Rebbi,
Hey - I would run the new ICs and speaker cables for a LONG TIME and then compare them to the Monster cables. I have both AudioQuest Diamondback ICs and Type 4 cables and found the ICs sounded great right away - and got better over time - sounding smoother, more detailed and providing more air than the Monsters I had been using. The Type 4 speaker cable on the other hand sounded awful when first installed compared to generic 14 gauge bulk cable I had been using, just dead, dead, dead. What a disappointment! I left them in to see if they would open up, and after a bunch of hours (months really of off and on listening) they did open up and now sound much better than the old generic cables and some stranded AQ cable I have in my HT system. Very natural and coherent with no hash or smearing that I can notice. This is why I recommended a long break-in period in previous post.
Moral here is wait and the hash should go away - and I found it took longer to warm up the AQ speaker cables than it did their ICs.
As for Power conditioners, I would be very careful about that, with all due respect to Mapman. I used one in my home system for a while, but I have very clean power in my house, and ultimately found that the power conditioner didn't change the noise floor but was "smoothing" out the sound by clipping the transient peaks off the music (BAD!). On the other hand, I have a cheaper system at work in a commercial building with lots of computers, florescent lights and other electrical "stuff". The power there is not so clean and so a power conditioner helps remove nasty hash and noise, making the presentation noticeably more musical.
Try before you buy a power conditioner if possible.
Hey - I would run the new ICs and speaker cables for a LONG TIME and then compare them to the Monster cables. I have both AudioQuest Diamondback ICs and Type 4 cables and found the ICs sounded great right away - and got better over time - sounding smoother, more detailed and providing more air than the Monsters I had been using. The Type 4 speaker cable on the other hand sounded awful when first installed compared to generic 14 gauge bulk cable I had been using, just dead, dead, dead. What a disappointment! I left them in to see if they would open up, and after a bunch of hours (months really of off and on listening) they did open up and now sound much better than the old generic cables and some stranded AQ cable I have in my HT system. Very natural and coherent with no hash or smearing that I can notice. This is why I recommended a long break-in period in previous post.
Moral here is wait and the hash should go away - and I found it took longer to warm up the AQ speaker cables than it did their ICs.
As for Power conditioners, I would be very careful about that, with all due respect to Mapman. I used one in my home system for a while, but I have very clean power in my house, and ultimately found that the power conditioner didn't change the noise floor but was "smoothing" out the sound by clipping the transient peaks off the music (BAD!). On the other hand, I have a cheaper system at work in a commercial building with lots of computers, florescent lights and other electrical "stuff". The power there is not so clean and so a power conditioner helps remove nasty hash and noise, making the presentation noticeably more musical.
Try before you buy a power conditioner if possible.