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MSRP: $ 185.00 Description: 33 Reviews |
4.73 of 5 More Speaker Cables from DH Labs >>
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Reviewed by: HowardJ (AudioPhile)
Review Date March 18, 2011
Overall Rating 
4 of 5
Value Rating 
5 of 5
This is a review of the newer Q-10 Signature model. Externally, the look is new, with an attractive woven black jacket with some blue and white highlights. Internally, DH Labs tells me the purity of the copper has been raised from 6 nines to 7 nines, which is very high purity, and is continuous cast and virtually free of crystal barriers. This is very unlikely to be a lower purity than Kimber 8TC as someone said in a review below, so I think his information is really off. I also found the Kimber to have a zippy forwardness in the upper midrange that can be somewhat aggressive, so to say it is “much better” as he did really needs to be brought to light as a preference with his own particular system.
I have tried these cables in several systems, and I’ve found them to bring a very palpable nature. They have gorgeous highs with excellent high frequency imaging, smooth clear mids, and outstanding taut, clear, and deep bass with excellent impact and detail. If you use a sub now, you will probably be turning it down, or even off when stereo listening. High frequencies are very extended, with great bell-like clarity and ‘air’, and they never have an ‘etched’ quality. It’s a lively cable – involving and fun to listen through. If you system is lacking some life, definition, and sounds a bit too dull or laid back, you may find the Q-10s will really wake up your listening experience.
Compared to some reference caliber cables I’ve used, I’d say that while the midrange is a nice smooth delivery, well balanced, and very nice with vocals – it may lack some of the inner detail in the mids that one can find in much significantly more expensive cables.
The one thing I’d say as a caveat is that this cable can be quite revealing on upper frequencies. If your system is bright by nature, your speakers are already on the bright and edgy or aggressive side, or you have a gritty edgy sounding digital source, you may find these cables reveal even more of that brightness, and you may want a cable with more mellowing qualities. If they do come across bright, they do so in a smooth manner, so it’s not nearly as bothersome as if they were edgy and rough in the highs.
That said, I’ve found this cable sounding excellent in systems up to around $16,000 – they are at home there or even higher priced, just as some of the professional reviewers have said. At times, it has come out as my top choice even against cables costing 2-3 times their price. That makes them a very good value for the money.
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1. Kimber Kable 8TC 2. AudioQuest Type 4+ |
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