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#69450 - 03/25/09 05:50 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
strindl Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 02/23/09
Posts: 94
Loc: Waukesha, Wisconsin
Quote:
I guess I may try a couple things with my interconnects as well as maybe the speaker cable I'm using in my front speakers to see if I can eek out a bit more sounds. It's not like things are bad. Quite to the contrary, they are very good. I just have this feeling they can be better.
There was a time when I spent gobs of money on fancy interconnects. I still have some 3 foot lengths of Kimber KCAG pure silver balanced cables that I think I paid 400 bucks for. They sound very good and I still use them in my main system, but I would never spend that kind of money on cables now.

I just bought a pair of Monster Studio Link 2m balanced XLR cables to hook the output of my 990 to a Threshold S500e power amp. I paid 60 bucks for the pair at a local store for musicians and DJ's. Cables like that at a high end audio store would cost far more.

I tried swapping those Monsters with the far more pricy Kimber KCAG's, and heard not one bit of difference on some very revealing speakers.

You do need to buy decent well made cables and speaker wires, but there is certainly a point beyond which paying any more is a waste of money.

I saw in a review that Gonk did of a piece of gear, that he tried some 5 buck XLR microphone cables as an interconnect in a multi channel setup. He also said he then tried some more expensive Outlaw XLR's in their place. I'd be interested in his experience with that swap. Did you hear a difference?
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Integra dhc 9.9
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(2) Threshold S200's
Thiel 3.6 main speakers
(2)Velodyne F1500r subs
Polk RTI28 surrounds
B&W HTM center
OPPO BDP-83 universal player
Samsung HLT6187 led DLP

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#69451 - 03/25/09 07:13 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
IndyScammer Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 03/17/09
Posts: 15
Loc: Indianapolis
Quote:
Originally posted by Brax:
One of the best sounding CDs I have heard is The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over. What really sounds good in multi channel is the Blue Ray or Heart, live in Seattle.
Sorry to "hi-jack" this thread but if you like "Hell Freezes Over" get the Eagles "Farewell I" DVD (In the Gold colored box). Recorded in 2004 in Australia...this is really my Reference standard for 5.1 music. In addition you get 4 Joe Walsh solo tunes and a whole new version of Hotel California. Listen for the horn section!! (Yes he said horn section) cool laugh eek

My other favorites: Peter Gabriel "Play" - all his videos remixed personally by P.G. in 5.1 !!!!!! Billy Joel - "The Essential Video Collection" - remixed in 5.1, ZZTOP Greatest Hits Video Collection - yep 5.1. I also have a DVD Audio of Fleetwood Mac's Rumors album which is exceptionally remixed.

I've found that except for the Eagles who record their live concerts in multi-channels with all music - no arena crowd noise for the back channels, the studio material (i.e. albums and videos) translate better into the format for obvious reasons.
_________________________
Klipsch RF-35 L/R
Klipsch RC-7 C
Paradigm Focus SL/SR
Klipsch RW12d SW
Yamaha RX-V557 (the reason I'm here)
Samsung BD-P1600
Motorola POS - HD Cable
Samsung HL-T5676S (DLP)

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#69452 - 03/25/09 09:48 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
Ritz2 Offline
Desperado

Registered: 01/27/09
Posts: 414
Loc: Virginia
Quote:
Originally posted by strindl:
Quote:
I guess I may try a couple things with my interconnects as well as maybe the speaker cable I'm using in my front speakers to see if I can eek out a bit more sounds. It's not like things are bad. Quite to the contrary, they are very good. I just have this feeling they can be better.
There was a time when I spent gobs of money on fancy interconnects. I still have some 3 foot lengths of Kimber KCAG pure silver balanced cables that I think I paid 400 bucks for. They sound very good and I still use them in my main system, but I would never spend that kind of money on cables now.

I just bought a pair of Monster Studio Link 2m balanced XLR cables to hook the output of my 990 to a Threshold S500e power amp. I paid 60 bucks for the pair at a local store for musicians and DJ's. Cables like that at a high end audio store would cost far more.

I tried swapping those Monsters with the far more pricy Kimber KCAG's, and heard not one bit of difference on some very revealing speakers.

You do need to buy decent well made cables and speaker wires, but there is certainly a point beyond which paying any more is a waste of money.

I saw in a review that Gonk did of a piece of gear, that he tried some 5 buck XLR microphone cables as an interconnect in a multi channel setup. He also said he then tried some more expensive Outlaw XLR's in their place. I'd be interested in his experience with that swap. Did you hear a difference?
I agree. Spending your wad on esoteric cables is an utter waste of cash. I've been through them all, including MIT Oracles and that ilk. Short of trying to subtly use your interconnects and speaker cabling as tone controls, I personally just don't see the value.

Want "reference" balanced audio cables? Get yourself a roll of Canare star quad L-4E6S microphone cable, some silver solder, Neutrik XLR connectors and roll your own. It only takes a few minutes per cable and you can tailor them to exactly the length you need to cut down on clutter. Not comfortable with a soldering iron? There are plenty of places that will make them for you to the lengths you specify at a tiny fraction of the cost of the "high end" cables. This is EXACTLY what a lot of the recording studios use and they've got a few folks with trained ears and backgrounds in engineering at their disposal. smile

Best,
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#69453 - 03/25/09 10:57 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
gonk Offline
Desperado

Registered: 03/21/01
Posts: 14054
Loc: Memphis, TN USA
Quote:
Originally posted by strindl:
I saw in a review that Gonk did of a piece of gear, that he tried some 5 buck XLR microphone cables as an interconnect in a multi channel setup. He also said he then tried some more expensive Outlaw XLR's in their place. I'd be interested in his experience with that swap. Did you hear a difference?
I've got Outlaw XLR's on my 7500 right now, but I used 6' microphone cables initially. I heard no difference. The Outlaws were a better length for my system and had better connectors (one of the mic cables tended to hang up a bit, but the Outlaws all fit very smoothly), so I left them in place and passed the mic cables on to a friend (Oy of Mid-World here in the saloon, who has a 990 paired up with five M2200's).
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#69454 - 03/26/09 11:36 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
awgtitan Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 03/16/09
Posts: 17
Loc: Virginia
Speaking of reference level concert Blu-ray. Try the Snakes and Arrows concert by Rush. This disc came out in 2008 and uses DTS-HD format. When I read some reviews on Amamzon about how good the video and audio quality was I had to have it. Even if you aren't a Rush fan the quality of this disc will push your system to the limit and reveal limitations as well. The colors are as rich and deep as I have seen. The DTS soundtrack is super clean and places you right in the middle of the concert.
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#69455 - 03/27/09 06:30 PM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
Ritz2 Offline
Desperado

Registered: 01/27/09
Posts: 414
Loc: Virginia
I'll have to go along with the recommendation of Peter Gabriel's "Play" DVD. Someone had given that to me last Xmas and I never got around to opening it. Well, last night I did. Wow. I'm not a big Sinead O'Connor fan, but the duet with PG on the DVD is really well done.

Best,
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#69456 - 03/28/09 06:16 AM Re: Model 990 Impressions from new Outlaw
IndyScammer Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 03/17/09
Posts: 15
Loc: Indianapolis
P.G. "Play" DVD is my second favorite to the Eagles Farwell I DVD. Both EXTREMELY EXCELLENT sound! Highly recommend both.
_________________________
Klipsch RF-35 L/R
Klipsch RC-7 C
Paradigm Focus SL/SR
Klipsch RW12d SW
Yamaha RX-V557 (the reason I'm here)
Samsung BD-P1600
Motorola POS - HD Cable
Samsung HL-T5676S (DLP)

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