Well I’ve had mine well over a month now and I definitely think they’re continuing to sound better and better. I had a 48 hour factory run in thinking that would get them in great shape but in reality it’s been far longer.
Totally agree about the bass performance. I instantly realised that basslines were very well defined compared to my old cable. I also agree that the Silver II is not bright/harsh at all.
What’s come into focus more recently is the top end which I’d originally thought was slightly rolled off and a little too polite. It’s much sharper now.
Overall I’m getting loads of detail and space between instruments that simply wasn’t there before. Very pleased I bypassed the TQ Black and went straight to Silver.
At some point I was going to swap back to my old cable just to compare but the superiority of the Silver II has been night and day so it’d only be a token exercise.
I was listening to one track with a bass guitar sole and it was so good it almost felt they were in the room. Some of the lows are at the point you feel them rather than hear them. I was very surprised by this given the short time with them so far.
I always liked the TQ Blacks (mk1) but felt the mids were a bit bunched together… muddy, not as clear as they could be. I think that this and the bass are the two biggest improvements the Silvers have offered up so far. I agree with the space around instruments, it feels like they’ll offer a good improvement in imaging and soundstage. What’s funny, when I was thinking about an external DAC, it was to get the type of improvements I’m starting to see with the TQ silver… on that basis, they’re quite cheap!
I’ve concluded the same thing. Supposedly my weak link was my NAP200 but hooking up the TQ Silver has allowed me to now hear much more of what it has to give to the extent it feels very much like a component upgrade.
Very much so. I went back to try the blacks again and in comparison, the silver II sounded a lot clearer, less muddled in the mids but still punchy in the lows. The highs are smoother / cleaner… for the want of a better word. Even though the highs are very clear there is no edginess or harshness to them.
All in all, there is no way they’re being returned and there’s still plenty of that 60 day returns policy left. I’d love to demo the Silver Ultra cables… but that would have to be a demo first at those prices
Edit… I would add that there are some days that I feel the soundstage / imaging is not quite as good as normal… maybe that’s due to the longer running in times. I put it down to me. That is, some days if you’re feeling tired etc I may not be fully focused or engaged with the music. By the time I listen to the system the next day, alls well again so it could well be me
Think the Ultra Silver would be a bit out of my price range but I don’t doubt they’d be good. Too dangerous to find out though so ignorance is bliss!
The only time I evaluated the Blacks was when unbeknown to me at the time, my XPS and 200 were in need of a service and I thought the bass sounded too bloated. Not really a 100% fair test but in general I wasn’t blown away by it.
My 60 days came and went and it mattered not a jot as my decision to keep the Silvers was also easy.
Haha, very true. I’d only ever consider it once I had done all other hardware changes. The Silver II is really good for the cost. I’d have to payout £2k for the Ultra Silver… which at this point would be OTT. I’d want to either have the NDX2 or, Chord TT2 before improving upgrading speaker cable again.
I’ve just got a pair of mk1 silvers to compare against re terminated naca5 and it’s more open in the mid with holographic top end, not bright but incredibly detailed. It does lose out to a5 in the bass heft. I’ll keep the silver in for a week or two and see…
That’s very interesting, especially what you’ve found regarding the top end. With the Silver II I’m actually finding that the bass is noticeably more pronounced than my previous NACA5. I wonder if that’s an improvement TQ specifically made with the MkII silver??
It’s likely but as they have settled over the last few tracks cane I’ve dressed them properly and got the A5 out of the way they sound more of a piece, or my ears have adjusted.
I went from a5 to inakustik to TQ Silver Diamond. I was looking for the Black II and the silver diamond came up second hand for a price that was less than the Black II… anyway I think based on the comments here there does seem to be a progression in the range albeit with diminishing returns. I am crap at artfully describing hi fi nuances however @Hifi-dog I can really relate to your comments. The big change for me moving to the TQ Silver Diamond was the improvement in the mid range. I don’t think the base has suffered, but because the mid range is so much improved one could perhaps get the impression that there is less “bass heft”. (And yes much more detailed than the a5, but then so was the Inakustik)
Hello Mrpseudonym,
Peter A the owner of Sphear Audio is a lovely chap and very good friend on mine who made many versions of the speaker using different materials for the mid/woofer cabinet ,may I ask what material is used on the speakers you have?
Hello Mrpseudonym,
I have some sad news that Peter Askey the proprietor of Sphere Audio passed this morning peacefully in his sleep.Peter was just 2 weeks shy of his 92nd birthday.The world just lost a wonderful gentleman and a great friend of mine…a very sad day.
Ah @Russ-R so nice to meet a fellow friend of Peter A’s!! The material that Peter found sonically best was laminated mdf believe it or not. This is the pair I have (my avatar is a picture of the speakers) When I auditioned the NAP300DR I actually took one of my speakers in to the dealer and it held its own against focal sopra 3s… everyone was quite amazed… I called peter to tell him
There’s not many of these speakers in the wild… do you have a pair?
Not surprised reading the comments here on the comparison between NACA5 and “better” cables. Although I don’t have experience with Tellurium Q cables, the differences described here pretty much mirrored mine as well. I currently use Chord Signature XL in my system which happens to be my first premium speaker cable. The highs more refined, detailed and holographic than the NACA5 while the midrange sounds a lot cleaner. The overall sound signature is on the lean side as it doesnt have the midbass lift of the NACA5 which I regard as a colouration which masks the finer nuance and detail in the bass and midrange. This fuller or thicker bass of the NACA5 may be the heft that few people are referring to here.
The Chord Signature XL also has a leaner bass when compared to NACA5. When I first installed the cables I though something doesn’t sound quite right as the bass has gone lighter and the heft somewhat missing. As I slowly get used to the sound, I realised the added bass heft of the NACA5 is actually colouration. Without this added bass, the midrange, midbass and lower bass sound a lot cleaner with finer details in the music revealed more easily since there is less bass masking the details.
The highs or treble of the NACA5 also doesn’t possess the airiness and detail of the Chord Signature XL as the decays are cut short.
Now that my mk1 silvers have been playing for a day, I’d say your right about the bass quality. Not lean certainly and the top end has calmed down, still fresh but sweet. All in all a step up from A5 but I’ll give it a week and swap back to be sure…
