Audioquest Interconnect Cables compared to Wireworld
I have Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7 XLR interconnect cable. A couple of days ago my friend let me borrow the discontinued Audioquest Niagara XLR cables. In my system I just can't believe how much more my wife and I prefer the Niagara cables, The Niagara is more detailed, better separation, and just has better tonality. I don't have the ability to audition Fire or Wild and I'm not going to buy Audioquest Wel signatures. Can anyone with Audioquest experience tell me the sweet spot in Audioquest's current interconnect line-up?
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Fire/Sky is where the AQ silver starts to feel completely "full" on the bottom end to balance out the top end. Compared to AQ Wind, the Fire isn't tilted towards the top end, sounds harmonically richer throughout the audible spectrum, and has better depth of staging. The Wild Blue Yonders I have are an older version, and they're a little smoother up top, a little warmer overall, and render slightly better staging/imaging vs the newer Fire -- but that comes at a large price bump. And sonically it's close enough that in some systems the Fire can sound more neutral and be preferred over the Wild -- I find this to be the case in my electrostatic headphone system, where soundstage isn't as big a deal as with speakers. However in both of my systems I prefer the Fire over the Wind -- the Wind might only stand a chance against Fire in systems that are particularly dark sounding. The Fire fixes issues with the older Sky (I've only had the Sky v1), which to my ears added a bit of warmth and bloom down low with a bit of harshness (relatively) in treble. Fire also gives more detail than Sky, and is just more accurate and extended from top to bottom, without sacrificing musicality or sounding too "hifi". That said, I'm in the process of upgrading both of my 2ch ICs from Fire to Wild, because the Wild's signature works better there. But I'll be keeping the Fires, at least for the Stax rig, and potentially for a change-of-pace swap down the road. There are good deals to be had on the used market for both Fire and Wild. You must be cautious of counterfeits, especially with Wild (which has been out long enough to collect quite a number of counterfeits). But once you know what a real one looks and feels like, it will be hard to fool you with a counterfeit. The air tubes in the Wild are VERY large and give off a very distinctive rattling sound. I wish I had more experience with the Niagara to give you, but I've only used it as a SUT cable to phono stage. It did a LOT better than the Colorado there, a very good cable (especially for the money) but then the WEL LP was much better still. |
Audioquest is not very high on my 'trustworthy' list ................
http://www.audioholics.com/editorial...tter-editorial |
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I like Audioquest cables; they sound great, are beautifully built, yield better sound in a consistent manner as you move up the line, and the service/support of their products is superb. I've had many of their high-end cables, even purchased used, re-terminated or even split by them to like-new status with very reasonable prices and fast turnaround. That kind of support helps protect any investment you do sink into their cables. |
I had a couple of pairs of Wild interconnects for a couple of years and preferred Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7 over the older Wild versions that I had.
I think some system interaction is involved. Wireworld is a warmer cable, to me, with more extended and more impressive bass that sounds great in my system. It's soundstaging is also fabulous in my system. It's one of the most natural sounding cables I've ever heard. I just recently bought a used, new model, WEL interconnect, and I can tell you it's the best Audioquest cable I've ever heard, and one of the best I've heard in general. I also have one first edition WEL from upwards of 8 or 9 years ago, and the new one is actually better, perhaps due to the upgraded connector differences, and whatever subtle changes may have been made. They sound like the same cable but the new one sounds more saturated. It sounds more realistic in tone without making any sacrifices versus my older model. It's technically a better cable than Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7, in my opinion, but then you have to make decisions on what suits your room, system, preferences, etc. Your comment makes me interested to hear the newer Audioquest models to see how they are. Your Monitor Audio speakers probably don't lack for bass, either, so perhaps the Wireworld muddies the sound too much. |
I'm not suggesting that Audioquest cables are better than Wireworld. I submit it's odd that no dealer ever recommended Audioquest to me. This isn't about what's the "best" cable, but what cable will work best in a particular system.
The funny thing is I only changed the cable that's between my DAC and preamp. The cable isn't long enough to go from my preamp to my amp. If I were to purchase one Wild Blue Yonder cable for now, where would I reap the most benefits(amp to preamp or DAC to preamp)? |
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I've been using Audioquest Columbia interconnects for the last few years and have them throughout my system. I previously had Zu Mission and a Wireworld Eclipse for quite a while, but the Columbia were a surprising step up on both. I also have a Colorado between my amp and preamp and that sounds even better than Columbia. Their cables do sound better as you move up the line, but I've not heard anything past Colorado, or any of their silver-plated or silver interconnects. I really like Audioquest interconnects, but I'm presently most interested in trying out Shunyata's line of interconnects.
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I have Mackenzie XLR interconnects, and my Mc Amp meter is crooked, the right meter is always higher until I swap the cable around, then the left meter is higher. Hopefully the higher end has higher quality control, and hopefully on the lower end the problem is isolated.
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I'm very sensitive to L/R imbalances, and they can creep in anywhere -- especially with tubes, phono cartridges, and room anomalies in the mix. For years I've obsessively played small imbalances off of each other with various L/R swaps, so that they don't meaningfully accumulate, but now I'm starting to REALLY appreciate a well implemented fine-grained balance control (preamp) that doesn't degrade sound quality when engaged. That said, cables are one component that should NEVER have any perceptible imbalance! Actually I did have a old Wild XLR connector finally lose connection from repeated stress of bending -- A few too many times I tried to fit a 1.0m run into a tight spot (from preamp to monoblock on the other side) where it was too short. The new upper-line RCA and XLR connectors seem to be better about that. |
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