[Review] Ive been "zanashed"

Ive been "zanashed"

Just a quick post to review what I found after Peter visited with his speaker cables IC and mains lead, amongst other stuff. I got the idea from reading other peoples posts, which as a newcomer to hifi are really useful may I add. Peter offered to pop round one day when I was off work and bring an array of stuff to listen to. I was down the shops and felt bad as when i arrived he was sitting on the drive waiting....sorry Pete.

I found him to be non- pressuring, no hard sell etc, but clearly enjoys what he does and I feel that it was a hobby. The mains leads were plugged into my avi power amps, old, but still good, and there was a clear improvement immediately.

OK they were staying! More bass, more open and reasonably priced. The speaker cable was next. He replaced my speaker wire for the 3x3 silver speaker cable. The reason I should add that I contacted him was that my system was squealing on female vocals, and was not really performing that well. The difference was instant. It sounded great. Faster, much less shrill, but still an improvement was needed from the IC he felt. He then changed my IC for the ag/au cable.

There was a clear difference as the shrillness fell away. My system sounded a lot better, but my concern was that whilst the IC was good, my IC VDH First Ultimate was pretty good anyway and therefore I wouldnt have swapped my IC for this ag/au due to the cost involved. The Ag/au was cleaner and more realistic, but would have meant making a move up, but there was more. Peter sent me a few days later the platalloy IC.

For those who dont hear the differenves IC s can make, I urge you to trial this cable. It is so obvious it smacks you in the face with detail, clarity and openess. It blew my current IC away. I played with swapping back and forth once Peter left, my brother listened with it in / out, he knows nothing of hifi, but was adamant that the Platalloy was a country mile better than my current IC..

The reasons for me here were that, I was prepared to change my IC, but wanted a BIG step up. I got this alright from the platalloy and to me this cable is really something to be heard. Im having one made as I post. Peter, then showed some hifi tricks. A cd sprayed with phonosophie flux sounded better by far than pre-tretment and the cd lathe results were fantastic. Im considering getting one of these as Ive heard what they do...(Can someongive an exact brand of pen that is best to treat the edge with please? ) Pete showed these it seemed to me, as he enjoyed what he was doing. he had no reason to sell here, he was just showing me what he had learned. He gave me some advice about mains and left me witht the cables. He sent me on some 5x3 speaker cable as I was curious. This was better again than the 3x3, but was more expensive.

..Petes stuff is greatvalue if you want to spend a lot or a little, theres no hard sell and If you start small you can always build up as you go. The 5x3 speaker cable with the platalloy IC has transformed my system I cant believe the sound I can get out of my current stuff now. it sound realistic. voices are beautiful, on everything! Drums sound real, hand clapping sounds real...the little things really.This, in my opinion was mainly due to the Platalloy IC and speaker cable. When you try these combined there is no-one in the world who can tell me that cables do not make a difference. .

The other night the wife actually asked me to stick an old Elvis cd on, and she fell to sleep. Now if thats not good enough reason for me to get it in my system, I dont know what is ......Ive put an order in and left it with Pete. he asked for half monies upfront and the rest on completion. I will post regarding quality of finish etc at that time. in the meantime ive gone back to my own stuff, which isnt bad, but as teachers say ..."could be better"

 

Cheers ...thanks !

There is no hard sell ...as there is no sell if that makes any sense...the cables sell themselves ...if you like what they do !

and I'm not a business.....so don't get the wrong idea I don't need to sell anything ..

The platalloy Ic is still in prototype form ..and yes a couple of you have asked to borrow one ..but as you can guess I've only got one prototype demo version so please be patient.

The Phonosophie CD FLUX ....can be obtained from [email protected]....

with whom I have no connection other than the purchase of one bottle of whale sperm I mean cd flux....

the cd lathe was purchased from wadiamiester ..again no connection.

The system sounded pretty good especially after the removal of a rather large mains extension reel which was trying to strangle the sound.

 

any chance of putting a paragragh or two in ?, it's quite unreadable.

 

there you go!

it does read better now..

 

Cheers .......it was hard work ..

Hopefully the finished cable will be better than the demo ones ...but I'm having problems with my supplier ...short metaling me !

tried to make me pay £14 for two plastic cable ties as they weighed the metal after they added them ...plonkers

 

Do you make a profit on the cables you sell?

I realise you are not a registered business or rely on it for a living, but you have made and sold a lot of cables. I'm pretty sure you make a profit and you do go around continuously visiting people to demo them. These are the actions of a business. In which case IMO it seems a little cheeky to say you are not in business as it gives people the impression you are doing it just as a favour to them.

Why not set up a little webpage with a few of the cables you make? It would probably get more people hearing them!

I hope this doesn't come across in a nasty way, as I say it just seems a bit unfair to say you are not a business when you have done this so many times and make a profit. I will have to have a listen to the cable you lent me soon, maybe I will be the next customer lol!

 

Simon,
Whilst it's debatable as to the technical accuracy of whether or not Zanash is a business, I'd like to suggest that it's easy to take the view that I personally have. I've known Pete for several years now, and he's simply a VERY enthusiastic enthusiast, who just likes helping people. I sincerely doubt that there's any significant level of profit in it, probably not enough to actually cover his travel expenses to get to most of the people he visits. After that, well you could add the advice and recommendations on things like setup, which I know he offers for free.

 

I've gotta agree with Mr S on this. Yes, Peter has sold me cables in the past, but since then he has helped me out with numerous trivial questions and problems i've sent his way, which, other than filling his"good deed for the day"quota, have been of no benefit to him whatsoever
ok he's making a little change from the mods and cables but fair play! He deserves it.
Anyone making a go of earning money from what they love doing...yourself included Si... I wish them the very best of luck and maybe feel a little envious that i don't have the knowledge or drive to do the same myself.
(PS Simon has also helped me out a few times without tryin to sell me anything or pushing his opinions etc-another genuine fella on the forum).

 

In what way? I think is pretty clear I am trying to make this a business venture!

As I said it was not a dig at Zanash, he has helped me out now and then. I just find the 'not a business' comment odd and since I have seen it said a few time thought I would comment on it. If you are selling something, its a business - and whats wrong with that? Why say its not?

 

pot kettle black

 

Sorry simon......

you'll just have to accept other peoples word on this.

 

Yeah... not quite sure how I quoted something before it happened!!

Fair enough Pete, I still don't really see how you can repeatedly make and sell cables and have it not be business. But there we go, doesn't really matter as long as no one is mislead by the comment.

Good luck with the new cable! Please continue the review

 

I hate to piss on anyone's chips but is it just me or does the tone of Simon's post come over all wrong?

I've often read through posts made by you Simon that appear well constructed and full of genuine thoughts.

The way you hi jacked this thread however comes across as a bit of a teenager with attitude. Something just doesn't seem right about it. Maybe it's just me.

Anyhow carry on all

 

i guess it's only a business if he actually makes money on them,otherwise it's just a self perpetuating hobby.

just because he doesn't do them for free doesn't make it a business.

 

I thought it was a fair point.

If you buy something regularly, and sell it for a greater sum, that's a business... by definition.

Whether or not you make much from it, or a living doesn't stop it being a for-profit enterprise.

All of which doesn't really matter at all - businesses (big and small) are welcome to post here just as much as anybody else.

If Pete 'advertised' cables, I'd say it should go in the 'trade' instead of 'classified' section.. but that's pretty much the only distinction of note.. and he doesn't advertise cables with posts anyway!!... so perhaps all a little redundant this topic I think.

 

He's a witch! Burn him :JPS:
Just kidding.

Pete, i'd love to hear the platinum cables for myself. I can't really believe there's that much room for improvement over the Au/Ags but it sounds like i'm wrong.

Problem is, if they're so good, i'd have to shell out for a set and with my current financial situation :student: it's really not possible at the mo.

 

I'd just like to say that pete has been over to my place quite a few times not to sell things but generally to help me out. He uses his petrol and brings over his gear to see if he can make an improvement. And yes he has made an improvement. Yes i have bought is cables, only because they were absolute steals.

I bet the new cables are good Andy. I don't won't to hear them as i know i'll want them. Jim.

 

[I feel bad for starting this post, and now wish I hadnt started the damn thing. Just to give a little background... I contacted Pete to ask for some advice on cabling and to ask if he had any cables of his own that I could hear that could better what I had. This really was to be nosey if anything else. When I heard the cables, I wanted some for myself because I was fed up with going to shops and getting shite. I asked Pete to make some for me. I offered to pay for materials and a few hours of his time to put the stuff together. Does this make him a business? For example, I got my brother to tile my bathroom last year and paid him 100 quid as I didnt fancy it, I was on holiday and wanted it done before I got back and it took him a couple of days of hard graft....Does the same apply? He also painted a friends front room 6 months ago and she slipped him 30 quid...Business or hobby? I get the impression that Peter is first and foremost a hobbyist, who genuinely enjoys helping other hifi enthusiasts out. . There has to be some cost for making up the goods and in fact, Pete offered me the option of getting me all the gear and letting me make them myself, paying the price he pays for the metal...The only reason I didnt take him up on this was that I wouldnt have a bloody clue what I was doing! I personally dont feel that Pete runs a business. My intention by making the initial post was to thank him for the time and effort he made in improving my system above and beyond what I would get from a so called business. He didnt have another appointment, he wasnt needed back at the office etc.
If I slip him a few quid for doing so, well so be it.

 

is the difference between a business and not a business whether tax is declared to the inland revenue then?