Hi prepress

What you want to try is consistent with guidance from my transparent dealer. They recommend putting the best cables starting with source. If you don't like the results, you can always return to what you were using before swapping.

Good luck in finding a trustworthy dealer.

Thanks for clarifying, prepress. I'm pretty sure you will hear a significant difference quickly swapping in one set of Supers at a time. But one way or another, I would insist on a home demo or risk-free purchase. I've ended up at single-ended Supers throughout, but I tried for more and I did not have as much luck when I demoed Ultras and balanced Supers (I could not hear a significant difference). So I've ended up thinking the whole cable thing is system/ear-dependent. Or maybe each system has some max level of cable beyond which more $ will not help?

Today I conducted an experiment. I took the Super IC off my pre/power connection (C2300/MC501) and put it on my SACD player (MCD500), then took the MusicLink Plus off my LD player and used that for the pre/power connection. I used four tracks I'm quite familiar with from my standard audition list, plus one random extra:

1. Fanfare for the Common Man—Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lane conducting;
2. Hallucinations—Eliane Elias
3. Cross Currents—Eliane Elias
4. Close to the Edge—Yes
5. A Horse with No Name—America

So, what did I hear? Overall, though the core sound wasn't radically different, I'd say everything sounded a bit cleaner, perhaps more focused. As for specifics:
• On Fanfare the orchestra sounded a bit tighter. The decay on the gong at the beginning lasted a bit longer.
• On Hallucinations the drums seemed a bit more dynamic and impactful, the piano a bit more realistic. On Cross Currents I noticed the bass line a bit more in spots.
• Close to the Edge was the real test, as I was listening for that low synth note just before the end of the "I Get Up I Get Down" section's end; actually there are two such notes, the second being at the very end of the section and I'd never noticed that one as clearly before, it was more obvious and had (I think) a bit more articulation to it. The prior low note was more prominent than usual, more easily heard than before.
• A Horse with No Name was clean as well, and the acoustic guitars had that clean sound spoken of earlier.

I admit I didn't put everything back to listen the regular way, I called the store and am looking to use Transparent's Trade Up program to get two pairs of Super for my two main sources (SACD and Blu-ray). I'm not going whole hog for now, because of the money, plus my LD player doesn't get a lot of use so I don't see any sense in giving it interconnects that cost as much as I paid for it back in the day. So there you have it. I'm expecting things will sound at least as good as I just heard with the Super I have back in its regular slot.

Thanks for sharing your experiment. I heard similar results with Transparent power cords. I had a reference on my integrated amp and premium on my dac. I switched them for giggles and everything sounded just a smidge better. I am now saving my pennies to put a reference power cable on my integrated amp. �� Hmm, maybe I need to also try a reference power cord my word clock. ��

Will you be setting up a test? Reference cords aren't cheap. I have Premium cords on my gear, and Shunyata Venom V10 NRs on the power conditioners and am content. But then, I don't have your gear.

I have Close to the Edge on again in the background as I type, and noticed that the intro with the birds and such comes in louder more quickly, another difference. When I did the in-store audition between the Plus and Super ICs back in the fall, the main (only) difference I really heard was that the Super IC was a bit more dynamic, otherwise it was hard to tell any difference with the Plus. That was a different room and different equipment. And on this track I'll amend what I said in my previous post a bit: I'm not so sure that first low synth note is louder, it may be about the same. But the articulation and occasional background detail does show up

Perhaps I should put things back as they were and listen again before committing to any big expenditures. The only clear test is to have the Super on both pre/power and source connections. I'd expect that to improve things a bit further, but I won't know until I try it. Unfortunately, the store doesn't have a policy set up for in-home auditions (bummer).

A test will depend on whether I trade in my Premium power cords or sell them myself. I like the Premium power cord, but the Reference is the most economical cable upgrade I can make. The jump from Ultra to Reference in IC or speaker cable is too much for me. I started with Plus and Super, and I think they are great cables. For my system, Ultra, which I bought used when great deal came up, seems to be the point of diminishing return. My system gives me great joy whether it’s playing background music or concert level 😁!! Your gear is certainly pretty fine!

I've just green-lighted the purchase of two pair of Super for my SACD and BD players. My makeshift audition was enough to convince me. Overall, the Super is more dynamic, but it and the Plus sound pretty similar otherwise. I wonder how the sound will change once I put the Super I have now (Gen 5) back on the pre/power connection and have the new Supers (Gen 6) on their respective components.

I may have created a problem too, in that I can be completist, and there will be three sources (tuner, turntable, laserdisc) without Super. The MusicLink Plus I used for my auditioning came off the LD player; Kimber Hero is on the tuner, where I quite like it; and the turntable has the tonearm cables from the SME arm. I wonder if Transparent's adapter works with an SME 309 tonearm connection? I CANNOT afford to go there now. Actually, the Hero and the Plus are also quite similar, to my ears, with the Plus just a tad smoother on top. If the new Supers are dramatically better than the Hero, I'll have a psychological problem to deal with. :scratch2:

I also hope this doesn't damage my hunt for a new mattress. The IC money would have gone toward that.

I got the call from the dealer yesterday. The 2 pairs of Super are in. I'm going to see if I can get over there tomorrow, or if not, next Saturday. Interestingly, I have some sense of anticipation but am not truly excited. I wonder if that's my "Vulcan" half (as i like to refer to it), have I become that low-key personality-wise, or have I reached a plateau with the audio thing?

i imagine the sense of anticipation will grow once I pick them up, at least.

The Supers are here and have about 3.5 hours on them, spread between CD and BD (more BD). Overall, there is more weight and impact to the sound, and more realism in some instruments, such as acoustic guitar. The impact of the lower frequencies made me turn down the volume a couple of steps when watching the Berlin Philharmonic in a BD concert on my BD player. The basses in the orchestra were more fleshed out, it seemed.

On CD, Fanfare for the Common Man had a bit more "there" there in its low frequencies. A tad more refined than before. And the guitar intro on "A Horse with No Name" sounded more realistic, as did eliane Elias' piano on her Cross Currents CD. I'll need to play more stuff to get a fuller feel, but pretty good so far.

Despite current finances, I'm actually thinking of how to swing another pair for my tuner, despite the fact it doesn't get the same amount of attention as my Blu-ray or CD players.