ANTICABLES named Product of the Year by Audiophilia!

audiophilia-product-year-smallWe are proud to announce that Audiophilia.com named our new Level 5 Signature Speaker wires as Product of the Year!

The Audiophilia writers listed their choices, including many as “runner up”, “special mention” and “honorable mention”, but if you scroll to the bottom of their Product of the Year lineup, you will see that Martin Appel chose our Level 5 Signature Speaker wires as the Product of the Year.

level-5-signature-awardsThe Level 5 Signature Speaker Wires were originally reviewed by Mr. Appel last September. You can read the entire review HERE, or if you want a quick read of the highlights, here are some snippets from that review:

 

“Along with killer imaging it was apparent that detail, resolution and transparency were off the charts and placed these 5 Signatures in rarified air. Instruments were so well defined — at times it was startling. It was as if each instrument had its own envelope of air surrounding it.”
-Martin Appel, Audiophilia

“I must report, to these ears, the 5 Signatures got the musical timbres of instruments as correctly as I’ve ever heard. I think the combination of characteristics also contribute the fact that the leading edge of notes or transient attack is accomplished without sounding edgy or hard and still produces a full, three dimensional image that is smooth and texturally complete. This is so difficult to achieve that one usually suffers at the expense of the other.”
-Martin Appel, Audiophilia

ANTICABLES would like to thank both Mr. Appel and Editor Anthony Kershaw for their efforts and the recognition we have received from their fine publication.

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Paul Speltz
Founder & President, ANTICABLES

 

Shop Level 5 Signature Speaker Wires

ANTICABLES Lab: A History of Improvements

db3ad6a5-a553-4f11-853d-ad5ce5f2f7d4ANTICABLES  Speaker Wires were first introduced in 2003 and were immediately recognized for their sonic merit and value.  They formed a cult-like underground following, and quickly earned seven consecutive “Editors’ Choice” and “Top Products” awards in a row from The Absolute Sound.

Through the years, we constantly look for ways to push for improved audio performance for all our product offerings. Most of the time the improvement comes without a price increase and often times comes without even being announced. We’ve included a historical account of how our speaker wires have evolved.

Looks are Deceiving

Even though our red coated speaker wires still look a lot like they did over a dozen years ago, they are actually quite different and have notable better sonic performance. If you bought your ANTICABLES Speaker Wires years ago, now might be a great time to upgrade to a new pair! The cost of a new pair might yet again be one of the best investments you could make to your audio system.

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Speaker Wires Evolution

2006

  • Reduced red coating thickness from 0.002″ down to 0.001″
  • Even lower dielectric effect distortion
  • Shorter break-in time

Fall 2007

  • Created our own better sounding solid copper spade
  • Greater clarity
  • Fits both 1/4″ and 5/16″ binding posts

March 2010

  • Started testing, managing, and marking the best sounding wire flow direction
  • Proper directionality provides greater resolution and dynamics
  • Increased pitch definition, more presence, and less smeared highs

Nov 2011

  • Started factory twisting the wire pairs together
  • Keeps inductance low for greater ambient information and tighter bass
  • Nicer looking and easier to manage
  • Started using even higher purity copper (down to only 5 parts per million impurities)
  • Smoother and more extended highs and greater harmonic textures through the midrange
  • These two changes marked the point in which they were now called the Level 2 Speaker Wires
  • The price was increased by $1 per foot per speaker, and the “original” version was discontinued.

Feb 2012

  • Went from a generic gold plated brass banana plug to our own gold plated 90% copper alloy BFA style banana plug
  • Brass is simply not a good sounding metal (the sound gets “hard” when the music gets complicated)
  • Sound is now about half way between the old bananas and our best sounding solid copper spades

 Aug 2012

  • Developed an even better sounding banana plug that is made out of a gold plated 99% Copper alloy called Beryllium Copper
  • The sound is now only one small tick away from our 100% solid copper spades.

Nov 2012

  • Introduced the Level 3 series, which is simply a doubled-up build of the Level 2 series
  • Provides additional bass weight and authority
  • Greater musical dynamic impact that makes the music sound more alive
  • Greater harmonic structure through the midrange

Feb 2013

  • Increased the copper purity of our solid copper spades
  • Slightly better resolution

Jan 2014

  • Changed the wire drawing process to a new facility (still in the USA)
  • Improved bass and a smoother top end

Aug 2016

Report: New York Audio Show

Image Credit: Audiophilia

Image Credit: Audiophilia

Images courtsey of Karl Sigman of Audiophilia.com

I was humbled when invited to join with Alta Audio and Krell Audio to share a demo room a the New York Audio Show earlier this month.

Micheal Levy of Alta Audio debuted his new $27,000/pr Hestia Titanium loudspeakers. Michael is a highly skilled speaker designer – I have to say, the Alta Audio Hestia Titanium speakers are some of the best sounding speakers I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. They continually sounded more like real instruments and less like speakers, than any other speakers I have ever heard.

It was a treat to team up with Krell Audio as well. Krell is now back in the hands of co-founder Rondi D’Agostino, who I am sure will direct the company with a “love of music” perspective. Also from Krell was Dave Goodman, who is their chief designer and has been with the company for decades.

Reviewer Karl Sigman of Audiophilia.com declared our room as his “favorite sounding room” of the entire NY Audio Show. Karl stated, “the sound-stage was huge and focused (nothing amorphous) with pinpoint accuracy of imaging, voices had the singer way up high smack in the center and there was amazing bass and detailed tonal accuracy”.  You can read Karl’s entire show report here.

Adding up the total equipment cost in our demo room well exceeded six figures, which is a first for ANTICABLES at an audio show.  We are proud that our products are recognized to be good enough to be a part of such an elite team.
The room consisted of:

Listening to other rooms at the show, I cold tell our full loom of ANTICABLES wires had a significant contribution to the success of our great sound.

I look forward to teaming up with both Krell and Alta Audio at future audio shows!

Paul Speltz (President & Founder, ANTICABLES)

Audiophilia Review: The New York Audio Show 2016

Image Credit: Audiophilia

Image Credit: Audiophilia

We had a great time at the New York Audio Show last weekend! Looks like Audiophilia enjoyed the trip, too — a great show review by Karl Sigman. Check out ANTICABLES featured about halfway down the page, Room 904 with Alta Audio and Krell Audio.

2016 RMAF Show Review by Enjoy the Music

dsc2949Some great press has been coming in from Rocky Mountain Audio Fest!  Here is a show review from enjoythemusic.com.