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Most people know Joseph Chow as the Audio Engineer who worked in the Kenwood FM Tuner division, and later with Schotz at Proton, and as the designer of superb electronicsa solid state DAC, a tube preamplifier, and a tube DAC all marketed under his Audio Horizons brand name, but few know that as recently as three years ago as an outside design consultant, Joseph’s created interconnect cables were sold for as much as $2000 per pair by one of the best known high end cable manufacturers. But now in order to maximize the performance of superb electronics Joseph has perfected a new interconnect geometry that in the slogan of Audio Horizons, delivers “Superior Performance. Clearly.” These interconnects are among the cleanest, clearest, most transparent interconnects you’ve ever heard. We’re so confident you’ll agree that we offer a free home audition, freight prepaid. All Joseph’s cables are superb. One customer after comparing Joseph’s Premium AC Power Cord to his $2000 Shunyata power cord remarked, “I think Joseph’s might be better.” See his words of praise below. We’re so confident you’ll agree that we offer a free home audition, freight prepaid. And because Joseph is selling it factory direct instead of through dealers, he is able to avoid the five times mark up required to sell through a dealer network. Thus this superb Premium Series X Interconnectis available not at $850 to $1000 but at $195. Audio
Horizons Interconnects and Speaker CablesAs you are aware, the sound coming from your speakers is the culmination of an interconnecting chain from the microphone transducer and recording equipment through the various decoding and amplifying electronics to the loudspeaker transducer that reconverts the original signal into the music you’re listening to. This chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Just as the most sophisticated circuit design if it uses poor materials and component parts will never realize the potential inherent in its excellent circuit design, so electronics that produce very clean signals but pass these clean signals between each other through poor signal carriersinterconnects and speaker cable--will never realize the sonic potential inherent in the electronic components and loudspeakers. One must have excellent accessories to complement the excellent components used, which is why ComponentPlus, USA has made available interconnects and speaker cable designed to realize the full sonic potential inherent in your equipment. ComponentPlus interconnects and speaker cable are designed with the same eye for classic balance and harmony that characterize all ComponentPlus designs--the need is to maintain a harmonious balance between the signal carried by the positive and the signal carried by the neutral and ground. Imagine the positive and neutral wires to be a teeter-totter. It must be properly balanced or it will take more force on one end to raise the other. In a cable signal carrier this extra force gets translated into noise, compression, and masking. The same balance required in the teeter-totter is required in the wires, especially with respect to impedance if one is to reduce the force needed to move and transfer the signal. This concern with classical balance explains why ComponentPlus’ cable designs place as much importance on the impedance of the signal carried by the ground as by the hot wire. Preserving this balance is extremely important in the reproduction of harmonic texturethose identifying harmonics that distinguish a reedy clarinet from a reedy sax. We know that one of the main reasons some people prefer tube designs, despite losses in the noise floor and their higher impedance, over solid state designs is because tubes generate better second order harmonics than do solid state designs. Proper harmonics is critically important in preserving that intangible musicality that we prefer, and that we ascribe to tube electronics.
Imagine the sound signal as a tightrope walker walking across a high wire. Imagine that ComponentPlus’ balanced geometry and matching Q act as a balancing pole the tightrope walker can use to preserve his balance as he travels along the high wire. Because the pole is so long, even the smallest deviations from perfect balance are magnified, permitting the high wire walker to compensate before the imbalance begins to create destabilizing motional gyrations. In your sound system, the equivalent of these gyrations is masking noise. As a consequence of its classic, balanced architecture, the first thing that strikes one after listening to an ComponentPlus accessory cable is how quiet the signal suddenly sounds; then because of the lowered noise floor, one realizes that one has improved microdetail retrieval so that one can hear the reedy harmonic overtones of a saxophone more clearly than one has before, and string bass now really sounds like a resiny string bass. The sonic improvement we describe when using ComponentPlus accessory cables will occur with any component. Words of Praise for ComponentPlus and Audio Horizons Grannyring asked to audition a pair of balanced interconnects under our free home audition program. Here's what he wrote: "I love the interconnects. Thus far my listening has revealed your IC's to be world class in bass performance. I have listened to many cables in my system, some costing up to $1400 per meter, and the Series X are the best in this regard.The instrument focus is most amazing. The stage clearly delineates each instrument in front of me. The depth this cable brings to my music is something I have not yet experienced. Fantastic!" Grannyring ended up ordering a second pair of Series X interconnects, and recently ordered a Transparency XLR interconnect between his preamplifier and amplifier. Cedar writes: "Congratulations on the excellence of your Series X Premium interconnects. I've used the Series X interconnects for several months now. Prior to the ComponentPlus interconnects, I used Synergistic Research Resolution Reference X2 interconnects and, before that, various MIT interconnects. The ComponentPlus Series X delivers a purer sound, without coloration or edginess. Cables make a difference. I've listened to some of the most highly regarded interconnects and heard the improvement in my system. I found ComponentPlus Series X to be the best." Gamecock writes: "I have had a chance now to get a real handle on the Premium power cords and interconnects. Let me come right to the point, both products are outstanding. As you know, my first experience with Joseph's cables was the premium power cord. I had purchased one as part of the upgrade package for my vintage Kenwood L-01T tuner. I thought that both the upgraded tuner itself and the power cord were outstanding sonically. . . . It offers superior performance at a real world price. I had a similar experience with Joseph's interconnect. I compared it with . . . [My very expensive] interconnects in my system. In absolute terms, I found the [expensive] . . . cables to be a touch more refined. But at [several thousand dollars] . . . per meter pair versus $195 for Joseph's, I could not justify the extra expense. In a blind listening test, I'm not sure I could easily distinguish between the two. I plan to sell the [X] . . . interconnects and purchase Joseph's for my entire system. In short, Joseph's cable are a serious attack on the state of the art, and all at real world prices. With his home trial program, there is absolutely no good reason not to give them a listen. Potential customers can get the fine sound they seek and save a lot of their hard earned money in the process." How Do We Get the word Out? Joseph has a problem: Given that cables are among the most over-hyped area of the high end industry, how is he going to persuade you that these interconnects really are superb, everything you have a right to expect in the most expensive interconnectthey’re clean and quiet, with excellent extension at both ends, a controlled, impactful bass, solid notes with soft edges, and a wide soundstage that delivers precise imaging? His solution. Offer anyone interested in auditioning these interconnects or speaker cables over their own sound system, a free audition. He’ll even pay the freight to you. Please read on to learn more about ComponentPlus’ line of interconnect and speaker cable accessories and how to qualify for a free home audition. Free Home Listening Program Take advantage of one of our free trial and/or money back guarantee programs to listen to these incredible cables on your own system. To qualify for a free 10 day home audition, freight prepaid, you must meet ONE of the following criteria:
We offer this free home listening program because we want you to audition these cables over your own sound system. We think you will be impressed by what you hear. Don’t be deceived by their price. We invite you to compare these interconnects and cables with ones costing five to ten times more. We think you will be surprised at the improvement in your sound system. But don’t take our word for it. Audition it. On the following page we describe ComponentPlus’ Audio Horizons interconnects and speaker cables and their prices. Don’t be deceived by their price. We invite you to compare these interconnects and cables with ones cost five to ten times more. We think you will be surprised at the improvement in your sound system. But don’t take our word for it. Audition it. Audio
Horizons Series X and Transparency Audio Interconnects. These interconnects
utilize a low noise, rapid transfer, high Q wire. Again, the positive and
negative wires have the same Q factor and are individually shielded to reduce
EMI and RFI noise and twisted to insure stable capacitance in both wires
across the entire length. The positive and negative wires are individually
shielded so there is no mutual conductance, and to insure the lowest contamination
or clean-transfer between hot and cold. Again, the cables use the superior
dielectric of air and Teflon, and use a geometry that reduces that microphonic
phenomenon that creates a nasal midrange so commonly found in popular coaxial
geometric designs. The Transparency interconnects add an additional layer
of insulation for even better dielectric and higher capacitance. Tarnish-proof
Gold Plated RCA plugs with a center expansion plug and a cinch down jacket
insure tight internal and external connection and thus a wide contact area
and stable signal transfer. The XLR jacks are of equally high quality. Digital
interconnects are designed to match the impedance where it is known of the
output signal, whether that is 75 ohms or 110 ohms. To shorten the signal
path as much as possible, interconnects come in varying lengths from 0.5
meter up. What emerges from these interconnects that balance the positive
and negative and have matching capacitance and high Q is sound that emerges
from a dead quiet background, one that seems both softer and less edgy and
yet more transparent and airy. Highs are crystalline, mid frequencies clean
and possess more presence, and the low end is more controlled and more impactful
than before. Designate either RCA or XLR connectors. Current
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Horizons Premium Speaker Cable. The Premium Speaker Cable uses the same
14 AWG low noise, rapid transfer, high Q wire used in the Premium audio
Interconnects in order to achieve the same superior dielectric properties,
and to take advantage of its immunity to humidity and rust. The Premium
Speaker Cable will permit the amplifier to provide better signal control
all the way to the speaker. This increased control will reveal itself as
a more controlled, tighter and impactful bass, by softer edges and a more
relaxed midrange, by wider bandwidth response, and finally by an enhanced
sense of presence and richness to the music. For those who wish something
even finer, ComponentPlus offers a Premium Ultra Low Noise Speaker Cable.
Each strand of wire is shielded, just as in the Premium Interconnects, in
order to shield against EMI and RFI interference and in order to further
reduce the noise floor so that the sound emerges from a dark and silent
background. This shielding also helps preserve the right capacitance ratio
to insure that the signal is smooth and balanced across the entire audio
spectrum. The high power factor present in the wire increases the transfer
speed and results in even faster, tighter, more impactful bass. This Ultra
Low Noise Speaker Cable comes in a handsome coiled sheath, and with gold
plated terminals at each end to further insure superior conductivity over
a long period of time Current
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