Beautiful Highs & Crystal Clear Vocals

A little tricky to terminate and ensure good contact with all wires in a double bi-wire configuration, but hey that's part of the fun!

I recently rounded out my system by moving to a double bi-wire configuration using AudioQuest CV-4. I have a Sony CD/DVD player DVP-C600D and STR-DA555ES Receiver, driving B&W DM603S2 Fronts, and CC6S2 Center, plus an ASW1000 Sub (with AQ Jade Sub connection) My rears are B&W LM-1's. I upgraded to this system a couple of months ago, and initially I had the system single wired with 16g stranded Tributary wire. I was delighted with the Home Theatre performance of this system, but I felt that something was missing when listening to audio tracks. They just didn't seem as crisp and crystal clear or as "live" as I wanted. I was also looking to have my ears "tickled" by the highs a bit more.

Double bi-wiring with AudioQuest CV4 answered my prayers! I couldn't be happier now! Even the wife can tell a difference(though she hated to admit it)! I got a great deal on CV-4 through Sound City. I terminated with Tributaries spades at the speakers and bannanas at the receiver.

I know a big part of the improvement I hear is as a result of bi-wiring, but I don't think the detailed clarity I am hearing would have been achievable without these cables. I've found that the Soundtrack to "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is an excellent CD for demonstrating the vast improvement I realized with this upgrade. I can hear the individual brush hairs as they play across the cymbals on some of the soft jazz tracks, and when I close my eyes it is eay to believe that the band is performing live in front of me (Imagine a dimly lit jazz club and a 4 piece band with a beautiful blond singer.......) but I digress! You get the point.

Beautiful imagery

None that I know

I find this cable absolutely brillant. Imaging is excellent. Music is so detailed and easy to listen to. The sound never fatigues (occassionally it does but that is my cheap Luxman CD player-does the job but is only adequate under rated for rest of my equipment). I am running single bi-wire(What does the person mean in previous review that this doesn't work) and have Audioquest Opal interconnects which I got at that same time. What hi-fi magazine made the comment(full review Oct 99 issue)in its back section that it didn't let bass through-anyone have comments-I think bass sounds great. E-mail if you want.

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Up-graded from Accusound speaker cable and interconnects (made in USA I think)

Clean, open, airy sound.

Not yet.

I was looking for a pair of entry level speaker wire to replace my 12 gauge generic. First tried Oval 12. Not bad but not overly impressed. Then came CV-4 (recommended by speaker's importer). The difference is quite obvious. I especially like their clean and clear high and mid frequencies. To save money I decided to go with bare wire. I treated the copper part with Deoxit and Progold to cut down the oxidation. I'm enjoying music instead of wondering whether my system is hindered by my generic cable.

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Analysis Plus Oval 12, generic 12 gauge

Good extremes and very good clarity

Something missing in the middle area

Bass is tight and deep enough maybe not as punchy as Audioquest Slate or other high section cables.
Highs very good and clear, overall very detailed and clear but lacks something in the middle area.
I compared it with Audioquest Slate which is slightly musical in may opinion (more mellow but the frequency response is linear ) but a little bit more expensive ($25 /m).
Finally I decided to use :
- CV-4 for the rears (17.5 meters) because they are more detailed and don't need bass punch for rears (Dynaudio rears are not bright and quite sensitive, and 4 ohms, no bi- wiring needed) + the cost is lower + the cable is thinner)
- Slate for front because of musicality (great bass) very well matched with my relatively bright Totem Forest and permits internal bi-wiring.

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Other form Audioquest, Straight Wire, Nordost