machani

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $179.00 from eBay

Summary:
This is a review of Audioquest CV4 2.5M (8') with 48V DBS. Prior to using these cables, I had DH Labs Q10 as well as Belkin PureAv PCOCC cable.

The CV4 DBS cables are of star quad design, which provides low inductance without spiking the capacitance. The conductors are solid core, said to provide smoother, more natural sound. Then there is the dielectric bias system (DBS). The theory behind DBS is by biasing the dielectric with DC current at a certain level, the dielectric stops behaving like a capacitor. It's the storing and releasing of electrical energy as current folows through the conductors that causes high frequency rolloff and a muddying of the sound.

My first impression was that these cables sounded very detailed and transparent with a low noise floor. There was a slight lack of smoothness in the transcients compared with my previous DHLabs Q10.

After just 24 hours with the DBS hooked up, the cable simply disappeared! With that I mean the noise floor is DEAD QUIET. All I hear are the voices and instruments and nothing else! The tones of the voices and stringed instruments are absolutely natural. And the soundtage and imaging is amazingly precise. It is easy to make out individual voices in a chorus and the reverbration of the hall. This is as closest to a live performance I have ever experienced.

Compared to the DHLabs Q10, the Audioquest CV4 are very slightly in the warmer side of neutral. At the same time, these are very detailed and dynamic. The soundstage is as big as the Q10 (which is pretty wide, to say the least). But the imaging is so darn good that you feel like reaching out and touching the singers. The sound of shimmer and decay of cymbals is the best I have ever heard.

These are really outstanding cables. Although I was skeptical about the DBS system, I am convinced it works and amazingly good at that!

FOOTNOTE:
In case you think I am full of hot air, I used to be a cable naysayer, but my experiences with different cables have convinced me beyond doubt that cables do indeed make a noticeable difference - despite what some of the gurus claim. That said, I look for scientific reasons why cables.

The Audioquest DBS cables must be heard to be appreciated. They will convince even the most skeptical of critics.

Strengths:
DEAD QUIET noise floor. Tone. Timbre. Transparency. Detail. Soundstage. Imaging. Dynamics.

Weaknesses:
Slight warm coloration.

Similar Products Used:
DHLabs Q10

Price Paid:  $125.00 from thesoundexchange

Summary:
Describing the characteristics of a speaker cable w/o listing the associated equipment is ridiculous. My system: Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player modded by SACDMODS Outlaw Audio PCA interconnects Arcam AVR200 Audioquest CV4 speaker cables Fronts:Sonus Faber Concertino's Center:Paradigm CC370 V2 Rears: Polk f/x300i Sub: Monitor Audio ASW 110 Previously used Linn K22 speaker cable which was dreadful in this setup. The Audioquest cable works very well indeed with the associated equipment and was a huge improvement in high and low frequency extension. The SF's image well with any wire so no improvement noted there. Speed of transients has also improved. The only weakness that I can discern is a slight tendency to fail to quiet quickly enough on cymbals. The fault may lie elsewhere in the sytem. Soundstage remained as before, stranger towards center than sideways. Depth of soundstage is good but not outstanding probably a result of room limitations. At this reasonable price point these are highly recommended.

Strengths:
Price, bass extension, high frequency extention

Weaknesses:
Slight smearing in high transient resonse

Similar Products Used:
Linn K22, Synergistic Research (forgot designation), Monster

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Audioquest has a good reputation and they obviously make some great cables. I''ve had the CV-4''s now for 2 years and have listened to them almost daily with a variety of different music. I use 2 runs to each speaker to bi-wire with a Bryston amp and Rega cd player ( AQ interconncets as well). Compared to ALL cables I won''t say that the CV-4 are "great" cables, but rather, "good" cables with some weaknesses. We can all assume that until we enter the top dollar cable spectrum, all cables will have their weaknesses - and even still at top dollar. It just depends on which you chose to live with. These cables come accross as very clear, good bass, as many reviewers have mentioned, but also fatigue after listening to them for a while. I hear some brightness in the mid highs and highs, and a lack of depth in the soundstage. Because of that I have never really been able to just listen to the music, I''m always trying to figure out what is wrong. If you have a top quality system you should obviously listen to them first as they are not too forgiving. I would highly recommend them to anyone with run of the mill speaker wire, and a definite contender in home theatre, as CV-4 is sold by the foot. In conclusion, CV-4 is good for what it is/great price, but AQ also makes much better. While I have enjoyed the CV-4, I''ll be happy when I can afford to upgrade. Ti

Strengths:
clear, good bass, good quality/value

Weaknesses:
fatigue, sound stage

Similar Products Used:
straightwire, wireworld, jps,

Price Paid:  $60.00 from Kennedy Hi Fi

Summary:
This is probably one of the best return of investment that anyone could have on their system. I use it as a biwire speaker cable for the high frequency on my KEF Q35 speakers. I used jumper cables before the CV-4. The high comes through very well and the overall sound stage expanded by about 25%. I can now seperate the 4 solo violins on the 1st movement of the Palladium (Diamond Music). Female vocals stand apart with male vocals in both duet and choral pieces. High head and snare on drums fly out of the speaker rather than hidden at the back of a band. All in all, I purchase 4 meters of the cable for about 60 US dollars and I feel that it worth every penny of it.

Strengths:
Clear hi and hi-mid, expanded sound stage with better clarity of different musical instruments. Increase depth and seperation in female and male voices.

Weaknesses:
None at this price

Price Paid:  $60.00 from USED

Summary:
I agree with the previous review especially comments on the bass. I used CV-4 for several months before buying AudioQuest Slate (on sale $99 for 12-feet pair) at Audioadvisor.com. In comparison, the CV-4 is weak on bass while the Slate really brought up the low frequencies I didn't know I had. Very noticable, not a subtle difference. I'm not a believer in grossly over priced cables so I consider many speaker cables in the sub-$300 class to be outstanding values and AudioQuest certainly addresses this market.

System:
Conrad-Johnson PV-14L tube preamp
Conrad-Johnson Premier 11a tube power amp
Denon DCD-1650AR CD player / transport
Magnum FT-101A FM Tuner
MSB Gold Link III 24/96 DAC
MSB P1000 Power base power supply
Thiel CS 1.5 Speakers
AudioQuest Diamondback interconnects
AudioQuest Slate speaker cable

Strengths:
Good build quality, overall decent sound

Weaknesses:
Slightly weak bass

Similar Products Used:
AudioQuest Slate