Does anybody have any experience with Audioquest Rockefeller Speaker cables?

[bdmunn]

I am considering buying some Audioquest Rockefeller Speaker cables but want to see if anyone has an opinion about them before buying. I recently purchased Summits and will initial pair with a Parasound amp but plan on buying a Plinius 102 in the next few months (with a 2 year old in the house - I can't risk tubes) (But I like a warmer sound).

I have read many threads here. Most talk about Interconnects but not much on Speaker wire. Feel free to suggest other SW's which would have a warm sound (even if it is not the one mentioned above.

Thanks in advance.

Brian

 

[Reverb2009]

Well I have been an Audioquest junkie for about 4 years now. I have tried other brands and every time I go back to Audioquest. The Rockefeller is a good cable; it has eight conductors, four for positive and four for negative. You can get this cable internally bi-wired , but I would not recommend it. If you wanted to do bi wiring with this cable I would only go shotgun bi wiring, because internal bi-wire splits your gauge of wire.

Audioquest makes better cables then the Rockefeller, but as your have probably noticed as they get better they get more expensive. You can also try Audiogon for some grate deals on Audioquest cables.

 

[twich54]

Brian, good evening, like Joe I've been a happy Audioquest owner for a couple of years now. While my Bedrock speaker cables that I am presently using are no longer in their lineup I am very happy with them as they are paired up with my SA-102 and my Vantages. I'm assuming the "Rockefeller" cables are a notch or two above the Bedrock ?? I trust you have a dealer that will allow you to audition them before purchase ?

 

[aliveatfive]

About 6 months ago I found on Audio Advisor's web site a sale on AQ Mont Blanc speaker cables. I bought a 10 foot pair for about what you'd pay for a 10 foot pair of Rockefellers. I believe they were originally intended for export because the DBS pack had a lower voltage than standard. Anyway, they are a very smooth, yet detailed cable and I'd bet that the Rockefellers share many of the same characteristics.

 

[Taz]

I have always found them a little soft, but that is just my ears. I like it a little bright.

 

[Sunnyboy 1956]

AQ cables

I have long been a fan of AQ. Started with a pair of AQ Bedrocks nearly 3yrs ago. The Bedrocks are now in my small HT setup. Have got a pair of AQ Mont Blancs for the ML panels with Straightwire Rhapsody on the woofers. The AQs are a wee bit on the warm side. If you like things on the musical bright side , you may want to audition Nordost(expensive) or some other silver based cable. Whatever you decide do it on the basis of an audition in your system. Cables are highly system dependant and what works for me may be a disaster or at best sub optimal in another system.
Cheers
Sunnyboy 1956

 

[attyonline]

Well, I really cannot see how any competently designed speaker cable can sound good in one system and a "disaster" in another, absent an incompetently designed amp. Cable opinions tend to overstate the effect of cables on a system in my experience. I have found the differences subtle at most. To each his own I guess.

 

[DTB300]

Well, I really cannot see how any competently designed speaker cable can sound good in one system and a "disaster" in another, absent an incompetently designed amp. Cable opinions tend to overstate the effect of cables on a system in my experience. I have found the differences subtle at most. To each his own I guess.

Atty...no directed at you...just a comment based on the discussions here..

Yep...that is what makes the Infinite Cable Debate like the Energizer Bunny - it keeps going and going and going. Discussions about Electrical properties, cable geometry, connectors, everything has been analyzed to death, yet there are still issues that both sides of the fence can never seem to agree on.

You have stated that you hear very little change between cables, others hear larger differences. No one is right, no one is wrong.

My take on all of this: set your price and listen to some different brands. If there is no discerable differences, save some $$$ and purchase the lower cost ones.

Dan

 

[attyonline]

I agree, but it seems over the top to describe one cable as nirvana and another one as a disaster. For the sake of argument, I am willing to concede that there are differences in sound between cables, but if one describes the sound of one cable as a disaster, the use of such a strongly descriptive term strikes me that the differences are either grossly exaggerated or there is something wrong with the cable or the amp. This is especially pertinent since no one to my knowledge has been able to pick out one cable over another consistently in a proper blind test. That fact makes it likely that any differences in sound are small and subtle, not obvious. But, as I said, its not life/death, war/peace, its just audio.

 

[DTB300]

I agree, but it seems over the top to describe one cable as nirvana and another one as a disaster.

Agree with you on the terminology used. But this touches on another subject of the terminology that is being used for Audio and how confusing it can be for newbies and sometimes long time listeners and users.

For my testing and trials of cables there were no night and day differences as you would have with a new source or speakers. But what I found is that each company had their own "sound" and as you went up the chain of products there was a point where every companies cables had fewer and fewer changes (more subtle) in the upper $$$ products. So it became an issue of cost versus performance that the cable exhibited. For instance, and this is just MY OPINION, when I was comparing the DH Lab BL-1 II to their Air Matrix ($100 vs $195 for 1 meter) the extra $95 was not worth it. I felt you got 90% or better of the performance in the BL-1 compared to the Air Matrix.

But again all of this is perfernce and personal, equipment, and room that will help make the final choice for someone. And if you cannot hear any differences with cables, then use the nice red & white RCA's that come with most equipment, or drop by Rad Shack and pick up a pair there.

Dan

 

[Sunnyboy 1956]

inept terminology

Attyonline:
You make an important point and I perhaps unwantonly used somewhat stronger terminology than warranted. Agreed the differences between cables is at best subtle. However, my personal litmus test for any component, incl. cables is that the listening experience should be completely non fatiguing. I have had instances in my dedicated listening room, using mid range(price wise) nordost cables with a Bryston 14BST where the upper frequencies have been bright to the point of being shrill on some female vocals( Norah Jones, Rebecca Pidgeon, Holly Cole etc). Adding a warmer cable like AQ muted this effect. From my limited standpoint, even though Nordost and Bryston are excellent products in their own right, their combo in my system was musically unsatisfying....ok the term disaster smacks of inept terminology in the sense that there was no catastrophy...but it does capture in an exaggerated sense the anguish of an audiophile who got it wrong !!
NJoy

 

[stesom]

I am running Pikes Peak to my Summits and Jaguar interconnects all around and I could not be happier. My system has settled in and I just spend my time enjoying music instead of wondering what next to change or upgrade. To me Audioquest makes a fine cable and I am sure that you will find satisfaction in thier product whichever you choose........Steve