Smooth, no listening fatigue, lot''s of mid-bass.

Not enough bite.

I am presently comparing Viper to MIT-330 Plus Series II interconnects. My little system is a Creek 4330 MkII, a Pioneer Elite PD-65 cd player, Triangle Titus XS speakers on sand filled Atacama Nexus stands, Audioquest bi-wired Slate speaker cable, Monster Sound line conditioner, and commercially bought cd''s, (no sub). Viper is very smooth and listenable for long periods in this set-up. MIT is more intense and "present", and I find myself craving the MIT''s intensity after switching to the Viper. So, in this system with a mellow little amp, a cd player of renowned analogue-like sound, and speakers that fly out at you, I like the MIT, but the viper is by no means a slouch. I just love being "there".

Similar Products Used:

Kimber PBJ, MIT-330 Plus

Clear, neutral, dynamic, and tonally balanced

Subjectively less warm than AQ Coral

I recently upgraded from the 0.5m Coral (which I favorably reviewed earlier) to a 0.5m Viper. Expecting very modest improvements in sound, I was quite surprised to find the Viper to be actually quite a cut above the Coral. After substantial break-in and comparative listening, here are some of the key differences I''ve noticed: Viper''s overall tonal balance and portrayal of instrument timbres is slightly less warm than Coral''s, but definately more accurate. The separation and localization of instruments (and vocals) is considerably better with Viper, as is the sense of space and ambient detail. There is also a little more inflection in the vocals. Overall, Viper is simply more clear and transparent and able to hold the sonic picture together with more ease when things get loud or busy (i.e. more dynamic). Decay of instruments is also improved with Viper. This is most obvious with cymbals, which are considerably less "splashy" and have more of a natural attack and decay. Percussion, in general, works better and has more of an actual tone to it. The most dramatic improvements, however, are in the bass regions. Viper''s bass is much more taught and tuneful. Perhaps even a little deeper than Coral''s. With acoustic bass, especially, it''s like night and day. I can actually locate the bass in the soundstage with ease now, where before it was anyone''s guess where it was a lot of the time. From what I understand, this may have as much to do with bass overtones as the bass itself but, nonetheless, the overall effect is quite striking. These are the most significant and quantifiable differences between the Viper and the Coral. Of course, results may vary depending on the overall resolution of one''s system. But for those of you who''s systems would benefit from a cable upgrade I highly recommend this cable, especially if you''re an AudioQuest fan. Equipment: Panamax 1000+ power conditioner Cambridge Audio D500 CD player (w/ Wireworld Stratus power cord) AudioQuest Viper interconnect (0.5m RCA) Bryston B-60 integrated amplifier (w/ Wireworld Aurora power cord) AudioQuest Slate speaker cable (bi-wired) Castle Eden loudspeakers

Similar Products Used:

Van den Hul DM102 mkIII, Nordost Blue Heaven, Wireworld Atlantis, AudioQuest Coral

Open highs, neutral sound, uncolored, full bass

none

This is the best interconnect I have ever used. It''s very neutral and uncolored with open highs. I used to think high priced cables were a rip off. But the viper is really great, better then some I tried in my system for over a 1000 2M pair.

Similar Products Used:

starightwire, MonsterCable Silver Audio

clarity

Amazing sound, I loved my Opals but like these even better.

Similar Products Used:

monster,Tara Labs

excellent

none

i loved the rubys, but the new corals are better in all respects. the corals and vipers sound the same, but the corals are cheaper.but i am keeping my rubys, cause on some cds they have a good sound. most dvd players have connecters for two sets of wires, that is two audio outputs. connect both sets to your amp.

Well i bought these from the classified section in balanced and RCA between CD and Pre-Amp amd Balanced from pre-amp to Amp and I was not sure at first as the rubies were good and the Sonic horizons ( Huricanes ) were interesting but after breaking in it showed who the winner being the viper no muddy sound at high volume very nice sound stage and a nice timbre with a punchy base not that the sonic horizons are a bad cable I was actually impressed with the price and what you get I just feel that the viper handled things a little better, It is only my opinion but thats what this is all about right

Good detail, nearly transparent

Much better available at price point

I have had the Vipers between my CD player, pre-amp, and amps for 6 months. I thought that they were very good and that I would never replace them. They are quite detailed and fast, a very good cable. Recently a friend let me try some MAS cable that he purchased new on e-bay. As soon as I put the MAS between my CD player and pre-amp I knew they were much better. Detail, image, and depth/width of soundstage increased dramatically. I followed up on e-bay and purchased 3 pair of the MAS Gray for $80.per meter (retail is $400.per meter) Replacing all of my Vipers with the MAS created a sound that I did not know my stereo was capable of. Had I written this review before trying the MAS I would have given the Vipers 5 stars for value and quality, but they pale in comparison to the MAS, in every way. Linn Genki Linn Wakonda B&K 2140s (2) MAS speaker wire MAS reference series power cords

Similar Products Used:

Monster 950, Linn, MAS Gray, Millersound

Warmth, coupled with clarity & focus

None

I was in need of new interconnects for my Monolithic Sounds PS-1. It took a couple of weeks for the cables to burn-in, but afterward I could tell they were gems. For kicks, I replaced my Opals between the amp & line stage and wow! What an improvement. They offer all of the detail and
warmth as the Opals, but with significantly better clarity and focus. Buy and pair and you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Opal, Quartz, and Ruby

Very detail and presentation,like all Audioquest cables, give them a "Break" and break them in before being to hyper-critical of them. Construction is fine. Ferrules of very good quality, the woven wrap is a nice retro touch of vacuum tubes..and smooth warm sounding things,competent performer in its' price range, but will not astonish with gosh it seems so cheap for the great sound.

pricey folks.

Before we start with this impression of this product. Please as always with any cable, get familiar with it and try before you buy because systems have a way of being finicky on the cables you feed them. My system here is the Rotel RMB-1095 with Sony ES TAE-9000 pre/proc, and Denon DCD-1650AR compact disc player. Bedrock in Single Bi-wire attached to a pair of B & W 603s2 speakers. By the way,Corals are used for the CD to pre/proc connection. Various recordings of new wave jazz,rock, classical,vocals are used for this very early evaluation. Construction of the cables is with the usual perfect surface copper technology though now with a "+" involved. This supposedly separates this cable from its' "lower" sibling, the Coral. 8000 amps of current join the cable to the ferrule connections ensuring "reliable conncetion". This is 2.0 meter length by the way. A woven fabric covers the insulating jacket of the cable. Appearance,function,you got me on that one. Well the sound...ok?? When playing my David Benoit jazz piano cuts, the instruments are well fleshed with detail and precision. Dynamics are well done. Amazing the cables don't add any high frequency zip to the highs that my speakers already do not need thank you. The Bass while well deliniated is not perfect in extension. Like I said, you have to break them in please. Something to do with Di-electric properties and such. See Audioquest.com for the low down in the FAQ section for the Technically curious. The midrange at least in my system is a bit reticent in its' delivery. Not a dark balance, just not
the Neon lights look at me presentation. The mid treble is an area where the sibilence can and does rear its' ugly head but more break in here I hope will clean that up. This cable is like a paint by numbers painting done very well with the Wrong hues and colors. Detail and more detail, but with some etch here too. But the treble is well done, and silky smooth. Mid bass has good weight with my bass drum kicks played tight and with good pace. The low bass is asleep at the helm here a bit. Maybe this is like my Coral and Bedrocks are. Days and Days and Days till the Bass wakes up. Fine with me, as I would rather not have it, then have it done poorly. Failure by omission, than comission is the better of the 2 vices. So in a nutshell, and just plain nuts...what do you get with the Viper. Quick,detailed,silky highs,good midbass. The Cable physical, very good construction, though not ga-ga quality here. The have nots are the asleep bass, and mid-treble are not up to the rest of the cables' gameplan. I have only used these cables for a short time, so I need more break in time before the magnifying glass either makes them shine or burns them up with the sun light so to speak. So I like them very much, with the above provisals dissapearing after extensive break in. Patience is a virtue, and at these prices, it better be rewarded. Try the other great cables too like the Kimber Heros etc. The PBJs' etc. are great too. When I do tubes, I will most likely have Audioquest in there but not my first and only line. But for my "FET" home theater/listening for now, a hard bargain to beat. At least with my setup in my humble opinion. Listen carefully,patiently, and then buy if it fits with your and most importanty, "YOUR" tastes. Enjoy and keep the music playing. There is more to life than just "HOME THEATER".4 both ways if it does not improve, but I am banking it will through time as did my Bedrocks, and Corals. So a 4 and 5 is fair; I am a sucker for details. The devil is in the details they say. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Corals,too many Monsters,Esoteric,ProCo.

Smooth, looks[!], build quality.

Some interconnect cable comparisons, and how I did the tests.

First – the equipment :
Sony CD-X779ES player
Krell KRS-2 preamp
Krell KASA100S power amp
Chario Academy-II speakers

The Krell KRS-2 preamp has 2 inputs which can be matched to have the same input and CD filtering properties. So the first thing I did was to adjust the DIP switches so that all CD filtering at the CD input was in by-pass mode [as is the AUX input on the KRS-2].
Now I have 2 identical inputs to make instant comparative tests with.
The 779ES player has 2 single-ended outputs, one of which is via the variable gain control. This cannot be bypassed, so one still will need to switch cables between the two to eliminate any disparity due to this.

I connected AudioQuest VIPER from one output and a “non-brand” cheap cable on the other output. Connected each pair of cables to the preamp’s 2 inputs.
Now you can sit in the listening position and have a friend switch between the 2 inputs on the amp’s selector.

The differences between various cables tested was quite subtle at first, but constant switching between them showed the main characteristics clearly.

The Vipers [already burned in for 2 months] were smoother, but with a tendency to show a fatter bass content. The highs were smooth also, but without “bite”.
The non-brand cables showed a leaner bass line but with a muddied mid band and a not too distinct high band.

Replaced the non-brand cables with another non-brand [custom made] silver cable with good quality AudioQuest connectors.
Comparisons showed the non-brand silver cable to have a better upper frequency sheen, the snare drums had natural and open “thwacks” to them, the bass line was tuneful and not “fat”. The vocals were more intelligible and instruments more separated.

Then I tested the non-brand cable against an AudioQuest lapis.
The results were similar – meaning, that the AQ cables seem to have the same characteristic tendency to be [overly] smooth but lacked the transparency that the silver cable is capable of delivering.

Comparing the AQ Viper to the Lapis did not show any great differences.

Last comparison was between AQ Viper and Tara Labs Prism 22.
The Tara cable out did the AQ by a large margin.
The Tara cables were natural and clean. No muddiness in the bass, clear mid band and a shimmering high band. The soundstage was as deep as the AQ cables showed, but the separation and the clarity was much better with the Tara cables.

This in no way is to put down the AudioQuest cables, but more to show how I did the comparative test and what suits MY system the best to my ears!

Anil.
8/20/01.

Similar Products Used:

AQ Lapis, Tara Prism 22