more neutral. Voices, drums, piano, and stringed instruments are more lifelike. The attack transients are more palpable. I still like, and recommend, BlueJeans cable, but these Acoustic Research Master Series take the system to new level in realism. In summary, I am extremely pleased with these cables. At this low price ($35) per pair they will be extremely hard to beat.

Strengths:
Silver plated copper with teflon insulation. State of the art construction. Low noise floor. Neutral timbre. Good sounstage. Low cost!

Weaknesses:
Over packaging.

Similar Products Used:
Blue Jeans cable (Belden 1505F). Acoustic Research AP031.

Price Paid:  $49.00 from www.Etronics.com

Summary:
More open sound day after day. Great sound, look professional cable.