Organic is true to the source, if the music flows freely and the cables don’t color it then the intent is conveyed clearly. SPTPC tends to be slightly up tilted in the system in which I’ve heard it, Actually it sounds as though the bass is slightly thin, especially in the transition region. BTW, I do understand IM distortion, bi-wiring by itself will not accurately address it. Active filtering with bi-wiring or tri-wiring with dedicated amplification and the right speakers, a concerted design effort in other words, can best address it. IMO there are bigger fish to fry.
weedeewop, some like to stroke the cat backwards for maximum reactions. I’ll stroke it forwards. I get it.
We are saying the exact same thing backwards or fowards on IM or “organic” (straight from the ground, no changes). YOU get to decide what’s left to manage. IM exists. Richard Vandersteen as plenty of information on that issue. Cable evaluations are only valid in one system. There is exactly zero measurable information that suggest silver is “bright”, zero. The attenuation argument fails the efficacy test as lengths are too short to say bare copper attenuates the treble. On my system with SPTPC series II and diamond tweeter, I adjust the treble +2 dB, even. This is on my system. Bright? Nope.
We can’t go to clinical and with measurable evidence on IM, and then jump to unmeasurable variables on brightness. I can’t support what I can’t measure outside of use it and listen. IM is different, I can show factual evidence bi-wire changes your amplifier’s performance into a substantially different cable load (different on R -50%, L -50% and C +100%) and IM changes too, but as you say, how big are the fish and what’s the cost. Where you stop, others will keep going.
That also bends directly to my systems cost over most of our customers. Few use 100K speakers, so yes, I am aggressive and factual to saying I hear more than most of our users and that’s a good thing. Pushed to the extreme I’d run ICONOCLAST in a heart beat. People will hear more listening to the same speakers and system I use most of the time too, it has nothing do do with me, but the equipment. As a manufacturer, I try to break the design and to do that, you go WAY past where your majority target audience is.
I have Absolute Sound reviewers over to evaluate the steps and they hear plenty of systems for reference and well over my experiences. Not ignoring that The Absolute Sound has given the ACORA speakers top, top awards and recommendations on ORGANIC sound quality. Read the reviews.
Best, Galen
We once again agree to disagree.
No reason to respond.
[Rower30] doth protest too much, methinks.
I have a combination of Synergistic Research Foundation and Audio Sensibility cables. Both are excellent and a bargain for their asking price. Eventually I’ll be replacing all the cables with SR Foundation XL, when they start appearing on the used market.
I began following, early on, Galen’s / rower30’s “white papers” regarding various aspects of audio cable design and recognized his electrical engineering “genius”
/ “chops.” Checked out the physics aspects and the equations, and learned he was Belden’s chief cable designer for years. My understanding is he wanted to see what could be done using the Belden cable equipment to manufacture his audiophile cable designs, resulting in the Iconoclast products.
Admittedly, I have not heard Stealth or stuff in aangen’s stratospheric realm / price range, but from having and using Iconoclast UPOCC ICs and Series 1 SPTPC speaker cables (and will get Series 2 SPTPC speaker cables when I can),
in my opinion, Galen and the crew have provided the audiophile community options for excellent quality products at great comparative value.
I do not disagree. My comment is more about communication style, not substance - I am not informed enough to evaluate substance of that nature.
tomhail, I do understand where you are coming from re communication style.
But I do have to agree those Acora 5.2Ds in the Labradorite cabs
are stunningly beautiful !!!
and if Galen “gushes” over their sonics, I tend to give him some credibility 
I agree on both counts!
I struggled a lot between Cardas, Kimber, Iconoclast, and Moon Audio. After months of looking used I settled on a pair of Moon Audio Black Dragon. At the time they were $750 with Furutech locking bananas (now right at $1K). Besides budget and being a local company I was sold on the Litz wire configuration. Space is also limited so flexibility was very important.
Moon Audio does some fine work - I got their Silver Dragon w/Furutech
for my Audeze LCD-X headphones…
I have not had Iconoclast speaker cables in my system so I cannot comment on their performance, but when I started using their UP OCC XLR interconnects I thought they were the best cables that I had ever heard at that point, and I promptly sold my AQ IC.
But this forum got my audio addiction going again, and I ended up spending a ton more on other ICs that I deemed worthy to replace Iconoclast. Frankly, if I still have Iconoclast UPOCC IC in my system I may be quite happy too. I have upgraded my system to a higher level now, and I could have easily settled with the two pairs of UPOCC ICs, I believe.
But I do not plan to find out. For their asking price I thought Iconoclast cables are excellent!
My point exactly.
Let’s stay away from the drama and focus on audio. I am finally getting around to improving power cables in my system, and am happy with the improvement. I needed to get the components correct first, then interconnect right 2nd, to be able to realize the full benefit of good power cables.
It seems to me that the design goal for cables should be to take all of the signal going into it and pass it along completely unchanged. In that simple case, there’s more information for your brain to process.
The cables that I’m using “sound” great. But their primary virtue is not something I expected. The speed of musical information reaching my ears seems noticeably faster. My wild-ass guess is that there’s more leading edge transient information getting thru.
Happily, I’m done with cables.
For me the Iconoclast represents a great reference cable and is the very last thing that will ever be upgraded.