AudioQuest interconnects any good?

Does anyone have any experience with AudioQuest interconnects? I received a "closeout" catalog from Audio Advisor yesterday, & they have some REALLY good deals on a few different models of AudioQuest interconnects.

 

I have Audioquest SKY interconnects, and they are AMAZING (and expensive). Have heard Columbia, and they were very, very good. Would expect Niagara to fall somewhere in between. No real experience with anything down the chain, although I would expect Columbia (or anything else that uses the DBS system) to sound good, also.

 

I have an older pair. They are very smooth and a little sweet without being syrupy. The have a big soundstage but maybe not the last word in tight image focus.

Some cables may have more pinpoint imaging, but they are a little brighter in my experience. I had MITs before and they were a little too ripe, sweet and syrupy for my system.

All those that think cables sound the same can start throwing rotten tomatoes at me now.

 

I sold them for years and still have a few pieces in stock. I stopped selling them as we never sold that many and I didn't find that they represented a good value, as with any high priced cable. The problem is that people could put money into cables and neglect the electronics which is just stupid IMO. Many dealers even encouraged that but I find it offensive.

The better AQ cables do sound very good and are well made. Some fit a little tight to way too tight on some equipment. I have not had them actually break equipment though. i suppose they could if you got silly with it and put some really thick, heavy cables on a lightweight, plasticky DVD player, etc though. I have repaired quite a few pieces of gear which were damaged by another "monstrously tight" cable, which shall go unnamed...

The cheaper AQ cables are trash in fancy clothes IMO. They were better years ago. Still, they had reliability issues due to using solid core wire. I have repaired many sets of them. You can only flex them so far and so many times before they break so they were quite fragile in that way. Their more expensive designs are heavier and that is not such an issue though.
-Bill

 

They are the McDonalds of cable. They are sold by every mail order company and even the chains are carrying it now. Plus if you ever want to sell them the resale is worse than other cables. If you need cables look into Cardas, Acoustic Zen, Audience, Harmonic Technology.

 

I don't know about their high-end stuff, but I had an old pair of their RCA's that didn't sound very good. Smooth, but they didn't handle dynamics very well. A lot of definition and clarity was lost during louder passages. I got some Grovers and I haven't looked back since.

 

Check out bluejean.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

 

*sigh* would the phrase.. "trash in fancy clothes" happen to apply to the King Cobra??

 

It's all about synergy, and that generally goes for all audio equipment. Somethings mate together well, some don't. You may like something and I may hate it. Okay, I love the AQ cables, I'm running 72DBS Cheetahs between my pre and pwr amps, AQ Diamonds between my SUT and phono. I have the Diamondback cables everywhere else, CD, cassettes, tuner. What I did was to borrow a set of AQ cables a long time ago for a home demo and I ended up liking the sound (ugh! what ever it was that they do) and so they are the product for me. I happen to like components which present a warm and syrupy audio presentation, CJ, Vandersteen and AQ fit that bill. Bottom line the best way to tell if they will float your boat is demo a pair in your system.

I'm done.

m~

No sense of correct grammar was used in writing the above paragraph

 

I have some Audio Quest Copperhead cables. I use them for connections to my amp to preamp and CD player. I plan on trying some Blue Jeans Cables when I can though.

Pat

 

Yeah, I use Copperheads, too but I'm slowly switching over to Signal Cables. Great value for the money. Their speaker cables look like hoses but they soud great to my ears.

 

I'm a big fan of AQ cables. I've used them for years and they always sounded more neutral to my ears compared to MIT, Tara Labs, Kimber, and Monster at the same price point. I use the Columbias in my system now and love the transparency and lack of grain. Synergy is important so try to see if you can hear the cable in your system before you buy.

 

Ignore the naysayers. I use all Audioquest cabling throughout my system and I think their cables are as good as anything else out there. As far as interconnects go I use the AQ's Cheetah with 36V DBS and they are wonderful sounding cables.

 

Great cables on the cheap. I like the customizable ordering, too.

 

I think Bill is maybe being a bit too harsh here. I know I am careful with my cables and don't bend them all over the place willy-nilly to see if they will break!

I cannot say AQs are worth every penny over Bluejeans cables or whatever (I haven't heard them all) but the $150 AQ Diamondbacks (one step 'cheaper' than the King Cobras) I just got with XLRs (yes, thru Audio Advisor, for $125) seem well put together and sound good to me.

Yes, they look fancier and are 2X the price of the BlueJeans cables, but do they sound better? I don't know ...

 

When they replaced the old line with the current line, I took advantage of the discounting and bought a few Jaguar cables with the 36V dbs battery on them. I have no idea if they sound better or not, but every now and then, I get to press that little button to make sure that the battery is still good.

My wife: That seems pretty stupid . . .

 

Had A Few, Listened To A Few

I have owned and listened to a few AQ interconnects like the Copperhead, Diamondback and King Cobra but I did benefit from a change to Chord and then to Nordost Blue Heaven which are in the same price range as the King Cobra. I have used AQ Type 4 speaker and still use their 1 series for digital interconnects and component video cables. They are decent product, well constructed but never gave me any kind of "wow" factor. The various interconnect prices ranged from $65 to $200 so I have never tried the "really" high end models from AQ

 

No, I think their cables are pretty nice sounding and well made, starting with the Diamondback. They still have solid core wiring, so you still need to be careful about sharp bends and pulling on the jacket rather than the plugs at the cable ends to avoid damage. The King Cobra is where I would be most happy, given the price. That said, I haven't spent that much on cables in years.
-Bill

 

Thanks, Bill! Now Morph201 and I feel a lot better! Altho (I know) possibly Bluejeans cables would have sounded just as good (or better ...?). Oh well.

 

http://www.Signalcable.com

Great price, value, service. Frank is the man!

And I am picky.

 

I tried some Topaz (I think) interconnects a decade ago, and they actually compressed the sound. They were very stiff, and the terminators broke off and damaged my gear. I never used them again.

 

Bottom line: if you get an Audioquest IC, make sure it has the 72DBS.

Their best cables are some of the best in the world, IMO. Their Sky is the best IC I've ever heard.

Their cheap cables are absolutely terrible.

Hukk

 

What cables do you consider by them to be "cheap" and terrible sounding?

Thanks,

pat

 

The 72DBS cables start at $800/m pair ...