Can hi-end cables benefit less expensive electronics?
Some time ago, there was a guy on a Polish hi-end forum claiming that in his case it was better to buy some hi-end power chord than investing in a more expensive CD player. Has anybody had an experience where they invested in an expensive cable and felt the investment justified without upgrading the unit utilising the cable? Overall, would there possibly be any point in buying some expensive cable to feed electronics nearly the cost of the cable itself? I'm currently using a KT88 amplifier with a Metronome CD8 (which is also used as DAC) plus Metronome DSS as the streamer (transport only). Speakers: Franco Serblin Accords. In my case, an upgrade in electronics would involve spending at least USD 15,000 to make it sensible. But I can also spend much less and buy a Transparent XL Digital cable to replace my DIY cable that I currently use, at a much smaller expense. Is a high-end digital cable in some cases able to make it a worthwhile investment in a setup which is not top hi-end? I can afford the Transparent XL digital cable, but not necessarily any upgrade to the electronics I own. Has anybody experienced an improvement with an expensive cable even if the rest of the system would rather call for a less expensive one? When I wrote to Transparent about it, they said I should get advice from my dealer. Cable naysayers please do not comment. Also I'm not looking for cheaper alternatives to the Transparent XL. Just fancying buying a cable that many people say is an excellent cable. Of course, I do not expect the same improvement with this cable as with a full DCS Vivaldi setup, but am I likely to get an improvement, considering that the system is balanced and nothing really bothers me in it? Or should I absolutely get a cheaper cable because the more expensive one is bound to make things worse?
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- 119 posts total
No cable in my experience has taken a bad sounding component and made it great all of a sudden, specially putting an expensive cable on a lower priced component. Cables are fine tuning. So much over hyp and pseudoscience on cables in hi end audio its not funny. Don't get me wrong I can hear a difference with better/different cables but not like some peoples claims of "huge improvements, life changing" line of BS. Fine tuning and maybe placebo more likely. Or trying to justify their prices payed for them. Sure they can and do help with fine tuning. No reason in todays engineering and manufacturing ability's for $10,000+ speaker/power/etc cables. After 35 years working in defense combat systems engineering, where we have many sensitive components that require specific types of cabling, it just makes me laugh at what we (audiophiles) pay for cables. Lets not even get into the claims of some of these companies. Use your own ears and be subjective of what you are listening to and listen over a period of time, switching back and forth. Don't fall for the hyp or claims of the manufacturer and don't fall for the " need something new" for the sake of something new i.e. dopamine hit when you get a new toy. |
’Warmth’ can be manipulated in various ways. If a system is fatiguing and has distortion, then warmth becomes a band-aid. Especially, if the room has hard walls, floor & ceiling - with no acoustical treatments. Warmth can mask subtle nuances in the music - such as triangles or snare drum brushes. Further up the ladder of good systems, the degree of warmth is dialed in for a personal preference. |
- 119 posts total