Final Labs ICs from Venus Hi Fi

[millerdog]

You wanna try some new cables but don't know where to start? Start here!
When I first got them I thought Hmmmmmm...they are awful thin..as thin as the cables they replaces. Two hour break in? Okay, lemme see....these cables rock! They replaced RS ICs that sat between my Paramours and my pre.
I got a strange way of breaking in new stuff...I sit at my puter with my back to my stereo. If something turns my head, then I know it's cause it's something I've never heard in that recording.
The Final Labs cables turned my head more than once.:)
The bass is deeper. The mids are stronger. I though the highs were kinda flat. That was my initial impression. But then tonight, I was listening to Beth Orton's "Daybreaker" cd and thought I heard some ringing, like bells...or chimes....I thought Oh man, my Paramours are going south! Damn, it was the CD! On "Daybreaker" it sounds like someone is hammering on a triangle or something. I never heard that.
These cables, for what Brian is selling em for, take a chance. I did and am blown away.

[BrianB]

Nice review, millerdog! Are you sure you don't want to try out the matching Final Labs OFC speaker cables? ;)

Happy listening!
Brian
Venus Hi-Fi

[millerdog]

One more thing about these cables. I am hearing things I never heard before. On certain cds that I thought were just bad recordings (some indie stuff), the cables seemed to have fixed the problem. I would have never believed cables could have bad sound (the RS cables), but I ain't hearing things. ;)
I tried some stuff I remembered were sorry recordings. I can't hear the distortion in the Norah Jones recording anymore. The bass doesn't clip in my Devil Doll cd.
On my Basia cd, I started hearing these pops like on an LP...so I put in the LP and it was attack sounds of the dude playing the bongos!
Nuff said! nice cables.

[Billfort]

Of coarse wire makes no difference.

That being said, to my ears, in my system, it damn well does, so I got a pair of these IC's off Brian for a try between my Audible Illusions pre and WE91/Angela 300B SET - they replace a borrowed pair of AudioQuest Vipers. I have been messing with silver a little (Alphacore Micropurl) but figured the copper and cotton construction of these cables might have better synergy with the similarly constructed WE wire I used to wire my amp.

I've only used these IC's for a few hours (and of coarse, "burn-in" makes no difference either :) ) but already prefer them to the Vipers. Maybe a little more air and detail - more flesh and blood in female vocals, maybe a little better sense of recording space, the fingering and wood body sound of an acoustic guitar a little more detailed.

Delusional? Probably, but I'm keeping em - thanks for the sweet deal on them Brian.

Billfort