I've come to the realization...

I want cables that will give my ears a rest.

I've come to the realization that my ears are rather sensitive (to the point of pain) to what some other audiophile listeners and reviewers find exciting and acceptable. I like to listen to the music firstly.

I work as a concert piano technician I am privilaged to be exposed, up close and personal, to real and actual top-notch instruments both American and European.

Over the years, piano voicing has become my specialty, and I am now sought after for this service. I find that some of my most discriminating clients and institutions completely defer to me for the voicing of their instruments.

All this to say that my ear is highly trained and very skilled in reference to actual instruments.

Also, some years ago, I retailed audio in a high-end store in the SF Bay area. Some of our brands were CJ, Rowland, Quad, Apoggee,Thiel, Benz, Koetzu, SME, MIT, etc.

Last year, I decided to upgrade my speakers from the original Quad ESL to the then critical darling the Gallo Reference III. To my ears, this speaker is better in most ways that I care about.

Having first broken-in and then listened to my speakers in several venues, and with a great variety of inputs and amplification, I have concluded that the reviewers of the Gallo speaker must be using better cables than I am, or must have a high tolerance for a shrill and tipped up tonal balance.

Putting tubes behind me, I was an early adapter (before the hype) of the NuForce monos, and I feel that these amps currently represent one of the very best values in amplification and is not considered to be a "bright sounding" amplifier. I found the sound of the top-end of these amps to be smoother than my EL-34 based reference tube amplifier.

When using a preamp, I insert the Sonic Euphoria autoformer PLC, a component known for its neutrality.

I have used vinyl and tube CD players as sources with the Gallos and the tonal signature is never completely relaxing to me. Currently I am using the Squeezebox 3 for a source, with a modified linear power supply.

For speaker cabling, I started out with some OCOS, then tried Alpha Core M1-2, and in a quick attempt to save my hearing, switched to some almost 20-year-old MIT 750. It helped.

As interconnects, I have experimented with using Ven Haus Pulsars. A great value, Chris's product transparently spotlights the midrange, and has great bass and dynamics, but features little depth, and is still much to lively for me. I tried original MIT 330 (not very transparent by today's standards, but coherent tonally and good soundstaging, I'm sure the MIT sound has come a long way since 1988). And I tried Magnan Signature (fabulous soundstaging and tonality but alas, compressed dynamics).

I still need something much smoother or laid back in the 5-10k hz range than any of these designs, + added warmth in the lower midrange wouldn't hurt either. And, I want great dynamics.

Cardas Golden Cross and Golden Reference seem to be a common suggestion for taming brightness and hardness and providing a smooth and warm tonality. MIT also has this reputation. For my buget, used these cable are still cost prohibitive. Zu is cheaper, and is voiced for Zu speakers, which are decribed as being somewhat forgiving in the highest octaves.

Any lower cost solutions? Interconnects in the >$200-300 used range. Speaker to $400 or so. What have you found.

Experience valued over conjecture, or the parroting of reviewers.
Thanks for your help,

for the music,