Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Bwhite: ahh, you've ended up where we started. I have been watching to see if you liked the OTA better than the hideously expensive NBS/KSL I pushed you towards - and had been feeling bad that you could have been just as happy with the OTA (which I haven't heard). Glad you still like the KSL/NBS combo. If you remember, I've also have the Audionote IC from CD to pre, and NBS Pro from pre to amp in this second system and found combo complementary. What happened to your feelings on the KSL spkr wire vs. OTA?

A lot of times a cable will do something that at first sounds great - usually appealing to that part of our minds that listens more analytically when we first sit down. Its much harder, and takes some real time listening, to discern those cables that also help us fall into the music, so to speak. Since we aren't thinking in those deeper listening spaces, its harder to then go back later and think about what was best; trying to think about a time when you weren't thinking is tough! And, takes time for the answer to come to you. That's why you should always live with a product for some time, why its dangerous to buy from a dealer based on short-term exposure, and why these threads are helpful in contacting others who have put in that time and reflection/contemplation on the products they have listened to.

Thank you, bwhite, and all of the others, for putting in the time with the OTA and letting us know about your experiences.

Hi Asa - The OTA vs. the KSL-SPc (copper) speaker cables is really no contest. While the OTA is decent, it lacks the feeling of the KSL. The OTA is pretty amazing though when you consider how much music comes through that little wire and the bass is very good. The reason I would suggest OTA as a good speaker cable is simply because of its neutral character - which would allow one to more easily fine tune the system with interconnects. In my case (tri-wire speakers) changing speaker cables is a MAJOR pain in the rear. The KSL has more body and weight than the OTA (which my speakers need) but remains quite neutral - clean - effortless.

Oh.. another thing I noticed with the OTA was the pace seemed odd to me. Perhaps others can comment. It seems a little too fast to be accurate.... any thoughts??

The KSL I am using between my CD and Preamp is the new KSL-LP1 which is actually a double run of Kondo's Silver AN-Vz repackaged.

Initially, I settled on NBS Statements for between the preamp and amps but - since I recently sold my source (Mephisto II) and switched to a Sony XA777ES which is a touch more detailed than the Mephisto and is a little more "electronic" in its tonality, I think I prefer a run of Stealth PGS between the amps and preamp. The Softer sounding and more organic Stealth PGS combined with the Sony is quite comperable to the softer sounding Mephiso with NBS Statements. Whereas the Sony and the NBS are not an optimal match in my system since they are just ever so slightly over the top in their combined presentation.

Using 100% OTA made it more difficult to get the right sound from my system.

OTA cables are so natural and neutral that they sometimes present how the rest of the system is bad. It's not the problem of OTA, it's the problem of poor source, amp or speakers.
Then, people put some thick, heavy, mega-buck cables and think that they get the "emotion" back.
OTA is "too fast"? No, OTA paces perfectly in my 47 labs/Essence setup. And it paces excellent in a non-47 labs systems.
Cables that “manufacture” sound are, obviously, good complement to the same kind of electronics & speakers and everything together works “perfectly” to mask the music and to enter hi fi.
Fortunately, I avoided that!

Ivo

Ivo from your post, I gather you are very enthusiastic about OTA and have had good results. I am happy for you.

Maybe my system just isn't good enough for OTA. :)

Bwhite: puncto primal, puncto final. By returning to the AN/NBS combination, it seems that these expensive cables cannot be surpassed by OTA in your system. (BTW, your Lamm amplifiers are probably "good enough for OTA" ;-) Peronally, I have been proceding systematically through a series of OTA ferrite experiments for the last few weeks. To cut a long story short, the changes inflicted on the system through ferrite manipulation did not seem to me an unambiguous improvement upon closer listen. The most annoying aspect at points was the infiltration of the magnetic field inside digital components, and even onto speaker connection posts, as well as resistance changes on OTA, and problems with maintaining its clarity and pacing. At this point, I think I get the best results with the ferrites attached to non-audio component cables (lamps, tel. answering machine,...), reaching the same conclusion as sead did long ago. As far as OTA power cables, they are just as neutral as OTA signal cables, and with my rather poor mains I am back to the old glory of NBS Statement PCs for three crucial connections, with OTA still on three AC connections. This OTA/NBS power cable combo actually works very well, the OTAs being cut to the size appropriate for best component positioning, the NBSs being fitted in as best they can and creating an amelioration to the mains current, more extension, smoothness, volume, immediacy, and engendering a sound stage in which the listener believes that they hear events residing very deep in the recording. I am very happy with the OTA analog interconnects: when I replaced the NBS Statement interconnects with OTAs, I heard--for one thing--an unexpected improvement in bass definition and contour. I noticed the same with the OTA speaker cable: the amps in my collection (the most powerful of which is 35 watts) were working hard just to drive the NBS speaker cable, let alone the speakers themselves. For this reason (and others) I agree with Redkiwi that OTA speaker cable is hard to beat. It relays "sforzandos" much better than NBS speaker cables, and, overall, sounds through OTA speaker cables have the exactitude they have in dreams, with only the glistening due to the sound alone, just like the world itself, so integrally there, the sound stage a "parallel universe," and a form of illusion. But as soon as one enters the field of personalized judgement on this score, argument becomes insane, demented, weird, extravagant, and pointless given the different requirements of all of our systems. Just to satisfy myself on this score, I am going to replace the OTAs with the NBS Statement interconnects and speaker cables after three months of non-use and see what better satisfies me: OTA or NBS. I cannot help but believe that the operation of switching cables to compare them in order to believe finally "It's true! Cable X is a superior cable with my audio system!" is a permanent, pathetic, physical sonic demand in me, a kind of escape from a congenital and metaphysical incompletion, and dissatisfaction:-).