Why Transparent Cable? for Wilsons.... options?


Well this is the situation being cheap I guess!

Using Wilson Sophia's with my Krell system, love it.
Using the Transparent Super at the moment for speaker cables. Everyone says I should move up, like the Ultra at least.
Have you guys tried anything else on your Wilson and worked well? My reference system once used Au24 ONLY and it was my favourite cable ever, till I got the Wilson.
They dont work well IMO and not sure why. Even the Super(lowest line of Transparent) works amazingly with the Wilsons. For me to jump to the Ultra is going to cost me over a grand, thats the problem. Its expansive enough for me right now with the Super and thinking may be there are other options that wont exceed 1k on top of what I have now.

Any advise is appreciated.
thx
rapogee
I had a starter 2-channel system w/ Transparent Cable- excellent sound and an excellent product w/ great customer service.
Agreed.

That's what you should have said.

Any particular cable can be superior to another with a given system component mix and listener.

No coal in your stocking this year and happy holidays to you.
I should have said (which I think can be inferred) that I BELIEVE HT cables are superior to many other cable brands. Fahoo Dore Mr. Grinch and a happy New year!!
Rhyno, of course, is a reviewer which means he knows very little about audio subject matter but is basically a wordsmith.

An expert with a keyboard if you will.
dave, i think you're finding (as i did) that audiofeil is about as pleasant as a root canal and as open minded as the amish. i recall he emailed me privately during a disagreement (mature people have those things) to swear and antagonize me, and then blocked replies. quite a guy you're debating with!!!
This was your statement Dave:
"Their products are superior to most cable companies"

I asked you to support it and you've danced, diverted, and yakked about anything you could to avoid the issue.

Now, address your contention and stop bloviating.

Talk is cheap and you appear to be bankrupt.
In my W/P 8 based system I'm using Stealth Indra ICs with Stereovox 600 speaker cables. I tried lots of used same brand and different brand combinations, but this combination sounds the best for my ears - so far? The Transparent's were very good, but didn't quite make me feel right there with the music. I'm sure there will be a dozen or more different choices.
That's great Hughp3...sometimes a little extra effort pays off handsomely. Any combination of wires will sound different... no matter what the price. Finding the right wire for your ears doesn't have to cost a fortune:)
Dave - I finished making my 5 foot pair of AudioQuest Type 8 cable with Furutech spades. I now hear a definite difference with the Watt/P'7 and Krell FPB's. Cleaner/sharper attacks and crisper highs. to me its not all that subtle however I know the music well. However the base line was in-wall cable up to a 50 foot run. The system is cleaner overall now. Yes worth the modest expense and hard for me now to say wire does not make a difference. Now $2K+ wire...not so sure about that.
For the record, my new system is comprised of Wilson Sophias, a BAT VK-D5 24bit CDP wt. Amperex 7308 NOS tubes, a Krell S300i, Harmonic Technologies Truth Link IC's and Pro-9 Reference spkr cables with MIT Oracle and Transparent Reference MM PC's.
That IS fine...that's what I'm saying anyway. All I did was offer up a possible high quality, fair priced alternative cable that many audiophiles have, and or may, find worthy of a place in their systems. Try to get some rest over the Holidays Audiofeil...turn off the lights, play some Mozart and drink your favorite beverage:)
>>Of course we could all just save some time and ask you what we should use instead.<<

Fine.

Use what sounds best in your system and ignore folks, much like you, who talk a good game but don't know how to play it.

Sound good?
I don't think anything I (or most others) have to say will meet with your approval Audiofeil. Quite frankly, I have no deep seated need to seek your vindication or pass some sort of audio inquisition. As you know, I have favored MIT and Transparent over the years, but have relied extensively on my local dealers and the cable company to evaluate many brands. Some of the names include Shunyata, XLO, Nordost, Purist, Mapleshade, Cardas, Analysis Plus, Alpha Core, Kimber, Monster Sigma, Signal Cable, Synergistic research, PS Audio...alot! HT offers as good or better of a product at a very competitive price point for each level of cable they produce. They are pure sounding, dynamic and extended with terrific definition...no mysticism or alternative laws of physics are used, just high quality single crystal wire with a quality design. Reviews are available online for further illumination. Of course we could all just save some time and ask you what we should use instead.
You're funny Dave.

Don't divert the issue here.

Please support your contentions. You said their product are superior.

Don't get sidetracked with amateur psychology along with your amateur audio crap.
Audiofeil, do you have a therapist? You certainly need some conflict management training. What happened to you as a child to make you so confrontational? Wow, relax and play nice. We all have life experiences and favorite toys. It seems that anything anyone states is put through your mental grist mill and discarded as worthless drival. We all like what we like and that's it...you simply need to try the HT stuff through the cable company to decide if what I say has merit or not:) Everything depends on evrything else; system synergy is of course the ultimate question mark for all things audio. Despite this fact of life, HT wires are simply well made pure connections that will benefit any high quality system...individual mileage may vary. As I've said before, most of my recommendations seem to have staying power and a high level of audiophile interest over many years...Jim Wang at HT is backed up for weeks with new orders. Gee, I wonder why?
>>Their products are superior to most cable companies<<

Please list the companies you feel that are bested by their products. And if we assume wires are system dependent what does superior mean? Please clarify.

Thanks in advance.

This should be interesting.
Harmonic Technology is often overlooked. I've known Jim Wang since he began his company back in the 90's. Their products are superior to most cable companies....especially their best copper cables, Truth Link and Pro-9 Reference spkr cables:)
You can also try the Purist Audio Design cables, I heard a few times our dealer uses the Venustas or the Aqueous Anniversary with the new WP8 to wonderful effects.
Good luck.
Hughp3, I have had some $20K plus wires in my system and yet I must admit that sometimes using an inexpensive cable can deliver the lions share of the high ticket cables performance:)
For the WP7's/Krells i decided to try Blue Jean Cable Canare L-4E6S Star Quad XLR's at 25 feet ($60 per) so I can move the amps. In comparison i have AudioQuest Diamond Back XLR at 6 feet($210 pair). After a comparison to the Blue Jeans it was very close with suprizingly the Canare having more presence and slightly more volume, no degradation period. So this confirmend what I thought about higher priced albeit well built wire. What was to loose when they allow a return for any reason.
After using Transparent Ultra XL on my Wilson MAX2's, I tried Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway 3 but was not happy and had already sold the Ultra XL's. I bought a 30 ft set of Tara RSC Ref2 and was impressed enough to buy a new 30 ft set of Tara Air One ic and a 8ft set of Air One speaker wire. This is not expensive, check it out, you may be as happy as I am.
Electronics are ARC REF 3 and Classic 150 amps.
Rapogee - Not to steal your thread but to add to it. I have just purchased a "like new" pair of WP7's to go with Krell 350MCX mono's. I had prewired in-wall using OFC 12AWG double - which I think is equivalant to 10AWG. Sound is amazing but its all new. I have not been a proponent of high priced wire but I want to try without wasting money. I am thinkig of a single run (30feet,20feet) of Vampire wire ST-II which is 10AWG Continuous Cast Copper at $12.90pf. Could be an alternative. Or wonder if any of this will realy make a "real" difference.....
What version of super do you have?

Xl, MM1 or MM2

If you are at XL then ultram MM2 will be a very nice upgrade.

My Ultra costs me almost as much as the ML Alscents they are connected to but nothing else floated my boat as much as the Transparent.
Actually, you should upgrade all the way to the Transparent Reference for those speakers. Look for a good deal on a used pair. The ultra would be fine to but the Reference is better.

I have B&W speakers but I use Reference cables for every connection in my system and it is absolutely worth every penny.

I thought $1000 was too much for a pair of cables as a matter of principle--before I tried the better Transparent stuff. You have to think of every cable in your system as a component in front of your speakers--especially the digital cable if you use one. It will probably be a major improvement.
Ditto on Transparent voicing with Wilson and vice-versa. Their upgrade program deserves applause. Save your allowance and stay with Transparent. Tara works extremely well with Wilson, but you just don't see their better cables come up very often. There IS a pair of Omega listed right now... I submit they would be your last pair of speaker cables. Even if you moved up the Wilson line. That should appeal to your sense of high value/performance per dollar spent.
I like the Transparent stuff, and the company - and they have close working relationship with Dave Wilson, and use Wilson speakers in their listening studio. So it's not suprising that there's a good synergy there.

My experience with Transparent is that they're very consistent in the sound across their product line . . . that is, as you pay more money, you get very similar sound, but more refined. The flip side is that their less-expensive cables (I didn't say "cheaper") still IMO sound really nice.

If you're happy with the sound, and you're still a bit strapped from the speaker purchase . . . why not keep the cables you have for awhile? Transparent has a great upgrade program, where they'll apply a huge percentage of the original price for newer/fancier stuff when you want to make a change.
Well Zieman, thanks for the comment. Its not all about spending, but I like the idea of great value for money. I bought the Wilsons because I could not find anything that came close to it for the $$$$$ and I did get a great price on them.
I did go with the retailers suggestion and paid $1750 for my speaker cables then. Its just when you decided to go a step notch (as what many retailers have suggested..staying with Transparent) it becomes a $4500 jump on cables and at that price........your selections do tend to open up drastically! I am curious as to what other cables are out there that could be cheaper than $3500 that will make my Wilson improve dramatically. I believe they will since my once favourite cable which I still think they are great copper for the money in many systems out there- the Audience Au24 - did not quite work with the Wilsons I have particularly so......... $3500 is alot of money for me when it comes to speaker cables, the Wilsons on the other hand were relatively modest when I tried so many other speakers and some even costing twice as my Wilson did!
How is it that you can afford Wilson and not the appropriate peripherals? This seems akin to putting retreads on a Ferrari. Or running unleaded gas in a 70s era muscle car. You are missing out on the potential of these speakers.
Wilson speakers work well with MIT cables. Buy the best you can afford, because they can get pricey but worth it.