Bottom line is the Silver Serpents replaced Kimber Hero and Audioquest Black Mamba II interconnects. After fiddling with all three for several months, I found the Silver Serpents smoother and more grain-free, especially with power music like Mahler's 2nd or Verdi's Requiem, where I find tutti massed voices and acoustic soloists at full-tilt the best test for whether treble grain and hash mars the sound. A summary:

SILVER SERPENTS - Very smooth and grain-free treble. Does not distort on full-on power choral music or opera. (In a duet scene from Verdi's "The Masked Ball" the Silver Serpents cleanly and smoothly rendered the vocal climax, while the Heroes and the Mambas distorted with grain and hash.) Pulls off the trick of being smooth while not obscuring details and soundstage air. Midrange is smooth and neutral. Bass is powerful and not bloated. On movies like "The Dark Knight Rises" the bass is explosive. Soundstaging is wide. Depth is very good.

KIMBER HERO (with WBT 0114 connectors) - Seductive midrange, slightly forward, if a little bloated to give male voices a rounder sound and female voices a creaminess. But this slight bloat also tended to smear dialogue intelligibility on movies. On a movies like "The Dark Knight Rises" or "Star Trek" (2009) I had to strain my ears sometimes to understand dialogue and then rewind the scene. Highs were not as clear as Silver Serpents', but slightly veiled. Loud volume on operatic vocals and choral music had treble glare (see above). Bass was very good. Soundstage seemed narrower than the Silver Serpents, but the Hero had good depth,


AUDIOQUEST BLACK MAMBA II - Brightest treble of the group. Gave the impression of lots of soundstage air on initial listening. The bright treble helped with dialogue intelligibility on movies, but became a liability on choral and opera recordings where vocal tuttis exposed treble grain and hash at high volumes. After extended listening this became fatiguing. The midrange had a slight and pleasant warmth. The Silver Serpents were more neutral. The bass was very good. Soundstaging was also good.

All in all, the Silver Serpents are an excellent value, having out-performed a cable which costs almost 5X as much (Kimber Hero) and the Audioquests, which cost 60% more. I'd rank the Silver Serpents 1st, the Kimbers 2nd, and the Audioquests 3rd in performance.

[System: Mirage OMD-15 speakers bi-wired with Audioquest Bedrock speaker cables; Bryston 4B ST amp; PS Audio PCA-2 preamp; Sony DVP NS999ES as transport; Centrance DAC mini CX as source; Better Cables Silver Serpent Digital Coax; Sony BDP S470 blu ray player; Pangea power cords.]

Incredible detail and less grunge. Very balanced from lows to highs.

None so far.

The Silver Serpent is the best interconnect I have found for a reasonable price. I purchased the model with the Bullet Plugs. The first benefit I noticed using this cable was the absence of grunge or ghosting. I was also surprised about the amount of detail the cable gives without being forward or bright. I was listening to Rickie Lee Jones and I could hear her intake of breath. My other cables had not revealed that before. I could clearly make out the lyrics in cd's that sounded unintelligible with my other interconnects. My NHT Super One's now sound like they have a bigger woofer and a better tweeter. I was on the web checking out speakers when I saw the link for Better Cables. I now can dely that purchase a while longer.

Similar Products Used:

Alpha Core Micro Purl, Nordost Black Knight, Monster

YES!

need to break in.. no instant gratification

Had a similar experience repacing Kimber interconnects. Almost foolishly sent back all Silver Serpents. No patience. I experimented with various expensive cables for my music and kept the silver serpents connected to my TV. After not finding anything that knocked my socks off, and finding my old Kimber not fitting well with my speakers,I was about to give up on the speakers when I began to realize I was enjoying the music in commercials, or anything coming from my TV. I decided to try the Silver serpents again on my CD player. WOW! Where did these come from?? You MUST give them time to break in. Take advantage of the full trial period! If not, you are missing something special. I'm not one to knock other people, but I would now feel like an idiot if I had given my last pair back after 72 hours. I tried to give all the more expensive cables a fair run of time, and had my Kimber for years, but these cables sounded way better than the Kimber after a good break in. Smooth, detail, good soundstage, non fatiguing. The only one that keeps my foot tapping when I don't even realize I am doing it. The only one that has made me sit back and just listen while I was trying to do other things. What more can I say? Don't give them back until you have given them a full chance. I also have had their speaker wire for the full trial. (Replacing Kimber 8TC) They said I could send them back to bi-wire for a small fee but now I am afraid to send them off and any chance of ruining the magic that i have going on.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber, CardaS, mONSTER ETC.

Articulation, energy, texture, air, liquid mids and highs, hefty lows, precise 3D imaging. Seductive vocals.

A tad (just) untidy at extreme bottom and top but still smooth, slightly less ultra-low-end power than $1200 Kimbers. Too civilized for fans of etched, in-your-face treble.

My Serpents have Bullet Plugs (+$20, worth it). I see varying reviews here, but I had poor luck on pricier stuff so I tried the Serpents. Initially grungy, after 3days they blossom nicely. Sonically they seem neutral, with a smooth, almost tactile midrange, a subtle hint of softening above 5khz but very detailed, believable highs. Good dynamics. Excellent width, depth, and even height (beating my $380 Kimbers!). Full, deep bass, if a pinch loose at times; kickbutt lows on disco and rock, extended and well behaved for jazz and classics. Lower mids have tuneful, more up-front and intimate vocals than my cold Kimbers or my $300 and $200 WireWorld silvers. There's a bare hint of compression on sharp transients and crescendos, but they're clean, with good impact. They trounce my AR's and $200 Monsters (goodby to M1000i's wacky tonal imbalance and wiry highs). Next to my Wireworld Equinox, the Serpents have more balanced mids, a bit more instrumental texture and vocal nuance, very slightly lighter upper bass, better 3D staging, while the Equinox seem subtley more solid in places but too aggressive overall. As for "detail": the Serpents tell me that the drums on Waylan Jennings' "America" are not dead center but spread center to left-center, 5 steps back; 2 cymbals waist high at left, another at right; two kick drums, not one. I hear Jennings move to and from his mike and strum guitar strings at his chest. The keyboards sit way back and just above my speakers' tops. With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir I hear specific voices across the far rear of the hall. I hear Jane Monheit lick her sexy lips between breaths. I don't hear quite the finesse of the Silver Serpent Digital Coax or my Equinox III's (a little neater here, a little tighter there, but I dislike all-silver's treble blast and anorectic voices). I rate the Serpents as a musical best buy that made me seriously question the much higher cost of Kimber, et al. Not the Ultimate Best (maybe Ed McMahon will knock on your door and bring heap big wampum for "the best"), but they're very, very good. A steal. Preamp: Adcom GTP-450 & GFP-565, Dynaco Stereo A410 or Kenwood KA3600 amps, Denon 1650AR + MSB Link DAC III. Phones: Beyer DT990 + Grado SR60, Speakers: B&W DM-302, PSB Alpha Mini, PSB Subwoof

Similar Products Used:

Monster M1000i (ouch!), various AR, Wireworld, Kimber, Audioquest, Canare.

Build. Sound. Customer Service.

None...with the caveat that I have not auditioned high-end cables.

I use Bettercables Silver Serpents as a subwoofer cable and as analog interconnects for hooking up a DVD-A DAC to my receiver. I have entry-level equipment (Denon 2801, Toshiba SD5700, B.I.C. Venturi Speakers). A 3 meter subwoofer cable cost $64 and is a terrific performer. The bass is tight and detailed and it improved a roll-off problem I experienced with my old IXOS cable. I bought the analog interconnects because I was not satisfied with the upper range detail from Straight Wire Symphony II interconnects. The Silver Serpents delivered the detail I was missing along with great midrange and bass performance. The sell for $79 a pair (.5 meter).

Similar Products Used:

IXOS, Acoustic Research, Straightwire.

silver plated copper Above average accuracy Killer jacket-Three meter lengths and under. Great customer support. Free pen with order-HE HE

A little loose fitting A small little Y Adapter is 29.00!!!

This is a review for the silver serpent audio interconnect which I am using for a subwoofer cable. This cable is definitely an improvement over the monster cable mb300 that i was using, and a huge improvement over the crappy audioquest G-string cable-why do they even sell this-it really sucks bad!!!- As a few other reviewers have posted I am getting a little less bass response tan the MC -but it is tighter a crisper-if that makes sense. I would much rather have accuracy than shear boom boom,but thats personal preference. If ya likey tha boomy boomy and are on a tight budget get a monster cable. If you want to upgrade for a little more precision call Bettercables and have them send you a silver Serpentaudio Interconnect. If your loaded then get cha a cable with the massive bbooom and sonic accuracy-Cardas makes some pretty good stuff-and so do many others. Stick with materials like Rhodium,gold or silver-the more solid the better of course. So Ill give these A 3 because I've heard alot better,but their performance exceeds the cost.

Similar Products Used:

Cardas Audio,AudioQuest,Kimber Cable

This review is for the Silver Serpent interconnects. Following 72 hours or so of continuous play for break-in purposes, I was quite unhappy with these cables in my system. I compared them to the MAD (Modernaudiodesign.com) Pearl cables recently purchased on eBay for about $75.00/meter. I found the Silver Serpents unarticulate, boring and especially tubby in the bass. Back to the MAD Pearls -- what a relief, the Silver Serpents kidnapped my music for a couple of days. Marantz SR7000 Receiver Ah! Tjoeb 1999 CD Player Polk RTA-11t tower speakers (1988) Audioquest speaker cable

Increased clarity, contruction

none I can find

I was looking for a high quaility cable that was cost effective. this is more than I hoped for. Cables are used for the stereo my wife uses for around the house and outdoor music. She asked If I replaced the speakers in the living room because they sounded even better.

I laso have purchased the digital coax and am in the process of ordering their component video cables.

Brad Marcus is a great guy to deal with and their products are unreal.

Truly a company to get to know.

Similar Products Used:

Monster cable Interlink 400

Price, Quality, Appearance (free pens with every order too!)

Mail Order Only!

Best cables you can buy for the money!
Really helps clarify and define the highs when using solid state amps.
Snare with brushes used to sound distorted but not with these cables!

Similar Products Used:

Monster, AudioQuest

Looks, better than my $10 no name interconnects

Don't now any

Well, I can't compare these to the expensive cables, however I noticed an immediate (no burn in time) improvement in the sound listening to Tommy Emmanuel's 'only' album.

Previously I'd thought the recording in combination with my (crap) CD player was giving out a very warm sound. At first I didn't like it, but then I became accustomed to it, even though one of the tracks I really liked did not impress me anymore.

The previous hearing of it was just through my computer as mp3, and that just sounded better. But increased warmth and clarity of the sound from the cdp made me think 'this is how it is supposed to sound'. After plugging the new cables in, the difference was like night and day. The warmth and clarity were retained, however now there was better high end (the other cables must have rolled off something shocking) and better clarity.

The guitar now sounded more like what a guitar should sound like. I don't know how to describe it, but that twangy metallic twinge on the higher strings that was missing was there. That track is back on my 'like' list. Going through the rest of the CD, obvious differences could be heard (for the better). Now I regret that I didn't order two pairs.

Did I mention the Australian goverment sucks? Taxes, gov duties, a crappy exchange rate and too $$$ shipping costs made these cables cost much more than they should have.

Similar Products Used:

Noname cables