BOUND FOR SOUND REPORT
Est. January 1989

"Synergy at a Sane Price"
Issue # 137-Published August 2001

SONORAN AUDIO/VIDEO WIRE DESIGNS

Martin DeWulf, Publisher

Last month I told you that I was experimenting with getting some of the
"old" stuff out of mothballs for the purpose of comparing it to some of the
latest and greatest that arrive for review. Last month, I also indicated
that the first product I tried this with was the Desert Cable first produced
in 1993 by Sonoran Audio Design. This solid core, copper, shielded cable
came in single strands, meaning for a stereo connection two cables went to
each speaker. While rummaging around in the basement one day I saw the
Desert Cable hanging from my "wire rack" and I wondered how it would compare
with the wire in the Big Rig now. Here are some of my findings:

Being made of copper, the contrast with the TG Audio silver HSR was
immediate. The copper Sonoran was a tad softer from top to bottom, didn't
image as tightly, and had a small imaging dip at center stage. On the other
hand, the older cable had a near perfect sense of depth, maintained image
size and dimension extremely well, while lacking any sheen or shimmering
quality. In other words, the Sonoran was slightly less vivid than the TG and
the stage was lit ever so less brilliantly, but the tone quality of the
images was complete and full without being over bloomy. The lower midrange
was more realistic with the Sonoran. Image size was enormous with the
Sonoran and extremely present - tactile quality was High.

Compared to the JPS Superconductor II cable, once again the Sonoran held its
own. Both of these cables are copper based, but the similarities basically
stop here. The Sonoran could not keep up with the JPS in terms of the "edge
of the envelope dynamics" that the JPS possesses..but then again, no one
can. Nor did the Sonoran stretch the frequency extremes the way the JPS did.
The JPS seemed to display greater clarity. On the other hand, the Sonoran
exhibited greater dimension in the portrayal of instruments and vocals, and
again, I felt that the air between the performers was natural, unhyped and
unobtrusive. With both cables, properly sized and beautifully textured
images inhabit the stage; with the Sonoran the presentation was extremely
organic and atmospheric in that the cable did not highlight the mechanic or
electrical aspects of the playback system - and yet it seemed to let
everything through. Nothing was obviously missing or changed. A tremendous
performer in the midrange.

Overall, I felt that the Sonoran held up extremely well against two of the
best speaker cables in the market, and in some respects it was superior. If
you can find these cables used, and if they are being sold at a reasonable
price (original price was $530/10' pair), don't hesitate. One thing for
sure, I'm not selling mine.



Reply to Bound For Sound - Sonoran Wire Review

Good-day Mr. DeWulf,

We truly thank-you for this surprise review as we were made aware of by one
of our shared loyal customers.

Sonoran Audio/Video Wire Designs is alive and well producing three series of
cables related to price and musical performance value. To contact us, please
visit our web-site at www.audiopoints.com .

Our company is more than pleased to state that the cable reviewed is still
selling today. We have made some advancement with our cables since your pair
was built in the early 90's. These improvements are noted in our termination
procedure, breakout coupling and adding double crimped OFHC copper spades as
well. These additions improve detail, increase dynamics on the top end,
produce an improved linearity and increase speed associated to the overall
sound quality of the cable. After a decade of manufacturing we are also
pleased to inform you the price of the 10' pair now titled the OASIS Series
(formerly known as our Signature Series) retails for $670.00 per pair.

We were pleased to see that Sonoran's musical performance, when compared to
the JPS Superconductor II, retailing for $2,800.00 and the TG Audio silver
HSR, which retails at an even higher price point that the Sonoran design
held its own and in some cases out-performed its much higher costing
comparisons. Your opinions truly reflect our value driven concept included
in all the products manufactured by our company.

Our lead designer, Mr. Brent Riehl, also wishes to inform you of the changes
and audible improvements within our Cactus Interconnects as well. We have
increased the quality of our solder formula and now source the van den Hul
RCA connectors for all three series of Sonoran Cactus Interconnects. The
combinations of these materials and products eliminate the effects of
impedance changes that inhibit cables performance. In addition, we have also
included an internal strain-relief shield that lowers the floor-noise quite
considerably.

The three series of Sonoran Audio/Video Wire Designs consist of the
affordable MESA, then the OASIS of which you have experienced and our
premium series known as the PLATEAU, which features our Micro-Bearing Shield
Matrix (a flexible even grained steel shield).

Needless to say the Plateau Series has taken our design and ability to
increase listening quality to a higher level. The difference in cost from
the Oasis to the Plateau on a 10' pair of speaker wire is only $190.00. We
remain marketing at price points that the average audiophile can afford yet
the Plateau's ability to create music is compared to other cable products
costing thousands of dollars more.

We thank-you again for an inspiring review. With the events of today in New
York City, your writing has provided us a breath of fresh air and has
encouraged us to move onward and upward.

Upon review of our products should you wish to take on the challenge of
Sistrum Platforms or any products listed please telephone me.

Very truly yours and as always - Good Listening






Robert C. Maicks
President Star Sound Technologies, LLC
1-877-668-4332

NEXT REVIEW