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ICs with great natural sounding highs?

I currently use Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II (XLR) and it's a great IC but the highs have a certain "silver" coloration especially in the cymbals sound. It's not harsh or bright but when I auditioned Cardas Golden Reference ICs recently I was struck with how cleaner and more natural the cymbals sounded - you can hear the real metal when the cymbal is hit rather than a splash of silvery noise. In all other aspects (bass, sounstage, details etc) however Acoustic Zen came out as a clear winner. But I would love to get a cable with absolutely realistic sounding highs as well as great soundstage, neutral mids, detail and bass that Silver Reference ICs do so well under $1000 for XLR. Should I try Synergistic Research? Shynyata? Others?
antonkk
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Give the Greg Straley Reality ICs a try. You might be really surprised. They
come *very* close to Purist Audio Venustas in my system.

They are available with a home trial period, so you've nothing to lose by
trying them.

The only downside is they don't cost enough to give you bragging rights
about how much you spent.

;)
sonic_genius
528 posts
 
Pure Note has always done well in the highs (Vanguards and Titanium-XL). Mids are very natural; acid test is female vocals. Also I do not hear the typical tizzyness of some cables with the Pure Notes. The cables render the real brass sound (weight) of cymbals. I can easily tell if it is a Zildjian or Paiste cymbal. I have not heard their new Alluvion line as it is too new but I suspect they are great performers
kenk168
175 posts
 
HI,

I would recommend the new Acoustic System Livelines. In my system, it handily beat the AZ Ref II you referenced above as well as JPS Super3. Just a more organically sounding cable with a lively feel to its presentation. Yet, all the speed, pace and rhythm I could want while not sacrificing detail or extension. The least hi-fi sounding cable I've experienced.
istanbulu
291 posts
 
.

I just swapped over to my Cary 303/300, tube pre, ss amp a set of single ended Poeimas from my all tube second system... what a revelation... very neutral, very dynamic, with nice clean point sources in the ss... highly recommended... these Ridge Street Poeima's... extremely black background and very detailed, very musical, and no edgies anywhere... how can you lose with Robert's 45 day trial period?

:) listening,

Ed

.
jfz
570 posts
 
I like the phrasing of your question, i.e., "...natural sounding...". Of the several ICs I've listened to over the years (including Cardas, Jena, Silversmith, Valhalla, HMS, TG, Stealth Indra, etc), my favorite is the Cerious Technologies - by quite a large margin. Good luck in your quest.
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