Duelund DCA16GA

I’ve been comparing WE16GA, DCA16GA, DCA20GA, and Belden 8402 as interconnects for the past 6 months in my setup (Dynaco ST-35, Jolida Glass-FX DAC III, Hagerman Bugle 2, and JBL C-38s (130a + 175 + 2405).

I started off by making a complete set of interconnects using Belden 8402. The difference between these any my audioquest, crimson, and monster interconnects was astounding. I have never experienced such a magical 3D soundstage from my JBLs. I have loved my JBLs because of their warm, life-like midrange - but had not experienced a soundstage like that before.

I was able to get my hands on some WE16GA and made a few interconnects. I really appreciated the balanced nature of the WE16GA - the Belden 8402 tended to bit a bit darker in the midrange, where as the WE16GA was a little more flat across the frequency spectrum. The dimension wasn’t quite as amazing - but there was still a heightened sense of dimension with the WE16GA compared to past interconnects I’ve used.

I then picked up some DCA16GA - because…why not! My experience with the DCA16GA was very similar to the WE16GA - but with a bit more midrange detail than the Belden or WE16GA. For my system, the DCA16GA has performed very well - it brings in some detail to my already warm tube/horn system.

After reading about the DCA20GA I decided to pick that up as well. After about 2 months of listening - I think I’m beginning to settle in on a favorite. Initially I built a few unshielded cables to test out. The unshielded seemed to have a really nice tonal balance with very nice image-depth. I especially enjoyed the upper range detail it has brought out. Two of my favorite live records: We Get Requests by The Oscar Peterson Trio and Waltz for Debbie by Bill Evans have become especially enjoyable - I *love* hearing the depth and space of the lounges and the details that surround the audience.

My latest excitement is with Shielded DCA20GA interconnects. All of the previous interconnects mentioned needed a considerable amount of burn in time until they hit their stride. For whatever reason, the Shielded Version of the DCA20GA stood out immediately - in a *great* way. The midrange has thickened up. I’m not sure how to describe it, other than the music is dense, pleasurable, and excitingly spatial.

One last bit of info: I have also been experimenting with mix and matching all these different cables - trying to find the best placement for the cables in my system (i.e. what cable works best between different devices in my signal chain). I have found that it is really interesting how important synergy is - especially with these tinned copper cables. It is a fun and worthwhile journey - at a very low cost.



what more can I say - I am *enjoying* the music.



cheers!

cjwebber, thanks for sharing.  I did not like the Belden IC's (dull, dark and uninspiring in my system) and I suspected the 20ga Duelund would be the best of that bunch for interconnects.  I am not surprised that shielded cables worked best because it is my experience is that shielding is typically better for noise reduction purposes. I am glad it is working out for you.   I have a lot of WE16, 14 and 10ga wire here but will be trying the 12ga Duelund wire for speaker cables using two star-quad runs per speaker in a bi-wired configuration and comparing that to two twisted pairs of WE10ga wire per speaker.  I am hoping the Duelund will be better than a push since I am spending the money for the Duelund wire.

I have Duelund 16 GA as speaker cables for my Analysis Audio Epsilon and Air Tight ATM3. (1,5m)
DCA16 GA inter connect between Pre and amps 2.0 m)
DCA 20 GA interconnects between pre and  DAC (2.0 m)
DCA 20 GA betwenn Step up and pre (1.0m) shielded by Chris at Paers Connexion. It has been longer to burn in to and take some relative brilliance off.
Next step is to intervert 16 GA for the 20 in the pre to amp circuit.

I Pre ordered the 12 from Part Connexion for the speakers as I am curious. I will see what it brings to the table.

When I am sure of all that I think my quest for cables will be over. 

I am using the Duelund 16ga on the high pass portion of my AZ Crescendo speakers. I was using the WE 10 ga as my sole cable on my biwire speakers. I kept the WE10 on the bass and now have the Duelund 16ga on the highs. Much more detail for sure. Not sure if it is too aggressive however? Only 12 hours of burn in however? Not sure if it smooths out over more hours. We will see. A little too much of a good thing thus far in my system and to my ears.

On great recordings I love the Duelund, but on less than great it is a little harsh for me.

I forgot got to mention I also used the Duelund 16 as jumpers up to my highs. I liked it better than the WE 10ga alone. Thus far it is smoother than the Duelund 16ga run from my amp to the highs. I hope the Duelund wire mellows out with break in. If it does, it will be perfect.