Speaker cables for Wilson Audio

[2fastdriving]

I think the sweet spot in the TA lineup is the Reference. Yes, it gets better above that, but it becomes prohibitively expensive for most of us. If you have Sasha's, they deserve Reference I hear a nice difference from my previous Super's. I guess I didn't try Ultra though. But Reference is where they start "tuning" or impedance matching your components. I think that's what makes them a bit more special.

Try to get your dealer to sell you B-Stock Reference. It doesn't come around very often, but it can save you money.

[sanji]

Originally Posted by Mikeoz

Yep if I move up to Sasha I think I'd want to change to Ultra. For my system incorporating the Sophia the Super seems like the right match. I'd struggle to be sold any higher spec TA with this set up as I cant believe the improvement in SQ couldn't be bettered elsewhere in the system for the same outlay (in my case the pre-amp).

That's what I thought as well. Why spend more $$ on speaker cable & interconnects when you can spend it on better electronics? Then for shits & giggles, I tried the Reference MM2 speaker cable (1 step below Opus) along with some Reference MM2 interconnects & Ref XL interconnects with my Sophia 3's. Boy the improvement in sound was so great I bought them. My current set up with the electronics & cables sound better than Sasha's with other cables & electronics. Yes I am a crazy person who spent more in speaker cables than the speakers themselves.

[Etunes]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

I think the sweet spot in the TA lineup is the Reference. Yes, it gets better above that, but it becomes prohibitively expensive for most of us. If you have Sasha's, they deserve Reference I hear a nice difference from my previous Super's. I guess I didn't try Ultra though. But Reference is where they start "tuning" or impedance matching your components. I think that's what makes them a bit more special.

Try to get your dealer to sell you B-Stock Reference. It doesn't come around very often, but it can save you money.

I recently acquired Sasha's which are paired with Doshi Audio Pre and amps. I spent the first two months with the system using DH labs as it functioned until I made a cable choice for the setup. After much research I opted for Transparent Ref the latest model which is MM2 not MM which is one below Opus. Without a shadow of a doubt they make a major improvement . To me they are crazy expensive but for me and I really liked my system before they are really really good. Frankly I'm impressed.

[Mikeoz]

In the UK the price difference between 10ft Reference MM and Ultra speaker cable is 19k. The price difference between Alexia and Sasha is 20k. The Alexia/ Ultra combo would surely blow away the Sasha/ Ref combo for the roughly the same cost ?

[Still-One]

Until one becomes familiar with Transparent's naming conventions purchasing of their cables can be challenging. Especially true if you are trying to purchase them on the second hand market.
Transparent has gone through at least 3 Technology changes:
XL
MM1
MM2 (which is current)

Where it can get confusing they also use those terms for cables within the different Series in their product lines:
Premium
-Plus
-Super
-Ultra
Reference
-Reference
-Reference XL
-Reference MM2
Opus
-Opus

To get the latest cables you would ask for MM2 technology whether it was for Ultra, Reference XL, MM2 or Opus.

On the used market you could find a Reference cable with XL technology which is nothing like a Reference XL MM2. Also if you want to buy the latest #2 cable in their line-up you would go with the Reference MM2 with MM2 technology.

If you are not sure what someone is offering, contact a dealer or Transparent.

[PLK]

It's easy to understand why so many WA owners use Transparent cables.

At audio shows you almost always see Wilson speakers with Transparent cables.

At RMAF 2013, the Wilson/XLF room used Opus, the Doshi/Alexia room used REF XL and the VTL/Alexia room used Opus.

If you were at RMAF and got into the WA room, you heard the digital transfers of Dave Wilson's recordings done by Puget Sound's Bruce Brown.

Bruce is an Alexia owner and a couple of months ago on another forum he shared his experience demoing a full chain of Transparent Opus MM2 in his system. After a couple of months of listening he felt something was missing and re-installed his JPS Labs Aluminata cables. Everything he felt was missing returned and the Opus MM2s were sent back to Transparent.

For comparison, an 8 foot pair of JPS Labs Aluminata speaker cables retail for $8999., still very expensive cables, but nowhere near the $34,735 for an 8 foot pair of Opus MM2 speaker cables.

I've been looking for SC/IC cables for my system, but Transparent is no longer on the top of my want to try list.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by PLK

It's easy to understand why so many WA owners use Transparent cables.

At audio shows you almost always see Wilson speakers with Transparent cables.

At RMAF 2013, the Wilson/XLF room used Opus, the Doshi/Alexia room used REF XL and the VTL/Alexia room used Opus.

If you were at RMAF and got into the WA room, you heard the digital transfers of Dave Wilson's recordings done by Puget Sound's Bruce Brown.

Bruce is an Alexia owner and a couple of months ago on another forum he shared his experience demoing a full chain of Transparent Opus MM2 in his system. After a couple of months of listening he felt something was missing and re-installed his JPS Labs Aluminata cables. Everything he felt was missing returned and the Opus MM2s were sent back to Transparent.

For comparison, an 8 foot pair of JPS Labs Aluminata speaker cables retail for $8999., still very expensive cables, but nowhere near the $34,735 for an 8 foot pair of Opus MM2 speaker cables.

I've been looking for SC/IC cables for my system, but Transparent is no longer on the top of my want to try list.

There are a lot of very good cable companies out there. You should keep trying them until you get to the sound you are looking for, not because someone else either likes or dislikes them.

If people based their (non)-buying decisions on my preferences, no one would own a Diana Krall CD, a tube amp or waste too much time playing vinyl. I just respect the right of others to enjoy their systems to matter if the SC cables cost $100 or $50,000.

[PLK]

Originally Posted by Still-One

There are a lot of very good cable companies out there. You should keep trying them until you get to the sound you are looking for, not because someone else either likes or dislikes them.

If people based their (non)-buying decisions on my preferences, no one would own a Diana Krall CD, a tube amp or waste too much time playing vinyl. I just respect the right of others to enjoy their systems to matter if the SC cables cost $100 or $50,000.

When someone with access to first generation master tapes says something is missing, I take their opinion very seriously.

I will keep looking, but the Transparent/Wilson combo thing is no longer on my radar screen.

[microstrip]

Originally Posted by PLK

When someone with access to first generation master tapes says something is missing, I take their opinion very seriously.

I will keep looking, but the Transparent/Wilson combo thing is no longer on my radar screen.

Bruce system and studio acoustics are quite different from our typical environments - IMHO you can not conclude anything for you from his experience in is this matter.

I have Transparent Reference MM2 with my Alexia, and have just tried a lot of other cables - the top Crystal, Kubala Sosna , Shunyata and Cardas - and the Transaparent Audio are staying. System is all Audio Research.

Anyway in cables, more than anything else in audio, system synergy is a must and one man's meat is another man's poison.

[PLK]

Originally Posted by microstrip

Bruce system and studio acoustics are quite different from our typical environments - IMHO you can not conclude anything for you from his experience in is this matter.

I have Transparent Reference MM2 with my Alexia, and have just tried a lot of other cables - the top Crystal, Kubala Sosna , Shunyata and Cardas - and the Transaparent Audio are staying. System is all Audio Research.

Anyway in cables, more than anything else in audio, system synergy is a must and one man's meat is another man's poison.

I respect your opinion, but I still have no interest in Transparent cables.

Thanks for the info on the other brands that you've tried.