New cables!
 

So...I've got some new cables coming soon. I was able to snag another pair of Audioquest Colorado 1M RCA interconnects as a demo/Black Friday special deal. I've been running a full loom of AQ Columbia for my system for the last few years, and the AQ Columbia is a very good interconnect; the Colorado is another step up in transparency and lower noise floor over Columbia, resulting in a cleaner and quieter but very natural presentation. I'm running the one pair of Colorado I have between my preamp and power amp so that all source components will benefit from it. I'm going to use the new Colorado between Gumby and my C-J CT-5 preamp since i listen to Gumby more than my vinyl rig these days. The other cable I have coming is a pair of Shunyata Venom speaker cables which I've read good things about. I'll be comparing these to the DNM speaker cables I've been running since 2010. Also got the Venoms as a demo pair from a California dealer. Personally, I like used cables 'cause they're already burned in (as well as being a good value). :banana:

Of course, we’ll want to hear your findings!

Absolutely, Mike!

I have to say Stephen, we diverge on our cable taste and preferences here as AQ is one of my least successful pairing from experience but much has to do with various components of course and system synergy. :yes: Looking forward to your impressions non the less! :thumbsup:

Agreed, Serge. A lot like what single-malt you prefer. :)

I find the pairing to provide very good synergy with C-J components.

They work for me, and they are quite affordable. For the longest time, I had a personal $200 limit on ICs, so these are a nice step up in performance.

Yes, that could be the CJ difference as my gear was BAT, Lamm, McIntosh and Ayre,I don't recall every trying them after that. It was a while ago. Things change, cables change. :yes: I also preferred the darker, more body and more meat on the bones type of sound back in the day. I am gravitating towards a more natural response now. I believe it was the Ayre and AQ pairing that completely made me give up on them.

Hello Stephen,
I have some AQ cables that I like.
What is the list price of the Colorado in 2 x 1 meter in the US ?

Hi Jerome, the Colorado cable is no longer in production; they originally sold for $900 for a 1 meter pair, RCA terminations. The pair I bought were a demo pair along with a Black Friday discount for $339.

So, just out of curiosity, Serge, what interconnects did you like? :scratch2:

PHC1 did an interconnect shootout years ago that included AQ Colorado, try a site search.

Okay, thanks.

In the end I went all Transparent. That did it for me. :yes: I don’t have my upper end Transparent anymore and it would be way too long anyways as I used it in the 2ch/theater to feed the D’Agostino monoblocks but can send you a very relaxed and smooth sounding “The Wave” Transparent speaker cable to play with if you want to try them.

I did, thanks for reminding me. Wow seems like an eternity ago.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/show...light=Colorado

Stephen, I think you should give the Sky's a try... Although they are nice cables, the Colorado's are not on a par to the rest of your system. Just my 2 cents! :)

P.S. Cables are very system dependent... Some work better some don't...
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Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR, AudioQuest Everest, AudioQuest Hurricane HC, AudioQuest NRG-1000, AudioQuest Diamond USB
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; Synergistic Research Blue Quantum Fuse

Hello, Puma Cat. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the venom speaker cables ? Thanks

ordell... Welcome to AA! :wave:

ordell , welcome to the Forum :)

Thanks Masterlu & FDPDK!

Welcome Ordell to a group of friendly ruffians. We all have our opinions yet respect others.

Thanks Miner! This indeed is a friendly & respectful place from what I have seen so far.

I ordered the venom speaker cables and looking forward to seeing how they compare to the Audioquest cv-8 I am currently trying.

CV-8 is 350USD while the Venom is 700USD (looking at MusicDirect). So you might compare apples to pears. They are being discounted... in fact I think they are not produced anymore due to their old design and technology.
__________________
Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR, AudioQuest Everest, AudioQuest Hurricane HC, AudioQuest NRG-1000, AudioQuest Diamond USB
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; Synergistic Research Blue Quantum Fuse

That is a good point. I was looking at original msrp, but it looks like they were discontinued a while ago so the technology probably has changed. I am new to this so it will be interesting to listen. The venom might even be more than I should spend given my system. Parasound halo integrated with KEF r300’s.