of the wal

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $350.00 from secondhand

Summary:
Thanxs audiorevieuwers for pointing me in the right direction !!

Connect this cabel between my Wadia 861and Spectral dma 100s
was one of my biggest upgrades of al.
I use silver, carbon and network cables and had not the capacity to bring my system to live.
when you only have a cd player and power amp jou need de best link money can buy, but even dan i coud not have predict this kind of changed performence
everything inproved, speed, flow, musical sounding, sparkeling highs just marvellous.
There is not only a voice in the middel of the speaker but jou almost feel it
is comming from a real person of fles and blood.
arrival of Walhalla, eeeh i mean nirvana.

Strengths:
Inexorable musical flow, smooth highs, affordable, great looks indeed, lots of details, instruments sounds real like never heard before.
Compare it to other cable the wil sound squelchy or bright.
Jou simply enjoy the music more.

Weaknesses:
Not a single one.

Similar Products Used:
many

muzz777

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from direct

Summary:
Go listen! see my other reviews! Best sound for the money. check out the silver references. I compared cables for months and Acoustic Zen really blew away the competition! If you have no dealer then Robert Lee will demo any products to you directly.

Strengths:
tonal cohesion from top to bottom, Perfect macro and micro dynamics, liquid, smooth, perfect imaging, details

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Siltech classics, Nordost Valhalla, Audioquest cheetah and panther dbs, Transparent music link, ultralink ultima, monster m1000 m850, Harmonic tech magic

rsmcphee

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Brett Interiors (Tuc

Summary:
Zen. In my years of toying with interconnects I have learned that to get the better sound you have to have good equipment and match cables appropriately. It all adds up from CD sources to cables and speakers. My favorites when it comes to interconnects are Acoustic Zen, Nordost and Straight wire. I have own the Nordost Red Dawn and Blue Heaven, Straight wire Maestro, and Acoustic Zen Wow and the Acoustic Zen Matrix 2. The Straight wire Maestro is smooth and warm sounding a perfect partner for bright equipment. The Nordost cables are great but lack a little bit on the bass and they are prone to pick up background noise due to their design. The Acoustic Zens are my all time favorite. They produce soundstage that is wide and deep with enough detail without being harsh or fatiguing. The music seem to blossom and there seem to be space between instruments with the Acoustic Zen Wow and the Matrix. The midrange is very good indeed that makes singers’ voice seem very real. The background noise is not there and the noise floor is lowered. They are reasonable and quite a nice cable to look at too. One can see that the build quality of these cables are very good and probably one of the best out there. Overall, these cables are the one I highly recommend. These Acoustic Zen cables do sound good and they will not empty your bank account.

Strengths:
Detailed, tonal balance and overall musicality

Weaknesses:
none at this price

Similar Products Used:
Nordost, Kimber, Atlas cables, Straight wire, Monster Cables

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Through a friend

Summary:
Having experimented with numerous cables from various cable companies, I honestly didn't have high hopes that this will be any different. But because I had previous success and liking for the Harmonic Technology line of cables, I decided to give Acoustic Zen a try since the designer/engineer/former co-founder is Mr. Robert Lee of HT. Mr. Lee is a veteran cable designer who has built award-winning amplifiers and speakers all honed from his finely-tuned ears demanded by his prior profession as a musician combined with his technical wizardry of course.

Got the Matrix Reference interconnect from a friend and plug it in between my pre-pro and amp for almost a year without realizing most of its potential due to lack of transparency with my prior amplifier. Sound was no doubt refined and smooth with the new cable in place but lacked the ultimate authority, impact and musicality necessary for the illusion and magic of HT and musical enjoyment.

Recently upgraded my amp to Odyssey Stratos with cap upgrade and made all the difference in the world. After having the amp burn in for over a month, I really enjoyed the sound...er, I mean music and almost gave all the credit to the new amplifier. What I was hearing with the new addition is unrestrained and natural high end, ultra smooth and unsmeared midrange in addition to full, tuneful and controlled bass. In addition, the soundstage was laid far back beyond mere room boundaries. Also it was amazingly generous both in the vertical as well as horizontal plane.

Cable swapping time. Thought I could get a different flavor out of the set up by switching to my previous reference interconnect--the much-hyped and recent darling of the audio press, the Harmonic Tech Pro-Silway MK II.

Having been missing in action for a few months, I swapped out the AZ Matrix Reference. Upon first listen, the high frequency air sounded screechy and I couldn't hit the volume button soon enough. So I let it re-burn in for over a week with XLO burn-in track doing 24/7. Afterward, the top end smoothed out considerably. But when I raised the volume (something I always find myself doing with the Matrix Reference in place), that screecy top end returned but in a less threatening matter. Bass was taut and tight but missing fullness and low level natural decay. In other words, it came and gone quickly but only partially--put it another way, it was compressed and manipulated like bullet pointing a page from a masterpiece novel instead of the whole enchilada. Personally, I like to be presented with the whole story--word for word. That said, it somehow skewed the musical signal and balance, favoring the top-end while sacrificing the bottom and killing the midrange in the process.

And did I forget to mention the midrange? Well, after having been spoiled by the Matrix Reference's faithful midrange reproduction ability, I was left high and dry with the HT Pro-Silway. It sounded bleached and anemic in comparison--akin to the difference between a malnutritioned Calvin Klein model and Cindy Crawford in her prime. Wow! I didn't know I had it so good to begin with so I quickly and convincingly swapped the cable back to the AZ Matrix Reference. Fortunately, everything returned just the way I remembered it. But this time, I learned the lesson that you don't know what you have until it's gone, not unlike losing a loved one. Thank God this is reversible! For those contemplating, you won't know what you're missing until you dare to try it. Ignorance is bliss only if the truth is never told. Allow the 'Zen' of Acoustic Zen to show you the path to musical nirvana.

Now I am utterly satisfied with the musical reproduction because the illusion factor is magnified while the reproduction factor is minimized. All the while, the Matrix Reference just quietly does its job of passing on musical signal faithfully as if it's not there at all. Can't give a higher recommendation than that. Acoustic Zen products truly is the real deal. I have also tried their MC2 = Zen digital cable (one that deserved its own space)--another reference piece the likes of which I have not known or heard. When my budget allows, I'll be looking into their other offerings--i.e. speaker cables and power cords. If the above still leave you guessing, I am one happy camper!

Strengths:
Musical, balanced and refined without being laid back or forward sounding. Ultra smooth natural midrange, crystal clear high end and hefty and voluminous bass response. Great build-quality and value for the performance.

Weaknesses:
It's an overused cliche but certainly applies here: Not enough people know about this product and the company behind it.

Similar Products Used:
Harmonic Tech Pro-Silway MK II, HT Truthlink, JPS Superconductor, XLO Reference and Signature, DH Labs Silver Sonic and many others

Summary:
This is the best copper cable I have heard and is the best I can imagine ever hearing. Before you buy anything in any price range get your ears on this. The difference between this cable and their Silver Ref. is a matter of taste, copper has more body to the mids, Silver Matrix has more air, and that 'silver bell' tone in general. I do not understand why more people do not know of this brand. The company is small and the designer/engineer is a musician so it makes sense that he knows music better then just some geek in a lab. I produce records for international distribution and this is the copper cable sound that takes the cake. No joke. There is no reason to use descriptive words as this is the sound of a copper cable in your head, in every way. This is the best copper could ever sound, I'm convinced of that. For mixing records, I prefer listening thru copper over silver when it sounds this clear, so I like this better then their Silver Ref. yet that is also amazing for playback. Get it!

Strengths:
musical, inspiring, even and makes the speakers go away

Weaknesses:
none. excep that this small company need better PR! it seems that they deserve much more business.

Similar Products Used:
Acoustic Zen Silver Ref., Cardas Golden Ref., Cardas Neutral Ref., Canare Quad, Mogami ez-id, Millersound