i have been auditioning xlr IC's for about 6 weeks now. it has been quite a process. fun and ear opening. i read as many reviews as i could and then borrowed cables from the cable company and a few dealers. the list i tried include:
group 1: audio quest water
Nordost heimdall 2 and tyr 2. this group from local dealer
group 2: cardas clear
cardas reflection
synergistic research atmosphere level 3
silent source
group 3: wire world gold and platinum eclipse 7
kimber ks-1116
kimber ks-1036(rca version of xlr ks-1136)
MIT sl-matrix 50
group 4: nordost valhalla 2
ww platinum eclipse 7 again
MIT oracle matrix 50 revision 2
i auditioned in groups and tried to pick a winner before moving to next group. at first i really liked the nordost try 2 but local dealer would not leave with me so i had to remember the sonic signature. group 2 the cardas clear won. very easy listening cable. good bass extension. but ultimately not enough mid and high detail. group 3 initially mit but after burning in seemed to mellow out maybe too much. kimber and ww platinum close but kimber had an edginess and brightness to high's. ww platinum very nice overall but a bit less articulate in mid and highs; some sounds seemed less airy and not so well defined. group 4 i borrowed again the ww platinum out of all cables in groups 1-3 to pick a winner from group 4 since ww platinum lower price point and wanted to compare side by side and not have to remember. i listened to around 12 different cd's that i know pretty well including bob james and earl klugh, earl klugh alone(late night guitar is awesome), diana krall, loggins and messina, pink floyd, duet, cat stevens, grateful dead, nancy wilson, grover washington, norah jones, and several others. the ww was the first to get eliminated; it didn't seem to have the airy detail around instruments but was still a very nice sounding cable. so 2 remain. i went back and forth over the course of 2 days(the local dealer allowed me to borrow the valhalla 2 by leaving him deposit of 1/2 the cable; crazy but i wanted to make sure i heard this well reviewed cable). valhalla 2 had almost too much detail in high's on a lot of recordings and not much low end. sounded thin. the amount of detail almost got tiring and fatiguing. the MIT oracle 50.2 was in a different league. it had just the right amount of detail without being edgy or bright. it had a warmth similar to the cardas clear(maybe due to both being all copper). the bass was very articulate and in control. the mids and vocals just sounded amazing. but the 3 dimensional holographic image was immediately heard the instant the music started. it was like no other cable i auditioned. the soundstage was impressively wide but many others were as well including nordost, ww platinum. but everytime i put mit back in i just sat back in chair with a big grin on my face. i really wanted to like the nordost better(such great reviews especially in TAS annual review issue) but in my system and my ears the MIT oracle matrix 50.2 was the clear winner. i ended up purchasing that cable yesterday and i expect it will remain in my system indefinitely; it sounds that good!! thanks for listening and hope this might help others in their search.
ed
group 1: audio quest water
Nordost heimdall 2 and tyr 2. this group from local dealer
group 2: cardas clear
cardas reflection
synergistic research atmosphere level 3
silent source
group 3: wire world gold and platinum eclipse 7
kimber ks-1116
kimber ks-1036(rca version of xlr ks-1136)
MIT sl-matrix 50
group 4: nordost valhalla 2
ww platinum eclipse 7 again
MIT oracle matrix 50 revision 2
i auditioned in groups and tried to pick a winner before moving to next group. at first i really liked the nordost try 2 but local dealer would not leave with me so i had to remember the sonic signature. group 2 the cardas clear won. very easy listening cable. good bass extension. but ultimately not enough mid and high detail. group 3 initially mit but after burning in seemed to mellow out maybe too much. kimber and ww platinum close but kimber had an edginess and brightness to high's. ww platinum very nice overall but a bit less articulate in mid and highs; some sounds seemed less airy and not so well defined. group 4 i borrowed again the ww platinum out of all cables in groups 1-3 to pick a winner from group 4 since ww platinum lower price point and wanted to compare side by side and not have to remember. i listened to around 12 different cd's that i know pretty well including bob james and earl klugh, earl klugh alone(late night guitar is awesome), diana krall, loggins and messina, pink floyd, duet, cat stevens, grateful dead, nancy wilson, grover washington, norah jones, and several others. the ww was the first to get eliminated; it didn't seem to have the airy detail around instruments but was still a very nice sounding cable. so 2 remain. i went back and forth over the course of 2 days(the local dealer allowed me to borrow the valhalla 2 by leaving him deposit of 1/2 the cable; crazy but i wanted to make sure i heard this well reviewed cable). valhalla 2 had almost too much detail in high's on a lot of recordings and not much low end. sounded thin. the amount of detail almost got tiring and fatiguing. the MIT oracle 50.2 was in a different league. it had just the right amount of detail without being edgy or bright. it had a warmth similar to the cardas clear(maybe due to both being all copper). the bass was very articulate and in control. the mids and vocals just sounded amazing. but the 3 dimensional holographic image was immediately heard the instant the music started. it was like no other cable i auditioned. the soundstage was impressively wide but many others were as well including nordost, ww platinum. but everytime i put mit back in i just sat back in chair with a big grin on my face. i really wanted to like the nordost better(such great reviews especially in TAS annual review issue) but in my system and my ears the MIT oracle matrix 50.2 was the clear winner. i ended up purchasing that cable yesterday and i expect it will remain in my system indefinitely; it sounds that good!! thanks for listening and hope this might help others in their search.
ed
