Cable Asylum: REVIEW: ZCable LIVE Cable by Steve

I was curious about this cable as the gentlemen I purchased my Synergistic Research Resolution Reference Speaker cable from had contacted me about auditioning this cable. He had been right on with his comments on the Resolution Reference and he found this cable to be better than the Resolution Reference Series, I felt it worth it to at least audition it. It's a new company that has a 30 day return policy so what did I have to loose other than a couple of bucks in shipping if I didn't like it.

I let the LIVE cable â€œbreak inâ€ before doing any serious listening. However, before I get into the review, I would like to give my initial observations when I put the LIVE in. The biggest thing that hit me was the large change in the bass response of my speakers. I control my bass through the use of a Legacy Audio Steradian. The Steradian allows you to contour your bass response to fit your room acoustics, sort of an environmental processor. I immediately had to readjust the bass to compensate for the large increase the LIVE added to the lower frequencies. Once readjusted, the bass frequencies seem much more natural than with the JPS cable. The other quick observation was there was already a widening of the soundstage and a much clearer presentation of the music.

After 4 days, I decided the LIVE should be ready for evaluation. Whether the â€œbreak inâ€ changed anything noticeably, is a controversial subject. I just wanted to give the cable the benefit of any doubts. My opinion is it did not change appreciatively. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as you will no doubt notice later in my comments.

Even though I thought I noticed a change when initially installed, I still pretty much was not expecting a noticeable improvement. Boy was I not even close!!! I finally decided it was time to sit down and try to explain what I heard as I found myself writing the same comments over and over again, no matter what CD I listened to. As I looked over my notes, phrases like these kept showing up:

Great soundstage,
Crisp Keyboards,
Awesome tenor sax,
Great depth and could really placed the drums in the background,
Superb detail,
What realism,
Smooth and clear vocals,
Oh so natural sounding,
Quick and tight bass,
Extremely natural sounding cymbals,
Detailed and natural decay of piano notes

And the list goes on. The type of music really didnâ€™t matter; the comments were the same. Some of the CDs I listened to were Dave Brubeckâ€™s "In Their Own Sweet Way", Patricia Barberâ€™s "CafÃ© Blue", Fourplayâ€™s "4", Deanna Bogartâ€™s "The Great Unknown", Duke Robillardâ€™s "New Blues for Modern Man", Sarah McLaclenâ€™s "Surfacing" and Keb Moâ€™s "Just Like You". From reviewing my notes, I know exactly how ZCable came up with the LIVE name for this cable. It was so much like being at the concert, live. For example, I attended a recent jazz and blues concert put on by our local radio station featuring Deanna Bogart, Duke Robillard and Freddie Cole. When I listened to Deannaâ€™s and Dukeâ€™s latest CDs, I could easily visualize the concert. The musical presentation was exquisite. Duke Robillard plays a mean guitar and some of his solo guitar interludes were just downright awesome with the LIVE.

To try and summarize, the LIVEâ€™s imaging was outstanding. Overall presentation was extremely natural, wide and deep. The bass was quick and tight. The midranges were ever so sweet while the highs were very crisp and natural. The music just was there. It made me forget about all the equipment and just listen to the music and enjoy.

This is a very good cable. I won't say I have audition a lot of cables to compare this cable with, but just listening to it made me realize how much a cable can impact the musical experience.

REVIEW: ZCable LIVE Cable Review by Steve at Audio Asylum