I picked up enough of this cable at the DC AudioFest from Joe Roberts (thanks Joe for the gift!) to run it as single run per channel from my preamp to amps. To be fair, my expectations were not all that high except.... that Joe mentioned that he liked this stuff. My preferences have always steered me toward balanced, solid core conductor runs and a simple coax design (rj223?) did not rank highly in my interconnect hierarchy.
I used some Chinese made Tellurium copper Eichmann Bullet Plug RCA connector clones. At the AudioFest, there was some discussion to double up the cable runs to provide 2 identical legs per channel and use the braid as just a shield but I did not have enough so I built them up as a single run (center solid core as + leg and the metal braid as the - run). The interconnects I currently use are an AudioQuest solid core design. They sound pretty good I guess.
In a single word, the JR Coleman (JRC) interconnect is .......SMOOOOOOTH! The JRCs are tonally SPOT ON with vocals and instruments in the lower midrange and give a nice chunky, solid presentation. The difference between the JRCs and the Audioquests with female vocals was the JRCs highlighted the chest and the Audioquest sounded slightly more nasal. Here there was no contest, I liked the JRCs.
Play music loud? Go ahead and crank it, the JRCs sound better the louder you go (apparently without limit) unlike the AudioQuests which transition over and become somewhat shrill/harsh/confused as the sound level rises to silly loud levels I don't normally listen to. Also, perhaps because the JRCs sound so composed and listenable at high levels, I also heard dynamic contrasts that I did not realize my system was capable of. Perhaps this is just that with the AudioQuests in my system, I tend to limit how loud I play my system because at some point it starts to sound a bit rough.
Bass performance with the JRC was also good with a nice rhythmic foundation to set off the enjoyable midrange mentioned above. Shortcomings? The JRCs did not do detail and "air" and soundstage as well as the AudioQuests and also are less enjoyable as the volume diminishes.
JRC strengths
Great midrange (tone, continuity and balance)
smooth and realistic sounding at high levels
Solid bass performance
JRC weaknesses
a bit dull at lower levels which is unfortunately where I do a fair amount of listening
some loss of air/space/imaging compared to the AudioQuests
If you listen to high efficiency speakers like full rangers or horns where you have plenty of detail/presence/slam factor and/or if you like to listen LOUD then I think you should make up a pair and give them a try!
Polite systems may not take to these cables, too much smoothness might present as dull. I have a set of AudioNote Copper stranded wire interconnects which have a certain sound. Almost as if they focus on the essentials in music and allow other sonic qualities to recede somewhat. The JRCs are like that but better overall than the AudioNotes.
Do they need break-in? Only time will tell. Are they nice sounding? You bet, especially when loud! Would a doubled up run address the shortcomings that I heard? Maybe. Are they directional? Don't know, I only tried them oriented using the writing on the cable outer sheath. Worth trying out ? Absolutely!
Thanks Joe for the idea and the wire!
