Belden ICONOCLAST Interconnects and Speaker Cabling

I purchased a pair of Analysis Plus Inc. Solo Crystal Oval 8 ten foot long speaker cables for my Wilson Yvette’s last night. I wonder what they will sound like. I don’t believe they are made by Elves but who knows.

Compared Wireworld Eclipse 8 XLR’s & speaker cables and TARA Labs RSC Air Evolution in my system for over a month. Expected & really wanted to like the Wireworld as much, or close enough, to buy them instead & was sorry that didn’t turn out to be the case. Fortunately I work with a great (authorized) dealer for both brands & paid far less than retail.

The AP speaker cables I used in the past, Oval 9’s, were slightly to the warmer side but the newer formulations could be different.

Did you get them used or new?

Is Iconoclast SPTPC considered the most neutral compared to AP Solo Crystal 8, WW Eclipse 8/Silver Eclipse 8, Audio Sensibility Signature, and Anticables Level 5?

Even though the direct distance between my Focal Supra N2 and BHK300 speaker binding posts is only 3 feet, for easier price comparison, for around 2 meter, SPTPC $2240 (Silver plated TPC copper), Solo Crystal 8 $1740 (solo crystal/CC copper), Eclipse 8 $1500 (OCC-7N copper), Silver Eclipse 8 $3100 (OCC-7N silver-clad copper), AP Signature $1590 (OCC-7N copper), AC Level 5 $2000 (Silver/gold alloy), Tara Lab RSC Air evolution $4200 (SAOF-8N copper; price for 8 feet, couldn’t find price for 2 meter).

I couldn’t possibly compare all those above, need to narrow down my choices.

I hate to rain on your parade and complicate things further for you, but you absolutely need to include the Iconoclast TPC flavor in your comparison ($1220 for 6 ft. pair). I just went through the comparison myself and although I ended up with the SPTPC, the TPC were not worse, but different in their presentation of the soundstage.

I had some extensive correspondence with Bob and Galen during the process. It turns out that a good 1/3 of buyers prefer the TPC cables in their system (less that 10% opt for the OFE electrolytic copper). Galen has two systems and uses SPTPC with his Martin-Logans but has a 100% TPC loom in a second system based on dynamic speakers (forget which ones). Galen’s observation is that the Iconoclast cable that sounds the “best” depends al lot on the speaker they are hooked up to.

If TPC works in your case, it would also be the least expensive of the options you listed.

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Used, but only on Sundays they said.

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IMO, they are very good. But the Iconos are better. That was one of the three speaker cables I shot out the three Iconos against. (See above somewhere)

But, I don’t have Wilsons, and I’m not you ; )

Not sure what you paid but I have a 10 foot set on EBay for $1195. Hopefully you paid less.

I am stunned I have Wilson’s. I am not sure I am worthy. When I switch to Icons which should I get?

TARA speaker cables sold in feet not meters. 8 foot RSC Air Evolution $4,200, 6 foot $3,400. They will do 4 feet but there’s no further discount, the price is still $3,400.

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Well of course I paid more than that. ($1250) I guess I need to talk to you first before I buy something. :slight_smile:
What did you pick that freed these up?

Well, in all fairness, you did ask me what else I had for sale and I failed to disclose all of the Analysis Plus cables I am selling. I am now using the Omega Mikro Planar Speaker V Active LCX cables.

The ones that sound best in your system (in all seriousness). Part of what makes anyone’s cable opinion something that should be taken with a grain of salt. TPCs, in my system, to me, were better than the generally loved SPTPC. I’m betting/guessing that with the Wilsons you would like the SPTPC.

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Good Morning, you are encouraged to try at least 2 of the copper variants available with Iconoclast. Try or compare them in your home and on your Wilson’s. I would like to have at least a brief call to discuss your system and preferences in order to suggest which copper variants you might want to audition. If you want to try our cables shoot me a PM with a contact number.

Bob

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To Bob and anyone who compared at least two Iconos, Could you comment on the following?

Is TPC the most balanced and neutral among the three? good but not great on all the attributes? Around 30% of you did select TPC.

OFC is supposed to be a better copper than TPC, right? I assume OFC is purer than TPC, right? 8N is supposed to be better than 7N, 7N better than 6N, etc. However, since only about 10% of you selected OFC, apparently, OFC is not better than TPC in all the attributes. Is OFC warmer than TPC? If yes, at all frequencies, or more at treble, mid, or bass? Why didn’t or did you select OFC?

About 60% of you choose SPTPC. Apparently, SPTPC is better than TPC in certain attributes, but what? Why did you select SPTPC in your system over TPC? It can’t be all system dependent, there must be some common advantages of SPTPC since 60% of you landed on SPTPC. One reason might be price, my wife thinks real diamond is better than fake diamond, but to me, they weight the same, look the same :slightly_smiling_face:

BTW, I did have a brief conversation with Bob early this year. Based on my speaker, Focal Sopra N2, and my main electronics (PS Audio DAC, BHK Pre and Amp, etc), Bob suggested me to audition TPC and SPTPC. Since I have other brand cables in my system, analysis-plus, wireworld, anticables, I would like to compare Iconos with at least one of them. Some of you really like Audio Senstibility, so I put it in the mix too.

Things to remember, copper MATERIALS won’t change the DESIGN. The Swept resistance, Rs, current coherence, and R, L and C are all the DESIGN, not the copper material. Some even shop for a fancy name.

Shopping for MATERIALS is easy to “compare” and easy to “sell you”. It is far more difficut to IGNORE this tactic as a manufcturer and make a better DESIGN, but that needs a lot of explaining. And as you may have noticed, cables don’t really explain HOW the DESIGN works. Most won’t hang around for that level of education, and that’s a shame as ICONOCLAST is far above it’s weight class in performance even with PC copper. Who else uses TPC in state of the art leads? What DESIGN allows me to use TPC copper material and exceed most cables audio performance? THAT is the DESIGN doing it’s thing.

I’m in Houston 8/24 to EXPLAIN how ICONOCLAST works in a seminar. The material are all standard fair. So how the hell do the cables work so well? I can explain that, in about two hours on the spaker cable. There is a lot going on that has to be closer to right than what I’ve used before.

The name ICONOCLAST is there because of how well the DESIGN works, and with TPC copper as the starting point. I only added $$$ cooper after the DESIGN proved itself, and even then, the TPC copper remain a VERY good sounding set of leads. Only in contrast to the other coppers in the line to you get “better” as the TPC eclipses most leads using ANY copper draw technique. I use SPTPC in ALL my systems speaker leads, CLX and C4’s.

The new TPC 4x4 and 1x4 IC eclipse the previous UP OCC 1x4 and 1x1 XLR and RCA with full range audio. That’s the superior DESIGN talking! The price savings is SIGNIFICANT for the end user. TPC is now ETREMEL good and affordable. For subs, use the x4 and 1x1 as the changes only impact upper frequencies. I use UP OCC 1x1 RCA on my subs leads, for instance.

ICONOCLAST is specifically designed to be fudiciary to YOU, the customer in price and performance, not an ultra high margin accesory for dealers. We are what ZENITH was, quaity goes in before the name goes on.

Last comment, the interconnect DON’T have the same patina changes with the coppers as the speaker cables! So don’t shop for one using the other. IC are into an idealized infinite load. Speaker cables are into a near dead short. The reactance at the load is about as different as it gets!

The cables will indeed make you question previously held beliefs about cables and how “magic” isn’t even used. Why make them if that’s not going to be the case?

Best,
Galen Gareis

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Where are these percentages coming from?

see the comment from hthaller above

I would like to tell my wife that the design of the diamond is more important than the diamond itself :wink:

Galen, Thanks very much for the explanation, even though I don’t understand all of it (I deal with human, not RLC). Could you explain, in addition to TPC, why you further introduce OFC and SPTPC in your speaker cable line? OFC and SPTPC must provide some sonic advantage or difference in order for you to do that, since the design takes care of the goal of RLC, I assume that meant the goal of do-no-harm to the music signal from the amplifier.