Detail, speed and transparency

Not the most forgiving cable, could be smoother.

I was looking for an affordable cable for both my main
system and a dedicated HT system, so I auditioned both the
copper-silver hybrid as well as the silver Tributaries.
The difference of $ 4/ft to $ 5.5/ft was not a factor.
The copper-silver SP4 sounded very good, and it was only
by careful A-B'ing with the system set in mono, attaching
one to the left and one to the right channel that the differences jumped out. THe SP5 had better bass transmission and slightly more upper level information.
The SP4, which is very close, actually sounds warmer and
smoother. I picked the SP5 due to the sense of aliveness
I heard on Tracy Chapmans classic first release.
As I was using a combination of Vandersteens driven by
NAD, the SP5 worked slightly better. And way better in the
home theatre. If your amp or speakers need taming, buy the
SP4's instead.

Similar Products Used:

SP4,STraightwire Sapphire