System:
AMP: Willsenton R8 (extensively modded)
DAC: Gustard R26 w/ext clock
HP AMP: Cavalli/Monoprice Liquid Platinum
CDT: Audiolab 6000CDT
SPEAKERS: Jeff Bagby designed Auricles - RAAL 70/20xr tweeters/Satori MW
SUB: REL T9/x
CABLES: Silversmith Fidelium speaker, all else DIY using Neotech, Oyaide, and Mundorf S/G.
I picked up the Fideliums yesterday at my local PO, and needless to say, they aren't coming back unless one of them suddenly disintegrates.
I had an open mind when I installed them, thinking that maybe my system might not be resolving enough to hear a notable difference, but I was completely wrong. In fact it's the other way around, these cables have shown me what my system is actually capable of, especially my RAAL driven speakers, which are finally expressing themselves fully and with great extension and fullness in the upper range.
What hit me first was the sense of effortlessness in the presentation of music, openness I'd call it. Second was the size and dimensionality of the soundstage. Next I noticed how much more space individual instruments have. My tubes system doesn't outline things super sharply, it's more organic, but still everything occupies a defined space and can be heard without reaching, it's lovely.
Last thing of note is timbre. Oh my, I was too busy registering other effects at first, then Charles Lloyd's sax just nearly scared me off the couch, it had so much presence. Soon after was Bill Frisell and again, the guitar sounded like it was in the room, it really did. The way these cables allow speed and the lack of smearing affects transients and timbre in a remarkable way, and everything you have said about them is completely accurate. They do precisely what you designed them to do, major kudos to you.
In this ever changing audiophile world, it's a great relief every now and then to be so utterly satisfied with something, I know I can stop looking over my shoulder or worrying about the next best thing...unless it comes from you of course. This is what I've been telling others especially over at HeadFi, that these are end game without question, and I'm done and can get back to listening.
I can't stop listening to my system now, the clarity and aliveness have come to such a level it's arresting. I've been listening tonight to Bobo Stenson's latest album Sphere, and there are lots of subtle bits from the drums and it's just stunning, and the bass sounds as real as I've ever heard in recorded music. On top of that, tonight I heard what I've been missing in recorded piano, a completeness in the frequency response that I guess you could call 'warmth', but it's really just the timbre of the wood and strings as it should be. Wow!
Thank you very much for answering my questions and for developing such an outstanding cable that someone like me can afford.
