Price Paid:  $8.00 from Fairview HiFi

Summary:
Currently using SLATE for all my home theatre speakers in a Bi-wire configuration. Decided to review these cables after a year of breaking them in. I am quite satisfied with the performance of these cables. Very crisp, detailed reproduction of sound that is noticable when playing CD's or DVD's. This can only be achieved if all links in your audio setup are covered. Also using Audioquest Diamondback interconnects between my analog equipment and Audioquest Toslink-4 digital cables. I've found that SLATE is a perfect match for my Yamaha system. Accepting that my equipment is High Mid-Fidelity equipment, SLATE delivers a never before experienced sound quality that Monster, AR ore even lamp cord could deliver. There seems to be no evidence of RF interference as SLATE are well insulated and solidly built. I have become accustomed to these cables and the true quality is appreciated when visitors comment on the clarity of sound, providing that the speakers as well as the CD/DVD player had a hand in the sound reproduction as well. Overall, If I was using a 2 channel audiophile amp, SLATE would probably hinder your listening enjoyment. For a Yamaha RX-V3000 home theatre receiver and Mission Freedom 754F speakers, they do justice.

Strengths:
Solid build, perfect design for bi-wire. Great value for wire that is under $10/foot. Fairly quick break-in period.

Weaknesses:
None that I can notice

Similar Products Used:
Lamp cord (we all did as beginners) Accoustic Research Monster

Price Paid:  $280.00 from AudioAdvisor

Summary:
Audioquet Granite vs. LAT International SS-800 LAT INTERNATIONAL SS-800 The LAT and Audioquest brought similar improvements to the sound but with a different tonality. I liked the LAT's looks the best. It is a ~1/2" dia. wire, deep translucent blue color, with large, high quality gold spades. These spades clamped very firmly to my speakers and amp. Even Nelson Pass is big on tight connections affecting sound quality. A positive description of LAT would be it makes the music more vibrant. Cymbals stood out more and I could hear echos, reverb of instruments in the hall where they were played, and artifical recording "echobox" affects more clearly. There was also more air and space around instruments and voices. This was similar in effect to the Harmonic Recovery System box I had in my system. With the HRE as a reference, I would call the effect the wire was making as inaccurate phase shift. Transient attack was quicker in the upper frequencies as well. I tried some cryo treated SS-1000 as well. It was like the SS-800 but better. I heard no bad effects from the treatment. Music had more body and was more solid. Transients such as drums were cleaner. The decay of notes dropped even further into a black background. The basic tonality of the wire was still the same. I would estimate the improvement as 25% to (optimistically) 50%, in the realm of how wire can improve the sound, over the uncryo'ed SS-800. To my ears, the LAT's tonality was not as accurate as the Audioquest Granite. I don't know if it's the silver plating or the woven construction. DH Labs Q-10 is silver plated but not woven. If I liked the sound of LAT International, I would definitely A/B IMS to the DH-Labs before deciding which I liked better. I used to have the Q-10 and it was similar the LAT but bigger bass as I remember. AUDIOQUEST GRANITE This was the second best looking wire. The green color reminds me of a lizard so not really appealing. It is a double helix design so is twice as wide the LAT. Spade were very good but not quite up to the strength and locking ability of the LAT. First impression when switching from the LAT was the music was louder. Music had a big, bold sound similar to Classe amps. There was definitely more bass and a slight muting to the upper frequencies. But since the B&W tweeter is plenty revealing and my room is reflective, this effect was welcome. Soundstaging was not quite as crisp as the LAT. But the big improvement was the more accurate tone of instruments. This is something I value highly. I kept going back to the Audioquest as the most accurate reference to the music. The bigger bass was also good because I could move my speakers further out into the room. This helped soundstaging over the LAT. My girlfriends opinion was the Audioquest sounded "faster" than the LAT. Maybe something to do with the bass. So $280 for $650 wire is a great deal. I would have bought the LAT (at about $270 / 12 ft pair) if I liked the sound better.

Strengths:
Good tone of instruments. Fast, authoritative bass. Not bright.

Weaknesses:
Lacks vibrancy and echo effect.

Similar Products Used:
DH Labs Q-10, Canare Star Quad, Mapleshade double golden helix (may be the best for low current speakers - similar to Audioquest but less bass)

Price Paid:  $260.00

Summary:
Auditioned single bi-wired Slates along with several others and found them to open up the highs much more than any others. Lost some depth in the bass but now my sound is much more balanced. Had Tara Labs Prime 500 and now know they are only appropriate for harsh, forward speakers. Note, however, my setup probably required brighter cable. I tried AQ Granite and found it similar to the Tara Labs in nature. Incredible richness in the bass, but muddled and reserved highs and midrange. The low-end Nordost (bi-wired) provided great clarity but completely washed out the lows. Setup: Denon 3300 receiver Sony DVP-S7700 Aerial 7 main Aerial CC3 ctr AQ VSD1 Interconnect

Strengths:
Balance and clarity

Weaknesses:
Depth of bass

Similar Products Used:
Tara Labs, Nordost, Monster (ick), AQ Granite, various other obscure stuff I can't remember.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Unilet - London

Summary:
I had Audioquest Indigo + cables until i tried the updated Slate version. Not too much difference but still noticeable enough for me to want to buy them! Clearer and more room filling base than the Indigo + without ever being overpowering. I have tried numerous other cables, most noticeably LAT SS800 but found them OK but too much for the size of my room. The Slate cables give a detailed presentation and seem to work particularly well with the NAD / PMC set up. Obviously everyones view is subjective but if you have a similar system and want a clear and natural room filling sound with presence then give them a go. If you like listening to thumping bass on dance tracks then this cable may be too tame. I am using these cables with : NAD 370 Amp NAD 540 CD Player PMC FB1 speakers LAT IC100 Mk2 Interconnect

Strengths:
Natural clean & open sound. Detail and depth, bass, clarity & spaciousness.

Weaknesses:
A bit too spacial at times, otherwise nothing to fault.

Similar Products Used:
Audioquest Indigo +, LAT SS800

Price Paid:  $120.00 from Audioadvisor

Summary:
I read all of the reviews about various cable brands, talked to manufacturers, and settled on the slate pair since it was on sale at audioadvisor, at 60% off. I truly felt that the sound difference was marginal, and I have very good ears. These weren't as expensive as some brands, but the 60% markdown makes you realize how much you are getting ripped off on the average wire. Like the navy man who wrote other reviews on this site, I am not convinced that anything more than guage matters. The more copper, the better the sound (I hope). The components you use make far more of a difference. I think I will be sticking with my lampcord wire for now. I also wouldn't bother bi-wiring (I have B&W CDM 7's). I even took out my bottom two inputs for the bi-wire to see if there was a sound difference and there was none. I really just couldn't hear it, although component changes I have made recently (DVD, speaker) have mattered a lot. This whole wire obsession of the audiophiles is a sham! I might buy a type 4 or 2 if it goes on sale for some marginal benefit, but I wouldn't spend a lot on wires, period. The most significant benefit is having easy banana plugs (the rotel is hard to hardwire as a receiver). Unfortunately, the audioquest bananas had a tendency to slip out of my B&Ws and my rotel. So, I'm skeptical of it all.