Alex
Rank: Soloist
Posts: 10 
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Post by Alex on Feb 10, 2015 18:31:37 GMT
Hello everybody,
I have following questions:
- does somebody already use Epiphany Acoustics Atratus Audiophile RCA Interconnects cable?
- does somebody already use QED Reference Audio Evolution RCA Interconnects cable?
As I am very curious how they are different, Atratus Audiophile vs QED Reference Audio Evolution.
As well I'm in general curious about differences between QED and Epiphany Acoustics Atratus cables.
Thanks in advance for all answers.
Regards,
Alex.
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Post by John on Feb 10, 2015 18:45:52 GMT
The Epiphany Atratus is a very good cable a lot of people use it in some serious systems I not heard the QED Reference so cannot compare
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Post by AlanS on Feb 11, 2015 0:43:47 GMT
I have not compared the Atratus with QED but have with Mark Grant and NVA offerings. I found it gave little more than those two established cables so I returned the Atratus and had a refund.
I suppose you could say my system isn't serious enough
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 7:29:45 GMT
I have a set of Atratus III. They are not that different from my DIY Klotz MC5000. The MC5000 are much cheaper for me to make, so I am sticking with those.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 11, 2015 7:45:43 GMT
My current cables of choice are the Atratus III and have been for quite a few months. The 2nd best I have yet heard.*
The comparison with Klotz MC5000 baffles me, cos in my system there isn't one.  ... the At3 simply lets more of everything good through imo - rez, focus, dynamics, tonal shading etc.
Buy hey ho - we all hear things differently and have different system synergies working for and against us.
But no, I have not heard the QED cables.
* The 1st best I have heard are NVA's top of the range, TIS cables (The Interconnect Statement). They are a fair bit more expensive and sonic differences are small to my ear, so I stayed with the Epiphany. You get a tad more transparency with the NVA TIS. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 8:04:04 GMT
Have you tried the MC5000 with the KLEI Harmony plugs?
The base cables are very similar, using similar plugs, you get a similar result. Logic really.
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Post by danielquinn on Feb 11, 2015 8:25:39 GMT
Similar in what way?
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 11, 2015 9:58:59 GMT
Have you tried the MC5000 with the KLEI Harmony plugs? Ah, no - good point, I have not tried them with the same (excellent) plugs as the At3. I can't even recall what plugs were on the pairs of Klotz MC5000 cables that I tried! I hear that the KLEI silver plugs are (or were) about £70 for 4, so the Klotzy ones would then be a similar price to the Epiphany Atratus III (which is astonishing value at around £100 a pair imho).
It's tricky doing useful comparisons with a 'product' that is essentially DIY like the MC5000 cables that are currently finding favour with some folks. It's whatever flavour you want really, subject to experimentation and build quality. With the Epiphany you simply get the known and established product, and an excellent one it is, too. 
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 13:23:49 GMT
The only real difference between the two cables is a better quality dielectric (Teflon) is used n the Atratus base cable. Construction and CSA is about the same. Shieldng is by Aluminium Mylar foil and a braid in the Atratus and a double braid in the MC5000.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 11, 2015 13:32:15 GMT
Shielding makes a big difference to sound, I think - isn't Teflon supposed to be the best dielectric material for the purpose?.
EDIT ... and, iirc, Mark (YNWAN) has said that the construction of the Atratus is complex and a bit special. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 13:33:51 GMT
Yes, I believe so.
It's a good cable.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 12, 2015 15:12:50 GMT
I freely admit to not being the most technically minded, but I really don't get how what are basically shielded copper cables can be so radically different from each other to supersede last week's 'latest and greatest' cable ...
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Post by danielquinn on Feb 12, 2015 15:46:08 GMT
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know"
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 12, 2015 17:13:27 GMT
I freely admit to not being the most technically minded, but I really don't get how what are basically shielded copper cables can be so radically different from each other to supersede last week's 'latest and greatest' cable ... I'm not technically minded either - at least as far as audio engineering is concerned - and it seems weird to me as well that I hear so much in the way of subtle (and not so subtle) differences between cables.
But as DQ implies, just cos there isn't (yet) a technical explanation doesn't mean the sonic differences don't actually exist.
As an example, the sonic efficacy of Teflon as a dielectric in cable manufacture has been acknowledged in audio circles for decades. As for why it is so good at that job I'll leave to better trained minds than mine.
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Post by John on Feb 12, 2015 17:19:28 GMT
I freely admit to not being the most technically minded, but I really don't get how what are basically shielded copper cables can be so radically different from each other to supersede last week's 'latest and greatest' cable ... I mostly find they change the colour of the sound cables can have different strengths and unfortunately not all cables are equal. Shielding might help block RFI, connectors might improve the signal connection, copper and silver have different characteristics. I do not have expensive cables myself and spent far to much money chasing the end of that Rainbow and have managed to eliminate a few cable runs which just makes more musical sense |
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Alex
Rank: Soloist
Posts: 10
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Post by Alex on Jul 1, 2015 0:54:27 GMT
Hello everybody, I'm just notify you also here, that previous month I finally did buy Epiphany Acoustics Atratus II RCA Interconnects (was just waiting that my "hi-fi gear budget fills up"). And I must say VAUUUU. That's was my BEST investment in cables until now. I upgraded from QED Performance Graphite J2P - 3.5mm JACK to 2 RCA which was connected from Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC to my "desktop" amplifier Denon PMA-720AE - which is connected to DALI Zensor 1 with AudioQuest FLX-SLiP 14/4 speaker cables. I really didn't need to have “golden ears” to notice the difference. Potential of my DALI Zensor 1 speakers was instantly revealed. Right away I did get something like 3D presentation of sound, which was not present before (in such obvious extend). I did get obviously more depth, more tight, as well more smoother bass as before (yeah, that’s was totally exciting for me). And in the same time more airy presentation. All together, obviously more stereo image. In the same time I did get more lively and more dynamic sound. What is coming from my amplifier, as I know how my Denon PMA-720AE “should sound”. All together I achieved now the perfect combination for my desktop gear, as I’m getting the stability, depth and spaceness from Dali Zensor 1, the dynamic from Denon PMA-720AE and just enough touch of natural (analogue) subtilty from Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC and from latest version of JRiver Media Center audio player (because the Denon doesn’t have this “required” touch of subtilty). Now I 100% confirming - from my own experience - that investment in better cable really justified the higher price. As well now I can see (hear) that even for entry level audiophile speakers like DALI Zensor 1, having better cable does make a very noticeable big difference (in my case this was very reveling). Because you are mentioning YNWAN here as well, I'm just informing that exactly his review: www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?68440-Epiphany-Acoustics-Atratus-interconnect-cable&highlight=Epiphany+Acoustics+Atratus+IIwas most convincing for my "investment" in Epiphany Acoustics Atratus II. Cheers, happy Alex. |
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Post by MartinT on Jul 1, 2015 6:52:49 GMT
Glad you're happy, Alex. Cables really can make a difference!
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Post by pinkie on Jul 1, 2015 7:06:07 GMT
That seems an entirely sensible and reasonable price for a well made cable. How refreshing. Now that I have RCA's again I am going to try Wonky's suggestion (although only really valid into the Quad as I need balanced for the Benchmark). 20 hum de ha years ago when I last fiddled with this subject, Pip was pretty cable indifferent, and I am conscious of the cable comments in the "understanding eliminating and finding ground loops" article (bottom of page 20). You will note it does not deny there are audible differences in cables - only describes their cause and relevance. Although I only discovered that paper a few weeks ago - we carried out similar tests at Pink Triangle over 20 years ago which I discussed with Wonky last year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2015 11:33:34 GMT
Yep, last year when you found out that cables really can make a difference.  Isn't the QED SA really bad in certain cases /systems? |
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Post by John on Jul 1, 2015 11:36:11 GMT
According to quite a few people the QED cable is quite harsh on top
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... the At3 simply lets more of everything good through imo - rez, focus, dynamics, tonal shading etc.
