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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Speaker Cable Cable by slbenz

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REVIEW: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Speaker Cable Cable

12.235.109.27


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Model: Ultimate Speaker Cable
Category: Cable
Suggested Retail Price: $122.08
Description: 10 foot pair with spade ends
Manufacturer URL: Cobalt Cable
Model Picture: View

Review by slbenz ( A ) on November 14, 2003 at 07:28:12
IP Address: 12.235.109.27
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Originally I was skeptical about hearing any changes in sound when I was comparing various speaker cables. I was definitely wrong. Here is a list of speaker cables that I compared it to: LAT International SS-800, MITerminator 4, Monster Cable 12AWG Zip Cord, Tek-Line 150. Every single one of these competitors gave a masked soundstage when compared to the Cobalts. The Cobalts not only made a more "real" sounding rendition of the music, but the soundstage was wider and more detailed. It was very easy for me and my spouse to pick out these cables over and over again during our audio tests. To our surprise, the LAT and MIT cables sounded exactly alike. If you have muddy bass or harsh treble in your system, I would recommend either one of these cables for you. They will act as good tone controls in these areas. The Monster Cable from the spool sounded the most "thin" in this comparison. It had the smallest soundstage, very little bass and the mids were not very detailed. The Tek-Line cable came in-between the Monster and MIT/LATs for soundstage and detail. Tek-Line was just slightly less than MIT and LAT. Both the MIT and LAT cables are very stiff and are somewhat difficult to work with. The Cobalt and Tek-Line are very flexible and easy to work with in comparison. Similar to standard 12AWG speaker wire but the Cobalt and Tek-Line are 10AWG speaker wire. The Cobalt spades are also the easiest to work with in this comparison. They use universal spades that have generous amounts of metal to clamp down on. The LAT cables have the smallest spades to work with and had a tendency to work themselves off the binding post. Overall build quality of the Cobalt is similar to the MIT, the best of the bunch. The LAT and Tek-Line would come next followed by the Monster. The two most outstanding features of the Cobalts was the amount of mid to low bass it could project out of my speakers and the increase of 4dB of sound vs. the MIT cables. The Cobalts with their 90 day satisfaction return policy and lifetime warranty, you just can't go wrong with trying these speaker cables. Definitely a best value and one you must compare against "exotic" speaker cables. I think you will be pleasantly surprised as well as your pocketbook.


Product Weakness: Their price may turn off some potential "exotic" cable buyers but they should still give these cables a try.
Product Strengths: Very realistic sound reproduction with a "live" quality, increased sound level and mid to low bass reproduction, build quality and their universal spades are the easiest to use. Price.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Parasound HCA-1205A
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Parasound AVC-1800
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony
Speakers: Martin Logan Scenario
Cables/Interconnects: Cobalt Cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, Classical, New Age
Room Size (LxWxH): 18 x 14 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments: N/A
Time Period/Length of Audition: Two Weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Monster Power
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Speaker Cable Cable - slbenz 07:28:12 11/14/03 ( 0)