I had the cables for about 5 days. I was sad to remove them from the system.
I hope the first GB order gets delivered fast!
The impression I got when first listening to them was comparable to the previous time with the last version that Carl brought over to my house last month. It was instantly noticeable improvement in detail, dynamics, tone and pace. I did not listen to the first set long enough to compare it to these new ones, called "Grover S." Carl said they sound smoother but no less detailed. A little less silver etch. Grover says the difference is in the silver plating on the connectors.
The build quality is good. The whiet techflex doesn;t blend in as well as a black or neutral color, but no biggie. The RCA connector ends are small and half covered in a couple layers of polyolefin heat shrink tubing. They stood up to constant swapping without any sign of wear, but they seem a little frail compared to other brands with big metal bullet RCA connectors. I did not try to bend them less than 6+ inch radius, they seem to get stiffer at that amount of bend.
Compared to my best ICs, anticable OCC copper, they are obviously better in every way I can think of. Cheaper (at least on this GB), sturdier, and sonically better in every way. The hype about anticables is well deserved, but they don;t compare to this. If Grover ever gets a website and a real business presence going he will fare well. The retail price matches that of the anticables. Anticable has a silver version coming which should cost more.
The intensity or solidity of the tone is about the same between anticable and Grover S, but details make the difference, and tonal quality and beauty are enhanced by the better detail in the Grovers. It is not a small difference either. It is night and day.
The most impressive thing to me about these cables was when I first started playing them, I could here so much more of the recording venue's room ambience, and air around the music. This also translates to much larger soundstage when more details of it are audible. The treble detail is obvious, but the midrange detail on solo violin sonatas, and bass detail on concert hall room ambience and jazz bass solos was excellent. This means to me that the detail improvement is not just in the treble and not just an EQ tweek or silvery brightness. Detail is improved massively throughout the freq band.
I thought the detail improvement was pretty amazing when I first heard them on the SB3. When I swapped in a Plinius CD-101 that I am borrowing detail and power improved even more. It did not seem to me that the Grover's were holding the Plinius back at all. Now the intense details made more sense, less hyped and more natural and beautiful than what the SB could do. The Plinius is a true high end player and the Grovers are up to it.
Dynamics are also great, but I think I have a slightly compromised crossover in one speaker which makes midrange dynamics a little hyped. I think the dynamic clarity is also improved over the anticables but I can't say for sure until I get the speaker fixed. Microdynamics are improved and audible in the increased details. I didn't feel any hint of compression or any kind of holding back whatsoever.
It's like a clear shot straight thru. Maybe there are better wires that sound even more transparent, I am not experienced enough in this hobby to know all about the far reaches of the ultra high-end. But these are up there with the best I have heard so far. When we were using Carl's preamp the other day comparing a few sources, we used Gregg Straley's Reality ICs between pre and power amps with Grovers on the sources. I didn't notice any loss of detail or power with the Realitys in there, so I think they are also a great wire in this price range. I look forward to listening to them some more too!
I am excited to be able to own wires this good for the same price of cables I own now. I will also try the digital IC also for my upcoming DAC hunt. I hope you guys in the rest of the demo tour have as much fun with them as I did!
Rich