Everything

DON'T listen to these if you aren't prepared to pull out the credit cards - they will ruin you from ever wanting to use any other cable and the admission price is steep for the new stuff.

So I see all the "hype" here and think "RIIIGHT, the owner must have sent a bunch of buddies to Audio Review because no cable gets consistent 5's." Then I took a listen. I don't want to turn my cd player off now. The crazy thing that sets these apart from others is that they, somehow, extend the upper end without causing brightness. It's like you took the roof off of your listening room! Bass is super tight and rich. Depth of field is better than most and tonal quality is as accurate as I've heard. You can play these all day without even a trace of listener fatigue. Simply amazing.

Similar Products Used:

Tara, MIT, Monster, Audioquest, IXOS

Clear, open and balanced. Very natural sounding.

To suggest anything would really be nitpicking.

This review is for the ZCable "Live" v.3 model. These cables are great. I only have about 20 hours on them but already they sound very open and natural. They are also very balanced from top to bottom. Imaging is rock solid. The soundstaging is excellent also. I have heard cables with a bit larger soundstage but it didn't seem as natural or coherent. I know it sounds cliche'd but everything just seems right with these cables. Nothing is exagerrated, just clear and open. By the way, dealing with Mark Hampton, the owner, has been a pleasure. Check 'em out. As you can see from the previous reviews, I'm not the only one who really appreciates these cables.

Similar Products Used:

HT Pro-Silway, Acoustic Zen

Superior performance in all respects

None

I recently acquired the Zcable “Live v3” and “Digital Blues” interconnects to replace comparably priced products from a well known manufacturer. The Zcable interconnects, in combination, with their superior speaker cables have made an amazing improvement in the overall performance of the system. I was considering upgrading my front-end equipment but the addition of these interconnects proved to be a better solution. In Summary, Great products that deliver superior performance. Excellent customer service. Highly Recommended. Visit the Zcable web site.

Similar Products Used:

Other well known products

strong in all areas

none

These cables and interconnects sound great. Seductive and addictive are two words that immediately come to mind when listening with the passion speaker cables and live interconnects in my system. Before buying these cables I was considering updating my source, a marantz 63se cd player. The player was just not good enough to listen to when feeding my martin logan sl3s. I did try different players costing 6 times the price of the marantz but the improvement was not great enough. Maybe the quad 606 needed to be upgraded etc. etc. After reading the reviews and checking out the zcable website, I took a chance and purchased both the passion speaker cable and the live interconnects. (They do have a 30 day trial period guarantee, so chance is the wrong word) Wow the improvement was amazing in all areas. The soundstage grew in width, depth and height. The base became fuller and tighter. The midrange has body and presence. The highs are sweet. Yet the sound can become energetic when the music calls for it. Detail is also a strong point. Of course I have not heard every cable out there but I have heard a couple of mega buck cables that are just not in this league. Yes I do plan to upgrade my source but if I had to keep one part of my system it would definitely be the zcables.

Similar Products Used:

mega buck cables

Huge soundstage, extremly full & detailed without being bright or overly pronounced

None to be witnessed yet

I'm going to skip the 18 page mini journal review of techno-bable(as seen on previous pieces)and get to the point. I did'nt want to play the cable game, and now I don't have to. The live interconnects are far superior to any cables I've owned or listened to. I don't care how critical of an audiophile you may be..... but you'd be a silly one not to give these a whirl. EXTREMELY FULL, EXTREMELY DETAILED, EXTREMELY NEUTRAL. On performance vs. price the live cables are off the charts, way to go Z-cable.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest, Kimber, Wireworld

Tonal cohevence, smoothness, fluid, natural sound.

None

First of all, I never thought cables would make a big difference in my audio system. I had bought Harmonic Tech Pro Silway Mk II interconnects, 11 Pro Plus speaker cables, and their Magic Digital One digital cable a while ago. I thought I was happy. On vacation to a friend of mine in Kansas, I heard his system with ZCable through out. He swore to me that it had been the ZCable cables that had transformed his system. Now I WAS miserable. I got back to Dallas. I didn't sleep that well. Being an audiophile IS an illness! The cure I thought was to try ZCable in my system. I visited there website www.zcable.com and started to read. A lot of it sounded like black magic to me. (no pun with their speaker cable) What the *!*(#)@ was "Optimization"? I read their site, and I still didn't know! But I kept remembering the seductive sound of my friend's system. I emailed ZCable and got a response back from Mark Hampton, the president of ZCable. After several emails back and forth, I order a DIGITAL DUET from their website. Mr. Hampton suggested to start with the digital cable, in order to "lay the foundation" in my system. He was right. Initially the DIGITAL DUET sounded out of tone. Mr. Hampton warned me that the cable need break in, and to be patient. After 48 hours, I really started to hear things I never heard before. I didn't know that my B&W 802 could be that dynamic. The sound was tighter, and yet fuller at the same time! I didn't understand, but I didn't care how the DUET could do that! The tone was much more correct. The highs to the lows, all seemed to fit together better. More coherent. And then, there was the smoothness. Not lack of detail. The detail went up. But still, there was a smoothness to the sound. Now I was hooked. Perhaps Mr. Hampton and ZCable are a plot to separate me from my money! :) Next I order 2 pair of LIVE interconnects. These to use between my preamp and amps. OH BABY! This WAS a big difference! Oddly, the improvements were similar to the DIGITAL DUET. The LIVE simply added to the benefits of the DUET. The sound became even more natural, less synthetic, less hifi. There really became a sense that the music was in my living room. It didn't sound like a recording anymore. Now there was an illusion of reality to the sound. On FIM's SACD of "Jazz at the Pawn Shop", all of the back ground and the instruments sounded very real, natural, and right. On my Dorian recordings of piano, the glare of the piano notes went away. There was a soulfulness to the music. I have no audiophile terms for this effect. More SOUL. SO, I HAD to order the speaker cables. I ordered a pair of the PASSION bi-wired cables. I couldn't wait for them to arrive. I only needed 6 ft lengths to connect to my Bryston 7B monoblocks. Mr. Hampton didn't have the 6 ft in stock. I had to WAIT for the next production run. This is the bad news about the ZCable "Optimization" routine. It makes special order length take longer. Because they Optimize the cables for weeks. My PASSIONs took 3 weeks to arrive. I thought my head would explode, while I waited. Audiophiles are SO patient. I hooked up the PASSIONs, and heard an immediate improvement. Again, more dynamic, better detail, body, and SOUL. I got bass out of the 802s I thought I would never get. The speakers became quicker. It was like the Brystons were able to take better control of the speakers, now. My whole system was more powerful, more impressive. Still, the nuance and detail of the music was more defined. Now I need to buy some power cords. Got to save some money first. So, save yourself some time. Test ZCable in your system. WARNING: They ARE addictive. The only cure is MORE. They have a 30 day money back guarantee. I doubt if you will ever have to use it. Do I understand what "Optimization" is? NO. Do I know what it sounds like? Yes, heaven.

Similar Products Used:

Cardas, Silver Audio, Bear Labs

Everything: clarity, definition, imaging. See review.

None

When I decided to update my system, interconnects and power cords were the last thing on my mind. I needed a new amplifier, and I thought tubes would be less shrill and fatiguing. For reasons that are best left to another review, I ended up replacing my old Denon integrated amplifier with a modified Parasound HCA 350 and a Saga preamp--both solid state. I replaced the aging Denon DCD 1420 CD player with a Toshiba SD-9100. I also installed a dedicated power circuit. The only thing not replaced were my homemade speakers, though they underwent several revisions. They are three-ways with Dynaudio drivers. The 30W54 woofer is in a transmission line.
The point of this lengthy introduction is that I had already made enormous improvements to my system, and I was beginning to wonder if much more improvement was possible when I was introduced to ZCable's LIVE interconnects and their power cords. I was amazed. The power cords added smoothness and depth of image. They removed congestion I had not known was there, improved the rendition of timbre at all frequencies, especially in the bass, and increased the transparency. They added a sense of power with no sense of strain.
The LIVE interconnects, which connected the Toshiba to the preamp and the preamp to the power amp, contributed the same qualities but made an even bigger difference. They dramatically increased the transparency and clarity without adding harshness. In my system they are significantly responsible for giving me the smoothness of tubes and the transparency of solid state. The smoothness is not, however, a gloss imposed by the cable. If the source is harsh, the cables will not make it sound smooth. Rather, the wizards at ZCable have figured out how to make this cable get out of the way of the music to let the music's full character come through.
This power cord and interconnect combination delivers a sound of extraordinarily deep texture no matter how complex the material.
ZCable has made two excellent products that really do make a big difference, and they have done it at a very reasonable price for what they deliver. Check them out at their website at http://www.zcable.com.
Product year was really 2001, but that was not a choice in the drop down box above.

Similar Products Used:

Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling, Cardas Quadlink 5

Dynamic, better bass, more dimensional, better soundstage, more musical.

-None-

Let me begin by simply stating that as part of my home remodel project, I wanted to finally get in place my dream “Home Theater System”. Being the anal person that I am and since I was doing a lot of my own remodel work, I did not have the time to research on what would be the best components to purchase. A good friend of mine help me chose the following; Denon receiver, Pioneer DVD, 36” Toshiba, JBL & Definitive speakers. Due to budget limits I decided I would have wait, and update to bigger and better video at a later date [hoping prices will drop and technology will improve].

Upon purchasing my DVD, I also purchase your basic store bought digital cable. After having basically crap or no system before, I thought the system sounded pretty good. But a friend of mine suggested that maybe digital cable connection was not up to par. Having been in the computer field for 20 years, I thought that surely a little 1-meter “digital cable” could not be that significant. For the money he recommended trying “Better Cables” which had received some good reviews from various audio experts. So for 60 dollars, the result was better than my cheap store bought cable.

After about a month my friend tells me he has found an even better digital cable, and proceeded to bring over a $255 “Cardas” [Ultra Digital Coax] and his own new DIGITAL DUET by “ZCable” to test both on my system. The “Cardas” seemed to be about the same as my $60 “Better Cable”. But after he put the DUET ZCable on, I simply could not believe how great it sounded. As he had just installed it, I asked “did you turn-up the volume”, he chuckled and said “nope that just the ZCable”. To me the sound was much more spacious, open, dynamic, and most importantly very realistic. We played around with all three cables, and it hard to believe that switching what appears to be very similar looking digital cables, could make such a dramatic difference on the entire Entertainment System.

I wasted no time in ordering my own “DIGITAL DUET” cable direct from their Internet site at www.zcable.com, got it in about week, and I have NO regrets. I must also add that I don’t not fully understand all the science behind the Zcable Optimization process, but it truly works wonders and I’m a believer!!!

Lastly I’m don’t consider myself an audio/video expert and I don’t usually go onto the Internet to express my experiences, but I feel compelled to share my findings with the other audio/video buffs. It amazes me that I’ve got about 6,000 dollars wrap in my entire system, and how a mere $395 cable investment could dramatically improved and transform the sound quality by a least 30-40 percent. Do yourself a favor, check out the “DIGITAL DUET” cable, it will make your “Home Theater System” sound many times better for a fraction of the your overall investment, it will be money well spent.

Similar Products Used:

Better Cable, Cardas

All of Zcable is Live,Bass control,Balance,Neutral,Air,Near to perfect.

None

When I play a Hi-Fi more, I found that my score of playing Hi-Fi is very low. I start to doubt that is it something wrong in my hi-fi sytem again.
I think my system deeply again. I don't want to pay more money in my hi-fi system. I think that I had expense many money in Hi-Fi. It is enough.
I decide to sold my expensive cable to second hand market and use a cheap cable in my existing system. I told to myself an one fact. The equipment should be enough to play a good sound effect. If it can't to do it, I should accept this case.
I start to re-search a new cable to my system. It is another
long story. At last, I find a Zcable.
I found that the Zcable have full series of Hi-Fi cable. It is fit to my new idea. All of cables are used by one company.
I buy from Zcable are :
1 PCs of Lightning Power Cord (Sphinx Project 32 CD Player)
2 PCs of Thunder Power Cord (Matisse Atom Per-Amp & Jadis DA5 Power Amp)
2 PCs of Live RCA & Balance to RCA Cable
1 Pcs of Purple Passion Speaker Cable (Aulos Speaker)

I had use Zcable near to 3 months. I want to say it is very
excellent cable in the hi-fi world. It is worthy to buy.
Their cable can give you one thing which I can't listen before. It is "live".
All of cables have a similar style. In my personal feeling,
I think that the best buy is "lightning". It is very suitable for CD Player. The greatest effect is speaker cable. It can give the "live" to you immediately.
The zcable is very slowly to warm up. I found that I need to burn-in the zcable over 200 hours. 50 hours is not enough.
After the 200 hours burn-in period, It give me another surprise again. The bass is very excellent. My hi-fi system have booming before I use Zcable. Now, It is disappear!
I think that I don't need to say more about Zcable. If you
are live in U.S.A., Just call Mark to send a cable to you. It is because you can test Zcable within 30 days.If you are live in another country, I would say it is worthy to let you get a risk!
After you use a Zcable, you will found that you had pay more
money to Hi-Fi cable before!

So sorry to my poor english.

Similar Products Used:

Wire World Gold Ellipse II & III,PS Audio Mini-Lab power cord, Onix Grand Master power cord, Matisse Reference Power cord, Harmonic Tech PRO-11 AC Power Cord & Speaker Cable....etc.

I let the LIVE cable “break in” before doing any serious listening. My initial observations when I put the LIVE in, the biggest thing that hit me was the large change in the bass response of my speakers. I control my bass through the use of a Legacy Audio Steradian. The Steradian allows you to contour your bass response to fit your room acoustics, sort of an environmental processor. I immediately had to readjust the bass to compensate for the large increase the LIVE added to the lower frequencies. Once readjusted, the bass frequencies seem much more natural than with the JPS cable. The other quick observation was there was already a widening of the soundstage and a much clearer presentation of the music. My anticipation of what the LIVE ZCable would do in my system started to grow.
After 4 days, I decided the LIVE should be “broken in” and ready for evaluation. Whether the “break in” changed anything noticeably, is a controversial subject. I just wanted to give the cable the benefit of any doubts. My opinion is it did not change appreciatively. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as you will no doubt notice later in my comments.

Even though I thought I noticed a change when initially installed, I still was not expecting a noticeable improvement. Boy was I not even close!!! I finally decided it was time to sit down and try to explain what I heard as I found myself writing the same comments over and over again, no matter what CD I listened to. As I looked over my notes, phrases like these kept showing up:

Great soundstage,
Crisp Keyboards,
Awesome tenor sax,
Great depth and could really placed the drums in the background,
Superb detail,
What realism,
Smooth and clear vocals,
Oh so natural sounding,
Quick and tight bass,
Extremely natural sounding cymbals,
Detailed and natural decay of piano notes

And the list goes on. The type of music really didn’t matter; the comments were the same. Some of the CDs I listened to were Dave Brubeck’s "In Their Own Sweet Way", Patricia Barber’s "Café Blue", Fourplay’s "4", Deanna Bogart’s "The Great Unknown", Duke Robillard’s "New Blues for Modern Man", Sarah McLaclen’s "Surfacing" and Keb Mo’s "Just Like You". From reviewing my notes, I know exactly how ZCable came up with the LIVE name for this cable. It was so much like being at the concert, live. For example, I attended a recent jazz and blues concert put on by our local radio station featuring Deanna Bogart, Duke Robillard and Freddie Cole. When I listened to Deanna’s and Duke’s latest CDs, I could easily visualize the concert. The musical presentation was exquisite. Duke Robillard plays a mean guitar and some of his solo guitar interludes were just downright awesome with the LIVE.

To try and summarize, the LIVE’s imagining was outstanding, it was holographic. Overall presentation was extremely natural, wide and deep. The bass was quick and tight. The midranges were ever so sweet while the highs were very crisp and natural. The music just was there. It made me forget about all the equipment and just listen to the music and enjoy. This is a very good cable. You won’t be getting any returns on this cable, including mine.

Associated Equipment:
Cd Player: Acurus ACD-11
DVD Player: Sony S7000
Pre-amplifier: Onkyo TX-SV727
Power Amplifiers: Clayton Audio M70s
Legacy Audio 4/3/2
Front Speakers: Legacy Audio Signature III
Center Speaker: Legacy Audio Cinema II
Rear Speakers: Legacy Audio Studios
Accessories: Legacy Audio Steradian
Harmonic Recovery System
True Dimension Sound Passive Audiophile
Interconnects: Assortment of JPS, NBS, Legacy Audio and TEK LINE
Power Cords: TEK LINE PC-12Ws or PC-3Ws
Speaker Cable: Synergistic Research Resolution Reference