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Got a call this morning from a wise guy in Potchefstroom who?s using ?Anti-Cable? speaker cable, nogal on his ?top of range? Yamaha Z9 (of so iets) HT amplifier. I?m still not sure if he is some sort of local agent for the brand, he claims he is not. He got my number from a local dealer (a friend of mine, not an anti cable stockist) who knows I?m on the hunt for speaker cable. He thought I got nothing to loose listening to this supposed ?wonder? cable that beats the pants of the esoteric stuff.
OK, so this guy calls me this morning and says he has the answer for me. Then he starts describing it a telemarketer sort of way, afterwards I had look at the ?Anti Cable? website and now I know where he got his ?script? from. OK, always up for a challenge and working from home today I told him: ?well, let?s try it, right now!!! Please?. So 10:15 he pitches up at my little townhouse with a rather good looking yet unassuming set of cables, glossy red with some nice spades fitted to either end, about 3.5m length a side. In addition there were some 15cm long bridging cables for the biwire terminals, apparently ?Anti-Cable? is also ?Anti-Biwire?.
OK, so we fitted it. Switched the system on. I?m not gonna mess about: ?OK, were the f?. did the bass go?? ?Why does the sound basically and pathetically implode into the speakers?. ?Nee meneer? I got told, this sounds good to me (him). I stayed calm and listened to another couple of songs. Same sh!t. OK, change back to the Monster M2.4?s and went to sit in another corner so that I can watch this Oke?s face?..
Where the hell is a video camera when you need one? Utter consternation. The first thing he asks me: ?Are the speakers hanging next to the screen also playing now?? (A VERY ****** set of Pioneer Plasma TV speakers I use on occasion with the projector screen). He simply couldn?t understand how Diana Krall is standing there slightly left of the centre, vocals coming from a position much higher than the speakers. She in the room (I wish?)
By now he is looking everywhere for ?effect? speakers. To fuel his mistaken speculation, I insert George Micheal?s ?Ladies and Gentleman? album, CD1 track no 9 ?A moment with you?. This track has the uncanny (frankly unbelievable?) intro section where midbass notes from the ?Good Vibes? instrument comes from right next to the listening couch, way out in front and to the right of the right speaker. Now he is up on his feet looking behind the couch for the hidden speaker. Obviously finds nothing.
To this guy?s credit he now admits that the experiment does not work, but do have an ace (acc to him) up his sleeve. He suspects the ?Anti Cable? only works well with its own interconnects also used. So he goes home and fetches the 2x single ended sets of IC?s. Plug them in, and voila; gone is S/N ratio and dynamic range together with the bass and imaging. Now my system really starts to sound like the?.mmmm?k@k.
OK, now we have a confused customer. He admits defeat, but says they do sound nice for the money. Asking him what he paid for it: About R400 per metre. So I promptly run up the stairs and fetch the set of Monster M1.4?s I use there in the bedroom, they cost about R300 a metre. Back into the system with my Kimbers as IC?s. While not nearly as convincing and realistic sounding as the M2.4?s, they did perform much better than the Anti-Cables i.t.o. imaging and a far better bass response (I?m comparing it with the first test when the Anti Cable speaker cable was used with my Kimber IC?s).
The last thing this guy asks me as he leaves: ?Where can I buy this Monster M1.4 cable?
Guys, this is not testimony about how good Monster cable is. There most definitely is better speaker cable out there, although Monster?s are excellent value for money (They probably make more money from their law suits?see other thread).
It is however testimony that ?Anti-Cable? is not nearly as good as claimed, in fact its not even good value for money.
Final note: Looking back at what I?ve written, it?s clear that text has a way of exaggerating the descriptions. Differences weren?t as wide as the Grand Canyon, but were immediately apparent (Both for me, and this poor bloke who I thought was a wise ass in the beginning but I now consider as my friend).
OK, so this guy calls me this morning and says he has the answer for me. Then he starts describing it a telemarketer sort of way, afterwards I had look at the ?Anti Cable? website and now I know where he got his ?script? from. OK, always up for a challenge and working from home today I told him: ?well, let?s try it, right now!!! Please?. So 10:15 he pitches up at my little townhouse with a rather good looking yet unassuming set of cables, glossy red with some nice spades fitted to either end, about 3.5m length a side. In addition there were some 15cm long bridging cables for the biwire terminals, apparently ?Anti-Cable? is also ?Anti-Biwire?.
OK, so we fitted it. Switched the system on. I?m not gonna mess about: ?OK, were the f?. did the bass go?? ?Why does the sound basically and pathetically implode into the speakers?. ?Nee meneer? I got told, this sounds good to me (him). I stayed calm and listened to another couple of songs. Same sh!t. OK, change back to the Monster M2.4?s and went to sit in another corner so that I can watch this Oke?s face?..
Where the hell is a video camera when you need one? Utter consternation. The first thing he asks me: ?Are the speakers hanging next to the screen also playing now?? (A VERY ****** set of Pioneer Plasma TV speakers I use on occasion with the projector screen). He simply couldn?t understand how Diana Krall is standing there slightly left of the centre, vocals coming from a position much higher than the speakers. She in the room (I wish?)
By now he is looking everywhere for ?effect? speakers. To fuel his mistaken speculation, I insert George Micheal?s ?Ladies and Gentleman? album, CD1 track no 9 ?A moment with you?. This track has the uncanny (frankly unbelievable?) intro section where midbass notes from the ?Good Vibes? instrument comes from right next to the listening couch, way out in front and to the right of the right speaker. Now he is up on his feet looking behind the couch for the hidden speaker. Obviously finds nothing.
To this guy?s credit he now admits that the experiment does not work, but do have an ace (acc to him) up his sleeve. He suspects the ?Anti Cable? only works well with its own interconnects also used. So he goes home and fetches the 2x single ended sets of IC?s. Plug them in, and voila; gone is S/N ratio and dynamic range together with the bass and imaging. Now my system really starts to sound like the?.mmmm?k@k.
OK, now we have a confused customer. He admits defeat, but says they do sound nice for the money. Asking him what he paid for it: About R400 per metre. So I promptly run up the stairs and fetch the set of Monster M1.4?s I use there in the bedroom, they cost about R300 a metre. Back into the system with my Kimbers as IC?s. While not nearly as convincing and realistic sounding as the M2.4?s, they did perform much better than the Anti-Cables i.t.o. imaging and a far better bass response (I?m comparing it with the first test when the Anti Cable speaker cable was used with my Kimber IC?s).
The last thing this guy asks me as he leaves: ?Where can I buy this Monster M1.4 cable?
Guys, this is not testimony about how good Monster cable is. There most definitely is better speaker cable out there, although Monster?s are excellent value for money (They probably make more money from their law suits?see other thread).
It is however testimony that ?Anti-Cable? is not nearly as good as claimed, in fact its not even good value for money.
Final note: Looking back at what I?ve written, it?s clear that text has a way of exaggerating the descriptions. Differences weren?t as wide as the Grand Canyon, but were immediately apparent (Both for me, and this poor bloke who I thought was a wise ass in the beginning but I now consider as my friend).
