grover cables vs jps 'aluminatas'

[calloway]

...i had the pleasure this past week of evaluating mr. huffman's cables..2 pair of his i/c's....never having heard his cables i did not know what to expect but agreed to audition them and compare them to my 'aluminatas' which i believe are in a small group of cables that can arguably be thought of as being in the upper tier of cables ...both from a performance standpoint and a cost standpoint...the quality of workmanship of the cables is first class...they are not stiff and easily make any turn needed to attach them to any gear..their rca's make a very snug fit without any play in the attachment thus assuring a great connection.i first replaced the aluminata from my scd-1 to my 'first sound' preamp after listening to 3-5 cuts from some of the cd / sacd's i was very familiar with.  i again listened to the same cuts and was immediately amazed at how similar the sound was...upon further listening the sound was not quite as full or rich and the detail ..micro..was not quite as easily discernable but none-the-less there..i returned the next night to listen again and things had improved slightly. the soundstage is superb and the equal of my 'aluminatas'...transparency is also great...they do not image quite as well and vocals have a slightly harder presentation when compared to the 'aluminatas' which are smooth and silky.i did not notice any brightness to the sound.transients are fast and bass is taught and forceful....the next night i replaced both of my i/c's with the grover cables and let them rest for 24 hrs....the grover combo was truely great and, if i had to give a percentage vs the aluminatas' i would say that ..in my system...they are 85%-90% as sonically revealing as the aluminatas'...the richness and fullness of the aluminatas' as well as their being able to deliver better micro details...smoother more natural vocals and a slightly qiucker transient response is the difference....they truely are..to my ears ...a great cable..especially when one considers that the grover pair costs < $400 ...whereas the 'aluminata' pair is > $6k.....i tried alot of cables in my > 15 yrs in audio and do not believe there is an i/c out there that can touch grovers' in it's price range or at multiples of it........just my thoughts!!!

[stereofool]

Thanks for your review and thoughts!

I'm anxiously awaiting receipt of my sets of Grover's IC's. If they truly sound that good, then I'm going to be a very happy camper   !

[grover]

And these Grover S cables are not even broken in. The cables improve dramatically when completely burned in. Takes 50 hrs to get the best. Every thing stereofool says describes the cable prior to full burn.

[richidoo]

I had the audition tour set of two pairs before they went on tour. I put at least 50 hours on them before they left. (I am a toy hog). I felt that they mellowed out a little with burn in, meaning they became less noticeable than when brand new. But I didn't notice any difference in the great transparency. So I guess "Less noticeable" means by definition even more transparent!

The brand new cables were "exciting" in a way, which I like since I am in this for the emotional stimulation, not relaxation.    They were maybe a little hyped in the clarity department when brand new. That has rolled off a little and now they are just invisible to my ears. Putting my anticables back in, I can definitely hear their addition as a veil because my ears have adjusted to the Grovers.

It would be interesting to compare this broken in sample pair to my new ones when they arrive, to see if I begin to "notice" them again, or feel the hyped detail.

two more cents for the kitty  

Grover, do you have an estimation on the shipping date for the first order, several AN members have asked me when they should expect their treasure to come into port. Thanks
Rich

[grover]

First batch going out this monday. I have found huge differences with break-in.

[rlmacklin]

The finalized white Techflex jacketed Grover S raise the bar another substantial notch over the 2nd iteration black-covered Grover S.

I feel I am listening to nothing but the music with these !!!

John Cook of Black Sand said he has gotten his white Grover S but has not used them yet. I will recommend to him that he use the white Grover S to hook up whatever new components he gets/ends up with.

I have been running in the cables a good bit, around 40-50 hours at this point, but there may still be some more improvement to go...

They're really making my recorded music sound "natural."

Thank you, Grover !!!

[Carlman]

FYI, the latest version with the white techflex is what folks will receive in the Group Buy.
-C

[shep]

had me worried there for a moment! can't wait! (no choice but to...) need a fix

[larbo53]

richidoo did I understand you correctly?  Did you compare the Grover Cables with Paul Speltz's Anti Cables?  If so, what was the results?  Also, has anyone compared the Grover Cables to the ones offered by Stereovox?  Thanks.

[richidoo]

Hi Larbo
Yup, I used anti-copper IC for more than a year before being corrupted by the Grovers. Both excellent, Grover more transparent, especially on the super subtle things like low freq reverb in a concert hall, tonality on low instruments, overall more details, but not more harsh. Still very easy to listen to. Great job for the dough. I hear Speltz has silver version now, which people are saying sounds great, but long break in. I have not heard that one yet.

We'll be finishing the group buy at end of June. If you wanna try a pair, you can get a great discount.
Rich