Cables making a difference

arcorob

Addicted Member
Upon special request, starting this thread in the "right" forum.

Formerly, I was skeptical that expensive, high end cable could make a sonic difference. I mean a cable is a cable, right ? I had read all about blind tests against coat hangers, cheap cables, etc. so it was not something I thought to invest in even though I would think nothing of dropping $500 to $800 on a cart or 100's on tubes. Well, I am here to tell you - I was very wrong.

I am a regular on another board that tends to lean (like the tower of Pisa) toward high end. Made a friend there who gifted me 3 - 1meter high end interconnects.By High End I mean they cost anywhere from 125 to 200 each.

Replaced my short cables in my system and wow...I am now a believer. There was more detail and the sound stage was even deeper...I should have known. I had made DIY speaker cables (low inductance DIY with the twist )'
http://diyaudioprojects.com/Power/Low-Inductance-DIY-Speaker-Cables/

and they made a difference so why wouldn't these ? They did.

Then I need a 15ft good connect to go from my Phonomena II Phono stage to my preamp. So I went with Bluejeans LC-1 cables. Simply awesome.

So if you don't think cables make a difference, either you have not tried it OR you are not resolving enough to begin with. Is it a huge difference? No..maybe 5% ...but would feel like a 20% loss if I removed them...:yes:
 
IMO, cables can and do make a difference. I just wish people wouldn't connect the difference to cost. Cables interact with the rest of the system because of their electrical properties, not because of how exotic and expensive they are. Definitely experiment with cables, even expensive ones, but be assured that you don't have to spend a fortune to get the desired effect.
 
A good set of interconnects (well matched to the rest of the setup) can be the piece that glues it all together. I find a lot of value in the $100-200 range. Not a fan of BJ LC-1's but we all hear differently and have different preferences. My current favorite high value line is Wireworld. I am using Wireworld Oasis 7 interconnects and Solstice 7 speaker cable in my main setup and am very satisfied.
 
A good set of interconnects (well matched to the rest of the setup) can be the piece that glues it all together. I find a lot of value in the $100-200 range. Not a fan of BJ LC-1's but we all hear differently and have different preferences. My current favorite high value line is Wireworld. I am using Wireworld Oasis 7 interconnects and Solstice 7 speaker cable in my main setup and am very satisfied.

I use some of their power cables. And nicely made cables they are...I'm very happy with them. I've listened to a lot of gear hooked up to their cables.

My favorite cables, and the ones I heard the most positive difference from, were the Cabledyne balanced XLRs I reviewed for AK. I love those. Non-flashy and excellent sonic characteristics compared to what was in their place before. I have a mixture of Vertere, Wireworld, Straightwire, Audioquest, Cabledyne and WyWires among my cables, power cords, and speaker cable. It all works (every cable I've used has more or less worked) but I do like some better than others. And they've been placed where they seem to work best.

I wasn't a cable "believer" until friends gave me things to try out at home, spare stuff they had around. I liked the subtle things they did so invested in my own stuff over time. It was all like when you're getting a pair of glasses and they have that machine you look through where they switch between lenses. "this, or this? this, or this?". In my system the cables make the kind of difference between the lens where you think its in focus, and the one that's after it, where you know its in focus. If that makes sense as an analogy.
 
This may sound crazy but the guy I bought my Denon 2910 from used to sell audio and he said the final piece to the puzzle is often in the cables and finding the correct match for the sound you like. It seems I've been coming across this issue more than a bit as using a better cable between my Onkyo Integra and my TT proved to be a difference maker in many ways.

So now I'm wondering, I currently have used Monster IL400's I got cheap and this has got me curious. I also have a chance to get some Kimber 8VS speaker cable if I go pick it up and get them off his workbench. I'm guessing this would be a good idea and maybe at least shoot for some of those BJ cables as a starting point? The audio sales rep felt I should really start looking at investing in some better cables because the ones I have aren't giving my system the chance to breath the way it should. He stopped short of recommending anything and simply said a part of the fun is testing.

This is getting to be a more common occurrence, the cable part, as more people seem to at least be willing to try it. From your experience it seems a good logical step forward. Thanks for sharing!
 
IMO, cables can and do make a difference. I just wish people wouldn't connect the difference to cost.

I think thats where many of the cable misconceptions come from. When you mention cables to some, they automatically think youre spending thousands, when in reality, it can be anywhere from about $20 on up. Price doesnt make a good cable. Myself, as well as many here, have heard cheaper cables that do a number on the higher priced offerings. Its just a matter of finding the right ones that jive with the rest of your system.
 
I think thats where many of the cable misconceptions come from. When you mention cables to some, they automatically think youre spending thousands, when in reality, it can be anywhere from about $20 on up. Price doesnt make a good cable. Myself, as well as many here, have heard cheaper cables that do a number on the higher priced offerings. Its just a matter of finding the right ones that jive with the rest of your system.

Amen Brother... I agree wholeheartedly!!!
 
Agreed!

The retail speaker cable I have were a tad over 100 bucks, they have been compared to reputable cables costing up to 6 or 7 hundred, and were kept in that system :)

Price is not a factor really, cable quality is.

Rob, I have heard nothing but very good things about Bluejeans, everyone says they are great bang for buck :thmbsp:
 
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Just like with every other audio component category, there is a sweet spot. There are also bang for the buck winners, and over priced hype products. some cables will work better in some systems than others, and appeal to different owners needs and wants. just like speakers, phono cartridges, pre-amps, CD playes, and amplifiers do. hobbyists will often have preconceived notions about price points, product lines, designs and materials.........just like every other component in our hobby.

But I do contend that there are sweet spots for cable designs. In my experience this can be in the range from $300 to $500 a meter for interconnects. At this price point you get the better quality terminations, that really do affect performance! You will get a good quality dielectric and wire combination, at least in a well executed design. Now there is a wide scale of geometry at this price point, and really all the design parameters are going to affect the overall performance of the cable. So it becomes a matter of listening to various products and finding the one that works well in your system. Like everything else in audio there are no guarantees, and direct experience trumps all other forms of evaluation. You pays your money and takes your chances.

EDIT: In my experience the $500 point is where the diminishing returns start to kick in, at laest in relation to the context of a $20K system. Move up to a $30K system and that point may very well raise to $1000. Actually at $1000 a meter the Cardas Golden Cross become a very interesting cable to experience, and in some ways sets a standard in the product niche, kind of like the LP 12 did for turntables. Perhaps this is my own bias coming into play, as I do feel $500 is reasonable to spend for interconnects, and $1000 is getting a bit shakey in terms of justifying that kind of expenditure. I imagine for others, their personal comfort zone will definitely be higher than mine.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
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I think the thing I really like about BJC is the fact that they do not have a bunch of hype on their site and do tell you that, as an example, HDMI cables under 6ft perform the same. I have not ordered any cables from them, but likely will next time I am in need.
 
I'll be auditioning some Nordost speaker cables next week.
I'm admittedly skeptical, but hey, if they improve things, I'm all for it.

I currently run monster original cable.
 
I'm definitely a cable believer nowadays, but I was previously a disbeliever.

My preferred cables are all PCOCC. My interconnects are Aurealis R1 and R2 which feature Neotech PCOCC solid core single strand, with Eichmann copper connectors.

My speaker cables are NOS TDK PCOCC from Monarchy Audio. This particular cable is surplus from a time when TDK were keen to get into the speaker cable game. They commissioned Furukawa to produce some high quality, Teflon-encased fine-strand PCOCC cable in a quad geometry with a nice, flexible rubber outer sheath. The design is similar to Canare 4S11 but with higher quality copper and a Teflon dielectric.

In future, I'll be switching to the Aurealis speaker cables too, as they use the same solid-core Neotech PCOCC construction as the interconnects. There's something about high quality solid core cables that sound inherently 'right' to me vs stranded copper cables. However, at present, the flexible TDK PCOCC cables suit my situation better, as they are more difficult for inquisitive children to damage!
 
At the very least, there's the satisfaction of having quality interconnects and speaker cables. I like to DIY all of mine and have had great success. I'm extremely anal about "slack" cable to so I like to custom create all my lengths. I had problems finding balanced connectors tho, as many that looked good in pictures were actually garbage when they arrived at my door.
 
Moderator note: Please read the rules carefully before posting in this forum. This is not a place to come and challenge people over what they report hearing because you read something about expectation bias, and it is especially not a place to come and challenge people over what they report hearing when the component being discussed is something you don't actually have experience with.

The majority of the posts deleted in this thread so far had to go only because they referred back to the original problem post, fyi.

Now, carry on!
 
I used to use Monster interconnects and speaker cable for many, many years in all my systems. Not the cheap Walmart Monster, but their hi-end expensive cable. I was very pleased with them. It was an improvement over regular Walmart/Radio Shack cable, no doubt. Then a few years ago I had the opportunity to buy some "real" speaker cables - MITs to be precise. :yes: . Yeah, improvement - big time. I could not believe it, so I put the Monster XPS cable back in. Sounded back as before, just what I'd been hearing all these years. Back in went the MIT's. Wow! It was real! An improvement. No, not "My Percieved" improvement in sound, but a definite improvement in sound - the kind we all want when we upgrade our gear and take it to the next level. If ever I had any doubt (and I never did, I just could never afford anything other than the Monsters) all that went completely out the window. Yes, speaker cables make a difference. So I bought another set of MIT's for my downstairs McIntosh/Carver system.

Next up was to replace all my interconnects with something more state of the art. Again, just like my speaker cables I always had Monster interconnects - the expensive kind. I replaced all RCA, USB, and XLR cables with AudioQuest brand. :yes: Again was that jump in "next level" of sound quality. And again I removed and replaced back with what I always had and sure enough that familiar sound returned. Back in went the AudioQuest and again, that "next level" in improvement returned. What a difference cables can make. :yes: .

So if anyone wants to argue about cables, now I just grin a bit and walk away. No need to argue. I don't care. I know what is in my system, and at the end of the day, when I'm sitting in front of my system listening to music, I "know" my cables took me a few steps closer to that goal.

Jimmy
 
I recently added an Emotiva XDA-2 DAC to my system during their Summer Sale. Their own coax cable was so cheap and just the right length (18") that I ordered it, too. Now there's no way a $12 cable can pass for "high-end" except that the quality and the sound are both superb. I'd recommend their cables on quality and price. Their USS speaker cables even offer banana terminals that convert to pins in 3-meter pairs for a very reasonable price. I may try those next.
 
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