Back in March this year I auditioned TQ Black Diamond Speaker Cables, they turned out to be extremely impressive.
To cut a long story short I ended up, after a lengthy home audition, purchasing a Brand new set of the top of the range Silver Diamond Speaker Cables.
Although they sounded good from the start, I have experienced a few lows from time to time over the weeks and months but gradually they have just got better and better.
It’s been approximately 6 months now and ‘Wow’.....they are altogether on an another level, truly remarkable.....
So if anyone is contemplating the possibility of treating oneself to an Xmas gift and was wondering if these High End Cables are truly worth the significant outlay, rest assured in this case, with TQ SD they most certainly are.
The exceptional reviews are no exaggeration. (eg hi fi pig )
I personally think in our enthusiasm to upgrade the boxes it’s the Cables we often compromise on.
Cables can provide a clear conduit to maximise the performance from whatever black boxes we have.
So has anyone made plans to splash out and upgrade the cables over the festive season?
Posted on: 05 January 2018 by Starre
I listened to Chord Music speaker cables and the sound went strange. It was very up front with clearly too much bass compared to Sarum and Sarum T, I have no idea why, The owner of the system bought Sarum T, it worked much better than Music. The good things with Music was a very live sound and quieter background, it was clear that more info got to you but since bass balance was way off it did not work.
Posted on: 10 January 2018 by wenger2015
Knowing TQ I’m sure they will be extremely good cables.
I would expect to be able to have a listen at the upcoming Bristol Show.
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by Slim68
I have had a set of the new Witch Hat Phantom Speaker cables in place since NYE. They were purchased because their Hatpin Pre to Power amp cable made such a positive difference in my system, plus a 30 day no risk trial I thought may as well give them a go.
These Phantoms are really surprising me on what they have done, I am not very good at saying why, the one thing that stands out massively is that female vocals are far more controlled/cleaner? On a couple of London Grammar tracks Hannah's voice had a real edge to it with the Blacks in place, that has now completely disappeared. I find that the sound is just much nicer to listen to now, I can listen longer and get deeper into the music, and the Bass is wonderful.
I guess it is fair to say that at £245 for a 3.5m stereo run these are a bit of a bargain, they may well have a Giant killer on their hands.
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by mogul
For me, the only "real proof" is in my enjoyment of the music. If some upgraded cables, plugs etc. increase my enjoyment of the music, that's proof enough. Scientific proof of "better" does nothing for me in my home. My subjective evaluation of "better" does.
In my experience, cables, cable dressing, interconnects, power delivery, support, system synergy, adjustments of my TT and cartridge...everything matters and in my subjective evaluation, each delivers "real proof" of musical improvements to me.
How much? 23.79%
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by Kiwi cat
2 weeks ago I added a second hand SL din-xlr cable from my 250dr to 272. I still have A5 speaker cables to my ovators. At this stage, I am afraid to say ,there is no discernible difference over the lavender cable. I guess it comes under the ‘incremental improvements ‘ category’ of upgrades. Having said that, I have not put the lavender cable back in place, maybe this will make me realise there actually has been an improvement.
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by MDS
2 weeks ago I added a second hand SL din-xlr cable from my 250dr to 272. I still have A5 speaker cables to my ovators. At this stage, I am afraid to say ,there is no discernible difference over the lavender cable. I guess it comes under the ‘incremental improvements ‘ category’ of upgrades. Having said that, I have not put the lavender cable back in place, maybe this will make me realise there actually has been an improvement.
Reverting back from an 'upgrade' is often more telling than when first installing it. That said, my experience with the SL cables was the SL XLR being the final piece to create the full loom. I started with the speaker cables and interconnect and they were both stunningly good from the first song played. The SL XLR come later and its addition wasn't as a big an improvement as the other two.
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by docmark
I purchased a new SL DIN to XLR interconnect for my 272 & 250DR. I noticed pretty much immediate improvement with the sound. The music seemed to open up, had more life to it, and I noticed too that there was better separation of instruments. It was not a subtle change. I use Crystal Cable Reference as my speaker wire. I use a Siltech Digital cable between my Core & 272. I’m also using a Siltech power cable on my 250DR. In my opinion, expensive cables often do make a difference.
Posted on: 11 January 2018 by mogul
I am also sure that "how expensive" enters into the "is it worth it" discussion. One very well established and respected cable manufacturer in the US doubles the retail price with every step up the quality ladder. Starting from approximately $100USD with at least 7 levels...do the math. $32,000USD. I really have trouble imaging "worth it" in the leap from $16K to $32K, but somebody must. Amazing pricing if they can sustain it!
