Thank you Mick for such an incredible review! To know the rigor you applied to understanding your system with the help of friends is impressive. To know that the cable is bringing you joy and satisfaction for me is priceless. Cheers!
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No problem, Duncan, but Iāll email you the nitty gritty detail!
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Mick,
A wonderful review to share. Your description mirrors mine on ability to change sound in your system. Though we both speak English we are separated by a common language.
What do you consider isolation gear? I understand power components.
I have been focused on the Whisper Elite on Digital streaming. I fear what connection to P20 brings
I do implore you to try the 3m AB7050HF as a tuning ring. I found a 2 inch wide cable wrap totally changes the whisper. In a distance of 3 inches you can go from wooly bas to defined an recessed highs to the high hat cymbasl nailing it
Duncanās operation though small has big HiFi chops.
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Iām talking mechanical isolation. Really good racks, aftermarket feet, that kind of thing. Things that isolate components and speakers from external vibration, and sink internal vibration out. My favourite by far is the Townshend Seismic range.
They were a revelation for me. I also have a system set of IsoAcoustics Orea & GAIA 2. They are much better value for money than the Townshend products, but not quite as good. The Townshend Speaker Podiums are quite brilliant.
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Thanks! I understand that. I misread that you had tried cable on Gear that provided isolation.
So what stereo equipment did you plug your Whisper into? Or was it just power distribution?
Thanks,
VMax
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@Duncan_Taylor where is the link to purchase? Sorry if I missed it. I seem to get stuck on the āwhyā page or whatever that @lonson posted. Maybe itās that Iām using a mobile device.
Thanks for the nudge, it is time to overhaul the website (www.commongroundcables.com), and I have been flirting with holding stock to sell. The tricky part about hand built cables is the wide range of custom length requests. At the moment they are built to order. On the main page there is a link to email me to inquire, or you can just send an email to hifi@outlook.com.
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I just perused the Common Ground Cables website. Iāve been considering giving the Whisper PC a whirl in one of my systems, but the unfinished look of the heat shrink tubing looks slightly unfinished. It seems as though the HS tubing is oversized, which is not optimally shrinking. I could be wrong; there is just something about the HS out of kilter. When the finish isnāt right, I will be drawn to it every time the item is within sight. Hopefully, this minor build issue will be better honed when Iām ready to jump in.
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Just the Isotek Polaris. Iāll leave it there for a few weeks before I try it on my streamer. Theyāre the only two places Iāll try - mono power amps means Iād need two to check that out.
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Iāve had the Whisper for a week now and itās been very consistent with my general impressions, with the possible exception of some additional ācalmingā of the listening experience. Today Iāll do a run through of a test playlist Iāve been using, then try to swap the Whisper with the Isotek Elite on the Innuos Zen streamer. Results soon!
Mick
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Okay, Iāve had the Whisper on the Innuos Zen MK3 streamer for a few hours. The Isotek Elite it had is now between the wall and power distribution.
Now, right off the bat I have to say that the difference is much, much more obvious than when Iāve swapped over the Elite for a cable further down the Isotek line. I was expecting it to be this way because itās really the Whisper vs entry level Isotek. However, the gap is bigger than I thought it would be.
First impressions are that the stage has maintained the width gained from the Whisper running to the power board. Iām putting this down to the M700 amps being less susceptible to mains-borne noise than the Zen. Also that the noise bleeding from the steamer into the rest of the system was a bigger problem than anything radiating back into the system from the amps.
As for differences in how the system sounds, I can hear three obvious changes.
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Images have stepped away from the speakers a bit more. This is something thatās generally very good in the system. What Iām talking about here are those jazz albums that are panned hard left and hard right.
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Thereās more energy in the presence band. Female voices have more texture and detail. At first I thought it was brightness or edge, but I didnāt feel the need to turn down the volume. I think thereās just more transparency and micro dynamic contrast.
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Quiet passages are much more detailed and delineated. This is for both quiet background things and when a track is quiet in general. The coexistence of quiet and loud within the stage is much improved.
Iām going to leave the Whisper on the streamer for a week and see how I go. Whatās obvious is that Iām going to have to find a way to buy another. This time a metre and a half specifically for the streamer. How am I going to afford that, Iāve got kids to feed!
Cheers
Mick
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I have four now. The question remains how many is enough?
They do really really well on my monoblocks. So well those two havenāt moved. But that takes two minimum there. The digital sources are also a favorite spot. Thanks for sharing your great experiences.
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Isotek and chips? 
ā¦
Thatās gold!
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Do you still have the Stealth in your system?
Stealth has not been displaced yet. It still seems to be Gold Standard for the MX150 pre/processor. My remaining swaps have been sidelined last few weeks working on the other property. I will hop back to cable fun. I have stabilized and was only doing tuning ring absorber tweaks on the whispers. . I will hurry up so I can return the Stealth V18 back to you and finsh the other comparisons.
I have been greatly enjoying what the stealth does with the Whispers.
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The whisper is considerably cheaper than Stealth Dream 18. I hope with the tuning rings they are closer to the performance of Stealth. I may consider adding one more AC cord for the preamp in future. It is now using the Cullen Crossover2 w/ golden wrapper with tuning ring, but a Dragon Source or Whisper will be better, I am sure. My Stealth Dream 10 is the second best in the system, and I do not know if Dream 16 is a significant improvement over the 10. Decision and more decisions.
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How many is enough? I need four; powerboard, 2 x mono amps, streamer. My preamp is passive, and if I move to a TT2 (
) itās not like Iāll need another. So I need 2 x 1M and 1 x 1.5m. That seems a reasonable investment for the change in performance. We paid off our mortgage last week, so why not, right? RIGHT?!?!
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Your talking to somebody with four. Three whispers and a single Whisper Elite. So yes go for it! I am not regretting any of them.
Duncan has some great power cables!
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Iāve looked for contact information on Common Ground but I donāt see a direct one. Do you have one for Duncan?
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