Thanks for starting this thread, LW. I really appreciate that you took the time to listen and share your thoughts here.
I thought I'd add my comments since a few have asked me my impressions of Grover's Interconnect Cables compared to Greg Straley's Reality Cables.... I agree with LW's assesment but I'll add a little more from my review.
First, I'll start by saying I think the most important thing is what's important to you about the musical presentation. In this case, you have a choice to make... Do you want smooth and relaxed at the cost of a little extension or do you want detail and impact at the cost of a 'pretty' presentation?
I think the Straley's are about the 'smoothest' sounding cables I've heard but lack a little resolution compared to Grover's. Gregg's cables are non-fatiguing, musical, and don't add warmth or sparkle. They are an 'error of omission' compromise for that smooth, natural sound. The pace of the music is pretty good, the mids are fairly natural with just a touch of harshness in the mids... maybe some would call it 'warmth'. I would say they sound similar to anticables but more refined.
The Grover cables deliver all the details with wreckless abandon. Good or bad, you'll get it all through those pipes. They seem to have no personality of their own, just get out of the way and transmit a very pure signal with another octave at the top and bottom compared to the Reality's. Doing so means you'll hear more information in the music, little clicks, small changes, better attack, more microdynamics, more, more, more. I wasn't as emotionally attached to this presentation as I was with the Reality's, though... was it fatigue? Am I just familiar with the old ones? I don't know. I haven't spent enough time to make that call. So, I will try to get my hands on the latest version, do some more listening and follow-up. I will also try to compare them to my favorite, the Audience Au24's. So, it's too soon to be definitive... sorry.
The best analogy I can make is with John's BSC's.. the Violet is like Grover's cables and the Chromium is like the Reality's. If I could get the best of both, I'd have the Silver Ref. To me, in my neverending search for IC's, the only one that has that perfect balance is Audience's Au24. They have extension, impact and detail but present it musically and with the right pace.
Thanks,
Carl
edit...
P.S. I just spoke to Gregg Straley... he reminded me I have his tube-version IC and am using SS gear... and that could contribute to some of the traits I'm hearing. So, he's sending a pair of his latest version for SS gear to try. I've had them about a year or so.. and there has been some improvements since I bought them.... Give me a couple of weeks to get it all burned in and I'll be reporting back....
