advertisement


Chord Co. Shawline | Epic IC Opinion Needed.

Kt77

Kt77

pfm Member
Hi All,

As it has been awhile since I've last visited, as I've come to a point in life where I currently felt as if I had learned enough about audio in itself to be content with my current system. Yet can certainly say that having read about the ProAc Tablette 10 | Tablette 10 Signature ( upcoming ) has sparked a newfound interest speaker wise that's for such.

Yet my main reason for posting this inquiry is that I'm the sort whom has always believed it's best to ask for assistance on any given subject from those in which said items have originated......, so my question is can anyone here tell me if there are any major sonic differences between the two stablemate interconnects as listed above?, from what I've been able to find online is that the Epic has a heavier plating of silver over its copper conductor, which can be a good thing I'm told.

But as I'm trying to find something which might in turn better my little inexpensive Mark Tunis Silver Ghost ICs ( aerospace graded silver plated copper ICs ) which cost a mere $125|1m pair......, yet within 3 tracks replaced a more costly pair of Cable Research Labs Bronze as well as Siltech Cable Explorer 90I ICs as if they were toys.

In retrospect I'm merely looking at either of these because of the companies background on having produced cabling as far back as my retailing days during the early 80s, where I still have fond memories of just how well they worked in tandem with a boarder range of electronics then many stateside......, yet lesson learnt....., one doesn't have to spend as much these days to gain a sense of purity or better yet....., tone as it relates to cables as many over here are finding much joy in having replaced their more expensive cables with either Western Electric or Duelund 16GA | 20GA wiring harnesses throughout their entire systems....., which then makes me rather reluctant to want to spend over $600 for said length of ICs.

So I'm wondering if those among you whom have heard both, would be willing to share you impressions as to how each plays against the other?, as I'm only looking to buy one or the other....., please share your truth on said matter.

Cheers......, o_O scar
 
Wow......, I'm getting the impression that many of you haven't taken it upon yourselves to listen to cables built in your own backyard!, or merely aren't willing to assist a fellow music lover ( Yank or not ) in knowing said differences?.

My bad for asking......., no wonder I stop feeling the need to post on most forums over the course of the last 5 years...., there isn't anything new to learn.
 
Kt77 said:
Wow......, I'm getting the impression that many of you haven't taken it upon yourselves to listen to cables built in your own backyard!, or merely aren't willing to assist a fellow music lover ( Yank or not ) in knowing said differences?.

My bad for asking......., no wonder I stop feeling the need to post on most forums over the course of the last 5 years...., there isn't anything new to learn.
Click to expand...

Oscar, do notice its summer period and the beach might be a better place to stay rather than in cable hell

Also you might tell what amp/speakers in use, this is not clear to me.

FWIW
A pal ran Chord Odyssey (same as Epic inside) and Naim A5 silmoustanely shifted every second month or so.

What he told his experience were rather hmm.. so-so
Some advantages here and there but nothing to write about, his ears seem to get used to the cable in situ

He needed a refresh and got some Atlas Hyper
Immidiately he noticed improvements
After a couple of weeks he's not so sure

Later on he aquired some Tellurium Q cable.
This definately had a different presentation
Long term experience yet to come

EDIT
Oh my dear, I just found your asking for interconnects (IC) not speakercables, my bad
 
Hello hifinutt | Olsen,

Taking into account what both of you've stated, I'd like to say your views are correct. And while it's far easier for one to feel neglected by lack of responses to my question....., I must take it that many are in fact busy doing other things like " living life ".

Yet I do appreciate you both sharing your insight on my behalf......, Thanks guys.

o_Oh
 
Just seen this and you may be interested in my bother-in-law's experience. He has a Cyrus setup with Triangle speakers and has been using the Shawline I/C for some time. As a birthday treat he arranged for the amp and cd player to be sent back to Cyrus for an upgrade to both. Anyhow, this was arranged through a local dealer who manged to damage one of the components and replaced the item which for some reason included a free 'loan' of the Epic I/C.

Now, said bro-in-law works from home and has acute hearing, so took the opportunity to really test out his upgraded equipment and try the loaner I/C. He's certainly not into hyperbole but expressed to me just how superior the cable was to the Shawline. I said that if the change was so great that he should keep the loan cable, alas as he (or his wife) had already spent a tidy sum on the upgrades, then he couldn't justify spending more money. I think the Epic is twice the cost of the Shawline, yet the report to me indicated a far greater gap between the two!
 
now , that's great but how did your bro in law tell the difference between the upgraded equipment and the epic cable when 2 things have been changed at once ?
 
hifinutt said:
now , that's great but how did your bro in law tell the difference between the upgraded equipment and the epic cable when 2 things have been changed at once ?
Click to expand...


He kept on swapping them around - I think he did did this each day for at least two weeks or so as I think the dealer were trying to tempt a further sale out of him. As I say, he's not one for hyperbole or other gushing comments.
 
Caliente said:
Just seen this and you may be interested in my bother-in-law's experience. He has a Cyrus setup with Triangle speakers and has been using the Shawline I/C for some time. As a birthday treat he arranged for the amp and cd player to be sent back to Cyrus for an upgrade to both. Anyhow, this was arranged through a local dealer who manged to damage one of the components and replaced the item which for some reason included a free 'loan' of the Epic I/C.

Now, said bro-in-law works from home and has acute hearing, so took the opportunity to really test out his upgraded equipment and try the loaner I/C. He's certainly not into hyperbole but expressed to me just how superior the cable was to the Shawline. I said that if the change was so great that he should keep the loan cable, alas as he (or his wife) had already spent a tidy sum on the upgrades, then he couldn't justify spending more money. I think the Epic is twice the cost of the Shawline, yet the report to me indicated a far greater gap between the two!
Click to expand...

Hello Caliente,

I'm taking from this that the Epic seemingly is worth the extra funds, as I've ran this question by a friend of mine whom own Jena Labs Advantage ICs, he mentioned it might be a better investment for me to pursue the Epic ICs because of their heavier plating of silver onto the copper conductors themselves which in hindsight seems to make a great deal of sense.

As I'm awaiting a response from Chord thenself after submitting said question to their Cable Doctor link, I'd love to see where this leads.

Thanks for chiming in, as all of this has proven worthwhile information, in which I'm truthfully grateful to each of you....
 
Yes, I think Tom would have kept/bought them as there was such a significant improvement, to his ears anyway. He only didn't as i believe the upgrades to the amp and cdp were quite expensive so he reckoned that enough money had already been spent on him.

Slightly off-topic I guess but I recently replaced my Clearer Audio Bronze speaker cables with some Tellurium Black - to me, it's like having a new amp as the changes have been very significant. The only negative is the much reported issue is that some poor recordings do sound quite poor as I have been discovering this afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I love new layers of instrumentation and so on, but some recordings are painful to listen to!
 
Olsen said:
Oscar, do notice its summer period and the beach might be a better place to stay rather than in cable hell

Also you might tell what amp/speakers in use, this is not clear to me.

FWIW
A pal ran Chord Odyssey (same as Epic inside) and Naim A5 silmoustanely shifted every second month or so.

What he told his experience were rather hmm.. so-so
Some advantages here and there but nothing to write about, his ears seem to get used to the cable in situ

He needed a refresh and got some Atlas Hyper
Immidiately he noticed improvements
After a couple of weeks he's not so sure

Later on he aquired some Tellurium Q cable.
This definately had a different presentation
Long term experience yet to come

EDIT
Oh my dear, I just found your asking for interconnects (IC) not speakercables, my bad
Click to expand...

Forgive me for the oversight Olsen.

Here's my system information as listed on Audio Asylum's inmate system:

https://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/10562.html
 
Caliente said:
Yes, I think Tom would have kept/bought them as there was such a significant improvement, to his ears anyway. He only didn't as i believe the upgrades to the amp and cdp were quite expensive so he reckoned that enough money had already been spent on him.

Slightly off-topic I guess but I recently replaced my Clearer Audio Bronze speaker cables with some Tellurium Black - to me, it's like having a new amp as the changes have been very significant. The only negative is the much reported issue is that some poor recordings do sound quite poor as I have been discovering this afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I love new layers of instrumentation and so on, but some recordings are painful to listen to!
Click to expand...


As with the case of me telling many of my friends how German gear like Clear Audio Turntables | EMT Cartridges | Tidal Loudspeakers are amongst my favorites if I were able to afford them.

Yet I'm inclined to believe it's their sense of honesty which separates them from brands or designs which merely gloss over the detail and comes across as overly forgiving......, I myself seek truth as it should be obvious upon listening to recordings from the likes of Blue Note | Prestige | CrissCross when it comes to the voicing of each, as well as knowing full well an LP that one purchased from a 25 cent or $1.00 bin aren't of quality......., when one sits there taking about said differences between them and an LP which cost $50 - $150 which was mastered properly onto say 180 - 200 grams.

Honesty to me is vital, as overly dull or forgiving products while nice on the ears aren't being truthful in said presentation......
 
I think your comments are possibly worthy of a new thread - I'm not disagreeing with your view in the slightest, however, there are recordings, including so-called remasters which do no justice to the musicians whose creativity has not been properly collected in the first place.

I was listening earlier to something recorded in 1971, possibly quite quickly and cheaply as it was from a rock group who failed to set the world on fire, yet perhaps listening to them on a system that is overly forgiving may indeed help? I don't know, but having a system that highlights imperfections may not necessarily be that good a thing. My visit tomorrow to the North West Audio Show may prove to be very interesting?
 
Caliente said:
I think your comments are possibly worthy of a new thread - I'm not disagreeing with your view in the slightest, however, there are recordings, including so-called remasters which do no justice to the musicians whose creativity has not been properly collected in the first place.

I was listening earlier to something recorded in 1971, possibly quite quickly and cheaply as it was from a rock group who failed to set the world on fire, yet perhaps listening to them on a system that is overly forgiving may indeed help? I don't know, but having a system that highlights imperfections may not necessarily be that good a thing. My visit tomorrow to the North West Audio Show may prove to be very interesting?
Click to expand...

While I'd say that I'm the sort whom prefers accuracy above all else, I tend to strive system wise to build upon one which is capable of walking that very fine ( if not rare ) line between refinement and detail. And am happy with the manner in which I've voiced my system where it's capable of playing any genre or vintage of music equally as well as the first or last recording sent through it.

And being that I'm very much into demo quality type recordings or tracks, yet can appreciate the creativity of music recorded well from the mid 50s throughout the late 70s and beyond......, I've come to be a proponent of knowing my labels as well as the master engineer involved in any given record, as that's where one gains a certain insight into what to expect sonically.....

I forgot to mention......, on the speaker cabling side of things, I tend to use more refined or forgiving cables in this case from the likes of Supra Ply 3.4S or rotated with a pair of TQ Ultra Blue's in which I've found to take the edge off older or slightly brighter recordings, yet maintain a sense of beauty which underpins the essence of each recording whereas not to come across as overly forgiving, as every little nuance can be clearly heard......, it's just presented in a manner which offers a buttery type refinement in the highs...., if that makes any sort of sense?.

Once again....., thanks for contributing to this thread, as once again it's becoming very insightful.
 
Caliente said:
He kept on swapping them around - I think he did did this each day for at least two weeks or so as I think the dealer were trying to tempt a further sale out of him. As I say, he's not one for hyperbole or other gushing comments.
Click to expand...

thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top