Just thought I’d share my recent experience swapping balanced IC between my PSA DAC (Sr) and amp and also my speaker cables:
Replaced years-old Kimber “Hero” RCA IC and Kimber 8TC spkr with ZU Audio “Event” cables with lugged connections.
First impression is that the Event balanced interconnects are as thin as string–quite a surprise, but apparently “bigger is better” is clearly a myth.
I replaced the IC first and my shock and skepticism at their skinny size was immediately blown away. If I may use a nauseatingly overused phrase, “veils were lifted” to an amazing degree. I listened for a couple weeks and then couldn’t wait to order speaker cables.
Again, the speaker cables were as if I changed a component rather than a cable. The overall sound is so much more articulate that I’m still giggling.
Although some disagree I find cabling to be very important. My personal journey of experimentation led me to VooDoo Cable offerings and I have their Stradivarius line for all my balanced and single-ended interconnect needs. Eventually I’ll try their speaker cables. . . but I’m quite happy with the 2m PS Audio xStream Statement speaker cables I’m using now.
Glad you found this boost of improvement! This is an exciting hobby when we can make a leap forward in sound quality.
Crystal Cable also advocate the “thin-as-string” design point for cables. Certainly makes making the connections all that much easier.