Solid build, perfect design for bi-wire. Great value for wire that is under $10/foot. Fairly quick break-in period.

None that I can notice

Currently using SLATE for all my home theatre speakers in a Bi-wire configuration. Decided to review these cables after a year of breaking them in. I am quite satisfied with the performance of these cables. Very crisp, detailed reproduction of sound that is noticable when playing CD's or DVD's. This can only be achieved if all links in your audio setup are covered. Also using Audioquest Diamondback interconnects between my analog equipment and Audioquest Toslink-4 digital cables. I've found that SLATE is a perfect match for my Yamaha system. Accepting that my equipment is High Mid-Fidelity equipment, SLATE delivers a never before experienced sound quality that Monster, AR ore even lamp cord could deliver. There seems to be no evidence of RF interference as SLATE are well insulated and solidly built. I have become accustomed to these cables and the true quality is appreciated when visitors comment on the clarity of sound, providing that the speakers as well as the CD/DVD player had a hand in the sound reproduction as well. Overall, If I was using a 2 channel audiophile amp, SLATE would probably hinder your listening enjoyment. For a Yamaha RX-V3000 home theatre receiver and Mission Freedom 754F speakers, they do justice.

Similar Products Used:

Lamp cord (we all did as beginners) Accoustic Research Monster

Good tone of instruments. Fast, authoritative bass. Not bright.

Lacks vibrancy and echo effect.

Audioquet Granite vs. LAT International SS-800 LAT INTERNATIONAL SS-800 The LAT and Audioquest brought similar improvements to the sound but with a different tonality. I liked the LAT's looks the best. It is a ~1/2" dia. wire, deep translucent blue color, with large, high quality gold spades. These spades clamped very firmly to my speakers and amp. Even Nelson Pass is big on tight connections affecting sound quality. A positive description of LAT would be it makes the music more vibrant. Cymbals stood out more and I could hear echos, reverb of instruments in the hall where they were played, and artifical recording "echobox" affects more clearly. There was also more air and space around instruments and voices. This was similar in effect to the Harmonic Recovery System box I had in my system. With the HRE as a reference, I would call the effect the wire was making as inaccurate phase shift. Transient attack was quicker in the upper frequencies as well. I tried some cryo treated SS-1000 as well. It was like the SS-800 but better. I heard no bad effects from the treatment. Music had more body and was more solid. Transients such as drums were cleaner. The decay of notes dropped even further into a black background. The basic tonality of the wire was still the same. I would estimate the improvement as 25% to (optimistically) 50%, in the realm of how wire can improve the sound, over the uncryo'ed SS-800. To my ears, the LAT's tonality was not as accurate as the Audioquest Granite. I don't know if it's the silver plating or the woven construction. DH Labs Q-10 is silver plated but not woven. If I liked the sound of LAT International, I would definitely A/B IMS to the DH-Labs before deciding which I liked better. I used to have the Q-10 and it was similar the LAT but bigger bass as I remember. AUDIOQUEST GRANITE This was the second best looking wire. The green color reminds me of a lizard so not really appealing. It is a double helix design so is twice as wide the LAT. Spade were very good but not quite up to the strength and locking ability of the LAT. First impression when switching from the LAT was the music was louder. Music had a big, bold sound similar to Classe amps. There was definitely more bass and a slight muting to the upper frequencies. But since the B&W tweeter is plenty revealing and my room is reflective, this effect was welcome. Soundstaging was not quite as crisp as the LAT. But the big improvement was the more accurate tone of instruments. This is something I value highly. I kept going back to the Audioquest as the most accurate reference to the music. The bigger bass was also good because I could move my speakers further out into the room. This helped soundstaging over the LAT. My girlfriends opinion was the Audioquest sounded "faster" than the LAT. Maybe something to do with the bass. So $280 for $650 wire is a great deal. I would have bought the LAT (at about $270 / 12 ft pair) if I liked the sound better.

Similar Products Used:

DH Labs Q-10, Canare Star Quad, Mapleshade double golden helix (may be the best for low current speakers - similar to Audioquest but less bass)

Balance and clarity

Depth of bass

Auditioned single bi-wired Slates along with several others and found them to open up the highs much more than any others. Lost some depth in the bass but now my sound is much more balanced. Had Tara Labs Prime 500 and now know they are only appropriate for harsh, forward speakers. Note, however, my setup probably required brighter cable. I tried AQ Granite and found it similar to the Tara Labs in nature. Incredible richness in the bass, but muddled and reserved highs and midrange. The low-end Nordost (bi-wired) provided great clarity but completely washed out the lows. Setup: Denon 3300 receiver Sony DVP-S7700 Aerial 7 main Aerial CC3 ctr AQ VSD1 Interconnect

Similar Products Used:

Tara Labs, Nordost, Monster (ick), AQ Granite, various other obscure stuff I can't remember.

Natural clean & open sound. Detail and depth, bass, clarity & spaciousness.

A bit too spacial at times, otherwise nothing to fault.

I had Audioquest Indigo + cables until i tried the updated Slate version. Not too much difference but still noticeable enough for me to want to buy them! Clearer and more room filling base than the Indigo + without ever being overpowering. I have tried numerous other cables, most noticeably LAT SS800 but found them OK but too much for the size of my room. The Slate cables give a detailed presentation and seem to work particularly well with the NAD / PMC set up. Obviously everyones view is subjective but if you have a similar system and want a clear and natural room filling sound with presence then give them a go. If you like listening to thumping bass on dance tracks then this cable may be too tame. I am using these cables with : NAD 370 Amp NAD 540 CD Player PMC FB1 speakers LAT IC100 Mk2 Interconnect

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Indigo +, LAT SS800

I read all of the reviews about various cable brands, talked to manufacturers, and settled on the slate pair since it was on sale at audioadvisor, at 60% off. I truly felt that the sound difference was marginal, and I have very good ears. These weren't as expensive as some brands, but the 60% markdown makes you realize how much you are getting ripped off on the average wire. Like the navy man who wrote other reviews on this site, I am not convinced that anything more than guage matters. The more copper, the better the sound (I hope). The components you use make far more of a difference. I think I will be sticking with my lampcord wire for now. I also wouldn't bother bi-wiring (I have B&W CDM 7's). I even took out my bottom two inputs for the bi-wire to see if there was a sound difference and there was none. I really just couldn't hear it, although component changes I have made recently (DVD, speaker) have mattered a lot. This whole wire obsession of the audiophiles is a sham! I might buy a type 4 or 2 if it goes on sale for some marginal benefit, but I wouldn't spend a lot on wires, period. The most significant benefit is having easy banana plugs (the rotel is hard to hardwire as a receiver). Unfortunately, the audioquest bananas had a tendency to slip out of my B&Ws and my rotel. So, I'm skeptical of it all.

Well balanced top to bottom.

A little stiff to install and setup.

I have a double bi-wire pair. This is two complete separate lengths of cable that are combined at the amp end and and separate at the speakers. The Slate is usually a single or a single bi-wire, which is one cable split into 4 at the speaker end. These were a demo pair which is why I got them cheap. I have listened to other biwire cables listed below and the slate is the best of the bunch in the system used.

Similar Products Used:

MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire, Nordost Solar Wind Bi-wire.

clear smooth highs, well balanced bass

none that are obvious. A professional review said it lacked a tiny bit of soundstage depth, but was otherwise great.

I was auditioning speaker cable specifically for the B&W Nautilus 805 and SCM1 speakers for a home surround system. The Nautilus line of speakers has one of the best tweeters of any speakers IMO. It is smooth and extended with almost no distortion. Voice comes to life and is so easy to listen to ... that is if you use the right speaker cable. The Monster Z1 was just plain scary. On some old Linn speakers, the Z1 had a strong bass (a bit overblown) and a bit of a edgy high, but not too bad. The Audioquest Slate had slightly less bass, but a nicer high end, and an overall more balanced sound. On the B&W Nautilus 805, the Slate sounded smooth and sweet in the highs, similar to my DIY CAT5 cable, but not quite so "dark" sounding. The bass was clean and full and tight. It was wonderful. I listened for 15 seconds on the Monster Z1 to "I Can See Clearly Now" by Holly Cole, and I had to turn it off. What junk. The highs had a major case of treble grit and the bass was overblown. The same problem occurred with "zip" cord on a previous audition. I have tried a 20'' length of Kimber 4TC with the 805''s, and it sounded smooth, but lost a lot of life. I believe that a much shorter, bi-wired double run (making it effectively a single 8TC) at the store was much better. Sometimes length and guage does make a difference. So, different speakers react differently to cable, but "good" cable should generally sound good on most speakers. The slate is one of them, I think. I am a big fan of "Litz" and "Hyperlitz" designs, after hearing them and reading the physics behind them. If you want $1/foot cable and aren''t running a huge length (high capacitance), then go to http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/tweaks.html and make the TNT Triple T. If you want a good comercial cable for a reasonable price, I would have to say the slate is a great choice ($5.50/ft). I will be hooking it up to my Nautilus SCM1 side speakers soon.

Similar Products Used:

Monster Z1, Kimber 4TC, Cheap 10 guage zip cord, DIY 11 guage CAT5 cable (6 runs, 24 pairs of 24-guage)

bass, warmth in mids, took "etchyness" out of the highs, value

no so far

These made everything better the first day I put them on. I ordered these on sale from Audio Advisor. Really put the musicality back into my system after I added an overly revealing CD player. MUCH improved "airyness" and soundstage. I highly recommend this cable.

Sound excellent for the money.

??

I auditioned these cables along with 4 others. I had a friend come over and listen to them "blind" not knowing what he was listening to, or the cost of each cable. We also auditioned a Synergistic Research cable selling for $20 a foot, along with 3 others. I wish I could remember the names of the others. The only cable that we both liked almost as much as the Slate was the Synergistic Research cable. They sounded much better than all of the others! I highly recommend them.

Similar Products Used:

I tried out 5 differrent speaker cables.

Clear Sound, excellent build.

The Slates brought much needed clarity to my system. They are very neutral and added virtually no coloration to my already warm sounding system. They made a great improvement over the Straight Wire audio-newbie cables i used previously. The bass is tight and controlled and the mids are clear and detailed. There was alot more detail presented and the background was much more 'black' and quiet. The construction is good too: nice silver spade termination, thick insulation, and heavy gauge wire.

im sure there are better cables out there but probably not at this price and this good quality. They certainly brought my system to the 'next level' of audio reproduction.

i give them a 4/4 because they are a good value and sound great. Im sure there is a higher standard at some ridiculous price, so i will save the 5 for that.

System notes:
jolida 302a
marantz cd 5000/msb link dac iii
nad 533 tt/sumiko blue point/creek phono stage
kimber and audioquest interconnects.