Last Saturday I hosted our local group of 20 audio enthusiasts. We started with a BBQ and cocktails on the patio. Then moved to the living room for some serious listening.
My 2 channel system:
Montana PBN EPS2 speakers
Micro Seki table with MA505 MK 1 arm
Hana low output moving coil cart with shibata stylus
Musical Surroundings Phononomena II+ phonostage
Jadis JPL preamp
Conrad Johnson MV60SE KT120 amp upgraded by CJ with teflon caps, etc.
2 EP300 balanced power conditioners
Various Pangea power cords.
Sound was wonderful.
Then we decided to swap out the Pangea AC14SE power cord to the Jadis with a $300 Nordost. No discernable difference. Then we tried a $3000 Nordost. My goodness, but everyone agreed the music sounded better.
We listened to Shelby Lynne's 45 'Just a Little Loving.' It starts with some dramatic drumstick cracks.
The highs were smoother, the cracks more defined, soundstage was discernably wider and deeper.
Then we tried the Isotek $600 cable, which everyone agreed sounded even better. Finally we tried the homemade cord of our tesident electrical engineer, Alex. Solid core silver wire (2 strands) braided around a solid core ground wire. Furtech connectors.
The result was, 'YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!' Alex is making a pair for me. Without going into a lot of description, except to say the drumstick thwacks made you jump, the highs were airier and smoother. The mids, glorious,the music was sensational!
Not done with shattering the expectations of those who came in dubious about the difference between power cords, he opened a box with some $6000 Transparent Cable speaker wire and swapped them in for my Belden 9497 much loved by our Japanese audiophile brothers.
HOLY SAMOLIES!! These cables are bi wired pythons. The sound, true high end glorious!!!
We also compared the Axiom M5s with a pair of mini Graham BBC speakers. The Axioms acquitted themselves very well.
We are going to do a comparison with some B&Ws, Keffs, and Sonus Farbers. The Axioms will be the least expensive. I'm sure they will do very well.
Those who came as disbelievers left at around midnight. They left as believers.
They trusted their ears.
Last edited by 2x6spds; 09/03/18 07:42 PM.
