Zero
03-08-2003, 07:56 PM
Back in November of last year, I became interested in exploring the realms of audio-cables, wanting to tackle on the hot topic and explore it in my own home. Russman pointed me towards a website which sports discounted products, I picked out a pair of MIT Terminator 4's.
Man - they were the thickest cables I ever saw... sounded great - vastly superior to lampcord and other typical cables. Then a month or two later came in Monster Z2 Bi-wire, sounded even better than the MIT Terminator 4's. Not to mention, the Monsters looked cool and had an awesome case.
A few weeks ago, I went to a local audio store and noticed a pair of wire that looked tempting, it was braded and in a spool. Never heard of the brand before, and aside from its rubber casing and unusual look, I felt it would probably be no different from your average lampcord, I mean hell, there was hardly any insulation or a big box to cancel out noise.. They were asking 2.75 per foot, a little steep for me. None of the speakers were hooked up with it, I went home empty handed.
Two days went by and I couldn't help myself, I was thinking about this wire damn near every waking moment. I returned back to the store and got myself one single strand. When I asked where to pay for it (you would have to be in the store to understand), the gentlemen told me to just keep it. What a nice guy - of course he went on to tell me he does not believe wire makes a bit of difference. Him not charging me a damn thing, I gave little arguement, though I did protest respectfully that wire does indeed make a difference, albiet it may be over-priced.
I took the wire home, soldered the tips and hooked it up to the LSi's. Since my MIT's are gone, I could only pin it up against the now broken-in and MUCH more expensive Monster Z2 BI-wire's. In short, the Monster Z2's had every damn advantage. I was expecting this to be a complete blowout on Monsters behalf.
Boy - was I wrong....
I closed my eyes, leaned back and tried to clear my mind of any bias - then I started playing some tunes (dont remember the cd now)... And was immediatly taken back. There was a very, very subtle difference between the Monster Z2's and the typical 2 conductor Ixos Gamma wire. The Monster had a bit more presence and clarity - but you had to listen very closely, to the point to where you were no longer paying attention to the music itself.
Man - how awesome is this stuff! I then contemplated returning to the store to purchase (or hopefully just recieve) another cord. Then a thought hit me, if Ixos offered cheap wire that sounded this good - why not see what else they have to offer. Low and behold - Ixos Super Gamma 7 Bi-wire was found.
It was much more expensive, 6 dollars per foot. I resisted for a few days and decided to go through with the purchase. Got some stacking banana plugs to go with it. Ah hell, I want matching wire for my one strand, 99 cents per foot, why not. Three days later Fedex delievered everything to me.
I was a bit confused as to how to terminate everything together, as I came here and posted on the board. I for some reason, was under the impression you terminate wires differently.... ruled out the obvious almost instinctively. Not long after and a few replies later, things were on a roll.. hooked them up.
WOW!! ................
Crushed the Monsters and MIT's..... no competition. The highs were clear and in your face. Dan described Kimber as having "sparkle". You could say the same could apply towards the IXOS Super Gamma's. Everything became much clearer, the music sounded as it should have been, and not repressed. If I had to choose a negative, I would say that this wire does not excell with bass. But it keeps it nice and punchy. Kick drums kick you. Very musical and screams for a sub-woofer for that added umf.
All in all - Im very impressed with its value/performance ratio. For those of you who dont want to spend 200 dollars on wire, or even 100 dollars *assuming you dont need 20 foot runs*, IXOS Super Gamma Bi-wire is the ticket. Im completely sold on IXOS products.
Someday when funds allow, Im going for their Interconnects...
Man - they were the thickest cables I ever saw... sounded great - vastly superior to lampcord and other typical cables. Then a month or two later came in Monster Z2 Bi-wire, sounded even better than the MIT Terminator 4's. Not to mention, the Monsters looked cool and had an awesome case.
A few weeks ago, I went to a local audio store and noticed a pair of wire that looked tempting, it was braded and in a spool. Never heard of the brand before, and aside from its rubber casing and unusual look, I felt it would probably be no different from your average lampcord, I mean hell, there was hardly any insulation or a big box to cancel out noise.. They were asking 2.75 per foot, a little steep for me. None of the speakers were hooked up with it, I went home empty handed.
Two days went by and I couldn't help myself, I was thinking about this wire damn near every waking moment. I returned back to the store and got myself one single strand. When I asked where to pay for it (you would have to be in the store to understand), the gentlemen told me to just keep it. What a nice guy - of course he went on to tell me he does not believe wire makes a bit of difference. Him not charging me a damn thing, I gave little arguement, though I did protest respectfully that wire does indeed make a difference, albiet it may be over-priced.
I took the wire home, soldered the tips and hooked it up to the LSi's. Since my MIT's are gone, I could only pin it up against the now broken-in and MUCH more expensive Monster Z2 BI-wire's. In short, the Monster Z2's had every damn advantage. I was expecting this to be a complete blowout on Monsters behalf.
Boy - was I wrong....
I closed my eyes, leaned back and tried to clear my mind of any bias - then I started playing some tunes (dont remember the cd now)... And was immediatly taken back. There was a very, very subtle difference between the Monster Z2's and the typical 2 conductor Ixos Gamma wire. The Monster had a bit more presence and clarity - but you had to listen very closely, to the point to where you were no longer paying attention to the music itself.
Man - how awesome is this stuff! I then contemplated returning to the store to purchase (or hopefully just recieve) another cord. Then a thought hit me, if Ixos offered cheap wire that sounded this good - why not see what else they have to offer. Low and behold - Ixos Super Gamma 7 Bi-wire was found.
It was much more expensive, 6 dollars per foot. I resisted for a few days and decided to go through with the purchase. Got some stacking banana plugs to go with it. Ah hell, I want matching wire for my one strand, 99 cents per foot, why not. Three days later Fedex delievered everything to me.
I was a bit confused as to how to terminate everything together, as I came here and posted on the board. I for some reason, was under the impression you terminate wires differently.... ruled out the obvious almost instinctively. Not long after and a few replies later, things were on a roll.. hooked them up.
WOW!! ................
Crushed the Monsters and MIT's..... no competition. The highs were clear and in your face. Dan described Kimber as having "sparkle". You could say the same could apply towards the IXOS Super Gamma's. Everything became much clearer, the music sounded as it should have been, and not repressed. If I had to choose a negative, I would say that this wire does not excell with bass. But it keeps it nice and punchy. Kick drums kick you. Very musical and screams for a sub-woofer for that added umf.
All in all - Im very impressed with its value/performance ratio. For those of you who dont want to spend 200 dollars on wire, or even 100 dollars *assuming you dont need 20 foot runs*, IXOS Super Gamma Bi-wire is the ticket. Im completely sold on IXOS products.
Someday when funds allow, Im going for their Interconnects...