Sorry, yes the silver. When I tested them from my DSDac to BHK Pre I was amazed, so I took the plunge and bought a 5.5 meter length from my BHK Pre to the BHK 300’s.
At this early point of break-in, they better my current ic’s in just about every area, except low end extension and heft. Should improve with more hrs however.
The geometry of these cables is nothing new. I don’t use interconnects, but the manufacturer of my speaker cables has used this geometry (flat cryogenically treated copper suspended in a PTFE tube) in his interconnect cable and has been selling it happily for the last 20 years.
http://www.townshendaudio.com/dct-300-interconnect/
Don’t see the benefit of multiple conductors in the AS cables, just seems to add to the cost.
Hey Gary, how are things going regarding the cables now that you’ve had them for a few weeks?
I haven’t had a chance to really compare them to what I’ve been using when I ran the DSD direct to the 250, because they were introduced and are being used between the new preamp and amp. Once the preamp is closer to being broken in, I’m going to A B them with the DSD connected to the amp. That being said, my system with the new preamp and ic sounds amazing.
Okay I now have over a 1000 hrs on the new BHK preamp, and the new Audio Sensibility Statement SE XLR’s and Testament power cord. So over the weekend I did some direct comparisons between the Statement SE ic’s and my Supra ic’s, which have been with me for years, and have held their own against many higher priced ic’s, which I’ll mention in a bit, and the Testament power cord vs Virtual Dynamics Nite II.
In order to do a direct comparison and A B the two, I connected the DSD directly into the BHK 250, being that I only have one pair of each. I had done this direct comparison a while back with 700 hrs on the cables, and found things to be a bit of a mixed bag, with the Statement’s sounding better in some areas, and the Supra’s better in others. Now with over a 1000 hrs on new Statement SE’s, everything sounded better from top to bottom. Special thanks to Dirk for advising and encouraging me to not pass judgement until putting at least a 1000 hrs on the new gear and cables. What was most apparent was how natural, rich, and relaxed the sound became, along with a more spacious 3 D presentation, compared to the Supra’s. That’s not to say these cables lacked detail, they didn’t. They were quite capable of resolving fine detail, they just did it in a manner that served the music. This is the best my system has sounded, while running direct from the DSD into the BHK 250, without spending a small fortune on ic’s. Here is a list of some of the other ic’s I’ve tried and compared against my long time reference Supra’s, between the DSD and BHK 250.
MG Audio CU2. In my system the inexpensive Supra’s clearly sounded better.
High Fidelity Reveal. Amazing detail, speed, and soundstaging, but the mids sounded a little thin and lacking compared to the Supra’s. Would probably be a better match now, now that I’ve added the BHK preamp.
Belden ICONOCLAST OFE. I found this to be a very good sounding cable overall, but only marginally better than the affordable $170 Supra’s. So the cost didn’t justify the minor improvement I heard in the soundstage. Other than that, these two cables sounded surprisingly similar.
Transparent Ultra. If money was no object, I probably would’ve purchased these on the spot. They were in another league entirely, but at 3K you would expect them to sound better. But for what they cost, the money was better spent adding the BHK preamp, which ultimately improved the sound to a greater extent. However, having now experienced how good the affordable Audio Sensibility Statement SE ic’s sounded in my system, I would try their top tier ic’s, the Signature Silver XLR Interconnects, at around $1,200, before plopping down 3K for the Ultra’s.
Next A B comparison was between the Audio Sensibility Testament power cord and a Nite II. The Nite II is a much older design by Rick Schultz of his now defunct company Virtual Dynamics, which also employed the use of magnets.
I thought there was some minor trade offs here, but overall I preferred the Audio Sensibility Testament power cord. Again it sounded more natural, had a richer tone, and lower noise floor. The Nite II may have had a slightly more expansive soundstage.
Given the exceptional pricing of the Audio Sensibility cables, I’d say they’re a bonafide deal that clearly surpassed my long standing reference and best bang for the buck XLR ic’s. I also preferred the Testament power cord over the triple the cost Virtual Dynamics. These cables brought something very special to the table. They made everything sound more natural and pure, and less electronic. This to me is what’s most important, and what I hope to achieve with every upgrade.
After placing the preamp back in the system, I tried switching the location of the Statement SE ic’s. First between the preamp and amp, then between the DSD and preamp.The qualities I so liked about these cables when doing the AB comparisons, stood out more, when placed between the preamp and amp. I look forward to hearing the improvements brought about by adding another pair of AS Statement ic’s between the DSD and preamp.
I would also like to mention how accommodating the owner of the company Steven Huang was, by extending the audition period by two weeks. Which as it turned out, was necessary for allowing the cables to completely break-in and reach their full potential.
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Sorry I forgot mention the model. No they were the EFF-1’s. Surprising good cable for the money.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/interconnects/supra-eff-ixlr-interconnect-with-xlr-pair/
Hi Gary_M, Do you have the AS Statement SE or SE Silver? I am considering upgrading my current speaker cable, Anticables level 3.1. I am considering Anticables level 5, AS Signature Silver, Iconoclast SPTPC, Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8. I am looking for impressions about these speaker cables’ “house” sound, if any. My goal is, do-no-harm, to have proper speaker cables to let my speaker, Focal Supra N2, and components (PS Audio DAC, BHK Pre, BHK300) shine. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
I may consider change my ICs to the same brand as speaker cable later, since I think my current ICs, Analysis-plus Solo Crystal RCA and XLR, Wireworld Eclipse 7 and Silver Eclipse 7 RCA and XLR, may not be the bottle-neck.
Welcome Gary_M and others’ advice.
Hi zheng4, I’m using the AS Statement SE, not the SE Silver. The SE Statement ic’s and Testament power cord are the first and only products I’ve tried from AS, but I definitely like what I’m hearing, and I’m sure their other products share a similar “house” sound. I think part of the magic sauce is their use of Ohno Continuous Cast copper. The thing that won me over was how natural and organic the music sounded using the SE Statement ic’s and power cord.
As I mentioned in my above post, placing the one pair of Statement SE ic’s between the preamp and amp allowed more of the qualities I liked from the AS cable to come through. I definitely plan on purchasing another pair of ic’s, and trying their speaker cable down the road.
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I’m looking to buy the statement SE Powe cable for my moon A330 amp - any recommendation?
Is this cable flexible enough to be tucked behind the amp in Narrow space? And does it required physical separation from my (well shielded 10 AWG) transparent speaker cable?
Thanks for any advice…
I think the Audio Sensibility cables are good for the money, but I will be replacing them all with Synergistic Research’s Foundation line of cables, which are more expensive, but well worth it.
The Testament power cord I’m using is fairy flexible, but can’t say for sure if the Statement SE power cord you’re interested in is as flexible.
Thank you @Gary_M
Did you compare Synergistic Research with Audio Sensibility? (what’s making you switch?)
If you are looking for high quality flexible power cables, take a look at NRG Custom cables, https://nrgcustomcables.wixsite.com/nrgcustomcables/power-cables
I use the .1 CS for my Dutch & Dutch 8cs. I needed a flexible cable because they are stand mounted and close to the wall, 20 cm.
I purchased one SR Foundation power cord, speaker cables, and jumpers. I was floored by the improvement it brought to my system, and these are the entry level products from SR. Plan on wiring my entire system with their Foundation line.
The noise floor dropped considerably, and the system became much more organic and natural sounding.
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No. Just the stock ones from D&D.
I have the signature speaker cables in for review now. I’m currently running a double bi-wired set with the Usher Audio Dancer MiniX speakers. I have the Statements on the tweeters and the Signatures on the mid-woofers. They are delivering ultra-wide bandwidth and ultra-transparency with great imaging depth of field. They’re just stupid good at their price, so I’m buying both sets. Ha, now I’ve done it. I no longer have to write a review.
Regards,
Stu
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I have statement Speaker cables and Interconnects; could not be happier. At the price point, they it hard to beat. I recently purchased 2x statement power cords that are burning in as well. So far, so good. Soon to move up to the Signature speaker cables.