This was an 8' pair non-biwired. It replaced (?) Straightwire Rhapsody 4' pair.I mention the lengths because I believe in shorter runs rather than longer.
My immediate impressions of the Plus:
Many of the typical audiophile virtues such as improved image separation, better tone quality. On comparing Stan Getz sound through the Plus vs. Rhapsody, no question it's better in the sense of smoother, more liquid. Effect of the cable was to smooth out the sound, almost soften it. Dynamics good. Bass good, but not subjectively better than the Rhapsody. Treble pretty good, although a subjective sense of high-frequencies being filtered out. Sense of rhthym is hurt somewhat by the tendency of the cable to separate and emphasize everything.
I make these remarks with some sense of caution, because, not having the greatest system in the world, I don't want to attribute any perceived drawbacks to the cable when it could be my system's fault. A better cable will bring out both the strengths and weakness of a system that much more, and I feel that much of the problem with amateur reviews of high-end cables is that half the reviewers don't have systems that are up to snuff, and many others simply don't realize that cables can be a mismatch in certain systems, which does not make them over-priced villains.
I'm not sure yet if these cables will replace my long-time Rhapsodies. The Transparents have many virtues and may win me over. But the typical audiophile virtues are not all that important to me, I tend to go for dynamics and a overall sense of top-to-bottom coherency. Perhaps the Rhapsodies "mask" some weakness and thus give that greater coherency. But the Plusses may still have some burn-in time left ...

… Transparent Musicwave Plus speaker cables have much the same “technicolor” effect (as the Plus interconnects) … In my view the Plus interconnects are marginally superior to the Plus cables. It’s been said in reviews that the Plus speaker cables are tonally “off” in the lower octaves – a pretty serious criticism and one I would agree with. If in fact the higher-priced offerings from Transparent correct this defect, fine and dandy, but I for one am not about to pay thousands to find out if the upgrade improves, when something like a 6 foot length of Rhapsody Straightwire is better. Considering this experience now, I’d say that I was attracted to the mystique of these cables, with their good looks and mysterious filter boxes, and that’s probably why a lot of people are attracted to them, but all that is a lot of clever marketing. Try before you buy.

Some of the worst sounding cable I have owned

They are well balanced but treble is a bit too sweet. Good focus and transparency. Not very detailed, neither very revealing. Imaging is good with nice depth. Overall, they sound to polite.

Extremely detailed mid-range and highs; Smooths out many of the "rough" edges on certain equipment

compromises some aspects of the music detail in the very, very high frequencies.

As with any cable purchase, you simply must try it with YOUR system. All of it is a bit too subjective unless YOU are satisfied. Build quality and support at Transparent Audio is great. (speak to Doug) Well worth a listen!

Similar Products Used:

Kimber 8TC, Straightwire

Good imaging and clarity. Reveals weak links in overall system. Very good reproduction of mid-range and imaging qualities that are sometimes phenomenal.

Long break-in period - at least 48 hours.

Great stuff and worth an audition!

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I was very surprised at the quality of this cable - it's expensive, but worth it. Upgraded from Kimber and found this to be much more neutral and detailed. The break-in is a tough time - cable sounds poor, but then "sweetens" up after 40 - 50 hours of use. Very satisfied overall. Bought used through e-bay - new price was over $600.

Brings out the low end and excellent sound stage

pricy, too detail.

I have a 10' pair and it really brings out the light of
the music. My Altec Lansing speakers are 13 yrs old but
this cable really brings out something I was missing for
the past 10 years. It really brings out the detail on the
low end and it also redfines the true sound stage

Good Imaging, bass clarity, and pleasing reproduction of the higher frequencies.

leads are difficult to work with

picked up a set in bi-wire configuration on e-bay for $275. Great cable for the money. Running with Denon AVR3200 and NAD2600a amplifier - Mirage Speakers. Very nice, highly recommended products. I own their digital interconnect as well - good performance for $85. Enjoy the music.

Similar Products Used:

too many to list

quiet, unintrusive, expanded low end (over MusicWave)

high cost (but worth it)

Last year I bought a pair of speakers, B&W Nautilus 805s, and needed some better speaker cable. I always believed that anyone who spent more than $50 for a pair of speaker cable was out of their mind, so I approached Transparent Cable with disdain. The salesperson at Definitive could relate: he had me take home sets of MusicWave and MusicWave Plus to put between my 805s and Rotel RMB-100 monoblock amps, to compare to the monster cable I had in my system already (the equivalent of the M Series). He also loaned me an 8ft pair of MusicLink Interconnect to get to the amps from my pre-amp. I laughed and said why not, I'd give them a try.

I performed every set of A/B swapping I could think of, and after a full weekend at it I was amazed - the difference between the Monster and MusicWave Plus speaker cable was more dramatic than upgrading my source CD player from a lowly Sony 5-disk changer to the well-rated Rotel RCD-971! I am now able to extract more detail, and get more in the low end than I ever was before.

Before listening to the MusicWave Plus, I did A/B comparisons with my original cable and the MusicWave. The MusicWave was definitely a step up from the Monster Cable, cleaning up line noise in the high end and adding a level of detail I wasn't aware speakers could deliver - like bringing them a foot closer to my ears. The high end got a bit brighter, but I can't say it extended the frequency range any.

Going from the MusicWave to the MusicWave Plus, I noticed better separation of sounds throughout the spectrum, a quieter quiet, and an extension of frequency range both up and down. The 805s are not bass-resplendent, but they do not just drop off either - the MW Plus gives me more reach, if not more volume at the lower end of the spectrum. Treble is brighter too, which sounded great (but now after a year of ownership leaves me feeling like it is slightly too bright).

My wife had to be sold too, and she's not nearly as excited about music as I am. Her immediate impression of our new speakers (having moved from a pair of 15-year-old Maggie IIBs that gave us a wall of sound in a small room) was that they fit in the room much better and looked nice. Having already bored her with A/B comparisons between my Sony CD player and the Rotel 971, she wasn't in a mood to sit through speaker cable swaps... until I showed her the price. She demanded a test drive. I played her favorite music first on the Monster Cable and then the MusicWave Plus, and she asked me to do it again. She was astounded: "forget the CD player, get the cables!" I agreed.

Similar Products Used:

monster cable