I had a pair of biwired AP 9 for almost 10 years. Old oval 9 has tranparent jacket which shows one cable wrapped in purple casing and the other naked. Then I noticed oxidation along the length of the cables (6 ft) that could be seen through the transparent casing. I stripped the binding to find out the extent of oxidation and surprised that each leg at the amp/speaker binding had 3" long naked copper wires only protected by the shrink tubing, which is nowhere airtight. the purble half of the cable was fine as this was wrapped in purple tubing all the way to the spade connectors. The problem is naked half of the cable that is exposed to air seeping under the heat shrink. Such a problem does not exist in other cables, such as Kimber, Audioquest or even Canare, that what ech copper strand wrapped with PE or plastics. The sound ot AP 9 is fine but not stella for the price. I read some comments about the new Black AP9 and I can't comment on the SQ of the new version but both strands in the new Black are wrapped black/yellow and may not have the problem of oxidation. I wrote to AP and haven't receive any reply from them. It is contrast to when I wrote to them about 4 years ago about chaning the cable connectors to which they replied within a few days. I am almost certian that AP are aware of the problem with their cable design, at least the design of AP9. I expect oxidation of copper wires overtime at the binding but never expect oxidation along the entire length of the cable.

This review is for the newer Analysis Plus Oval 9 (black mesh).

I have found the Analysis Plus Oval 9 (Black Mesh) to be the most musical speaker cables that I have had in my system. Their Forte is a luxurious rich full natural organic sounding midrange which complemented my Zu Druid speakers nicely (which although warm, needed a touch more warmth offered by the Oval 9). Also, the bass is very strong and tight and they have nice highs that are delicate and shimmer without sounding harsh or too forward.

In my system (Zu Druid Speakers with Almarro 318B Amp) the Oval 9 have produced a sound in my system which slightly bested my previous best of all speaker cables, the Acoustic Zen Satori. They sound a little more rich natural and warmer in the mids than the Satori to me, and although they give up just a little shimmer in the highs to the Satori (there is always a tradeoff), they still sound beautifully detailed without sounding dead (like some lower rung MIT cables I once had) or a little hard and dry like some anti-cable that I had.

In my system and by my ears, the Analysis Plus Black oval nine are of the most musical speaker cables around for the price. A friend of mine who also has Oval 9 speaker cables, says that they come very close to the sound of his Transparent Ultra XL cables. Close enough by his ears that that the extra cost of the Transparent Ultra XL Cables didn't seem to justify the small improvement in sound gotten with the Transparent Cables.

I think most of the reviews on this site is not true
I bought this cable and it sound awesome with Rotel and Dynaudio 52
but after 2 years I suddenly found out these cales got corrosion badly
I was shocked
I thought I may upgrade to silver line but I did not
I bought Transparent super XL instead
Thanks AP for 2 years exellent service

Price Will really smooth out a bright system

These cables saved my thousands of dollars. I had grown weary of the harsh, grainy upper treble I was getting with my system. I was considering new speakers and/or a new CD player. I decided to give the Audio Analysis Oval 9s a try to see if my eight year old Discovery 123 cables might be the problem as the system sounded much better through headphones. The sound improved almost immediately upon installation. Lower midrange on violin strings was much better. As the cables broke in (I still don't understand why a cable should get better as it is used, but it certainly seems to be so), I felt the sound stage push back and the gritty, in-your-face sound of my old cables disappeared. There was much more "air" around those pesky massed strings when they are digitized. Over the past few days the bass has been improving daily. I really enjoy listening to my system now and can listen for hours at a time without fatigue. A real revelation! Highly recommended for the price.

Very high performance-to-price ratio, well terminated, flat(ish) and flexible for convenience.

Slightly veiled at higher frequencies, giving off a warmer, more laid-back presentation.

I have been using a pair of single-wire Oval 9s on loan for three weeks as stand-ins for my Nordost Blue Heavens which are being re-terminated for single-wire connection. I estimate I have put in about 60 hours of listening time, so burn-in issues must be considered (though I don't completely buy the "not best until 500 hours burn-in" stories"). While I don't think these cables are entirely neutral (no cable is), I think they are excellent value. They image fairly well (wide enough though not very deep), are very good in the lower frequencies and generally provide a warmer overall sound than the Blue Heavens. I wonder if they are slightly more rolled off in the upper mids to highs than the Blue Heavens, as they don't seem to have the same air and space the Blue Heavens project. Nevertheless, the overall presentation is highly engaging and never fatiguing. I am also quite impressed with the terminations, which are chunky spades and seem to have been done with care. But the thick protrusions immediately below the spade ends did give me some problems when connecting the speaker ends, as my speaker terminals have "tap" handles which are partially obstructed by the AP spades. In our market, the Oval 9s retail for about one-third less than the Blue Heavens (this is comparing bi-wire Blue Heavens with single-wire Oval 9s, so the retail price difference between single-wire runs may be a less than 30%). With their performance and price, I could happily have settled for the Oval 9s if my Blue Heavens had to be replaced. As it is, I still think the Blue Heavens are marginally better (a little more transparent and slightly better on transients), but with the price difference factored in, I have to say I think the Oval 9s would be better value. My system comprises Krell KPS-20i CD player, KAV-250p and 150a pre/power amps (connected by balanced Blue Heavnens) and Sonus faber Cremona speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Nordost Blue Heaven, Yamamura Milenium 1000 / 3000, van den Hul 79-strand.

Clean, detailed, neutral presentation.

Lacks a little body in the mids.

I'm in the process of demoing the Oval 9 along with the Oval 12. My existing cable is the Cardas Quadlink 5c. I also have some Audioquest type 4, for reality check comparison to budget cable. The Analysis Plus (AP) cabling is definitely a quality product and a good to excellent value. Having said this, I still prefer the Cardas. The AP is a bit leaner in the mids. It has a clean, apparently neutral presentation. The Cardas sound fuller, more fleshed out in the mids, dimensional. The Cardas is the warmer and more romantic sounding of the two. Bass was about equal, but my speakers don't produce the last octave. Treble was a bit cleaner with more sparkle with the AP. The AP may be more accurate and truthful. In my system though, the Cardas seems the more synergistic match. Perhaps, the AP is too revealing of flaws upstream. I can't say for sure, but in the end you have to go with your ears and what provides best sound to you. I liked the Oval 12 too and think it's a great value. It was a bit less revealing and didn't have dynamics of the 9, but it's pretty close for less money. If you've got budget gear, get the 12 it will work better. My budget pick is still DH Labs Silver Sonic.

Balanced, natural, full-range sound, detailed expansive soundstage, and yes, the bass is extraordinary in this price range.

Painfully long break-in period needed

Hmmm, one guy doesn't like them because they are too forward, another guy doesn't like them because the high end goes away. Welcome to the wonderful world of audio cables. I am not a golden ear with a bottomless pocketbook, but over the last year I have been upgrading my 15 year old system, and auditioning a lot of hardware, including cables. As I made judicious use of used and demo equipment, I didn't spend more than $500 for any one piece (though many components retailed for around $1,000), and I won't do so for my speaker cables either, so I can't compare them to any mega-expensive cables. So anyway, what about the Oval Nine? I think the bottom line is simple - these cables sound right. Nothing is over-emphasised, and more importantly nothing is missing either. Some of the comments of previous reviews are mystifying, I read them and disagree with pretty much everything they are saying. The only explanation I can find is they didn't break them in fully. I have heard 300 hours is needed, and after going through it I agree. These are not cables that will knock you out of your chair at first listen. They grow on you (quickly) until you realize the zing you heard in other cables is artificial and un-natural. For reference, my system resides at the upper end of the mid-fi spectrum: Amp: Rotel RB-990BX Preamp: Rotel RC-995 CD: Denon AR-1650R Speakers: Polk Audio Monitor 10B

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Slate Audioquest CV4 Audioquest CV4 biwire Analysis Plus Oval 12 Monster Z1 Monster Z2 MIT 2

Gauge, looks, terminations, and the ability to transmit the analog signals from my amp to my speakers with authority!

Given the price I paid, no weaknesses for me. One could spend less, one could spend more, but why?? Personal preference is what it is really about.

Isn't it interesting how Sounddude had to compare the Oval 9's with speaker cables costing two to three times there price to bash them! I've owned these cables for about 8 months, and they perform as claimed by their manufacturer. They are excellent speaker cables, have excellent terminations, and 99.9% of the world's population could not tell a difference between these speaker cables and any higher priced cables in a DBT!

Similar Products Used:

numerous high and low end makes

Deep bass

unrefined high, lack mid-range resolution, bass is not tight. The cable also lack definition.

I agree with the dissenting review that these cables represent good value, but they are certainly no giant killers. These cables, even after break-in, lack refinement on top and present a foward sound. Compared to mid-level JPS Superconductor+, Transparent Super XL, NBS Master/Pro or even AP's more expensive reference Silver Oval (lacking bass), the Oval 9 will be embarassed. The imaging, soundstage, resolution and air simply can not compare with even mid-level cables. You hear a lot of people realizing great improvement over low quality cables like Monster...well, that's not aiming very high. Compared to cables at its own price range, it only above average and competent.

Similar Products Used:

JPS SC+, Transparent Super/Ultra/Ref, AP Silver Oval, NBS Master/Pro/Statement.

1) sound 2) beautiful look 3) Wire Gauge and 4) FLEXIBILITY.

T1 Spades loses silver plating...

I already had AQ Midnight & Crystal Speaker wires. But I ordered AP Oval 9 along with AQ Granite & Wireworld Oasis III to try them out. I ended up choosing AP Oval 9 because of its 1) sound 2) beautiful look 3) Wire Gauge and 4) FLEXIBILITY. 1) It sounds warm...and that's how things improve as you move up. This was like going from AQ Type 4 to AQ CV 4 or Granite but w/o brightness. All I ask for my speaker cable is that they are not bright and deliver warm yet detailed sound with solid bass and Oval 9 does just that. I'll leave it up to other gears to reproduce other sound qualities. 2) This is the most beautiful cable that I've seen to date. And it looks different than good old round cables in a hose. And suprisingly, AQ Granite looked so cheap...just IRREGULAR gray rubber wrapping around same old solid conducters. For me, if separating and isolating right and left channel improved sound that much, I'd rather go with AQ CV-4's in a shot gun style(CV- 4 uses same conductors as Granite). And AP oval 9 does separate/isolate right and left channels anyway. Even AQ Midnight and Crystal looked better than the new Granite, in my opinion. 3) The Oval 9's 9 gauge gives plenty of bass: Yes, size does matter when it comes to bass. I definetely heard the difference compared to AQ Midnight when I use Elite TFZ700. 4) The Oval 9 is the most FLEXIBLE speaker cable I've had - this was very very important factor for me because I want my floor to look pretty. This cable will bend in any way you like it(almost). I have planar speakers that I often move back and forth from front wall, and with AQ cables, I can't move them back close to wall because just aren't flexible enough. Needless to say, I returned AQ & Wireworld cables.  Words of caution. I bought Bi Oval 9's for my second system and its T1 spade's silver plating was almost completely gone. And my new Oval 9's T1's silver plating are starting to fade as well...something to consider. There is some instruction on how to treat copper oxidation on zucable.com.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Type 4, Slate, Crystal I & II, Midnight, Granite & Wireworld Oasis III, etc