Thanks for posting the prices Eldrick!
Are those applicable to the new series of interconnects?
According to Galen, prices haven’t changed for the new version, and the ETPC ICs now sound as good as the Series 1 OFHC did.
Wow, that’s great! Thanks again!!
Does anyone know if Galen is working on a Series 2 speaker cable now that the Series 2 interconnects are done?
Galen is always working on something but there are no current candidates for a new speaker cable version at this time.
And here’s what the test report looks like for my on-order 5.5M XLRs, which are now waiting on paperwork at Belden:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=40927529037575425541
Hm that is pretty high-end. I wish there was more cabling in the ‘Stellar’-like mid-range of the market, between the $1-2 /ft of the Belden 5000 series and the $100++ /ft of the Iconoclasts…
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What’s your end goal? to work your way up to the BHK-class, or remain at Stellar class?
If the latter, any decent cable will do. If, however, your goal is to work your way up, then I’d say get the Iconoclast now, that way when you upgrade components later you’ll already have the cables you need for it and you won’t have to spend double to rebuy something for the BHK-class.
Just a thought.
–SSW
Edit: From personal experience with the Iconoclast, I had one of the first BHK 250’s as I’d waited a long time for it to be finished. It was to replace my 25 year-old Streets 950. FInally it arrived! Sure enough, a week after I got the BHK250 Paul goes orgasmic on the BHK300’s. Gaah. It was too late. But the 300’s had better definition, blah blah. Drat.
So I tweaked the 250, putting in better fuses in the rail and main power inputs. (It was amazing how much better the system sounded with merely the change of the rail fuses) Then I got the Iconoclast cables. Whoa! It was like I got a whole new DAC! (Yes, I already had a DS) The soundstage was still there, but right adjacent to the primary instruments the definition of the secondary instruments was revealed that clearly wasn’t there with my other cables. So the primary instrument was where it was before, but the secondary was just a few inches to the side of the primary. Wow! With the other cable both had been heard, but only the primary had distinct soundstage location. The secondary was ‘in the room’ somewhere, but it wasn’t until the new cable was put in that you could tell where it actually was in the soundstage.
So I’d say, rather than spending $6k on a new DAC, when you’re ready spend $2300 on a new cable and get the same result and prolong the life of your Stellar and save money in the long run.
Good news - cables don’t wear out, so you can buy used ones for 40-70% of the cost of new.
As long as they haven’t been kinked or visibly damaged, they should work as new for decades, and cables are pretty much a fashion industry, so you can buy last-seasons’ high-end cables at much more reasonable prices.
For an aggregator of used hifi gear ads on the net, check out http://www.hifishark.com/
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Cables will not create music. The argument for a cable that is as much money as your main components doesn’t make sense. If you have a highly resolving system, they will present the best sound. Price doesn’t guarantee great sound. There’s many great cables out there for reasonable dollars.
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True, however, bad cables will destroy music. Any wire with current in it has a magnetic field and inductance and capacitance. Working against each other, one will hinder high frequency signals, the other low frequency. Even in a 6 foot cable signal arrival times of high frequencies at the end of the cable can be different than midrange/low, resulting in clearly perceived loss on the soundstage when the signals don’t line up properly with each other.
IOW, a BHK with a bad cable can sound worse than a Stellar with a good cable.
Ran across a profile of Galen Gareis - he’s got cred:
https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/alumni-profiles/galen-gareis
Upon revisiting this thread I noticed that a snippet of my post was used to support something that I was already promoting. Albeit from a perspective that ignores the real world and cost benefit. I was stating that it makes no sense to anyone but the purveyor of expensive cables to suggest that a $3000 cable is the logical partner to a pair of $3000 dollar amps. I pointed out the there are many options out there that utilize current engineering best practises and provide something that works well and sounds great a good price. Since I’m running BHK 300’s, does this mean that I need $15000 Speaker cables to achieve Nirvana? Here the internet is your friend. Go find a good cable.
Yes, and his patent count has gone up since 2003, substantially.
Well boys and girls, after 35 years and 30 patents (the most in company history) Galen Gareis has left the building. Belden, that is. If he ever wants to share his experiences at Belden that will have to come from him but let’s just say that it was time. Efforts to put the Iconoclast products in the hands of a very good company were not supported internally, an embarrassment to both Galen and myself (myself by association) since some bridges were probably burnt by Belden. So, what now? Galen will work from outside Belden to get these cables to market. Stay tuned, he has ideas for other products as well, and now a free agent, no telling what he will come up with.
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An unfortunate development.
I hope he succeeds in getting the cables out onto the market. They are superb.
Ohh, I was in direct communication with Belden for some speaker cables to be purchased & delivered while I’m on business in USA later this year. (To complete the “loom”) I guess that won’t happen now?
We’re still his biggest fans. I hope he reaches out.
Thanks, Paul.
No no no, you are good, @frank7036. They are still making and selling them! Galen is now looking to get them into better circulation, something that he was not able to accomplish from within Belden’s structure. He is a much happier fellow these days and much more relaxed on the phone. We talk more about cars now which, frankly, I think is a good sign. Remember, Belden just makes the insulated “wire.” The termination is done by an outside shop and that step is a big deal. Very, very labor intensive and exacting. Screw up ONE of the separate conductors in the speaker wire and you start all over, stripping the others. It’s a nightmare of tiny little wires.
Belden can produce runs of the different products and sell those in bulk to the right folks who do the rest. “The rest” would ideally include marketing and sales, something that’s been lacking, to say the least, since the product was introduced. Most people who have tried the products are thrilled with them but they are not widely known. If you Google “Belden Iconoclast,” it brings you right back here.
It’s a small, happy club!
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