The TQ Black Diamond Speaker cables have arrived for a home demo.
I have invited Finkfan over, so as to have a 2nd opinion.
We played a familiar cd from the group Fink, we both often use this as the reference cd for any potential upgrades.
After the first track, I immediately realised these cables are going to be good...
After the second and third tracks I almost found myself speechless .....bearing in mind I'm used to listening to TQ ultra blacks, which in my opinion our very very good, I've also had Super Lumina on dem a few weeks ago....which again our very very good....
All I can say is WOW, the extra detail, the timing, the soundstage , just everything is absolutely exquisite ...magic....talk about the musicians being in the room....
As each track played, the cables just seemed to get better and better and better....one particular review described these cables as being a masterpiece of cable design.... It summerises it perfectly....
What did my good friend Finkfan think? With his much younger ears?
Well exactly the same as me, I don't think I've seen a bigger grin on his face....
We both sat and listened to 10 tracks, both of us thinking the same thing...Are they worth £630 per metre? , absolutely .....
I will be having a really enjoyable weekend....
And Yes, I will be ordering a set...
Posted on: 31 March 2017 by wenger2015
Had a listen to the TQ Ultra Silvers at Finkfans earlier this evening, they have been installed for a week now.
The Ultra Silvers are superb, they have gone up a couple of gears from when I heard them a week ago.
I am used to hearing the Ultra Black's , having had them installed in my system for sometime now.
The Ultra Silvers have improved the degree of detail, better separation, a very natural soundstage.....and just more of everything .......they are truly sublime
I can fully understand why they cost considerably more then the Ultra Black's.
The reviews suggest a long run in time, which means they can only get better....but if they just stayed as they are now, I would say without hesitation they are worth every penny.....
Posted on: 31 March 2017 by nigelb
It makes you wonder how much our plain vanilla cables have been holding back the music over the years. My experience with posh Chord and SL cables tells me that cables are more important than we might have thought in the past - often the weak link (pun intended) in the chain. Of course there is a danger of overdoing things and spending too much on cables in relation to black boxes. This balance of expenditure will always vary depending on the relative value we as individuals place on SQ enhancements we hear from black boxes vs cables. Wenger and Finkfan have certainly spent the time and effort required to evaluate where this balance lies for them.
In addition to this balance is of course the age-old trade-off between separate components that require more interconnecting cabling and integrated components (e.g. pre/power one box solutions, source/preamps such as the 272 and source/pre/power such as SuperUniti and now the Nova) that require less (or no) interconnecting cables. Integrateds will always be compromised by the detrimental effects of being crammed into one box but are less compromised by the effects of interconnecting cables due to their reduced need for such cables. Separates of course are reliant on more interconnecting cables than integrateds and are therefore more 'compromised' by the effect these cables have on the signals they convey between separate black boxes. In my view cables will always add something and/or take something away and usuallly that has a detrimental effect on SQ. When cables are designed to disappear and succeed in doing this we get the best of both worlds i.e. the benefit of separate boxes without the drawback of the detrimental effects of interconnecting cables.
I suspect these TQ cables, like other well designed examples, are becoming more and more transparent as you go up the product ladder. This certainly is the effect I hear with SL, Chord Sarum T and Chord Music cables. So it is not that there is more detail, bass, air, dynamics, subtly or whatever. These have always been there but they have been held back by cables and possibly other sub-optimal aspects of a replay system or listening environment.
So it seems the more you spend on well designed cables, the less you hear their effects! And that is a good thing in my book. Just don't take things too far and definitely try before you buy.
Posted on: 31 March 2017 by wenger2015
NIGELB,
Excellent summary, I think you have described it well, those extra details, bass , dynamics, soundstage, ect ect are all their..........but without high quality cables, they are just being held back, blocked from surfacing.....
As you say.....try before you buy....but if your going to try either the Ultra Silvers or Black Diamonds, you are not going to want to send them back..
Posted on: 01 April 2017 by wenger2015
I have to admit Wenger that I never thought I'd like the sound of silver in my system, but the ultra silvers have turned that on its head. They sound stunning. Buckets more detail than the ultra blacks but without sounding sharp or edgy. We must try them against the black diamonds
Hopefully sometime next week we can also compare the Silver Diamonds.........
Just had notification from dealer the Silver Diamonds will be here Wed next week.
That means I can directly compare with my Ultra Black's, the on dem Ultra Silvers, the Black Diamonds and Silver Diamonds .....
I think I'm going to have to, recommend my dealer for a Knighthood.....
Posted on: 02 April 2017 by Finkfan
With every hour that goes by with these Ultra silvers they get better and better. These are going to be very difficult to part with! A cleaner, clearer ultra black. I really like these. The Silver diamonds are going to be something else!!
Just a side note. The demo set are a 2.5m pair. No issues at all for the 250DR.
Posted on: 02 April 2017 by wenger2015
With every hour that goes by with these Ultra silvers they get better and better. These are going to be very difficult to part with! A cleaner, clearer ultra black. I really like these. The Silver diamonds are going to be something else!!
Just a side note. The demo set are a 2.5m pair. No issues at all for the 250DR.
I will bring the Black Diamonds over next week to compare, whilst I plug the Silver Diamonds in.....
It's going to be a good week for the ears, just not for the wallet.... 
Posted on: 02 April 2017 by lyndon
Think ANDREWG is referring to the imbalance in your system
conventional wisdom was source first TT CD etc then the amp then speakers then about 10% of the boxes cost for cables
3m or 3m+ of TBD is approaching £4K
the cables can only pass on what is pumped into them in the first place
at this stage it could be more beneficial to replace the front end and bring the preamp up to at least a 252
i know I've done a similar thread regarding tellurium & chord sarum but at least my source is maxed out and I do intend to go 552 & 3x500's
lyndon
Posted on: 02 April 2017 by wenger2015
Think ANDREWG is referring to the imbalance in your system
conventional wisdom was source first TT CD etc then the amp then speakers then about 10% of the boxes cost for cables
3m or 3m+ of TBD is approaching £4K
the cables can only pass on what is pumped into them in the first place
at this stage it could be more beneficial to replace the front end and bring the preamp up to at least a 252
i know I've done a similar thread regarding tellurium & chord sarum but at least my source is maxed out and I do intend to go 552 & 3x500's
lyndon
I firmly believe that your source will only release what your cables allow.
So the spend 10% on cables theory, is possibly because 'back in the day' cables were just copper wires.
Even Naim have 'seen the light', with their very recent SL cables.
TQ have taken cables to a new level, and I suspect most on the forum have not had the opportunity of demoing these cables in their system ie Ultra Silvers, Black Diamonds, Silver Diamonds ....
Because if they did, I'm sure they would take a different view.
