I had a pair of Sky that Cable Company lent me. I have very revealing equipment but I couldn't hear the difference between the 2. Here's what you get going from 36v Cheetah to Sky (Everything else is identical): 72v dbs, slightly different xlr connectors and 50% more air.
Thats it. If its one of those things that bother you, a 36v dbs pack is available form AQ for about $100-$150. If there is an improvement going to 72v, its very slight. You don't here the type of differences in xlr connectors that you do with rca. That just leaves you with 50% more air.
I thought the 50% more air thing was kind of funny because Sky cost 2x what Cheetah is so I called AQ and they reluctantly confirmed my take on the differences were accurate. As far as pure silver goes, thats identical. Weather it sounds bright or harsh, thats subjective and very equipment dependent. I never said the Cheetah is bright or harsh. The sound is a little different. The HF's have a detached sound. They stand out a little more. I wouldn't call it harsh, bright would be closer. But that's just between the amp and preamp. Most of the time they sound OK going from a source to a preamp. Except on my vinyl setup. Cheetah is good between a TT and phono pre but not good between my phono pre and my line stage. (that combination has held true through several different equipment upgrades, not just 1 tt and 1 phono pre). I can't give you a technical reason as to why any of this is true. I just judge everything by listening to it. No only that, its all subjective anyway. I can say, though, that I've showed many people these differences over the years using my system and every single person that I did the demo for, was able to easily hear the differences I list above.
Thats it. If its one of those things that bother you, a 36v dbs pack is available form AQ for about $100-$150. If there is an improvement going to 72v, its very slight. You don't here the type of differences in xlr connectors that you do with rca. That just leaves you with 50% more air.
I thought the 50% more air thing was kind of funny because Sky cost 2x what Cheetah is so I called AQ and they reluctantly confirmed my take on the differences were accurate. As far as pure silver goes, thats identical. Weather it sounds bright or harsh, thats subjective and very equipment dependent. I never said the Cheetah is bright or harsh. The sound is a little different. The HF's have a detached sound. They stand out a little more. I wouldn't call it harsh, bright would be closer. But that's just between the amp and preamp. Most of the time they sound OK going from a source to a preamp. Except on my vinyl setup. Cheetah is good between a TT and phono pre but not good between my phono pre and my line stage. (that combination has held true through several different equipment upgrades, not just 1 tt and 1 phono pre). I can't give you a technical reason as to why any of this is true. I just judge everything by listening to it. No only that, its all subjective anyway. I can say, though, that I've showed many people these differences over the years using my system and every single person that I did the demo for, was able to easily hear the differences I list above.