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Review 2 of 3
Price Paid:
$159.00
from Audio Advisor Summary:
The Prelude and all PS Audio X-stream cables are very good and are a great value at their retail price. Recently audio advisor has been selling PS Audio cables at less than half price. Ordinarily, the Prelude is the best value, but at $129 for a 2 meter Plus you can't go wrong.
All PS Audio cables have the same terminations. Multiple gauges of wire are used. The Prelude is 10 gauge and the Plus 8 Gauge. Wires are both hot and cold soldiered(pressure fused) to the plugs. Cables are well shielded.
I currently own four PS Audio cables; Two Preludes, one Plus, and one Power Punch. This review is about the Prelude, but the Plus is generally more of the same.
So - How do they sound. Mostly the Prelude is very dynamic and lively. All PS Audio cables definitely have more of a "power punch" than almost all competing products. I attribute this to their size, better soldiering, and nickel plated plugs. The Plus is a little smoother. Cleans out the bass a bit but notably the upper treble as well. Definitely a cure for a dull or hazy system. Particularly well matched to amplifiers. Can overwhelm some front end devices, destroying the texture of the music. Still worth trying on a pre-amp. Not as "neutral" a some cables, and not quite as likely to unlock detail as say, an expensive Cardas cable.
PS Audio has invested much more money than most competitors on their power cable production and it shows.
I use the Plus to feed an ultimate outlet power conditioner and connect two amplifiers to the conditioner via Prelude cables. Sound is a little cleaner with the conditioner but the amps sound good plugged into the wall with Preludes.
Definitely not a dull cable, and much more dynamic than most. At the current discounted price I would buy a Plus, which has a slightly more refined sound with amps. Strengths:
Dynamic, clean sounding, lively - fairly active power delivery Weaknesses:
Not quite neutral (even though many "neutral" cables are dull) Similar Products Used:
Cardas, Cobalt Cable
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