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Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $150.00

Summary:
a good wire, one of the few interconects I decided to keep. it gives color and sense of fullness to your music, and it opens up low frequency range in every sense (3D, volume, punch, dynamics). it is very clear and focused in whole spectre (especially in low and midrange). compared to wires in similar price range there is hard to find other manufacturers' wire that has similar caracteristics at compareable level.

certainly worth trying. it is interesting that weh buying, I compared it with more expensive AQ product, viper, in my own system. viper had a bit more detail, but this detail was more thrown to your face, thus losing musical integrity. coral had no such problem, the music was presented in a whole so I decided for a coral

as a weaker point (there are no perfect wire in this price range), the highs are not so rafined as it can be found in for instance VdH wires

sound can be compared to Kimber PBJ but with more energy, 3D and fullness, also with less harshness in highs

I certainly recommend AQ products. they understand this field, approach to the problematics scientifically, and most important, their approach can be heard. I warmly recommend coral if you want to add energy in your sistem - this wire does what very few in its price range can do

Strengths:
lifeliness, midrange, low range, volume, dynamics, 3D spaciality, rythm, musicality

Weaknesses:
highs are not overemphasized in musical picture, but certainly are harsher then some silky sounding wires

Similar Products Used:
AQ Viper, Kimber PBJ

Price Paid:  $160.00

Summary:
I've compared the coral's to Kimber (hero), Transparent, chord, nordost and MusicLink and it killed them all. Very, precise, natural and clean. AudioQuest makes very serious cables and they start with the coral. The triple balance and PSC (Perfect Surface Copper) offer superior signal transfer. I've noticed that alot of people are making comments on these with the use of equipment such as denon, Marantz, Yamaha and harmon/Kardon but really! how can you make a precise opinion using low caliber gear. Someone mentioned that it killed the imaging on his Paradigm Studio 100's. That is a bunch of B.S. I also use Paradigm reference and the coral has nothing to do with the imaging loss, It just allows you to hear how your equipment really sounds. For the money they are a great bargain and anyone who know's true high-end not the denon,marantz harmon/kardon crap will tell you that audioquest make great cables no matter the cost or competition. try using these cables with Krell, Halcro, Mark Levinson or blue cicle you'll see. Oh yeah my equipment not the names I just mentioned do to lack of that much money consists of Rotel RSP 1066 pre Rotel RCD 1070 C.D ADCOM GFA 2535 Bi-AMP Audioquest Type 6 speaker cable(Great for bi-wire or Bi-amping Audioquest coral intr cnt x3 Paradigm Reference Studio 100's Panamax powerbar Blue Circle Power conditioner x2

Strengths:
Clarity, imaging, realistic, smooth, subtle and lifelike.

Weaknesses:
can't perform when used with crap equipment, Or it lets you hear the crap in crap equipment

Similar Products Used:
Kimber, Musiclink, Transparent, Chord, Nordost etc. (Monster cable sucks its for marantz and denon.)

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Friend in the Busine

Summary:
These are very well built cables. Sound is very good to excellent. I immediately noticed an improvement, even before they were "broken-in". The most noticable aspects were bass response and midrange. They became much tighter and cleaner. I agree that the highs might not be as "airy" as others I've auditioned. My system is a bit bright anyhow, so the warmth of these cables are a welcome addition. I really like the single-ended rca jacks. They fit very tight and are high quality. Audioquest products are also guaranteed for life, so you have nothing to lose, just as long as you like the sound!

Strengths:
Very high quality. Attractive looking (snake-like outer sheath). Fairly flexible. Value.

Weaknesses:
None that I've noticed.

Similar Products Used:
Monster, AR, DH Labs, Kimber

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Used

Summary:
The Audioquest Coral is a well-balanced interconnect that will bring smooth, easy listening to any upper-end audio system. It presents music with smoothness, good detail, and a touch of warmth that I find lacking in many brands of interconnects. These interconnects do take some time to break in - and I have to seriously question weather those who have made negative posts about the Corals truly did take the time burn them in properly. I currently have several pairs of Coral interconnects in my system - which includes all McIntosh electronics and Thiel 3.5 speakers - and I am enjoying many hours of smooth, enjoyable music almost every day.

Strengths:
Excellent build quality. Smooth, yet detailed sound - easy to listen to/non- fatiguing. Slightly warm sound - will help clean up that bit of brightness on some solid state systems. Made in the USA.

Weaknesses:
Not the ultimate in "Air" or treble extension - but does just about everything else in the audio spectrum very well.

Similar Products Used:
XLO ER-5s, MIT 2s & 3s, Transparent Music Link

Price Paid:  $90.00 from Local Shop

Summary:
Well, these cables were my first step into the world of audio, unfortunately, I did not have much of a system at the time and I was so excited to get anything, I did not audition these cables before purchasing them. While they might help tame brightness and smooth over the sound, I have found that these cables totally destroyed the imaging of my speakers (Paradigm Studio 100''s). This was not subtle at all, but rather a complete collapse of any imaging outside of the speakers. I also have DH Labs cable (good stuff but too bright for most solid state) and MIT (Now this is an amazing cable!). It may work well in other systems, but I think the cable is a total waste of $130.00. I kick myself for ever buying it. It looks good, but that is about it!

Strengths:
Smooth, warm

Weaknesses:
Completely destroyed the imaging and 3D soundstage of my speakers

Similar Products Used:
MIT, DH Labs, Monster