My Cables and Accessories

Croc Gennady listening impressions review

Audioquest Dragon speaker cable

This once was top of the line Audioquest speaker cable and costed back then an awfull lot of money (i've seens reports about MSRP in a range of 6,000$-8,000$).

Lucky me to get it second hand for a reasonable price.

It has Hyperlitz SILVER wires construction.

I find this cable to have a very good balance between transparancy and natural sound.

It sounds clean and detailed without being bright and harsh.

I terminated it with WBT 0645 bananas - which i love a lot (original spades were connected very poorly).

They have very high built quality and very easy to use. In addition they're stackable - which is very usefull for me to connect my REL Stadium subwoofer.

WBT's support is excellent - i had some small piece brocken and they sent a new one from Germany no problem.

Van Den Hull MC Silver IT mkII interconnect

For a top of the line cable it's priced quite reasonably (1,800$ i think).

Quite a lot manufacturers charge 10,000$ for their top of the line interconnect - but this is not a case with VDH.

I absolutely love it.

It's detailed, transparent yet natural.

I would happily wire my whole system with it but it would be a bit too much for me ;-)

Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II interconnect

This was top of the line Acoustic Zen's cable made from pure silver.

I was looking for a good solution to connect my pre-amplifier to the power amplifier.

The problems is that i need 2.5 meters at least - which would make it very costly if i would go for the top notch (and expensive) cables from established manufacturers.

Fortunatelly i discoved this cable and was able to get it second hand for reasonable cost (new one costs 2,150$ for 3m RCA).

I think it does make sound just a tad thin and cold - but overal i found it sounds quite good.

VDH MC Gold interconnect

I like this cable very much.

Honestly speaking it does lack some transparency and details of its big bother (MC Silver).

On the other hand it sounds a bit fuller - which obviously leads to nice soundstaging.

All in all for ~500$ MSRP is does fantastic job.

XLO Reference interconnect

It's a leftover from my old years in audiophilia.

It's not a match to my other cables.

It sounds a bit dirty but tonally it's OK.

Considering its modest price (220$ back then) it's pefroms OK.

I compared it once with two times more expensive XLO Signature - and although cleaner and more detailed - i could not stand its overy bright sound.

VDH The MAINSTREAM power cords

I use several of those.

They are not too expensive (~450$) and make noticable effect on sound.

Most easy to notice is a bit duller, fuller, "less digital" sound.

I do think it cuts treble a little - so finding right ballance in the system is necessary.

Main reason that i like them is because they're consistent in their effect, easy to hear and, maybe most important one, i just reluctant to pay 1,500$ and more for power cables.........

To be continued.............

Important Clarification:

Don't be dazzled by MSRP prices of above cables.

All my cables were purchased second-hand for much more affordable costs.

I don't see a point to buy new ones and pay a full price.

This allowed me to put my hands on good products whithout selling a kidney :-)