Transparency, detail, tonal accuracy

My review is for the Silver Lace IC. It is a reference caliber product for transparency, detail and tonal accuracy.

Similar Products Used:

MIT, Tara, Magnan Vi, Highwire

Price,Sound

Perhaps a bit weak in treble detail, if anything

I own 3 pairs of silver lace, with more on the way, and am quite pleased. I've done an extended comparison between the silver lace and the (borrowed) Silver Audio Hyacinth, which is double the cost, if not more. I don't like buzz words, and will avoid them, particularly with regard to severely subjective topics such as this. The Hyacinth excels at general detail and high end extension, almost to a fault, and suffer from an inability to deliver satisfying bass response. The Silver Lace is smooth, and easy to listen to, striking a wonderful balance between detail and sibilant harshness. My only (small) complaint is a subtle lack of top end energy, which is desirable relative to nasty sibilance. I use all tube gear, with Vandersteen 1C, which may be slightly laid back on the top anyway. And yes, the Silver Lace are capable of good bass response. My brother, another tube audio freak, describes the Silver Lace as "dead silver". I think that is a bit harsh. Both are excellent cables, and picking a winner is dificult. If ultra detail means vocal sibilance and sizzling treble, I'll take the Homegrown and pitch the Hyacinth. The smooth presentation of the Homegrown is a plus in my book, perhaps a minus in others. I intend to use nothing but Silver Lace throughout my system, as they perform well regardless of application. Highly recommended...

System:
Sonic Frontiers Power 1
Quicksilver linestage preamp
Anthem Pre-1P
Vandersteen 1C
Rega P2/no mods
Analysis Plus oval 9
Silver Lace IC (of course)

Similar Products Used:

Silver audio hyacinth, various crappy copper

This review is for the SuperSilver II kit
Overall, a beautifully designed kit with excellent components, and fairly good instructions.

The instructions could be better if they included more detailed pictures for each step.

Overall I am very pleased with these interconnects. I bought these as a cheap interconnect for my tuner--at $50 who can complain? After trying them with my Rotel RCD-991AE CD player, I decided to replace my monster M950i's with these. They are very clear, and I think they offer an improvement over any cable within the sub-$100 range that I have tried (and at half that price limit they are a steal). The sound I am getting is full of wonderful detail and I have no problems with Bass production.
My one criticism is with the connectors. I wish they offered some insulation around the outside jacket--but that is really just a personal preference. The locking mechanism works very well and the connection is SOLID.
The kit was fairly easy to assemble. This is my first attempt at puting together internconnects myself, and it was not too complicated. It is fairly minute work, so some smaller tools a steady hand, and small tools are definitely needed. In the end, it took me about 45 minutes in total--and I was very pleased with the professional looking results. If you are conisdering these interconnects you might want to get a slightly longer run than you would with another brand, since the strain-releif sheaths so make the ends less flexible and thus the effective length is shortened by about 4 inches or so.
If you are looking for a clean looking, detailed sounding interconnect these are an excellent choice. In this price-range I feel these are the best buy available. In my system they are an ideal fit, offering the detailed, open, and clear sound I was hoping for.
Associated Equipment:
Rotel RCD-991 (Audiophile Edition)
Denon TU-260 Tuner
Nakamichi RX-202 Cassette Deck
Denon PMA-2000R Integrated Amplifier
Vienna Acoustics Bach Loudspeakers
Monster M1.2s Speaker cable
Monster M950i interconnects
Homegrown, Super Silver II interconnects from CD to Amp

Similar Products Used:

Monster M950i, other monster products

this review is for the Super Silver kit.
Great sound for a steal of a price.

large RCA connectors and stiff cable means a good deal of space is required in back of components. sound wise none.

This is a remarkable find. Peformance that far exceeds it's asking price.
As you can see above, I have used a number of IC cables in my system (and heard a lot more at dealers, etc.).
Until recently I had been quite impressed with Nordost's cables. To my ears they had a speedy, neutral sound. Some have said they are bass-shy but I believe this is because in comparison, many conventional cables limit mid/high frequencies thus making the bass seem fuller. This was my experience with the Tara, AQ and Monster designs I have used.
I had Analysis Plus Silver Oval ICs in my system for a short time recently. When they left and the Nordost Blue Heaven's went back in place, I was aware that the AP Silvers were smoother and more coherent without loosing any detail. I was impressed but not enough to pay $600 bucks. I did however, buy the AP Oval 12 speaker cables and was very pleased to see the same type of improvement in performance over the Blue Heaven speaker cables (see my review of the Oval 12s on this site).

So now I was in a pickle....I had found a weakness in my existing cable, but I did not want to pay the price for the cables I knew would correct the deficiencies.....What to do!!!

I saw the buzz about these Homegrown cables so I thought I would give the kit a try. Having built cables before, I was not worried about botching the job, but honestly it was easy and enough material is provided to allow for mistakes.

After I assembled them I burnt them in using my portable cd player and headphone amp. Listening to them during this time (about 5 days total) I noticed the high end smoothing and the low end extending as the burn in progressed. I then compared them on this rig with the cables I still had on hand (Tara and the two Nordosts). The Homegrowns were better all around.....they had the speed and airiness of the Nordost cables (the Tara sound dark in comparison) but they had the bass weight and smoothness that the Nordosts lack.
When I put them in my main system, I noticed a deeper soundstage and a reduction in vocal siblance. The Homegrowns also have better hum rejection than the Nordost cables even though they are unshielded.
These Homegrowns far out perform the Kimber PBJ which is a similarly constructed copper cable. I have not heard Kimber's silver cables on this theme, but others have said the Homegrowns are at least as good or better.

These cables are a true best buy. The brought improvements to my system that I thought would require the purchase of a $600.00 set of cables.

this is almost a no-brainer.
Consider these cables before you buy any sub $100.00 cable and I would say don't ignore them even if you are planing on spending more.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber PBJ, Tara Labs Quantum 66, AQ Jade, Nordost Black Night & Blue Heaven, Goertz Micro purl,Analysis Plus Silver Oval, older Monster IC (circa 1988), Radio Shack Gold, Homemade cables of various designs.

solid silver, nice RCA connector, open, detail, and surpprisely, smooth sound

Lack of bass, not shield

This review is for Super Silver II (SSII). I am using SS II between my Audio Research LS2 and Classic 60. The cable is capable of creating huge sound stage, very open sound and lots of detail. The thing that impress me the most is that it also create a very smooth, warm and sweet highs that I don't expect from a silver cable. From P/E point of view, it is a 5 star product.

However, SSII appear has a weak bass department. Compared with some mid-end Ixos cable, the bass is still light (at least in my system). In addition, SSII was not shield. When I change to SSII, it seems that I have some RFI problems. I can hear clearly some "Tzzz" sound from my speakers. I buy a Ferrite Clamp today, but it did not work.

If you are interested in this cable, please don't be discouraged by my 2nd paragraph. Allow me to remind you that at its price, SSII is the best cable you can get.

I heard that Silver Lace will solve the "light bass" problems. So, I might decided to upgrade from SSII to silver lace.

Happy Liening.

Jack

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Lapis, Ixos cable

Incredible Soundstage,Tight Bass. Silky Smooth

Long Break in. But Well Worth it

I tried some Silver Cables costing $600 per Meter. I decided
to A/B these Cables with my Silver Lace Interconnects.
Well after extensive listening The $600.00 cables are on the Way back and The Silver Lace are staying Put. This is
one of the Best Bargains in High End cables you will find
PERIOD. With their in Home Trial you cannot go Wrong. This
will Keep Those those Other Cable Companies Running
for cover You Know who you are!!!!. Give them a Call
they are very Friendly and Eager to Please.

System
Apogee Centuar Majors
Classe301
Sony SCD1
Sonic Frontiers Line 3

Similar Products Used:

Kimber KCAAG

Very well built, locking rca connections, great sound, attractive to look at, incredible quality for the money

None

I just upgraded my room and during the process bought new audio furniture. IN the process I decided I wasn't happy with my interconnects or my speaker cable, though like many on a budget I had to seek what I could afford. Plus I needed 3 interconnects, one for between KEF Kube and Amp, another for Pre Amp to KEF Kube, and one from CD player to PreAmp. Factoring in the cost of the audio furniture and speaker cable ( 27 feet total ), and fact I wanted to keep entire purchase under $1000, it took some effort and research to make a decision. The audio rack ate up $450 and the speaker cable another $228, leaving approx $300 for interconnects. not exactly audiophile high dollar here but nonetheless a significant upgrade for me.

After reading the reviews here on the Homegrown Super Silver II cables I went with them. One 0.5 metere set, one 1 meter set and 1 1.5 meter set. Total price approx $238 USD.

I had heard pure silver is sometimes a bit colored toward the high end. My British Kef 104.2 Reference Speakers have never been accused of being bass heavy and so I was curious how the 2 would match up. In addition the speaker cable I bought was the XLO Pro1200 which tends to emphasize bass a hair.

Out of the box, the homegrown interconnects sounded good, with just a trace of harshness in the midrange regions, mostly the upper ranges of most male vocals. Female vocals did much better, and thus began the burn in time. In only 24 hours all signs of harshness were gone, and I saw relatively little gain in smoothness after that point.

I was amazed at the transformation in my system. Much cleaner, more detail and now I could also start to hear the flaws of the recordings. After my XLO speaker cables arrived I was in heaven. Soundstage widened, deepended and was much better balanced.

I'm not a purist who seeks the sound of $5000 interconnects but I can honestly say that the Homegrown Super Silver 2 interconnects made mys sytem sound brand new all over again, and I'd highly recommend them over anything commercially available in the same price range. You really cannot go wrong. I bought the non kit version but if you are a handy person wiht a soldering iron you can save another $30 per set by attaching your own ends. I'm sure there are other good cables out there but these have impressed the daylights out of me and have me listneing to my stereo with a critical ear all over again !! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Similar Products Used:

Monster cable, Vampire Wire

Amazing...just amazing. So detailed it's scary. Now I want more of them.

You, if you pay one cent for interconnects before you hear a BROKEN IN!!! pair of these.

You are dumb if you don't listen to these. They are cheap, superb sounding, and blow away my Tara Labs interconnects which cost four times as much. Buy them, but don't listen to them immediately, or you might faint from the sound. It'll be real, real bad. Radioshack bad. Turn your speakers off, and let 'em run for a WEEK STRAIGHT. Then, listen to 'em. I've had these running for three weeks straight now, and they get better every day. Homegrown is scary what they're doing. No dealer markup on cables? What is Kimber going to do? Homegrown makes the silver streak for 30 bucks you say? All you guys that own Kimber silver streak should cry. HA!

Similar Products Used:

Tara Labs, Harmonic Tech, Audioquest, Kimber

detailed, deep wide soundstage, very "accurate" ie: natural instrument sound and fixed placement on soundstage.

scary before they burn in.

these things scared me to death when i first put them into my system. bright and though not harsh, they were fatiguing. i put a string out on audiogon wondering if i'd made a wrong choice. everyone said "hold on--let them burn in." so i did. i hit repeat on the cdp, turned the volume down low and went to work. 12 hrs. later i said hmm. that sounds better. 20 hrs. later i couldn't get off the couch!!! smooth and detailed and all of the original sibilance is gone. the kit was a snap and now my rca connections are all super silver. there may be better out there, but not in my system. the cost is also very reasonable (though i'm still a newbie audiophile and $50.00 seems crazy for a piece of wire). these cost the same as monster, less than straightwire and a fraction of what a wire would cost that could touch their performance. i don't see how anyone could rate these any less than a 6 on a scale of 1-5!!!

audible illusions 2c
parasound cdc1500
parasound dac 1000
b&k ex442
vandersteen 2ci

Similar Products Used:

straightwire, mapleshade, monster, tributaries

Clarity and smooth detail

Feels delicate to handle, but it's not

I cannot believe how much value these Super Silver IC's contain. I ordered the DIY kit and had a blast soldering these together. It wasn't difficult at all, and HomeGrown included more than enough silver solder to do the job. I've had them in my system for a bit over two weeks and they sound excellent! Clear, precise, and dynamic with every sound. They let through exactly what my sources deliver. From all of the reviews of my components that I've read, with which I don't all agree, you would think that Silver IC's would add way to much to the high end, BUT no, no, no. The whole system sounds absolutely incredible to me and I have a great dislike for anything with exaggerated highs. I've returned all the other IC's I had on demo, including the $130/meter Corals. The AQ Corals were very nice, but didn't involve me in the music the way the Super Silver's do. (not to mention the huge price difference)
I had a ton of fun putting these things together AND they sound wonderful in my system. I don't know how you can get better than that. :)

My system:
Nakamichi AV-2 (receiver)
Nak MB-10s (cd-changer)
NHT 1.1 (lcr speakers)
NHT SuperZero (rears)
Velodyne FX-12 (sub)
Audioquest Midnight + (main speaker cables)
Homegrown Audio Super Silver IC's

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Copperhead, Diamondback, Coral; Ted's Excellent Cable; Monster and Radio Shack Gold IC's