AudioQuest Big Sur

Great quality and sound

Pros: Sound Quality

Cons: None

So cables do matter. I am upgrading form mid level cable masters rca interlinks. They cost about $90 a set and sound decent. I thought they were good till I switched to the bug sur. Highs were most noticeable, they are clearer no smear and bass is tight. I am running a Yamaha AS501 via my PC ( jRiver media player) and a an outboard dac magic 100 using the 2.0 driver. Sends 32 bit really deep bass and clear mid and hig freqs. I Iose nothing with the big sur. These cables are well worth the money.

Pros: Clear separation for each freq range, no static, very clear sound and deep bass.

Cons: none (maybe price-but they are worth it!)

Another good cable from AQ. Impressive clarity, but be careful with overly bright speakers as glare can be introduced in lively rooms. No cable at this price point be perfect, I'm content.

Pros: Clarity

Cons: Appears to lean toward brightness.

Good cables are worth the investment. They help get the best sound out of your equipment.

Pros: Improved sound

Cons: COST

Very good cable, profile is slim which makes it useful if you have an audio rack with a cable management hole. Sound is full and clear. One caveat - if your audio outputs are any distance apart, these cables will not work. With my Yamaha SACD player, the cable is fine. On my old Marantz, they wouldn't have worked because the outs were farther apart.

Pros: Slim profile, very good sound, quality of build.

Cons: May not work with equipment where the unbalanced audio outputs are not next to each other.

I've been slowly swapping-out all of my old RCA interconnects. I like Audioquest's product intent of "do no harm." While I don't believe interconnects can realistically improve upon the signal; I do agree that they shouldn't do anything to degrade it either. Depending on the application (home theater, PC audio, analog audio), I've opted to use Audioquest's Cinnamon, Golden Gate and Big Sur cables. I'm using the Big Sur cables for my higher-end phono/headphone listening. I like their compact size, build quality and, um, the cable finish/color - don't tell my wife, but I think they're kind pretty. It's really kind of a shame they're hidden, out of sight.

Pros: Material selection. Build quality. Size. Color/Finish. Good Assortment of Lengths.

Cons: A little stiff, torsional resistance - particularly noticeable on the HDMI cables

Thanks product of high quality and interaction with crutchfield rep was distortion free as are my new audio quest cables. Thanks again

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Pure sound, awesome build quality

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Very well built. However, the marketing hype with the direction arrows showing which way the cables should be plugged in is not backed up by ANY rigorous lab tests of which I am aware. Listening tests are notorious inaccuate. So you may be paying a big price premium for this "feature" of dubious value.

Pros: Very will built

Cons: May be paying a price premium for marketing hype

Used this to interconnect a Sony theatre preamp to an Audio Research stereo amp to enable use of the preamp for critical listening of musi content. Super clean and accurate sound reproduction is the result.

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The sound quality improved by about 20-25% The symbols finally sound like I expected them to. This product has improved every aspect of the sound quality and image. I am using a Yamaha S2100 integrated with Martin Logan Motion 40 speakers. To get my music through Bluetooth I hooked up the Audioengine B1 with the new Big Sur cables. Well worth the money!!!

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The AQ Big Sur are the real deal. I connected them to 45 yr old dual 1214 turntable that was sounding a little lackluster. I cleaned the outputs with alcohol and a Q-tip, attached the Big Sur cable and were back in business. The cable cost as much as the turntable cost new, but is way better than the one that came with. The second one I attached to a cassette player and it works great!

Pros: Well shielded,well built

Cons: Expensive, but hey, nothing is to good for my equipment

These are My third set of the AudioQuest Big Sir cables. I use them to connect my phono preamp and my Nad CD player to my main preamp with great results.

Pros: the work well

Cons: none

My sales person has never misled me and suggested that the extra money for these was well worth it. So far, I take it on faith. But I'm sure it's right.

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Really well made cable. I used these to connect my new Yamaha CD-S1000 to my Integrated Amp and they sound really good.

Pros: Easy to connect, Sound is Clear and Precise,

Cons: None

Cable quality for phono interconnects make a big difference! I ordered quite a few cable interconnects for my turntable to amp setup. Evergreen, Golden Gate, Big Sur, Sydney, Blue Jean custom cable, and Emotiva - all in 1 meter lengths. I then recorded the noise levels with the A/D converter with the Music Hall PA2.2, with the needle up over the record platter spinning (Dual 701). There were obvious differences in noise levels. I definitely have too much wiring in the walls nearby causing interference, and some cables did better at shielding than others. The Blue Jean cables were the best, in my environment getting around a -80db noise rejection level. However they were so thick, with massive connectors that I really could not use them - the Emotiva performed just as well, but same problem - extremely thick and connectors were too big ; however the Big Sur was right behind at -79.5 db; the more expensive Sidney did no better than the Big Sur, so it was an easy choice. The lesser cables were pretty far behind, at -65db or worse. The Evergreens are perfectly fine for line level, but for phono, it's the Big Sur for me.

Pros: Excellent Shielding and signal transfer

Cons: None

This was an upgrade from the Golden Gate and it does make a difference. I am hearing greater precision, clarity and detail. Put on the Replacements "Let it Be" CD and was blown away. Good cable.

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Smooth balanced sound.

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Smooth balanced sound.

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Well built, gets the job done.

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So I had some older Audioquest G-Snakes, decent cables had them running from my Oppo BDP-105D to my Yamaha Aventage Receiver, decided to get a set of Golden Gates, they were decent and a little better after break-in than the G-Snakes, then I was like let me try the Big Sur version, again marginally better than the Golden Gates again after break-in but the Big Sur cables seem to keep getting better, then I was curious so I listened to a few cd's and High Res files with the 60hr used Big Sur cables then for curiosity put the g-snakes back in, now there is a fairly noticeable difference between those two and again between the Golden Gates. If you have quality gear it will make a difference. I now use the Golden Gates on my Onkyo C-7030 to Onkyo Receiver in another room. Very happy I upgraded.

Pros: Skinny, good connectors, again better than the Golden Gates (after some break-in)

Cons: A little pricey but not too bad. Do take a little while to break-in

Fantastic cable. I went from optical back to this analog cable for a more natural sound.

Pros: Smooth, big, natural sound.

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I got two pairs for a bi amped car audio system and what a difference over another well known manufacture of car amps and cables. Cleaner highs, transparent details, smooth midrange and precise sound stage. Well worth the money.

Pros: Audio quest experience and quality.

Cons: None.

No static

Pros: seem to transport the sound extremely well.

Cons: expensive

My first reaction when I saw the cable up close was how skinny they are. However, the manufacturing quality is top notch...which it should be for the price. I'm going to make up my own cable and see how the two match up. Then I'll write another review. The 3 stars may stay or go either direction; don't know yet.

Pros: Very good quality manufacture

Cons: Pretty skinny cables

This cables are great and increase the sound quality of your component. I use it with marantz CD6005.

Pros: Great Sound

Cons: none

The AudioQuest Big Sur 2m RCA interconnect is a very high quality cable. I used this cable for a critical connection in my signal chain and it greatly reduced my noise level. The cable is very robust and the connectors fit snugly. Quality interconnects do make a difference, but there is a law of diminishing returns. Upgrading from a $6 interconnect to a $60 interconnect will make a noticeable difference, but an upgrade from a $60 interconnect to a $600 one will not be ten times better, especially if the rest of the components in your signal chain are not up to par.

Pros: robust jacketing, connectors fit snugly, great shielding against noise

Cons: none

For me, the verdict is in - cables do make a difference! I put together a fairly high-end system, then thought I would save money by using some video component cables I had as interconnects. They are thick, so I thought they would be good. But I noticed that the highs grated on my ears. Ordered the Big Sur cables to interconnect all my sources, and between prep and amp, and the sound is now soft as a pillow. They make me very happy to listen to this system. I agree with one reviewer who said that AudioQuest had so many level of cables (Evergreen, Big Sur, Golden Gate, etc.) that it is hard to know which to go with. I chose the mid-price, more or less randomly. Of course, one piece of advice that always works is to use the shortest cables possible. Be cautioned that the lengths listed are exact and are end-to-end, including the connecter. All told, Am very glad I got these. If you are using cheap or 'courtesy' cables, this will be a good investment in enjoying your system. Cheers, Jim

Pros: Sound great, well built

Cons: None

These cable can be a little pricey but are worth the investment. I couple these with a plethora of Audioengine and Pro-ject gear to deliver an exhilarating record listening experience.

Pros: Superior quality

Cons: Price

I purchased one of these Big Sur 1M RCA male-to-male cables and two 1M RCA male-to-male Golden Gates (next step down from the Big Sur). I'm using all three to connect Logitech Squeezebox digital music players to various receivers in different rooms. The Squeezebox has a very high end Burr-Brown DAC built right in, so I prefer using analog cables rather than rely on a receiver's DAC. The music input source is uncompressed WAV CD rips streamed from a NAS server in the basement with in-wall CAT6 transmission all the way. This is a fine little cable. It's very thin, flexible, and low-key. It clips on nice and tight. Sound quality is excellent. For all applications I was replacing 15-year-old Monster cables that were huge and bulky. Some people say they can't hear a difference between cable types, but some people also say they can't tell the difference between a WAV and a compressed MP3. I figure if I'm dropping several thousand on high-end audio, the least I can do is make sure my analog cables are high quality. Digital cables probably don't matter, but analog RCA does. I put the more expensive Big Sur in our main family room system (Yamaha receiver, Definitive Technology speakers) and the Golden Gates in the basement (Yamaha receiver / Bose and Klipsch speakers) and master bedroom (powered Mackie studio monitors).

Pros: Great sound Peace of mind that your cable isn't the limiting factor in your sound quality Small, compact, single-line

Cons: None

Purchased another Big Sur cable to run from Turntable to Phono Preamp. Now have Big Sur cabling throughout my system. Wanted to keep it consistent. You can hear the difference in my system. I live in the 1-day area for Crutchfield. Meaning that if I buy a product one day - the product is at my door the next business day morning. Sometimes I think if I were to order a pizza and a product from Crutchfield - Crutchfield product would get here before the pizza.

Pros: Quite simply better sound. Years ago I would have told you that you were a fool to *upgrade speaker cable, interconnects, etc. but after reaching a 5K dollar figure for my components, I could hear a difference in sound when swapping out cables.

Cons: My experience is that I generally could not hear the difference of a cable with an entry level system. *I used the Evergreen cable early on and while the music "settled" there really was not a OMG WOW moment. Once I had put a few thousand into upgrading my equipment, I traded the Evergreens out for the Big Sur and got noticeably better sound. I have also put oxygen free copper cabling in place for speaker runs as well replacing Monster speaker cable.

Upgraded to these from an older set of Monster interconnects - very noticeable improvement on sound clarity.

Pros: Well made and worth the cost when using higher end audio equipment.

Cons: My only frustration is AudioQuest marketing - the number of products with small incremental differences as the cost increases substantially makes it difficult to know the sweet spot of cost/noticeable benefit and which model to buy.

Initially, I thought the RCA cables were so small compared to the other cables I had. However, the sound of the Audio Quest is much clearer, due to less distortion, and less static feed back. In this case, it is not the size of the cable, but the inner components of the cable that make the noticeable difference!

Pros: Excellent interconnects.

Cons: N/A

A noticeable step up from the Audioquest Black Mamba II. Enjoying the cable so far.

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I like this cable , it sounds fine i have always spent extra on audio video cables and i consider this a good buy

Pros: sounds great

Cons: the left and right cable are not separated so i cant use them for what i originally wanted

I love Audio Quest, I am a big fan of their cinnamon line of cables, using all cinnamon cables in my theater room. I discovered the new line of "bridges & falls" interconnects. They put the same amount of quality control and engineering into their low end as the do there high end end. Leta face it, many of us are not going to spend $1000 for their Dimond line HDMI cable. But most of us may splurge for many of their others, optical, subwoofer, interconnects. Great company, never had any problems. Designed and made in USA. what more to ask from them... anyway the new bridges and falls line combined both interconnects in the same line, saving them money and passing it to us the consumer. I love them, cant wait to see whats next. Thanks, Ivan in MPLS

Pros: Pro quality, best materials, warranty

Cons: Expensive

Five Stars so far! Only time will tell the rest. I'm in the process of replacing some older, longer interconnects. When it comes to cables I believe in the "Do No Harm" company. I'm not comfortable spending big money for questionable claims, nor am I comfortable with using ic's that may or may not be up to the task at hand. The one meter Big Sur fits my budget and application. I'm using one for dac out to pre. I purchased second one for the newly arrived Denon 720 network player. The best hardware is never heard! It's only the messenger.

Pros: They appear to be value oriented interconnects at a price that won't cause me to lose sleep.

Cons: No downside for me.