Reviews for the Audioquest - Type 2 Speaker Cables

Test

This is a copy of the review I posted in the Equipment Review forum:

If you haven't checked out the Audiokarma demo cable program in the Thinking Out Loud forum do you self a favor and check it out. I've just finished demoing a pair of Audioquest - Type 2 Speaker cables in my main system. These cables replaced some Monster XPHP cables that I've been using since putting the system together. The Monster cable is un-terminated. The Audioquest have large spade termination on both ends. The equipment used with the cables included a Denon AVR-4802, Yamaha YP-D6 w/ Grado Gold Cartridge, Sony SCD-CE775 and a pair of Paradigm Studio 60v2. I used SACD, vinyl and redbook CDs that I was most familiar with. What I found was a harder edge to everything that I played with the Audioquest cables. When I first heard this change I switched back to the Monster cable to see if it was all in my head. While not a double blind test, each time I hooked up the Audioquest cables in the system it sounded harder or brighter. Same bass and mid-range, but a harder top end. The Monster cable gave me all of the resolution of the Audioquest, but the top end wasn't in your face. One other difference between the two setups. The Monster cable wasn't terminated and the Denon and Paradigm accomodates bare wire termination. To use the large spades with my Denon I had to use a spade to banana (Dayton) adapter. Long story short, I got to try some very nice looking cables and while it didn't improve my system, it was interesting to see how it changed the character of my setup.

First of all thank you to the people here who make this swap program possible.

Ok My system (again :) )
Amp: Bedini 150/150 mk II
Preamp: Luxman C-o2
Sacd player: Marantz SA 8260
Speakers: Apogee Duetta II's
IC's: custom
Speaker wires (Bi-wired) Speltz Anti-cables on MR/T Ratshack 16ga flat braided on the bass panels

Tracks used: (artist/album/track)

Evanescence/Fallen/My Immortal

Butthole Surfers/Independent Worm Saloon/Wooden Song

Laurie Anderson/Mister Heartbreak/Gravity's Angel

Kenny Burrell/Midnight Blue/Midnight Blue

Spin Doctors/Pocketfull of Kryptonite/Forty or Fifty

Cristina Aguileria./Back to Basics/On Our Way

Went through and played all the tracks as my system is normally setup. All listening was done far field. (14 ft.)
I then swapped out the AQ's (actually says Audio Advisor on them?) for the Speltz cables.
The first thing I noticed was that any hiss was slightly more noticeable. The soundstage sounded flatter but,at first, more detailed. Vocals, however, were slightly etched.
When I first heard these they had a sudden "wow" factor, but then problems began to show up. The music lost it's involvement factor, that toe-tapping quality, and became very analytical. Cymbals really showed off as what I can only describe as a "phasey-ness" where they sounded like a splash, and not a metal disc. They are also quite bright, adding an edge to the top end.
This is odd considering that the AQ's seemed to be better at separation of vocals/insturments and micro-detail. They did do vocals as well as the Speltz.
I decided to try them on the bass panels to see how they did with the lower registers.
Mid-bass was good, being quick and detailed. However in the lower regions some problems arose.The most telling track was the Spin Doctors. The bass on this cut has a wonderful growl to it, really letting you know that its there. That was gone. The Aq's reached deeper than the Rat Shack, (a few Hz) but masking was a problem. The individual vibrations of the bass guitar were softened and not as detailed. In the upper-bass area they were actually pretty good. Drumhead's had a very good punch to them, seeming cleaner but somewhat analytical.
I think if you have a dull-ish sounding system these could brighten it up, however I would not advise use with horn systems.
While I would not use them in my system, but,I think, they might "brighten up" a lackluster one.
I would audition before buying.