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Summary: the Alpha-Core/Goertz Audio veracity MI2 presents very good performance in the bass and midrange but treble is depressed when partnered with tube amplifiers, especially SET (single ended triode) amplifiers. Alpha Core customer service is poor and rude with customers, unresponsive and does not honour warranty on a defectiveproducts. Sonic value is a 3, but in light of concerns on customer service, overall value is no better than 2.
I have a 6 feet Veracity pair, and have partnered with both solid state amplifiers like the Son of Ampzilla II, Pass Aleph for example and a number of tube amplfiiers, both push pull El34/6550 and low power single ended triode SET 45/300B/2A3. My MI2 evaluation is with the Zobel network in place.
The claim to fame of Alpha-Core is the low inductance with 2 thin copper foil insulated by thin polymer layers. Its capacitance is high and so its AC resistance is not necessarily low. Although Alpha Core shows on its web site clean 10Khz response to step input, I find the MI2 presenting a depressed trable level, especially with SET and tube amplifier. However, with the 2 dozen amplifiers I try, the depressed treble renders music lifeless and its performance in the highs do not correlate with the clean frequency response that Alpha Core claims. I initially had high expectations for them, since I use the 12-gauge Alpha Core coper foil inductors in my speaker crossover and view these foils to be among the very best, only second to the ultra expensive Duelund coils and clearly superior to the Northcreek as well as the Solen Perfect lay and Hepa-Litz inductors, both in 10-guage. I then went back in some of the audiophile press reviews, and one major magazine reviewer also mentions the depressed treble of the MI2.
This probably explains why the Veracity is known to be a warm speaker in audiophile circles. Its bass performance is very good, in term of weight but not as good in term of bass definition. Its midrange is very good although not state of the art transparent or decay. Combined with the pedestrian performanc ein treble, the MI2 sounds warm. I burned in the MI2 for 300 hours and really try to like it. In the end, I relegate it to the role of driving my woofers in my bi-amplified speakers, and after I made my own Litz silver cable, removed it from the system.
Although Alpha Core copper speaker cables are priced quite reasonably, there are better speakers in the MI2 price range. Take the Elf Audio Silver Signature which I bought for $125, a weave of 6 stranded silver wires, it basically trounced the veracity in all aspects. Or the TMC (The Music Cable) Reference from Australia which presents better bass pitch and definition while delivering the same weight. The TMC is more neutral than the MI2. The same comment applies with the Signal Cable Ultra speaker cables.
With SET amplifiers and high efficiency speakers like Tannoy, horns, the MI2 may just have too much of copper foil. That is something that Dr Gizmo (the late harvey Rosenerg) mentioned in a write up on Alpha Core. He in fact used a modfiied Alpha Core Triode Quartz 2 interconnects as speaker cable with an effective 18 gauge. I did not go into the trouble of modifying a TQ2 interconnect (it is a rather expensive test if it does not work out). But I went ahead and bought a pair of the cheaper MI1 Center Stage from Alpha-Core. With SET, I clearly prefer the MI1 to the MI2, and I did not find the treble performance to be as objectionable as the MI2. The MI1 has less copper, so my experience sort of reflect Dr Gizmo findings as well. I in fact uses the MI1 as internal speaker wire after this test.
To be frank, you can build yourself for the same cost as the MI2 a much superior speaker cable. Buy some 24-gauge pure silver solid core wires, buy Teflon tubes (they need to be at least 3 wire sizes larger so you can sleeve easier), and weave them into a braid like girls braid their hair. If you do not know how to braid, get your sister to do it for you. Now you just build a wide bandwidth Litz weaved speaker wire. Litz weave cable has been around for 100 years, and the laws of physics are undeniable in term of their wide bandwith. No other cable geometry comes close or is as scientifically proven. Even Western Electric used Litz geometry in their cables (I spent 25 years at Bell Telephone Labs as a researcher).
Now if I end here, I would have given the MI2 a 3 rating. arrived dead, it has an electrical short. In my 35 years as an audiophile, I have never received a cable that is shorted. Technically I can easily repair it myself, however I sent it back. I want Alpha Core to take a look at it and fix its production process as well as its quality control. The fact I reeived a defective cable speakers says volume about their quality control. In my daytime job, I deal a lot with japanese enigineers in Japan for the past 20 years. the Japanese pride themselves on continuous improvements. No process is perfect, and you need to continually work on improving it and its controls. And that is what they learned well from dr Deming on the 6-sigma theory. 4 weeks passed, nothing and I had called Alpha Core repeatedly. In the end I receive an email saying that I have shorted the cable and it is my fault. That is a ludicrous technical claim. So I called them and demanded I speak to the engineer who did the root cause. He could not proved his claim, so he said to me, this is not an Alpha Core cable. I asked him to reconfirm what he just said. I asked hiim is he saying this is a fake cable? which he did not respond to. In the end he said they never looked at what is the issue wth the cable, because they believe I shorted it, and their production process is flawless. The engineer was rude and arrogant. Having worked with the japanese, I am extremely disappointed with Alpha Core; they are not even interested in finding out the flaws in their production processes. Yes, their cable is good and has good price value, but what good is it, if their customer support is non existent? what good is it if they ship junks? Look at the US auto industry and learn.
When I received the MI1 back, I cut out the pretty heat shrink with the Alpha Core logo on it, at the place they tie together the + and - leads. What I see is as follows. Alpha Core basically uses reinforced clear packing tape that is very thin. Since their cable as a larger width than the width of the leads into the spades or bananas, they reduce the width in a 90 degree sharrp corner. A better design will cut it as a slope. Those corners are very sharp, they can cut thru your skin like a knife, and they puncuterd the thin packing tape that provide insulation between + and -, The puncture is on both insualtion layers. That is how the cable is shorted out. I use Teflon tape to re-wrap the + and - and I clipped away the sharp corners. Bingo, the MI1 is no longer shorted. My repair job took me 10 minutes from start to finish, at a rather leisure pace.
Overall I believe the Alpha Core MI2 veracity is a decent cable with a good price. If you have SET, I say the MI1 is better, and I say the same with tube amplifiers. Also if your speakers have a peaky treble, then it will tame the treble. Speaker cable synergy depends on all the other associated equipment you use, so my comments on its audio performance reflects only my personal experiences. The MI2 could work very well in other and in your systems. Plus what I hear, you may not agree with me in any case.
I would caution buyers that Alpha Core customer service and lack of warranty support is a matter of grave concern. Not all audiophiles are good with a solder gun or has a PhD. I do like Alpha Core copper foil inductors, and I hope that Alpha Core will improve its customer service. A company can have a top notch product, but the lack of support means there will not be repeat customers.
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