David V. Webber

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $175.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
I am 71 , ( 3/3/35 ) . For most of my life ( at least the part where I hooked speakers to signal - sources ) , the standard / normal " cable " was the same stuff household extension - cords are made from , ie 18 AWG zip - cord . It worked , and no one noticed anything wrong . 30 years ? Then , people started saying the wires were important !
System consists of : HAFLER SE120 60 WPC MOSFET Amp ; PARASOUND
P/HP - 850 Pre - Amp ; AMC CD8b single CD Player ; REVOX A - 77 Reel - To - Reel Tape Machine ; Alpine TDM - 7544 AM / FW Cassette Player ; DIY JBL
14" Three - Way , ( details put up with initial registering . )
So , I removed the lamp - cord and bought a spool of Radio Shack wire ; probably the heaviest gage available on a spool , or 16 AWG . Their best , gold
terminations . It did sound better ! More bass , etc. Then , people started saying you had to have Mega - Buck heavy - gage ( 12 , 9 , or 7 or for the rich , solid -siver bars ! ) I resisted for a long time , feeling that " a - wire - is - a - wire " and what possible difference could it have ? Then , I went to a DIY Speaker gathering , and all the " REAL " people had heavy - gage cables . [ Albeit some were just made from heavy - gage power - cable from Home Depot or Lowes ! ]
So , I started reading - up on cables on the WEB . Seems AP TESTS all the
" Name - Brand " exotic cables , and they all measured poor to bad ! SO , AP decided to make some of their own , with none of the problems ! Their " White -
Pages " seemed honest and intelligent . [ I am a Commercial Pilot and Aeronautical Enginneer . ] So , I bought a set of the 8' " Oval 12s " . Right out of the box they made an incedible impovement ! [ See " Customer Service " , below . ] More bass
of course , cleaner , more detailed and open , better sound - stage or placement of individual instruments , etc. Then , I was told that the " wires " had to BREAK -
IN for 72 to 100 hours ! WHAT ? A WIRE ? There are no moving - parts , no piston - rings to " seat " ! Must be B.S. !! So , I " E - Mailed " AP to be sure of it . Nice reply from Mr. Mark Markel , the President ! Also , I wanted to know if playing the system LOUD would speed things up ! Would Treble / Bass Boost help ? NO ,
loud or boosting was not a help ; just the proper time - period ! OK , so I played it for 2 or 3 days . WOW , it was even a bigger improvement over " Out - Of - The - Box " than THAT was over the Radio - Shack heavy - gage with fancy terminations ! Who would have thought ?? So , I'm now a believer that " wires " can make a difference !

Strengths:
Everything improved ! Bass, clarity , sound - stage , response - time , highs , mids , presence ; everything !

Weaknesses:
None .

Similar Products Used:
Have " Straight Wire " ' " Rhapsody II " interconnects . Since they are not an
amplified signal , I feel I don't have to have " fancy " ones ! But , who knows ?
If I used AP interconnects , it might improve even more !!

Price Paid:  $175.00 from Delve Audio

Summary:
Right out of the box, these cables (single run, not biwire...) were an improvement over my Ultralink Excelsior 2.4 biwire. Overall, the sound is more refined, bass guitar has that distinctive "growl", low and upper bass have more focus. The mids are more present than before, the highs are more refined, detailed, yet not bright or shrill. The sound of a cymbal "decaying" is more present, more realistic. Highly recommended, but TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Many audio enthusiast and/or audiophiles often make the mistake of buying components without auditioning properly. Speaker cables are no different, they are "very" system-dependent(i.e. System synergy). Overall, a great speaker cable with a "neutral side of warm" sound character at a reasonable price.

Strengths:
Price Excellent built Quality of terminations Neutral sound character

Weaknesses:
Long "burn-in" period, but may still sound great out of the box in some systems...

Similar Products Used:
Ultralink Excelsior 2.4 biwire, Ultralink Challenger biwire, Monster XP, Analysis Plus Oval Clear, and other "cheap" 12AWG zip-cord

Price Paid:  $190.00 from delve audio

Summary:
I've had these cables in my system for the last three years. Initially not very impressive, they got much better after a long break in. A recent upgrade to my system has confirmed the basic quality of this design. I highly recommend these cables.

Strengths:
Clean, clear and grain free, wide bandwith design.You really don't think about these cables and that's always a good sign.

Weaknesses:
Long break-in is needed. These cables will very likely expose inferior components in the signal chain.

Similar Products Used:
DNM solid core Tara labs MIT Rega cables

Price Paid:  $175.00

Summary:
After having 12 ft. pair for about 3 month, I think I made a mistake buying this cable. It GREATLY diminish output in mid and vocals area. Under nice and detailed music I don't hear vocals as they should sound. Cheep Monsters give a little less details, but much better balance. I think this cable is just wrong, and shouldn't be sold at all due to extreme filtering. In a review on AnalisysPlus site the professional reviwer mentioned that this filtering is light. Setup: Ah! Tojeb CD player. Simaudio I-5. Phase Technology 7.5

Similar Products Used:
Kimber, Monster.

Price Paid:  $205.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
When I first got these cables I was not happy with their sound. I thought that they were a bit bright and I liked the sound of my MIT Terminator 2 cables better. After upgrading my preamp and amp, I was unhappy with the highs in the system. I knew that my system was better than what I was hearing. I then got out the old AP Oval 12s to see how they would do with the new gear. WOW! Night and day difference! I never thought I would be able to hear such a difference in cables. Compared to the MITs, the AP Oval 12s sound crystal clear and open. There is much more depth and the highs are to die for. The music seems to take on a 3D image. Cymbals are more then 3D, they are palpable. I heard some tube Conrad Johnson gear with some $5000.00 B&Ws at a local store that did not sound as good as my system since the Oval 12s have been back in play. I think you need to have good equipment before you can appreciate the Oval 12s. With "cheap" solid state gear, the weakest part is the highs. Some cables (MIT) will hide the bright highs. Other cables (Analysis Plus)will put out what you put in. Very highly recommended! My system: Arcam CD 72t Parasound P/LD 1100 preamp Bryston 4B-SST amp (WOW!!!) Dynaudio Audience 72s Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cable Analysis Plus Oval One interconnects

Strengths:
Very true, Open, Wonderful sence of depth, outstanding highs, top notch imaging and soundstage, helped my speakers disappear. PRICE!!!

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
MIT, Straightwire

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