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| Testimonials
Joshua Fineberg
Dear Mr. Markel, I'm sorry not to have written you sooner, but the demands of the semester combined with a busier than expected schedule of concerts and the added travel and life complications we have all felt this Fall have conspired to keep me very busy. What I absolutely did not want to do was shortchange the effort I put into this note, because I have been so unexpectedly impressed with your speaker cables (I use the word unexpected because, while I was sure your cables would be excellent, I did not believe that speaker cables could make the degree of change that I have experienced). Your willingness to help me acquire these cables has made possible a level of sonic reproduction I never thought I could achieve However, I'm perhaps getting a bit ahead of myself. I am a composer of contemporary classical music and a teacher of both composition and music theory at Harvard University. But prior to accepting this teaching position, most of my secondary work was in recordings as an artistic director. In this role, I have spent time in some of the best recording studios and concert halls in the world. These studios and their no-holds barred efforts to reproduce live music formed my frame of reference for what a recording should sound like. [I must insert the caveat that I have little experience with the Rock and Pop instrumentarium, though I have been involved in many contemporary music recordings which mixed electronic sounds with acoustic instruments.] When making these sorts of CDs we do not use a high degree of compression or spend much of the mix on small low-quality speakers; although this is common in pop music where they worry about how things will sound on a boom box. We really use the sound in the concert hall as our reference (albeit not a fully obtainable one). While these studios and their engineers tend to insist on good quality cables and excellent connectors, they certainly do not go in for the esoteric materials and huge sums of money seen in the hifi world. This attitude had rubbed off on me and made me very skeptical about most high budget cables. A couple of years ago, had you asked, I would have been very pessimistic about how far one could go without fine-tuning the listening room in a way that is completely impractical in a home, bi or tri amping the speakers with an excellent active crossover and using a fully balanced configuration from start to finish in the signal chain. But then something happened. Last Winter I finished mixing several of the pieces for my first commercial CD of my own music. And while for others, I had always been content to go into a studio for detailed listening, I was extremely frustrated not to be able to properly hear at home my own CD that I had poured so much love and effort into. Since I already had quite good speakers (Magnepan 1.5QRs) I began the slow and familiar series of upgrades by changing my CD player (to an ARCAM Alpha 7se), then a bit later the pre-amp (to a Musical Fidelity A3cr) and quickly afterwards the amp (also an A3cr). Along the way, I had been persuaded that cables were important and I replaced my interconnects with TMCs (white and yellow). Each of these changes and some later ones (a power conditioner, after-market power cords and finally a Bel Canto DAC 1.1) brought real progress, but I never had exactly what I was looking for. This angst seems common to many of the postings I see on Audio sites like Audiogon. I had not given much thought to my speaker cables, since I had relatively decent ones (upscale monster cables) and had tried Kimber and DH-Lab cables without feeling the difference was fully satisfying (they each did some things better and others worse). But at a loss for what to do I wrote to you, having seen the many excellent reviews of your products. Although relatively reasonable, the long bi-wire run of your cables I needed was far out of my reach (even at Harvard, composers make a very modest living), but you found a demo pair with Oval 9s and Oval 12s in a bi-wire and made Herculean efforts to make them feasible. When I connected them I was shocked. Everything finally came together. All the other changes finally assumed their full value. Even before the break-in was over, I knew I was done. You see, I have been in the hall and the mixing for everyone of my test recordings so I KNOW what they really sound like and for the first time in my life, I could hear them again at home. It's very difficult to quantify what changed: the transients were probably a little tighter. there is a really silent background, a beautiful tonal balance, and a total lack of the high frequency hash that creeps in on crescendos in so many systems. However, in truth the change is both more subtle, in that I don't have precise words to describe it, and far more glaring. The instruments re-acquired the palpable presence they have in a hall and the physicality of the hall in which they were recorded could now inhabit my room. I realize that it is the sum of all the upgrades that led me here, but I can't shake the conviction that your cables are the catalyst that released the potential of everything else. On some of the audio web sites people speak of golden eared listeners and I'm never sure what they mean, but I can tell you that record companies and ensembles pay me to listen to their recordings and tell them how to make things sound better. And without hesitation, I can say that these cables made my system sound absolutely wonderful. I am so happy with how these wires make my system sound that I sometimes take things home from the studio to check how they will sound here. Bravo. With Sincere Thanks, Joshua Fineberg Theo Wanne - Owner of Saxophone Mouthpiece Heaven and Heaven's Sound Dear Mark,
However, recently we got in your new Solo Crystal Pro Oval Mic cable and we ran our tests. It won in ALL categories, I am truly shocked, not only do we get the transparency your cables are known for, but also the full spectrum of natural color and warmth....natural warmth let me emphasize, not colored. To get the some full color spectrum in the sound of other cables we had to sacrifice A LOT of transparency and detail, even in very high priced cables. All other cables tested, that had any warmth, did so at a startling sacrifice in transparency. So much so that they sounded unnaturally colored. We no longer need to worry about the right mix of cables in our studio to balance the sound, as your Solo Crystal cables do it all. I am truly impressed! Best Regards Theo Wanne Owner of Saxophone Mouthpiece Heaven and Heaven's Sound http://www.mouthpieceheaven.com Tibor Sole - Audio Art
The truth is... we've tried the best cables from Harmonic Tech, Acoustic Zen, Stealth, JPS, Coincident and Symposium but the Solo 8 is the clear winner! It is perhaps the best out there! Tibor Sole Jim Merod (Blue Port Jazz) That does go to the heart of my response (& respect) for them! I used both cables Wednesday night. They are what you intended them to be: musical. With cheer, Jim Merod (Blue Port Jazz) JazzTimes For the past few months I have been using some Analysis Plus cable through-out my system (the positive synergy of using one cable brand exclusively is usually a good thing) and it has made a noticeable difference in a number of areas including tightness of bass, precision of imaging (the placement of instruments across the virtual stage) and a pleasant smoothness in the mids and highs, all definitely without sacrificing an iota of resolution. In fact, the ability of the system to resolve details like the resonance of a sax bell or the bright clear ringing of a cymbal is frightening. My CD player is connected to the Bel Canto integrated amp using the Analysis Plus Copper Oval-In ($269 per one meter pair) and my speakers are being fed via a pair of the Oval 9 speaker cables ($347 per eight-foot pair). This may seem extravagant for wire, but as I continue to preach, music is important to readers of this magazine, and a few hundred bucks to get more pleasure out of the hundreds or even thousands of CDs and LPs in those hard-fought- for collections is money well spent. But don't panic: It is possible to spend a bit less and still get a pretty good dose of the Analysis Plus benefit. Stepping up from that cheap lamp-cord speaker wire and those five-buck interconnects can really make a difference in your system's sound. Mike Quinn John Lysaker - Eugene, OR Hi Mark - Listening to music is a daily and integral part of my life, and my Silver Oval interconnects remind me again and again how remarkable music can be. With them in my system, textures resonate across the tonal field: a tight snare, a tinge of saliva in a saxophone, distortion from a guitarist's amp, the slowing vibration of a bass string, subtle harmonies in a viol consort, the gradual build of a chorus, the quaver or crack of a vulnerable voice, and so on. More than any other interconnect I've tried, and I've tried several, these are the kind of musical details that keep me bound to my listening chair well past my bedtime. And if that weren't enough, the owner, Mark Markel, is available and remarkably responsive to questions and concerns. When I buy something, I know I'm investing in at least two things: a product I want to enjoy and a company I want to succeed. I've found so much of both in Analysis Plus that I can't see why I would take my business elsewhere. John Lysaker Jim Rees, Greenville, N.C. To say that I'm impressed with your Oval 9 speaker cables would be the understatement of the year! They have made a more significant change for the better in my system than many expensive new components I've added in recent years. The improvements can be heard across the entire frequency spectrum. The bass is both more powerful, impactful, and better articulated. The mid-range is cleaner and more solidly reproduced. The highs are less harsh on "problem" instruments like upper strings, brass, and cymbals, and voices (especially operatic sopranos) not longer are painful to hear. In short, the reproduction of well-recorded music is simply more natural and like that heard at live concerts! The truly great thing is that you have accomplished all of this at a sensible, and truly reasonable price. I no longer covet my friend's mega-buck big black cables with the piano-finish network boxes and gold plaques. Your superb Oval9's surpass them! Thank you so much. Jim Rees, Greenville, N.C. Robert Brenner Guys, Just writing to tell you that you make the best cable I have yet heard in my system. I must say that at first I was very skeptical about your Cable design... anyone can produce nice graphics to support an argument. I was especially leery of the fact that you were using a multi-stranded, braided conductor (This looks like Coax shielding for gosh sakes!). I mean after all, it is a virtual audiophile rite of passage to move from Monster/Belden/Radio Shack stranded rope cable to your first 'solid-core' high-end design. Happily, I soon found my initial reservations were unwarranted. I recently had the opportunity to have your Oval Silver IN cables in my system for free. I have a well heeled audiophile friend in the UK who just had to have silver cables. He ordered yours based on price and had them delivered to my home (saving the confiscatory UK customs and VAT). I graciously offered to burn them in for him until his next trip to the States. I noticed an immediate improvement over the Nordost Blue Heavens when I installed the AP Silvers, but frankly $630.00 cables had better sound good. Although I did not do any critical listening while the cables were in my system, I really noticed the difference when they left. "Good cable" I thought, but I would never lay down that kind of green. "Oh well, the Nordost are great and I can live with them" I said to myself. Such was my first exposure to your cable. My second and much more profound encounter happened because I needed to change speaker cable. My speakers are in a 'décor-friendly' location normally and I have to move them for critical listening. The Nordost Blue Heaven cables I own are really too stiff and fragile for this constant movement. Based on my previous experience, I thought of your cable. I was not really looking for sonic improvement, just a physically more robust and manageable cable. So, with no great expectations, I ordered your Oval 12 speaker cable. My experience with the Oval 12 was nothing short of revolutionary. At less than half the cost of the Blue Heaven's, it left the poor Nordost cable flat (pun absolutely intended). It actually made the expensive Nordost sound 'pinched'.... the music just seemed to breathe more with your cables. The bass was lower and much more controlled while the mids and highs were just more relaxed and natural. As highly regarded as the Blue Heaven cables are, they sound simply artificial compared to your Oval 12. I soon pulled out the older cables I had (Nordost Flatline and Audioquest Type 6) and did some A - B comparison. Well it was no comparison really... your cable was superior in every way that could be described. To restate; You guys make the best cable I have yet heard. Not only this, but you have the most honest price structure in the business. The increase in price gets you thicker wire or silver conductors, plain and simple. No gimmicks, no secret construction or exotic material that will bring sonic Nirvana for the right price. In short, no BS. I intend to wire my whole system using your products. After that, I will not worry about cables again, period. Please keep up the good work and my God bless you for selling such a great product in such an honest way. Sincerely, Phil Baatz I wanted to write and congratulate you and your staff on the fine job your company has done on producing a cable that is the best regardless of price. I can honestly say this is the best buy I have ever made in the category of interconnect, speakers wires and power cords. This just may be the best buy I have ever made in audio during the past twenty years. For Phil Baatz's complete review in PDF format, click here. Steve Pennock Hi Mark - I just had a call from Deetes up in Sacramento. He said that last night, one of the members of the San Francisco Symphony spent 4 hours with him, comparing different power cords. Some were less expensive than ours, some were VERY much more expensive. Deetes said "The Analysis Plus cords won hands down." The guy ordered NINE Power Ovals! Deetes said they were listening to a CD of Handel's Messiah, and that the differences were particularly noticeable on the French horn passages. He said that with many of the power cords, the French horn seemed to disappear into the background, though they knew it was there because they had just heard it previously. Thought you might like to know.
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I must say you have really nailed it with your Solo Crystal cables, I am shocked! We have been running AB tests with all the manufactured microphone cables we have been able to find, and in many cases trying cables not even meant as microphone cables. One of these cables has been your Copper Oval XLR. The Copper Oval (though not officially a mic cable) won the test due to its unparallel transparency and detail. To be honest, though it did not win in all categories just most of them. 
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