Focus, transparency, deep controlled bass and soundfield

Psychedelic yellow

No mincing words this is a dynamite interconnect. Right out of the packaging I notice a breath-taking clarity, focus, and dimensionality and a fast and weighty bass and sub-bass. In short, they let the music through. Very involving and insightful. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Monster Interlink Ref., Kimber PBJ (awful looks and build, constricted sound, Radio-Shack superior) This is high-end?, LAT-100d, MIT-Terminator 2

Very nice mid and high range frequency detail. Natural tone. Good depth of soundstage. Well defined bottom end.

Bass not as deep as rivals.

Bought this cable to replace Interdyn Integra series interconnect. The Integra is a fine product in its own right and retails for about 80 bucks AUS. Considering the IXOS was twice the price I thought I'd try them. Clarity, and detail are impressive. In my system this cable widended the sound stage considerably. Low frequencies while very precise really should be presented a bit more strongly (doesn't go that deep). But the bass that is there is tight, taut, fast and rythmic. Overall I think the IXOS has a very natural tone. I don't think it's a good choice to cure a bright system - that would only add to the problem. But if you are after detail, this cable will leave you pleased.

Similar Products Used:

Monster, Interdyn, Van den HUL

Looks, Connections

Bass attenuation, loss of clarity in mid-bass. Unshielded

This cable looked good, until I unscrewed one of the connectors to see the actual conducting wires. I was not impressed (although the solder showed a decent degree of workmanship). I have been using this cable in my system because I didn't know any better for about six months. It definitly sounds better than the supplied cables with my equipment, but something was definitely missing. There was very little 'presence' in the music, especially in the lower range. There was also some 'roll-off' in the treble and a lack of 'openess' in the sound. I then switched to some Transparent cables for comparison. The music came to life. I also tried some synergistics, and they gave some greater clarity, but were a bit too 'hot' for my Paradigm reference speakers (they tend to be a bit 'bright' when paired with the wrong equipment). The IXOS cable just gets the job done, but with no added benefits. There is a loss of information in the upper and lower ranges, and this leads to a flatter sound-stage, and a lack of 'openess' (or 'airiness') in the sound. I hope this review is helpful, although I truly despise all the audiophile terminology I needed to use in order to write it.

4-stars for value because of how cheap you can get this cable for nowadays.

3-stars for overall performance (compared to wires near its available price point and at its MSRP price point)

Similar Products Used:

Transparent, Synergistic, Tara Labs

Looks nice, cheap

I have used this cable and compared it to the Van den Hul cable and I cannot tell the difference. Both cables sound very good and all the details are coming through great. It is also £40 cheaper than the V.D.H. It is a great buy.

Similar Products Used:

Van Den Hul D 102 MK III

Build and Sound quality

None

This is a review for IXOS Gold Series 1000 Studio interconnects. Since there isn't anywhere else to post for this cable I'll do it here.
I purchased this cable on-line for $99.97 a pair; they normally sell for $224.99 a pair. I have broken them in for about 40 hours now and I can't believe the level of detail that these interconnects have revealed. I thought the Kimber PBJ were going to stay in my system for a long time but when I saw these IXOS at this price I just had to try them. I was initially impressed by the build quality of these cables and right out of the box they sounded better than the Kimbers. I have always been a skeptic about how much cables could affect your sound system but as my components have increased in quality I have become aware of the importance of good speaker cables and interconnects.
As far as I'm concerned these cables are as good as it gets.
I tried the Transparent musica cables that cost almost $200.00 pair but they did not sound as good as the PBJs.
These IXOS cables are another story altogether. I like to decride cables by what they do not do to the signal. Some people will say a cable is bright or has no bass, etc. But cables don't add anything to the sound they detract. so the best cables do the least damage. They allow the signal to pass unaffected or at the very least as unaffected as possible. In this way the IXOS cables are the least degrading cables I've heard. They allow all of the frequencies to arrive at their destination intact. If they are rolling off the higher frequencies or the bass in any way it's not noticeable. I have an SACD player which has the highest frequency range of anything available currently, even greater than DVD audio, and these cables do not negatively affect the signal in any way.
You hear the softest wisper to the deepest bass and the highest highs as crisp and smooth as with any cable in any system I have ever heard.
A friend of mine was over this weekend that used to record and tour with Vern Gosden. He played the mandolin in his band. He could not believe what he heard on my system. He had never even heard that level of detail at the studio he told me. So I know that the IXOS cables were doing thier job. They were getting out of the way of the music. that is the best compliment you can give any audio component.
These cables are a hidden treasure. I will be getting 3 more pair to await my addition of an DVD audio player into my system. These are the last cables I will ever own, period!

Similar Products Used:

Monster 400, Kimber PBJ, Transparent

best-sounding budget interconnect i used so far. fluidity/sense of ease is the 1st impression. overall smoothness comes next. not to forget tuneful bass and good layering. evaluations were made in an all-tube system. works well with gamma 6003 as speaker cable.

The cable boasts fine detail, but lacks deep bass, and can sound too flat. The whole audio-spectrum is somehow incoherent, and does not have a musicality of similar priced products. Cheaper cable Ixos 104 Custom sounds better.
System used:
Audio Analogue Puccini int.amp
Harman/Kardon CD 740 CD player (as a transport)
MSB LinkDac D/A converter (QED Digiflex coax.cable)
Mission 773e speakers
FFRC speaker cables (DIY from TNT-Audio)

Similar Products Used:

Straight Wire Chorus, Cable Talk Advanced 2

Very round, robust sounding cable

Not the most detailed cable in the world

This review is for the 1000, the gold series of this cable.

IXOS is another British product that deserves better distribution in this country. I bought this cable for my Home Theater system, but it gets promoted to my hi-end system. I enjoy it most in series with a more-detailed, but slightly bright cable such as the Kimber KCAG.

The IXOS provides a very deep and wide soundstage. The sound it provides converts a versatile and cable inducive amp like the Monarchy SM-70 into a very tube-like transducer.

Equipment:

Monarchy SM-70 pros
Audible Illusions MOD 3A
Kimber PBJ and KCAG interconnects
DHLabs Speaker Cable
Monarchy 22B DAC
Theta Data Basic Dig Transport
XLO ref digital cable

I enjoy this cable immensely and feel that it's an excellent product in the current price range.

Similar Products Used:

XLO ref, DHLabs Silver Sonic, Kimber PBJ

Overall clarity & transparency; clear highs and mids

Bass attenuation, esp. lower frequencies

Broke these 1m cables in and tested against above mentioned cables. Highs and mids came through clearly, no harshness unlike the Monster, which sounded screechy at times. But the weak bass had me disappointed. The MIT Labs and the Monster both had better bass, but not quite as clear.
The IXOS at $50 are a great value though, against the $80 MITs and $120 Monsters (both 1m lengths).

Similar Products Used:

Monster Reference 2; MIT Labs Terminator 2

Bright and clear

I also bought these cables for half price from Audio Advisor. I have tried many different brands of cables, all in the $80-$100 list price per meter range. I have found the Ixos to be the best in my system. They have silver plated conductors which makes them brighter than the other cables I have used (none of which employ silver). This is perfect for me because my equipment is very warm and I needed something to brighten it up a little. I would caution anyone with an already bright system on going with these cables, however. They probably wouldn't be BAD per se, but if you want to tune your system for warmth, these won't help. As always, you must give them a try, and I believe Audio Advisor gives 10 days or 30 days or something like that. Still, the cables are not in any way that I can tell OVERLY bright. I think they would do quite well in most systems and I would choose them over the Audioquest or MIT's even if I had a bright system. The Ixos basically match the clarity of the Nordost, yet add a crisp feel to the sound. At their full price, they are a decent buy. If you can still get them for $45 a pair, they're a steal.

Associated equipment:
B&K AVR1030 preamp
CAL Icon CD player
Musical Fidelity A3CR power amp
Paradigm 9se mains
Nordost biwire cables

Similar Products Used:

Nordost Black Knights, Audioquest Topaz, MIT Terminator 3, Wireworld Atlantis