Feedback 2012
(newest first):
November 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects]
"Alister,
You have probably forgotten me by this time, but I bought two "Ultimate Dreams" last April/ May and have been enjoying them since. I have not read the review in Hi Fi News, but am not surprised they are enthusiastic as I most certainly am. The cables compliment my Arcam SACD/CD, Quad amplification and ProAc speakers wonderfully. They replaced Nordost interconnects and the difference was more than noticable. Congratulations on the review.
Fintan"
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects, with Cardas SLVR RCA plugs]
The prestigious "Hi-fi News and Record Review" has given this cable a highly complimentary review in its December 2012 edition:
This magazine is probably the longest-running and most highly respected of all hi-fi magazines - having been around for over 50 years. So it is a great thrill for us to get this review.
Some excerpts from the review:
"The hi-res recording of Vivaldi's violin concerto was depicted beautifully by Artisan's silver cable, the resolution of fine detail helping to give a most vivid portrayal of the acoustic in which the instruments were recorded. The strings had real leading-edge 'bite', the speed of transients all adding to the sense of 'being there' at a real musical event."
"Fresh and subjectively brightly lit, its openness helped the image to appear wide and deep."
"...praised highly for the way it allowed us to hear buried details of percussion and electronic effects. Moreover, it also sounded lovely with the Bantock symphony excerpt."
The full review can be read in the December 2012 edition of "Hi-fi News and Record Review" magazine.
October 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects with Cardas plugs & DCT treatment]
"Hi Alister,
Just to let you know I am very pleased with the cables that I ordered from you back in May. I was using a Cyrus interconnect before and they are a huge improvement.
FYI my system consists of Cyrus Stream XPQx, PSX-R, Bel Canto E-One Ref1000 monoblocks, Telluruim Q Black Speaker cable, Spendor A6 speakers.
Good luck with the business.
Regards
Naeem"
September 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream and Ultimate WBT interconnects]
"Alister
Until recently I had a complete Nordost cable loom in my system, interconnects, speaker cables and power cables.
I started changing this a few months ago by replacing the CD - pre-amp interconnect with an Ultimate Silver Dream with Cardas. I was very surprised after the burn in period to find that this gave a significant improvement to the sound even though the new interconnect cost considerably less than the one it was replacing - the bass was less prominent but much more controlled, the midrange much clearer, and the treble a little more extended, but not excessively so. Although the overall sound was improved in quality, the system as a whole was after a while less comfortable and relaxing to listen to however for extended periods - it could appear a little strident on occasions, particularly at higher levels.
After thinking about it some while, I decided to experiment with replacing my pre-power interconnect with a second USD, but this time with the WBT connector. Having burnt this in on my computer system where it improved the sound considerably but utimately revealed the weakness of the amp, I was a little apprehensive on transferring it to my main system as to whether any change would be positive. In fact it was immediately obvious that the sound was significantly better. On CD, the two USD interconnects worked together to further improve the bass and midrange, but also have converted the stridency of the treble into a much sweeter sound. The system sounds significantly more musical at all volumes, but particularly at lower levels where previously things sounded a bit lifeless.
Blu-Ray and DVD sound has also improved quite considerably - in particular DVD sound, never exactly the best, is much more listenable to, even at high volumes - the clarity is much better, and overall the sound is more controlled...
...Thanks and keep up the good work
Howard Roche"
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream balanced XLR interconnects]
"Hallo Alister, ich bin wirklich sehr überrascht von dem Kabel. Es ist nicht nur sehr Sorgfältig Verarbeitet, es Klingt auch wirklich sagenhaft, sehr schnell, Zupackend Dynamisch mit schnellem Druckvollen Bass, aber besonders gut finde ich ist die Stimmen Wiedergabe, bzw Mittelton, Klingt wirklich sehr echt, Realistisch und sehr Überzeugend, ich kann wirklich nichts negatives über das Kabel sagen, ich habe eine Hochwertige Anlage und habe schon Verschiedene Kabel Getestet, ihr Kabel ist wirklich das beste Kabel das ich je hatte, Qed, Mogami, Audioquest usw, meine Gratulation an sie... Nochmals vielen dank für die schnelle und Reibungslose Lieferung, mit bestem Gruß aus Albstadt - Germany sendet ihnen Mario Tardonato"
Translated by Google the above quote comes out as the following:
"Hi Alister, I'm really surprised by the cable. Not only is it processed very carefully, it sounds really amazing, very fast, stuck in with Dynamic with fast printing solid bass, but very well I think, the voices play, midrange, sounds or really real, realistic and very convincing, I really not say anything negative about the cable, I have a high-quality system and have tried etc. Various cable tested, their cable is really the best cables I've ever had, Qed, Mogami, Audioquest, my congratulations to you... Again, many thanks for the fast and Smooth delivery, with best wishes from Albstadt - Germany sends them Mario Tardonato"
August 2012
[Silver Dream Mark 2 pure silver headphone upgrade cable to fit Audeze LCD2 headphones]
"Hi Alister.
The weak point of my system was the original cable of LCD-2.
Silver Dream is complete and accurate. I liked it and I think it has a very high level. Congratulations on your design.
My configuration:
Nagra CDP CD >> Previous Nagra PL-P >> (Tape Out) Icon Signature MKII Headphone Audio Amplifier (2W), all with Kimber KS 1036.
I think I have a lot of sound level.
Thanks and best regards,
Mario Muriel - Spain."
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Stream USB cable] "Hi Alister,
The cable arrived today and is now installed between my Mac Mini and Wavelength Cosecant DAC.
Amazing clarity and perfect detail.
Thanks,
Bill Domeika"
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream XLR interconnects]
"Hello Alister,
Cable well received this morning, hooked between pre-amp and Amp (Chord Electronic) replacing XLO Signature XLR, sounding great,
quite an improvement, more open sound stage, cymbals sound clear, guitars more present, deeper bass without being too strong, clear voices.
instruments well identified. My test best record "Ndidio - Move Togheter - 2009" sound fantastic. Could it sound even better ??? Yes maybe
with the ASC HP silver cables !!!! With the Spanish crisis, don't know if I will be able to buy them one day ???
Hope that burnin will pass quick to fully enjoy the upgrade. All interconnect are now USD !!!
Thank you
Pascal"
July 2012
["Digital Dream Silver" digital interconnect] "Of all the digital interconnect leads I’ve tried, this Artisan silver one is the best, and better than the Acoustic Zen MC Squared lead which I’ve had since 2004.
My PMC IB2 speakers are particularly unforgiving of any weaknesses upstream but, by the same token, particularly rewarding when everything’s just right. The Artisan cable seems to do everything right. Its bass is deep, clean and firm with no bloom or boom. Sometimes it can sound a bit lightweight, but then some real bass comes along and can make you jump.
The midrange, if a trifle lean by comparison with what I’ve been used to, is open, clear and resolving of subtle nuances, with unexpectedly good stereo, whilst the treble is free of unwanted hash and hotness. My system, on which I’ve spent considerable sums of money, is at last starting to reveal its musical as opposed to hi-fi qualities.
I’m very impressed with this cable, not least in view of its relatively modest price, though I suggest it takes at least a week to burn in rather than just 48 hours. The next step may well be to substitute for my Van Damme ones a pair of your analogue interconnect leads which seem to have garnered very favourable reviews all over the world.
J"
AND...
[2 pairs of Ultimate WBT interconnects] "Hello Alister,
I received my 2 sets of USD/WBT cables yesterday morning and had them running since then, big change with the previous ones,
Kimber Kable Silver strike (CD-Pre-amp) and Nordost blue Heaven (Phono Pre-amp - Pre-amp). I was able to test the KK KGAC
with your USD cable and I can say that you were right, more define sound, deeper bass and more open treble. I'am impressed
so much impress that I've just ordered the last interconnection that was not ASC, USD/XLR (pre-amp - Amp).
Thank you very much:
Pascal, Madrid, Spain."
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects with Cardas SLVR plugs]
"Had the new cable in for 4 wks .this is a very powerful cable had to move my spkrs forward and retune the sub! everything said before about this cable is accurate I have the Kimber kcag cable and the std USD just floors it,the USD with cardas plugs floors the original USD and together they are just sensational. A product of the year in my book!!!"
June 2012
[Silver Dream interconnects]
"Morning Alistair,
What can I say, I am very pleased with the new cables! These have replaced a
pair of Clearaudio "Quint" and seem to be improving all the time. They are
actually connecting pre to power and I would love to upgrade the other 3
cables to the amp...
Many thanks again,
Regards,
David."
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects with Cardas SLVR RCA plugs]
"Hi Alister,
What's interesting is that my current Artisan silver cables have made an astonishing improvement to the resolution and dynamism of playing compressed MP3 files. I use a desktop battery powered DAC and battery amplifier (RCA sockets) playing downloaded iTunes files through headphones. Previously I'd used Kimber cables and thought that the sound was passable, on a whim I swapped in the silver cables and BOOM, what a transformation. Compressed music has never sounded as dynamic, instrumental clarity and decay have improved, the tracks just sound more like a live performance. I've no doubt that your technical competence will end up costing me a small fortune! ;-)
Cheers,
Andrew."
AND...
[Digital Dream SPDIF digital interconnect]
"Hi Alister,
I carefully listened to your SPDIF for some days. In fact, this connection sounds different to my tiny Silent Wire. And yes, by saying different I tend to say better.
Funny thing, the difference can be compared to what I experienced, after changing my cables between pre and power-amp from copper to silver...
The sometimes relatively harsh digital sound just fades away. The music becomes more analog or natural. Since we are so used to the sound of CD Players, it might sound in the beginning dull, boring and lacking of subtle information.
(My) truth is, this is the natural way, music has to sound! No more pain in the ears - even after listening for hours at a high volume. No urge to lower the volume, again after some time of "enjoying". The music has some kind of sweetness - just like the smell of your favourite meal is mouth watering.
Secondly, I tend to think that room depth is increased. In my setup, this is really subtle - still clearly recognizable.
Good job, man!
Alex"
May 2012
[Silver Dream interconnects]
"Hello Alister,
I have had the Silver Dream interconnects for several weeks now. I bought them based on the info from your website and from the 6Moons review.
I was looking for a smoother sounding pure silver interconnect than what I was using. Listening to a certain few of my cd's, I would have to put in my copper interconnects, since the silver interconnects I had been using were a bit too upfront/strident. Well, I can very happily say, I now have no need to swap cables, no matter what recording I am listening to. The Silver Dreams were exactly what I was looking for! The smoothness over my previous silver interconnects was not subtle, I could tell the difference upon replacement, the improvement was immediate.
Thanks, Alister, for making a GREAT product that is affordable for the "common folk"!
Sincerely,
John Hill
Buffalo, Minnesota, USA"
AND...
[System wired right through with Ultimate Silver Dream RCA interconnects & speaker cables]
"...Can't wait for the cables to arrive so I can return to an all-Artisan integrated interconnect system - I am noticing the difference in having to use my old PNF cables to connect pre to power amps (less transparency and openness and a lumpier, less focussed, bass). It is always a pleasure to purchase a high-quality boutique product from a top bloke. As Hot Chocolate said - 'Everyone's a Winner'. All the best, Matt"
And from the same customer a couple of weeks later...
"Hi Alister - the interconnects arrived last Wednesday and are now fully run-in. It makes such a difference to have all Artisan interconnects and speaker cables. What stands out to me is the musical nuance made apparent by your silver wonders. While most obvious in vocals and percusssion, this nuance is a feature across the spectrum, including tighter bass. For me it is the difference between being fully involved in recorded music, or not. Keep up the great work.
Cheers, Matt - Canberra, Australia"
April 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects - with Cardas RCA plugs]
"Hi,
I have got the cable, the sound of my hi-fi system is become more clear, I love it, thanks a lot!"
March 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects]
"...the sound from my system has continued to improve since I wrote in glowing terms a couple of months after installing the pre/power USDs. The system is now a treat to listen to every time and your cables make a vital contribution to that result... With best wishes, Richard Baker"
AND...
[Silver Dream Mark2 Sennheiser HD-650 headphone upgrade cables]
"...I have to say that I'm really impressed and very happy with your cable. Listening to music through my headphones has become a totally different experience...
Thank you for a wonderful product and your help,
Nicolaj"
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects]
"Hi Alister,
Just a quick note to let you know how your "Ultimate Silver Dream"
interconnect cables performed in my system ... in a word, amazing!
Not being known for my patience I gave up waiting after about 8 hours
of burn in, but even on my first listen there was a huge improvement
... increased space around the instruments, more depth to the sound
stage, more detail .... and voices ... wow ... I always knew Ella has
a good voice, but listening to her with this cable in my system almost
brought a tear to my eye ... and I've hear this record hundreds of
times.
Many thanks and I will definitely be ordering more.
Nigel
FYI: My system: Michell Giro SE, O/L arm, VdH Black Beauty, EAR864P,
Squeezebox Touch, Chord DAC 64, Rogue Audio Metis, Musical Fidelity
A3CR, Magnepan SMGa's (heavily modified)."
February 2012
[Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects]
"Dear Alister
I've taken a while to enjoy the music revealed by putting my new Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects between my Linn Genki CD player and my Linn Majik amplifier, and to try to find some words to explain how they are performing. I had some pretty good interconnects in there before, but having been so impressed with your Sennheiser cable, I thought I'd try your USD interconnects, especially at your new price!
I was taken aback by the difference the USD interconnects made. I've had my all-Linn system for more than 10 years now and didn't really think the music it produced could be improved upon. Putting these interconnects in has been like putting new shoe laces into a favourite pair of shoes. All the familiar comfort is still there, but they're more supportive and feel newer. I've heard more of all my favourite music. More of each note played. More differentiation between instruments; little nuances I hadn't heard before. Feeling a little closer to the guitar strings vibrating on Steve Morse's Strat; getting a little more subtlety from Joe Satriani's "The Extremist"; feeling the brass section overblowing in "Finlandia". It's really hard to describe, because it doesn't seem to be an EQ change, it's more like enjoying a favourite view through a familiar window, but maybe having opened the window rather than looking through the glass.
Sorry these are not "audiophile" comments, but they're the best way I can find to tell you what I've been finding, and that I'm very happy with the difference your cables have made to my enjoyment of music!
Best wishes
Simon Ward"
AND...
[Ultimate Silver Stream USB cable] "Dear Alister,
just a brief note to tell you that your USB cable made a major difference: the combination of musical flow and micro-detail is miles ahead of any other 'audiophile' cable I have tried between my Mac and Zodiac Antelope Gold + Voltikus DAC. In particular you get an acoustic bass to literally stand in your room: body, growl and snare are downright physical. What a great follow-on on your RCA Silver Dreams!
Norbert Reis"
January 2012
[Silver Dream Mark 2 Sennheiser headphone upgrade cable]: "Hello Alister I'm looking forward to receiving them [Ultimate Silver Dream RCA interconnects] and discovering how they affect my listening pleasure! The silver (for Sennheiser) headphone cable I bought from you a while back certainly revealed more music than my system had been able to deliver before.
Kind regards
Simon Ward"
AND...
[Silver Dream interconnects] "Dear Alister.
Hope you can read my English writing.
I have used the Artisan cables in my system for about 3 weeks now. I use them between my great Wired 4 sound dac and my high end Gryphon Diablo amp.
The bass goes deep and are very tight. The middle are open, transparent and dynamic. Both men and female singers sounds very natural.
The treble is very open, with a lot of air. And best of all, there are no hardness or sharpness at all ! Very nice.
At this price, I think they are outstanding ! Cannot ask for much more.
Highly recommended ! Love these cables.
Thanks, and many regards
Harry Johansen"