Totem Sinew vs Acoustic Zen Matrix ll??

I had the totem Sttafs and sim audio amp. I used the Sinew interconnect and speaker cables. I swapped them for Cardas Neutral Reference which I felt was better at the time. I have since changed equipment and cabling.

My take on the Totem cables is that they are polite and a bit dry (in my words). VPI makes the same claim about their phono cables being the most synergistic with their turn tables. I have compared the VPI cables to others, and prefer other brands.

Long story short, it is worth trying different cables until you find a combo you like. Don't assume that the best match is actually the one your manufacturer suggests (especially if they are suggesting you buy more of their products).

My 2 cents.

BTW. I have not tried the Acoustic Zen cables you speak of.

I too, found better cables for my Totem Forest than the Sinew/Tress. Although I did think the Sinew/Tress was among the best I had used with them. For me, Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ and Magic Links sounded better. Haven't tried the Acoustic Zen, and only limited experience with the Cardas, and not with my Totem system.

fwiw I found AZ Matrix Ref I and II to be good cables but a bit on the warm and thick side. In fact everything I have tried from AZ has a bit of this quality, I do like them but have moved on since then (don't we all?)

I have AZ marix matrix reference II and also Audioquest cheetah 72v dbs. Aq was much better cable, more transparent and with better inner detail-silence.