User Feedback on the Chimera Laboratories CCC Wire and Solder
Chip Montgomery - I finally made those speaker cables about 5 weeks ago. The first song sounded not so good (the high end was gone). The second song sounded much better. After about 5 hours things sounded pretty good. I must have at least 30 hours on them now and they are the best thing I've heard. They are so much better than the Nordost. Now I can play all the music that before I thought was either a bad recording or a bad transfer to the digital format. Everything is as advertised with your wire. Thanks for everything.
Steven Hum - I got your shipment a few weeks ago... and WOW! Just as hookup wire and internal signal wire on the AN DAC was phenomenal. It was as if the unit was constrained until I inserted my handmade Litz wire. Great stuff! Now I'm going to try some IC recipes... Actually find Litz braiding sort of fun to boot! What more can a diyer ask for?
Charles Miller - The CCC Wire and the copper content solder you included arrived here yesterday, and I already used about four feet of it to wire from the RCA input jacks on the back of my NAD 1300 preamp over to the input stage. WOW...MAN...NICE !
I recently paid $97 for a half meter pair of JPS Ultraconductor interconnects to go between my SACD / DVD-A player and the preamp, but replacing the original internal stranded hook up cable with two twisted pairs of CCC Wire made at least as much improvement as the JPS interconnects did. I will be trying out CCC Wire in some other locations soon, and I will report my impressions back to you.
Bob Wheeler - I just want to give you a little feed back on your wire. I’ve done an awful lot of tweaking in the past 10 years, and I have to tell you, this wire is the best tweak i have ever heard. The noise floor is so much lower. You hear a lot more detail, better separation, etc, etc, etc.
I was using a RG62AU wire ,which consist of a 20 awg center wire encased in Teflon, with a copper shield encased in a Teflon jacket. I could not believe how much information I was missing. I have even tried cat 5, doesn’t even compare. I tried some $400 cables, still not as good. It’s like listening to a whole new system. Very well done. The only bad thing is now I have to rewire EVERYTHING!
Geoffrey Clark – Geoff is a senior lecturer in communications at the Blackpool and Fylde College. He has perfect pitch and plays piano to concert standard. System - Alphason Sonata turntable with HR 100 MCS arm, Marantz CD player(rarely used), Blackcat Electronics phono preamp, Blackcat Electronics 2A3 SE amp. Blackcat Electronics Speakers.
“As you are aware I have had a lot of experience trying a range of interconnects over a broad price range. As a result became increasingly convinced by the qualities of high purity silver as the material which proved to have the most effective characteristics in retaining musical information. However one does not progress by having a closed mind and so when you suggested trying a copper based wire you’d found I was happy to agree.
I am writing to you because this wire has forced me to re-evaluate my conclusions about silver. The effects of this material were apparent even in the early stages of insertion. The wire does, as with all others benefit from burning in, but does in fact seem to produce more audible gains further into the process than previously experienced. The main effects were.
Noise - The noise floor dropped, revealing more retrieval of complex harmonic structure. This also had an added impact on micro dynamics so that musical interpretation was easier to understand. Such was the importance of this aspect, recordings I had previously felt were dull and pedestrian in interpretation took on a new and more engaging aspect.
Harmonics - The lower mid and bass areas now have a much cleaner quality, with the harmonics in this area of the fundamental reproduced in such a manner, that timing and the sense of musicians working with each other is greatly enhanced.
Dynamics - The effect here is a new one to me. Large scale dynamics were reproduced with such accurate contrasts, that I found myself lowering the overall level at which the music was played, whilst increasing the musical excitement of the performance. It was as if I had a considerably more powerful amplification, more in reserve.
In conclusion this material has made me review my feelings about the current applications of silver and the underpinning science. This is without doubt a step forward in the reproduction of a musical performance.”
Robert Hoekstra – Bob is the designer of the Axiom 300B amplifier. He teaches at a University in Florida, teaching engineering students how to build racing engines. Some of you may have heard about the “Hoekstra Engines” used by NASCAR and other Racing Teams. The Axiom Amp design reflects the same exacting methodical approach Bob takes with his engines. In this case, the “engine” is tuned by ear. System – Sony DVP S-7700 CD player, Axiom 300B Amps, Hedlund Horn Speakers with Lowther DX-3 drivers. .
“I put the continuous cast wire in the signal path on one side...from the input to the 6J5 and from the plate of the 6J5 to the grid of the 6Y6 and from the 6Y6 to the 300B....what a difference. The low level detail is incredible....guess I’m going to have to do a lot of re-wiring.
My 17yr old daughter showed me how to Litz braid...I knew summer camp taught her something. I braided a pair of interconnects last night...probably didn't do it exactly right...looking forward to the samples. The difference is amazing. The high end "sparkle" that was missing is there. The out of phase bass now sounds out of phase(maybe that's not a good thing). Of course that will be fixed with the new chokes. The cables made a bigger change than anything else done up to this point. When you said I was in for a treat you were right.
The speaker wire I started braiding is finished...I hooked it up last night. Let me begin by saying I'm a good scientific skeptic. I really believed that the speaker wire hype that I've read in the magazines was well crafted marketing verbiage with little or no support...well to a large extent I still believe that but what a difference with the continuous cast wire.
When we first turned the system on the difference was dramatic...and bad. The sound from the CC speaker was sharp and irritating. (We were running the system in mono so we could compare. After a short time the sound started changing...after a half hour the irritating sharpness was gone...but the detail was unbelievable. The problem now is that I have a very unbalanced system...looks like I need to do some more braiding(did I mention that I hate braiding). Now all I have to do is decide if I can live with the differences while I braid the cable or if I should put the old wire back in and lose the detail on the one side.”
Graham Ingle, Black Cat Electronics, UK – Graham builds some very nice tube gear, knows more about turntables than anyone else I have ever talked to. He now uses the CCC Wire and CC solder in his products and sells it to his customers.
“First a few words from where I'm coming from with respect to wire. I like Silver, I have been using Silver for the last nine or ten years. I have a vested interest in keeping Silver to the front. I sell Silver wire! From the cartridge tags to the speaker drive units...in all permutations, round, flat, stranded, it's ALL Silver even the mains leads. Fine soft annealed Silver everywhere.
And then Dennis Boyle sends me some of his Cast Copper wire and asks me to try it. Yes, okay I'll try it. Won't be any good at all, can't be, it's not Silver, but...So I read the notes and then make up some interconnects to between pre and power. I give it the recommended time to "bed" in. It goes from being plain awful to just okay. Good, I know what I'm talking about after all.
So I give it a little longer, maybe ten hours or so. It's not okay anymore it's starting to be very good indeed, things are happening within the music that have never been there with Silver. It has become apparently "dull", but it's that right dullness that's there when listening to live music.
Yes, the high frequency is all there, and the mid and bass hasn't become bloated. It's just more "RIGHT". The more I listen the better it becomes. There is a quietness a sense of ease. Back to Silver...there's the "glare", that sort of "glare" that made me go to Silver in the first place ???
Coming Christmas and no time to play, so the bit of wire goes to a friend’s house. Very similar system to mine, Loesch type pre, 417 IT 2A3 our speakers 98dB 2 ways, every thing silver, well I built it. He even has more Silver wire then I do! Now this gentleman plays piano, he also has perfect pitch and only listens to "real" music unlike the rubbish I listen to. His interpretation of what's happening only builds on mine, in fact expands enormously.
But, best of all, he HAS the time to play...the arm and cartridge are re-adjusted with quite staggering results. Going back to Silver is now not an option, the arm/ cartridge are put back to where they were and he gets the best out of the Silver again, but it's not as good as the CCC wire with non-optimized front end. Never mind what has just been heard after some adjustments !
So, what is happening? I really don't know, this wire has done some wonderful things in two systems. Music is more enjoyable with out doubt, it certainly isn't in the most critical of positions in a system, and I don't like mixing types of wire. But at the end of the day what I hear is what matters. I like it. Yes the CCC is "better" than silver...but it has to go further than that. It has meant a total re-evaluation of the system. VTA, rectifiers all had a profound effect. So just an interconnect in a silver based system is better than the silver, but with other changes it is wonderful.”
Larry Mucklow – Larry has been modifying vintage tube amplifiers and experimenting with making his own interconnects and cables.
“You sent me a sample of the CCC wire and solder. Just finished soldering it up last week. Best sounding cable I've made so far. More dynamics and more air than any of the silver wire cables I've made.”
Audio Cable, Interconnect & Wire Reviews