Mmakshak, I try to take all peoples views equally, so of course I found your input a valuable view. The AI pre-amp I received from Lugnut is now connected to my 1972 Empire belt drive turntable, and i have enjoyed a number of my old lp's and some of my uncle’s perfect condition 50's jazz. The resolution with these two components is not at all to the standard I expect, yet it too is wonderful music, and as you point out it is enjoyable.
As for the rest of the story, I stumbled upon some Kubala-Sosna Emotion interconnects and have been using one pair between the SCD-1 and Calypso and a second between the Calypso and Plinius. I found them used, and even at retail they cost less than I received for my Valhalla cables that I sold. I am having a home demo next Sunday and Monday with the speaker cables. I am so excited! My impressions are below;
The first night, with then cables I was up until 4:00 AM; I never stay up past 11:00. I needed to try out all of my difference reference disks, (see Calypso review) but rather than simply listening to the cut I use for reference, I listened to the entire disk. Lucinda Williams Essence twice! (My play list is detailed at the end of this email)
To my ear the very first impression was a subtle lessening of pace and possibly dynamics, but as I got familiar with what I was hearing I discovered this not to be true.The second impression was (large Cheshire cat grim) absolute bliss. With my Valhalla cables transparency was defined as thin, with the Emotion transparency is a lack of substance between musicians. It’s been said a million ways, but it needs saying again. There is more pure black space between notes, between instruments. Transparency is clarity and quite with the Emotion cables. As a result of this element of audiophelia the soundstage depth is greater than I have ever heard it. This includes a review period with the Cary 300B SET mono blocks. The singer was further into the room than I have experienced, including when my friend brought over his Aesthetix Callisto pre amp to compare against my Calypso. The drummer was out in my front yard, and there was easily one or two musicians standing at depths between these two extremes. Soundstage width was not affected in any perceivable way.
The next issue I listen for is tonality. I have worked very hard to product very natural tonality in my system without effecting the definition enjoyed with a solid state amp. The only area of complaint I have had with my system using the Valhalla cables is the extreme high end is thin and very close to edgy or bright. The K-S cables balanced the tonality perfectly. The bass remained extremely tight and focused with full extension. Never did it bloat or fatten in the way many cables do. It was the high end where I became mesmerized! Not a single flaw. Piano and violin are so tough! The highest notes can easily become fatiguing, bright or edgy, and I have always tried hard to balance this issue with footers and isolation. The Emotion cables made this a non issue. Full and open with crystal clear, transparent musicality through the very highest C on the piano. Every high note retained color and hue while never appearing artificially painted. Never once did I cringe or pull back from even the brightest spots. WONDERFUL!!!!
Another area I have spent a great deal of time learning, tweaking and experimenting is in transient attack. I insist that the leading edge of a note, whether it from a drum, piano, bass or horn, must be defined with a clear instant front edge. Generally cables that provide the attributes in the high frequencies that these cables do, end up soft, with a lack of front end definition to the note. These are perfectly balanced; the attack remains strong and sudden, while providing full body and beautiful tonality.
Yet another of my issues is naturalness. The music must sound as if I am there in the room it was recorded in. Often this requires subtle cues within the recorded medium. Those clues, possibly referred to as inner detail were so strong. By far the inner detailed information is coming through clearer and stronger that ANY cable I have tried (and I have tried at least 90% of them) I have listened to Lucinda and Patricia Barber so many times my family is ready to puke. I have never heard the air being pulled into their lungs through their throats like it appears with these cables. So many examples could be stated as to the inner detail revealed, but you have no doubt heard it all before.
There were a couple of real surprises for me. Three-dimensionality was beyond reproach. Only a SET 300B amp could be better, yet I could never receive all the other attributes required from my system. It’s been said before, perhaps too often, but I could see a defined vocalist all the way to the back of the head. Of course this is not possible, but there is a magic within the music through your cables. In my opinion this is now the standard to measure all other cables.
In the end, all the above statements are simply audiophile comments listening to equipment. For me I quit listening to equipment three years ago when my system found synergy. I listen to music, not equipment. Above all attributes, my system must be musical. I own a lot of disks because I love music, not because I love sound. These cables are so perfectly balanced that it was hard for me to listen as an audiophile. My mind simply wondered away from the cable and into the performance.
So I have re-invested some of my money I pulled out from my selling of equipment. The net result is I still paid the hospital, and have a small cushion to live on as I await the Social Security Disability back pay (soon!) The real surprise; I pulled out 1/3 of the value in my system, and right this minute I enjoy it at least 1/3 more. I have been listening every night for hours now, and that is quite a bit more than before the changes. I do miss the second amp and the final 3% of slam, but I can live with that! I guess that is testament to the fact that the best sound does not always cost more. I will keep you all informed on the speaker cable trial.
Thank you again for the great support and caring. None of my Audiogon friends will ever fully understand how much your love means, unless you too find yourself in my shoes. I would never wish my health on any of you, so learn through my how important we all are to each other!
JD
