Acoustic Zen Satori VS Analysis Plus Oval 9

Tom,

I've had my Adagios for almost 2 years and have used the Oval 9s for most of that time with very pleasing results. The bass is very well presented while being quite tight. They are excellent cables in their price range.

However, over the past year I converted all of my IC's to single crystal copper cables. I definitely liked the improved resolution they imparted while extending both ends of the frequency spectrum. Imaging, soundstage and particularly the smoothness of the sound (organic quality?) was geatly enhanced over my various copper and copper/silver IC's.

Those improvements led me to try the OCC copper AZ Santori. They provided the same type of sound improvement the IC changes did, only to a much greater extent. I guess the speaker cables have a greater impact on the sound then the IC's, at least in my limited experience. I don't see myself returning to non-single crystal copper. But I have also purchased the relatively inexpensive Belkin 14 gauge OCC copper speaker cables just to see how they would stack-up. I am amazed at how good they too sound! They are almost as good as the Santori(maybe not quite as powerful in the bass due to their lighter gauge). They exhibit the same great sound characteristics that I belive is inherent with single crystal copper. My suggestion would be to go with the OCC cables. But the prudent thing to do would be to compare the two and make up your own mind. You can get an 8' Belkin pair delivered for less about $55 via Amazon - maybe less elswhere.

Regards,

John

Nanotweeter:

What OCC ICs did you upgrade to?

I just ordered Analysis Plus Solo Crystal XLR ICs
to complement the Analysis Plus Oval 9s. I also
ordered the Acoustic Zen Tsunami Powercord which
is zero crystal copper like the AP Solo Crystal XLRs.

So back to the Oval 9 vs Satori.. In you opinion,
which one had more bass?
which one was more dynamic?
which one was warmer sounding overall?

I know there are so many other qualities that make up
a good speaker cable but the above 3 are my priorities
right now..

Thanks!

Tom,

I have both balanced and rca PS audio transcendence, Belkin PureAV (don't laugh - they sound great) and AZ Wow and Matrix Reference II rca's.

The Oval 9 bass is about on par with the Satori but fatter and not as clean. In my system the Satori is not as warm as the Oval 9, but I don't need any more warmth. I run CD's from a Marantz SA-11S1 balanced to a PLC Sonic Euphoria to my current favorite amp the RWA 30.2. For Vinyl its a Music Hall 5.1 with stock Grado MM and Bellari single tube phono preamp. The Satori provides a good measure of transparency that enhances the presentation without any upper end grain or harshness. The Satori also wins the dynamics competition. But the difference is not an order of magnitude, just an incremental improvement in most every regard.

Please let me know how you like your Solo Crystal Oval and how it compares to your other IC's. What components are in your system?

Within the next few months I'll pick up a pair of the AP SCO speaker cables to compare to the Satori to hear if there is much of a difference.

Regards,

John

My system is a Krell 400xi & Krell DVD showcase.
I also have a Meridian G98AH but like the Krell DVD showcase
more so for all the detail it pulls out of a disk.. Since I have
Krell, I need some warm cables.. That's why I went for the
Oval 9 first since you said they were warmer.

I was told the AP Oval 8 Solo Crystal is THE cable to buy
but it is 4 times the cost of the oval 9s..

How do you like the "WOW" cable? I hear that's a nice
warm punchy cable..

Tom,
Many moons ago I had the AZ Wow interconnect in my system and realized that after comparing it to the next grade up, Reference Matrix, the Matrix had me spoiled. If you are looking for warmth, find a used pair of the original AZ Reference Matrix. They later came out with a more neutral Mark II version. But the original Matrix had a unique warm glow to the sound that would possibly match well with a bright or lean component. It worked wonderful with some Rotel components I had at the time. There are a few other manufacturers who use some gold in their interconnects that I have read have a nice warmth to their sound. Gold has a tendency to lean to the warm side. A couple come to mind that I haven't heard, Kool Kable Silkworm and Gabriel Gold. I did have a Stealth PGS interconnect( since discontinued, but they still come up used from time to time) and it had a very alive, "Golden" burnished sound to it that was, although colored, very mesmerizing and musical. Have fun experimenting and fine-tuning your system.