Looking for the right interconnect

Wombat, I have not tried every IC here, but I have tried a number of them. After chasing my tail through AZ, HT, Kimber, Analysis Plus, etc. I finally decided to up the ante. You didn't say what your budget was so I will just give you my experience and do with it what you want.

I ordered HMS Gran Finale Top Match IC's after all the hoopla around here and over at AA regarding these IC's. Well, I have found my holy grail for IC's (everyone else's MMV), but everything else I listened to is not even close.

Having said that, everything in this hobby is very subjective, but if you can afford to try HMS, you may also find your pot o'gold. I emailed a number of guys here and over at AA before I ever ordered the Gran Finale's for an audition and without exception, every one of them responded saying they were the best IC's they had ever heard. Several were like me, they were initially reluctant to try them due to the controversy around them, but if you can get beyond that, they truly are amazing.

Maybe Siltech and one or two others may be better, but for the money, it is my opinion that nothing I have heard can begin to approach them.

They have a 30-day audition period, but be forewarned, don't even think about listening to them if you aren't prepared to buy them. They may simply leave you eternally unhappy if you hear them and you can't keep them.

Look out for Harmonic Technology, Truth Link at deep, used discounts.
Also used Coincident Speaker Technology IC.
A real bargain if you can locate it is the older version of the Music Metre, Calibre in the gray jackets. Do no bother with the last version of Calibre made.

I really disagree about using silver or cables that specialize in detail with your system. Having owned the RCD-971 and Music Metre Silver i/cs in a similar system as yours, I would go with something along the lines of Cardas. The 971 is great, but it has a fairly bright tonal balance that a SS integrated is not going to counter. It is also a little etchy (as most CDPs in that range are) for silver i/cs or Kimber, which are better suited for tubes and analog. I am coming from the perspective of listening fatigue, I really don't know what you are in to.

Kalan, have you heard Canto?

The idea that silver is bright is not the metal but a design flaw (usually dielectrics). This is not the case with Pure Note, HMS, and others. These cables are very detailed and smooth.

I did not say anything about bright cable. Silver cables correlate with a tonal balance that is different from copper cables. That tonal balance, I don't think, is good for his system. Plus, saying that all those silver cables are bright because of a design are flaw while their copper counterparts miraculously aren't flawed is ridiculous. Those silver ones usually work better with tubes/analog than SS/CDP. They are usually just different, instead of flawed. The type of metal, unquestionably, makes a difference.