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AudioQuest CV-4, Part 12

In 1906, like the future predicts, the City will crumble to the Bay

-Testament, "The Preacher"

In late spring 1988, the East Bay's Testament came out with a new album, The New Order . As a high school junior, I was with a small number of friends in study hall, when Ken came in, and plopped the cassette on our circular table. "You gotta hear this," Ken suggested.



Totem Acoustic got their start during that 1987-88 school year. Being from Quebec province, the Totem staff probably were not yet aware of Testament's existence back then. Since the early-90s, all of Totem's models have been bi-wire. Their Element Fire is a wonderful example of accuracy, neutrality, and transparency. It simply waits for you to provide quality stands, cables, and electronics. It also makes an excellent tool for evaluating said cables.

In early June 1988, the school year ended, but my friends still kept in touch. So much so, that we actually got 4 freshmen girls to go with us to an awesome Testament concert at The Stone, which used to be on Broadway & Montgomery. The short blonde, Abby, had previously gone to rock concerts, with us. She brought along a Jewish friend, one of the many Jennifers. This was Jennifer's first thrash concert. And we brought along two nerdy, wussy Asian girls. You started very protective of the latter two. But when they came up from behind, and hooked your arm, you felt protected!



After that Testament concert got out, just a finger of fog had crept to that portion of the City. The mostly dark blue night sky seemed to mirror The New Order 's album cover. Abby observed that, at The Stone, there wasn't much room for large mosh pits. And, unlike at other rock concerts, the fans were not a--holes. They did not sucker punch anyone, pick fights, or grope our girls. Abby also opined that some of the songs, including "The Preacher," sounded better live, than on record.



If you go to Land's End, walk eastward past the Sutro Baths ruins (speaking of crumbling into the Bay), and go down the kind of steep paths. You come across very narrow, rocky, and cluttered beaches. I don't know about now, but 3 decades ago, our Walkmen had a difficult time, getting clear radio reception. Yeah, we could have listened to cassettes, but that rapidly drained the batteries. Here at the Land's End beaches, we felt a world away from urbanscapes. Those who did not go to that June '88 Testament concert were in disbelief, at Jennifer and the two Asian girls. But these three girls understood Testament's sense of awe. First of all, lead singer Chuck Billy had a powerful presence. The riffs were crunchy or blues-based (which was in contrast to the girls being in the high school orchestra), but sprinkled with the guitarists' touches and techniques (Alex Skolnick did take lessons from guitar god, Joe Satriani). You? With the musical experience so commanding, you appreciated the solace of the Land's End beach, and dreamed about audio.

Several Inmates have written to me that, though they may not be in the market for the AudioQuest CV-4 itself, they have had, or are looking into, other AQ models. So to them, they need all the information, but within the context of history, life, and the music. One emailed, "Okay, I may be preaching to the choir, but you're the only one who gives real world experiences. I love how you stay true to yourself. Even if you're describing hardships, unfairness, and breakups, you have this human joyfulness. You don't just listen to music, you experience it. Heck, you make it feel as though I am experiencing it!"



He was thankful for the coverage of real-world connectivity. You'll have to set aside that late-80s/early-90s dogma. Be honest, and see that, for most binding posts, the easiest connection will be with the AQ BFA banana. However, if you have high-quality sources, listen very carefully, and compare the CV-4 terminated with those BFA bananas, versus their silver-plated spades. The bananas will sound very very slightly more closed-in and rolled-off. Also, the CV-4 does share a family sonic signature (slightly soft and forgiving), with its older cousin, the Lapis line-level interconnect.



Many of you have bi-wireable loudspeakers. Sometimes, both posts are recessed. Sometimes, they are stair-stepped. Other times, they are flush with the back panel. Such is the case with the Totem Element Fire, where each binding post is laid out horizontally, but is stacked one on top of each other (sounds kinky, but isn't). Here, the City may not be crumbling into the Bay, but things are starting to slip. Again, due to the CV-4's short, 3.5" leads, connecting spades to the speaker's top binding post can be awkward and difficult. The WBT binding posts are tightened down. But due to the angle, and even though the CV-4 is lightweight, the upper right spade lug is starting to slip.



The Inmate above suggested, "What about approaching from the top?"



The CV-4 is lightweight. Even with six A23 batteries, the DBS pack isn't that heavy (do not worry about them dangling). Nevertheless, enough strain is placed on the leads, that you should exercise caution.

As you live with the CV-4, you have your studio recordings. You have your orchestral and Broadway works. You have your "outdoor landscape" records. Regardless of source, the CV-4 carves out a little niche or cove. You do not get wide open soundscapes. OTOH, the CV-4 does not turn recordings into an impenetrable wall. If you insist on being the solo audiophile, you will find other similarly-priced speaker cables to give you a more focused, I'm-speaking-directly-to-you persona. There are times when you want the whole stadium to rock. But no, the CV-4 is more like Testament at The Stone, not a stadium. If you want a big, clean, warm-weather beach, other speaker cables will take you there. Instead, the CV-4 is more like the small, cold, windy, and isolated Land's End beach. Yeah, you'd love to get 25 audiophiles together, and party! But no, the CV-4 is more like being with 2 or 3 female neighbors, in your college apartment. Your housemates peek in, listen to whatever is playing, and go, "Hey, that's pretty good!"

-Lummy The Loch Monster



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Topic - AudioQuest CV-4, Part 12 - Luminator 00:13:03 11/15/20 (0)

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