Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Searching for more transparency and detail in a lower priced interconnect,I came across some info on the Alpha-Core Micro Purls. They seemed to have what I was looking for according to the reviews I found. After seeing there was a 30 day money back guarantee from the company, I figured there was nothing to loose, so I ordered a 1 meter pair of the silver. Having had a number of different connects on my system, some taking well over 100 hours to burn in, I found some of the comments of a 2 hour burn-in time to be pretty hard to believe. But to my surprise, after listening to the initial muffled sound coming from the system, suddenly and quite obviously the sound started becoming extremely detailed and crystal clear over about a 1/2 hour period once that 2 hour mark was reached. As some people have done, I was temped to write a review praising the transparency and detail, as well as the short burn in period. However, I still had some reservations about an interconnect that seemed to break in so quickly, and the bass didn't have much weight still, so I held off, thinking I'd wait until I had at least 100 hours on them. I'm glad I did too, because over the next 4 days (I left the system playing continually) the depth of the midrange continued to increase, while the highs became more and more rolled off, and the bass seemed to roll up more and more. It was a very odd effect, with violins and chimes loosing their edge and sounding duller and duller, and the bass getting higher and higher. The best description I can give, with the ever diminishing highs and the bass rolling up more and more, along with the ever increasing and deepening detail in the mids is: the effect seemed almost like looking into a tunnel. By the fourth day, the bass and highs were so muffled, I chose to view the experience as a good example of the additional detail that was available to be heard from my system, and as a verification, once again, that one cannot tell what a cable or interconnect truly sounds like until it has been burned in for a minimum of 100 hours. There really is no such thing as a 2 hour burn in, as the sound will continue to change over the next days and weeks, with these, just as with every other pair of cables or interconnects. Judgement after only 2 hours of playing any component is really unfair and will tend to be inaccurate. Naturally, I returned them.

Strengths:
They're pretty to look at visually with their twisted silver and blue metal ribbon inside of the clear insulation.

Weaknesses:
after apparent rapid burn-in they continue to lose transparency at both frequency extremes over the remainder of the burn-in period. (my system and synergy? hard to believe...but possible, I suppose... )

Similar Products Used:
Siltech (many), D&L, Groneberg, Analysis-Plus, Virtual Dynamics signature reference, others....

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Update: Following my initial review, I became disenchanted with the ''Purls, or with what I thought was the level of performance I was getting from them. It turned out that most of the trouble came from the associated equipment; since then, I''ve gotten a new headphone amp, headphones, and--the real culprit--a better line conditioner/RF noise filter. In the interim, I tried a couple of Kimber products which seemed quite satisfactory at first (and, in my initial enthusiasm, I jumped right in with reviews on this site) and a little-known brand which proved to be impractical (too fragile; they had shorted out when I unpacked them). Now I''ve come back to the Purls. Most of what I said in my earlier review is now reaffirmed, although the bass response is noticeably better this time around (the Monster line filter I was using was sapping dynamics and body, and so squelched what is actually pretty full as well as accurate bass, capable of some fearsome lows). Now that I''ve got a more revealing headphone amp (the Grado RA-1, which puts out just what you feed into it,) I would assert that the Purls aren''t quite as neutral as I thought at first; they have a slightly light and cool tonal balance. A tuba, for instance, doesn''t sound as different in pitch from, say, a flute as the two instruments do in reality--or through different cables. On the macro scale, this can subtly alter the character of what you hear through your speakers or, in my case, ''phones. But on the whole, these are the most completely successful ICs I''ve tried yet, and I''m going to stick with them.

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Alpha Audio S'pore

Summary:
This cable suits my system well and definitely increase its performance level. Vocals are loud and clear, mids are also crsytal clear with a touch of warms, the treble are smooth and airy. Dynamics is just right and filled with impact. You can hear each strumming of the instruments, especially percussion types. Very good value for the price.

Strengths:
Crsytal clear in the mids and highs, smooth and airy

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
QED Qunex 1, Tara Labs Prism 22

Summary:
When I ordered them I was expecting excellent things, as the reviews have been very strong....I ordered the copper instead of the Silver, as I generally like copper....When I installed them I noticed how clear the mids and highs were...But even more, I noticed that the bass response was not there...Previously, I had used Ixos 1002 cables between my cdplayer and my Receiver. When I replaced with the Micro Purls, there's no question that I was not hearing as much bass...I ABd like crazy, between 2 cd players, and between digital and analog, and every which way, and there's no doubt that with the Micro Purls, there was less bass...Plain and Simple...Even though I did hear an improvement in mids and highs, it came at the expense of the bass, and I cant have that, so, I had to send them back...they were fine to deal with, but I was disappointed that cables so highly rated attenuated the bass so much....

Strengths:
Beautifully made

Weaknesses:
bass response

Similar Products Used:
bettercables, Ixos, Monster

Summary:
I originally ordered a pair of copper 1-meter Micro Purls, then after using them for about a week, I decided the transient response would be improved by switching to the silver version. It was. My current setup is fairly simple: an NAD C540 CD player hooked up to Creek's OBH-11 headphone amp, driving a set of Grado SR-125s. As a result, there's a lot riding on each of the links in a pretty short chain. Until I installed the Micro-Purls, I didn't know how much clarity and depth I could get out of my player. On recordings I've heard many times through other equipment, I have been astounded at the difference (although this varies from disc to disc--not all of them sound "revelatory;" some merely sound noticeably better. What is undeniable is that the differences in production and engineering among CDs are quite apparent through the Micro Purls, not glossed over as with some other ICs.).

Bass is tight and fast, although the lows are not always as Stygian as I've heard them through other equipment. Then again, the perception of "deep" bass via other cables could simply have been colorations, which the Micro Purls are notably lacking in. Moreover, I'm finding the silver Purls are taking a bit longer to break in than the coppers did (the latter seemed to reach their full potential in about three hours), so even that complaint may soon disappear.

All in all, a very low-cost way to accomplish a major upgrade in performance and satisfaction.

Strengths:
transparent, detailed and deep soundstage; extended (but not over-bright) highs; "you are there" clarity and immediacy

Weaknesses:
a little light in the bass

Similar Products Used:
AudioQuest Quartz and Ruby, XLO Signature, Monster M1000i