What's warmer, richer and cheaper than Isolda?

I'm currently running QED SA with a pair of Dynaudio 52s.

Amp is a Densen B200/B300. Source is a fairly budget Sony SACD player (SCD-XB770)

I'd like some recommendations for a decent budget speaker cable/s to try. The current sound is a little too bright. Not uncomfortably so but it's more suited to simple acoustic music than bigger, bassier stuff. And rock can sound harsh at high volumes.

I want to keep the detail and rhythm and good midband but get a better balance with a stronger bass and smoother high freqs.


And I haven't got loads of cash so, for the time being, something less than £200ish for a 2x5metre pair (single wire) would be good. S/hand is fine and preferred actually.

ta.

 

Dynaudio Ocos should do the trick

 

Dynaudio OCOS is indeed a cable I'd recommend if you use Dynaudio speakers (which all used to have a special coaxial socket so you could use it without the coax lead-out adapters that are now a requirement). However, it's not cheap and it's very difficult to get hold of in the UK (I don't know of anywhere you can get it). In Spain and Portugal it retails at more or less the same price as Isolda (360 Euros for a 2.5m pair). I got mine with my Dyns at a considerably reduced cost

Whether it's better or worse than Isolda (or any other cable for that matter) I don't know. I compared it to Isolda in my system and heard no difference between them. Whilst totally different in construction OCOS and Isolda both claim their cable is "impedance matched" (something that I've never seen mentioned in relation to any other cable). A potentially useful side effect of this "feature" is apparently that the cable (this applies to both OCOS and Isolda) can be used in unequal length pairs without problems.

Michael.

 

OCOS shouldn't be too hard to find, I can order it in any time from Denmark. Takes a couple of weeks or so, but it's only about £20 per meter plus about £30 for termination. So it's well within your budget

 

I have some Ocos for sale, unused. It's only 2 x 3 m, though, I believe.

PM me if interested.

 

bugger, it's got to be 2x5 metres I'm afraid as I run my cables underneath the floor. I could get away with 1x3m and 1x5m though.

£20/metre is not too painful.

Do I just order "Dynaudio OCOS"?
Is there just one version?
Is there a website that sells it, Merlin?
What are you using with your Dyns Michael?

 

Try the guys at Audio T in High Wycombe. They are one of the Uk's largest Dynaudio dealers and can get it in for you. Just ask for Elliot or Dominic. 01494 558585

 

cheers Merlin

 

I'm using OCOS with my Dyns (Contour 1.3MkIIs) . I tried Isolda for a while but as I never heard any difference with it I recently sold it again and went back to the OCOS. As far as I know there's only one version of OCOS. I don't know why Dynaudio keep it so "hidden" so to speak. It doesn't appear anywhere on their website (or on any other website for that matter) .

Michael.

 

Hi Maddog

You could also try Practical HiFi in Lancaster - they're a Dynaudio dealer and have quite a good relationship with Dynaudio. They once ordered me a pair of Dynaudio wall brackets which weren't readily available in the UK without any fuss.

I'm running a Densen B200/B300 into B&W P4s with Chord Rumour cable, which seems to work pretty well and is certainly not tizzy. I was temporarily using a pair of Dynaudio Audience 40s (from my bedroom system) last week while the B&Ws were being repaired, which also seemed to work OK. I'm in Lancaster too - you're welcome to call round for a listen if you like.

The Rumour sells for about £10 per metre.

Heath

 

Rumour is simply a twisted pair of silver-plated copper multi-strand conductors with PTFE insulation. You can buy similar but slightly bigger gauge silver-plated copper wire with PTFE insulation from farnell for 80p/m (25m reel). £1.60 per metre, and twisting it is no big deal. I use four runs of this, braided. At £3.20 per metre, it's not expensive.

However, it's not the sound described. The cable I've made this way is natural in the mid and top, but the bass isn't as big, deep or punchy as either my previous Tara Labs RSC, or Omiga Outlander. It improves on RSC in the mids in particular though, which is why I use it, since my system tends to a recessed mid.

I would go for something big and copper.

 

I can't comment on how good the Farnell wire is, but from when I was buying my cable, I seem to remember it was a slightly thinner gauge than Rumour. I can't comment on the comparitive conductor quality as I haven't tried the Farnell stuff. Braiding it may also change its characteristics.

I was only offering my view that in my Densen/B&W or Densen/Dynaudio setup, there is plenty of good punchy bass using Rumour cable. Since this is a similar setup to Maddog's and he's located in the same town as me, he's more than welcome to see for himself.

 

That's sounds like a good idea Heath, cheers

Just a side issue, I've tried FFRC (is that what it's called...) but it didn't work well in my system. Sounded dull basically.

I've sent you a pm Heath

 

I demoed Kimber 4TC in my system against Isolda and basically found no difference (If anything the 4TC was warmer). You should be able to get 2 runs of 4TC for that price, in fact probably 8TC if you get some second hand.

Cheers, Liam.