OMEGA MIKRO
Feedback
Hi Ron, I'll give you some more specific comments that you can use if you like:
CRT remains the gold standard for television sets in my opinion, so a bigger screen is not necessarily better. On my 40" CRT at 1080i, the color, sharpness, and detail are AMAZING through the Zephyr component cables. Prior to owning these cables I didn't realize my television's capalities. By comparison, other component cables and HDMI now seem dull and washed out. Now that I've gotten used to the Zephyr cables, I can't enjoy a movie viewed through anything else.
Thanks! Will Strickling
Hello Ron,
The Planar VII interconnects that I recently purchased from you are astonishing. The clarity is light years ahead of anything I have heard before.
Regards,
Ben
Hello Ron,
You asked for some feedback on cables I recently bought from you, so here are my thoughts so far.
Well, I am very impressed - and relieved - to find that they do indeed perform to the product description. I did a head to head with some 47 Lab OTA Stratos cable and it was no contest. One track told all I needed to know about the planar's superiority, in tonality, timbre and note decay. I have never heard notes decay I such a natural way before.
Acoustic guitars -big Doc Watson fan - are superb. Strings are naturally steely yet there is also the woodiness of the guitars body is also there. With live amplified harmonic you can hear the metal reeds vibrato, I have never heard that effect on my system until I used your cables. Paul Butterfield and Taj Mahal's playing is far more expressive now.
An interesting phenomenon, live recording seem 'liver', but it now shows up the artificial way certain albums were constructed. I am thinking of Steely Dan albums which always seem to be meticulously recorded, yet now they have a sterile lifeless quality. Which means, of course, that the truth can hurt.
The Gaincard also runs cooler now on the same volume setting, than the when I was using the pure silver cable, which I infer is that the silver cable was presenting the amplifier with more resistance.
So, obviously very impressed with your cables. I have cribbed your wife's cable lifter idea and made my own out of bamboo - somehow in keeping with using an amplifier from the Far East!
I have taken a number of looks at the Mapleshade site. Some very interesting and intriguing products and I shall be purchasing some items in the next few months. I am drawn to the brass footers for my Linn, the nano points and the anti static brush.
I agree with the their thoughts on hard turntable mats. For years I have used soft - rubber, felt - or a Ringmat. I switched to a Sound Dead Steel mat last Autumn and the difference is not subtle. I don't know if you are aware of the product? I see that you are inveterate experimenters and this item is well worth evaluating.
I look forward to further audio advances in the future with the help of your products.
Best regards,
Paul
Dear Ron,
I just listened to the 100Watts PowerCord you shipped. I have to say OMG OMG OMG!! It’s a SUBSTANTIAL Difference!!
I can’t go back to 900Watt version again. The sound difference is just startling! First thing, I hear the soundstage is HUGE! It’s just opened up so much, and the dynamic is just shocking. The sound has a much better PRaT to it! . And the air! Lots of air! I’m honestly very impressed!
Best Regards,
Jeffri Lingo
Hi Ron. The new cables arrived last Thursday and I got them in the system over the weekend—what amazing clarity and detail. I’ll try to pack up the digital cable I bought on audiogon and send it to you for upgraded rca terminals when I get a chance—I’ll let you know when it goes.
Aloha
Hi Ron
...Now I have attached the Active speakers cables to the Quads, the passive cables to the dipole
subs, the Planar I IC between preamp out and crossover in, the 2m Analog VII IC between SACD and preamp (and still have the Ebony IC's and active 100W power cable for the MusicServer/Transporter when it arrives). The sound and musicality of the system is the best I've ever head, even after big upgrades like the two box ModWright tubed preamp
with outboard supply. My wife agrees - very musically involving, much more so than before and the bass and bass articulation seems to be better as well. Now the music really
draws me into listening without the "fatigue" I used to get in my early systems, which resulted me turning them off after about one hour.
The only non OM cable I still have are two IC's: One pair of Acoustic Zen Silver Reference RCAs (1m) from crossover output to tube power amp (Quads), and one pair of Audioquest
Columbia dbs 72V XLR's (1m) from crossover output to the GamuT MosFet amp (subs).
Whilst my personal budget is overdone current, and my financial manager here at home won't allow more right now, I am seriously interested in getting a 1m pair of Analog VII's the
the tube power amp and a Mk VII (or a Mk I?) for the subwoofer amp as well - even though I would have to use some kind of XLR to RCA adapters here because GamuT amps only
have balanced XLR inputs. Is there a certain adapter that you have good experience with and would recommend? Then, all my cable would be Omega Mikro ones.
In any case, I'll keep this in mind and also be on the lookout for any new products coming out this year. Thanks again, Ron. The sound quality has just improved in a big way.
Installation, of course (with limited space) was very tricky, but haven taken enough time and care to do it in the best possible way, I'm now satisfied with it. Many cables are now
suspended from the wall using thread. Also, at some points where I could not avoid the planar cables touching other cables, I have inserted a big off pure silk (Acoustic Revive
Japanese raw silk - looks like cotton) material between the cables...
...I'll go ahead and take two 1,0m long A VII LCX IC pairs with the new RCAs...
Have a nice weekend and best regards,
Chris
Hey Ron,
Woooeee! The Zephyr really opens up the soundstage and smooths out the jitters. I still love my turntable, but the sonic improvement is better than I ever thought possible in digital. You can post this if you wish.
Thanks,
Mark Bolliger
"When you first listen to the Omega Mikro cables, you will immediately notice how real the music sounds -- very rich and clean. Each instrument is focused, the bass is controlled, focused and quick. At first, you may think the bass is weak. I assure you it is not. Listen again to the recording and concentrate on the placement of the bass within the soundstage. Unlike most cables, when the music comes to a climax, the soundstage does not converge to the front and the bass does not dominate. Every instrument stays in its relative place, each instrument maintains its individual character, and the bass is still at the back of the soundstage ... where it should be. The bass is still clearly focused, only louder, and in correct proportion to the rest of the music. This is the result of eliminating the skin effect and minimizing the dielectric effect. You'll hear parts of the music that you didn't even know were there. The magic is in the details." -Walker Audio
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! The Planar Digital VI is just great! Everything sounds so much smoother, detailed, correctly timbred, spatially solid and located (I have been reading way too many Stereophile Magazines!). It is so nice to know that a crazy day at work can be followed by sanity and beauty from my system...
...Yes, Please feel free to post my letter. I think Mapleshade, Omega Micro are the "sleeper" products of the industry - fantastic products at great prices - I'm surprised more people haven't heard about them. I'm sure they will in time - quality is the best advertisement. Thom Jones"
I ordered Planar Speaker V active LCX 8 set. Spectacular cables. I new about INSOUND and MAPLESHADE's exceptional products, but what i discovered was nothing less then magic. Simply amazing! I'm really inspired now and gonna continue do business with you guys. Best Regards. Roman Sukner.