Pbgalvin wrote: Thanks for posting that list of Sandy's favorite demo stereo tracks. I've collected a lot of "reference" tracks but had almost none of those. Fortunately many of the source CDs are available used on Amazon for $.01 (plus $3.99 shipping) so my mailbox will be full in a few days...

You bet, enjoy. I'll try to do updates as they come up too.

That's a good one, Anthem. I'm going to have to look into that album further.

I received the AntiCables Level 3 speaker cables last night when I returned from work. I received an e-mail that they had a pair of 6 foot cables with spade terminations for approximately $130 with shipping so I thought I would give it a whirl. It's not unusual to spend that much on a dinner and drinks.

The cables are definitely solid wire and took a bit of manipulating to get situated. If I had it to do again, I would probably go wth the banana plugs versus spades, as they were a bit more difficult to hook up. The spades have the same flat copper finish as the level 3 power cord plug ends. These cables are certainly a utilitarian design with a basic fit and finish. They are similar to a woven canare speaker wire but with only four 12-gauge wires.

After a little manipulating, I decided I would use a crescent wrench to ensure the binding posts were tight and providing a solid connection. For good measure, I also tightened my binding posts on the rest of my GET speakers. More to follow on that. A word of caution for my fellow meat heads, I used very light torque on a small crescent wrench for this task, but it proved that my finger tight installation was woefully inadequate.

With the installation complete, I was only able to listen to a few songs. I have a long weekend over the next several days and will listen to much more, but the first few songs were rather telling. Rebecca Pidgeon's Spanish Harlem is touted as a high resolution track. Besides the great vocals, there is a lot of detail captured in the recordings. To my ear, the challenge is in presenting a large sound stage without creating any resonance in the vocals, in addition to the clarity of each instrument. The clarity of the shakers amongst the violin and other instruments towards the last third of the song is what separates the mice from men on this track. The AntiCables handled everything with precision and musicality. The sound stage was large and the imaging was spot on. There was no resonance in the vocals and everything sounded very balanced. If anything, it may have been a bit light in the bass.



In an effort to further test the bass, detail, and soundstage, I moved on to Bela Fleck and the Flecktone's Greatest Hits of the 20th Century. Warning, there is some banjo on this one, Anthem. Sinister Minister and Flight of the Cosmic Hippo are both great tracks. Once again, the soundstage was quite large and the detail presented was very impressive. Things also sounded a bit smoother: less etched or harsh than the other copper wire by the foot I've been using. I found myself pushing the volume up to levels I don't normally frequent with no fatigue. A few critiques: the presentation is a bit forward and I need to evaluate the depth of the soundstage with a better recording, the speed or immediacy of the sound is not quite at the same pace I achieved when conducting a demo with Nordosts's Heimdall speaker cables, and there may have been a slight decrease in dynamics but it's hard to say at this point.



To quickly recap, the balance, detail, and size of the soundstage are very impressive. I can't imagine a better sounding boutique brand speaker wire for this price. The imaging and immersiveness were quite impressive. The sound was exceptionally smooth and easy to listen to at higher than usual volumes. I'll need to listen a bit more to evaluate the bass, depth and speed of the sound, but at this point! I may have found a low cost solution to tide me over for some time to come. Overall, highly recommended if you're using a basic wire by the foot or generic power cord as speaker wire. The difference is certainly a noticeable upgrade over the 18-7 Cerrowire wire and Belden 10-gauge speaker wire I have on hand.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Thanks for the report T., Cobe, so glad your system is getting there!!!
Please report if you find out more.
Happy listening,
God Bless, Wayne

Denny Jiosa / Dreams like This (2008) -- Midnight at the Wall

Did someone mention "banjo"...in the state of Kansas, one is hanged by the neck until dead for listening to or possessing a "banjo". I hope more states adopt this statute.

Nice review of the AC Reference 3 Speaker Wire, T Cobe! Do you also write for Tone Audio? You need to! You have a way with words...almost bought a pair myself after reading your review. My Clarity Cables, Military Silver/Copper, and Mapleshade Clearview speaker wires are doing there job for the time being, so no thoughts of adding any new wires in the near future.

Anti-Cable hasn't made any advancements in speaker wires for awhile. Possibly they could incorporate their silver/gold technology they use in their 6.2 Absolute Signature RCA Analog Interconnects.

I'm playing another Reference Recordings release (RR-96CD) this morning. Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, led by Elijah Oue. This album is frequently used by professional reviewers to evaluate audiophile gear, so you know the sound quality is top notch. In addition to that, the music is very good. Highly recommended if you are a fan of classical music.

Anthem, thank you for the compliment. Coming from you, that means something! Sorry about the banjo on the previous post but that album has terrific sound quality and is great for evaluation of gear and tweaks. I agree with you on the AntiCables speaker wires being a bit of a dated design and build based on other offerings. Ironically, I went to their website this morning and it looks like there will be a level 5 speaker wire coming soon... I'm interested to see if they will incorporate a bit of silver or silver alloy.

A few more words on the level 3 speaker wires. The spade terminations were not pairing well with my amplifiers. The contact being made was not good. I tweaked the spades a bit to improve my connection and things are definitely better! The bass is now right where I would have expected it. From top to bottom, the sound is very balanced.

A big part of the design of these wires is the thin insulator being used. Other boutique brands also focus on the interaction between the wire and insulator and it seems an important point. AntiCables states they have eliminated/minimized the dialectic effect that distorts and smears the audio signal. I will attest to the fact that the focus presented by these wires is about the best I've heard. The transparency and transients are also very impressive. They really shine on dynamic classical music.

While the presentation is still a bit more forward than I was previously achieving, there is much better depth now that I have solid contacts. The added depth along with the precise imaging creates a great deal of ambiance. This is one well behaved and sophisticated speaker cable. This is probably the best $130 I have spent on a system upgrade. Highly recommended! I can't wait to see what the level 5 brings...

Cheers,

T Cobe

T Cobe: looks like they're already here. I need a 12 ft. pair, that's $4200.00...to rich for my blood.

"Just Released" Level 5 Signature Speaker Wires

The Hesitation:

Knowing that speaker wire require about 20 times more conductor cross sectional area as interconnects, we have for years hesitated rolling our excellent ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy metallurgy into speaker wires, simply because of cost. After all, part of being the ANTICABLES is offering product lines that out performs much higher cost offerings at reasonable prices.

Silver is hundreds, and Gold is thousands of times more expensive than Copper, so to use it means making speaker wires that cost a few thousand dollars instead of a few hundred dollars. That simply did not feel very ANTICABLES like.


The Turning Point:

Our top level ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy interconnects are so good, we have been getting pressure from customers and reviewers to get it going in speaker wires. One day it finally dawned on designer Paul Speltz, "if ANTICABLES can make speaker wires that need to cost 2 - 3 thousand dollar pair and if they have the ability to outperform many 5 - 10 thousand dollar pair cables, we are still offering a product that out performs much higher cost offerings at a much more reasonable prices"... and the design project was launched. The results are excellent.


Cost:

A 6 foot pair cost $2,100. Add or subtract $350 per foot.


Single Wired:

Two stereo pairs of a 12 gauge build speaker wires which will enable single wiring a pair of speakers. All four wires are woven together which makes a pair of nice looking, easy to manage wire runs.


Highlights:

Our new highest tier offering
ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy signal conductors
Heavy two #12 gauge build for each speaker
30 day risk free trial
Made in USA (one pair at a time in Lake Elmo MN)
Every pair personally build by designer Paul Speltz
Then Cryo treated and burned in for 150 hours
Please allow 2 - 4 weeks for delivery


Sound Improvements over Level 3 Reference Speaker wires:

Instantly a significantly bigger soundstage
Improved pitch definition
Ability to easily delineate multiple voices
They allow you to hear not just the musical instruments, but also how they are being played
More resolving of textural and tactile information
Allows you forget about the equipment and enjoy the music


Additional Features:

Built from the same ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy metallurgy as our award winning top level interconnects
All four #15 gauge wires are beautifully woven together
No thick plastic jacketing, which adds dielectric effect distortion and smears the audio signal
Capable of standing with or outperforming the best cables money can buy
Comes standard with excellent sounding Solid Copper Spades which are .525" wide and fit standard 1/4" (6mm) and 5/16" (8mm) Binding posts