I don’t have a ton of experience in cables so take it with a grain of salt.
But I feel mix is better for the most part. I believe each company, certain cables perform better than others. A company that makes fantastic power cables don’t necessarily make fantastic speaker cables or RCA or USB.
But here’s something significant to think about, your amplifier might synergize really well with power cable from X company, but your speakers might not perform well with the speaker cable from the same company.
So TLDR, I think loom can be quite tricky.
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A mix has worked well for me I've gotten close to a full loom a few times and always backed off. My Jorma/Kondo/Auditorium23/Audio Note UK mashup works really well together. However it is all about finding synergy.
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In over 25 years, I've never used a full loom of cables in any of my audio systems. Currently, I'm using 3 different brands of cables in my audio system with excellent results.
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Mix for sure a few good reasons stated above.
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I used a full loom and it was too much of a good thing. I now go mixed.
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Because aural memory is short, and fraught with personal bias issues, unless you can make cable comparisons in your own system, over a reasonably long period of time, you are mostly just pissing in the wind. Of course, cable manufacturers are going to tell you that you are missing out on the “magic” unless you have a “full loom” of their cables. IME, that is just marketing baloney. Try different configurations of known, well-constructed cables and use what sounds good to you in your system. You can read a lot on these forums but IME, 10% of system cost is a good “ballpark” goal. Go much higher, and a component upgrade will probably be a better value. Also, for the best value, try and buy used. Once they leave the store, cables are worth about 50-60% of their original cost.
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I use a full loom of WyWires Platinum Juice II Series Power cords and a mixture of signal csbles.
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- My experience: Mix or full loom? It depends entirely on the bespoke audio performance characteristics of your current (emphasis added); audio system .
In a prior system, I started with an ad hoc cables mix driven primarily by the alchemy of availability, budget, and reviews. That predicated a lengthy continuing and never complete trek searching for an ethereal end point. Kind of yeah….fine but still a head scratcher.
After a lengthy experimentation with many contenders and pretenders, I upgraded from a mix mosaic to a full loom of NORDOST FREY. In my system BACK THEN (a fine but important distinction…) there was an immediate and pleasing audio performance improvement that was clear and unambiguous .. Fine .,,, for a while.
When I changed to new HARBETH speakers and moved the entire rig to a new room, the all NORDOST array was now anything but optimal : brittle, harsh, more bright and edgy …. fill in your own description. Go figger ..So the new cables search was restarted again.
After auditions and guidance provided by my both local dealers and discussions with CARDAS CABLES itself, I took a bold leap of faith and upgraded to an all CARDAS CLEAR array. For me in my system: yep …. an immediate audio improvement and system synergy uptick that was not subtle, and the ”edginess” and like warts were thankfully eliminated.
TAKEAWAY:It is quite simple:
- it depends entirely on your bespoke system and bespoke listening arena ….full stop.
- There is no silver bullet one size fits all magic solution .
- Mix or full loom array .,,,, you-wont have a clue until you actually do your direct hands on experimentation and audition.
- This is an experimentation journey and no easy destination. For like reasons, it’s also a misguided fallacy to automatically assume that a full array / loom approach is an assurance to the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ.
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I have a few different mfg cables but I have been leaning toward DH Labs. I think they offer a good cable for the money.
I have a pair of AQ Water (pre to amp ) that I picked up because they were only $200 on CL , a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven ( Phono stage) ,
My DAC uses DH Labs Mirage USB , D750 digital , Air Matrix Cryo. They usually have a monthly 20% off sale on a category.
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I have a mix of quality cables most of which I have found used for about 50% of retail. I have bought some new but never at suggested retail prices. I have a mix of Jorma, Acoustic Zen, Shunyata, Nordost, Zavfino, Silversmith Fidelium. SOtm, DR Acoustics. No rhyme or reason as to a procedure, but if I see a good deal on a cable I try it. At times I have used something I thought was a downgrade, but most times after swapping a cable that was worth $500 for something that retailed for $1000 it sounded better. And swapping out a $1000 cable for a $2500 cable was also an improvement. Go figure. I will add my Silversmith Fidelium's replaced a speaker cable that retails for 3 times what they did, so it not always the higher priced items win. I am happy with the sound of the system but I will probably always tweak away with different cables to see how the sound gets "tweaked". Like experienced audiophiles stated above, you don't have a clue until you try it yourself.
Don't know what a full loom sounds like. Maybe I will try a full-loom of something someday, but for an example the Tyr2 XLR I bought that I do think sounds wonderful between my DAC and pre amp, if I were to pop down to the dealer and "full loom" my system with this cable here is what it would cost me in Canadian retail prices:
Nordost Tyr2 2m speaker cable: $9965
Nordost Tyr2 1m XLR: $3959 x 3 = $11877
Nordost Tyr2 digital: $2300
Nordost Heimdall ethernet (no Tyr2): $990
Nordost Tyr2 1m Power Cord: $4421 x 5 = $22105
So I would walk into a dealer and hand him a grand total of $47237 plus taxes of $5668 = $52905?
I can't do this. And if I could I wouldn't want to.
But also waiting until I find all the pieces above at a used price could take years. Also I love what my Shunyata Sigma V2 power cable did in my system, so maybe I will go all Shunyata? Choices choices.
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I’ll add it does make sense to me that a manufacturer suggests to use a full loom of their product. We bought their cable, we think it sounds great, someone there or a team of people must have good ears to be able to voice this cable to sound this good, right? so we should take their advice and trust them that the other cables "match" and have "synergy" with the rest of the system, right? Seems logical. But again this is in the particular system they tested their cables with, and someone else has different speakers, amplifier, and source and may have completely different results.
What makes just as much sense is what the designer of the 300b tube amplifier I just bought said: "I recommend you use my cables because it is the same wire that is inside the amplifier".
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Although a full loom can be nice (sometimes), if you really know what you are doing you can create a mix that is to your personal liking. I have found and others have said its a matter of trial and error, and what sounds good in one persons system doesn't necessarily mean it will sound good in your system.
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On my system a full loom of power cables and IC’s has been very nice. USB and preamp umbilical cord another maker. I look for cables that are neutral, don’t color the sound and let the components sound come through and shine. So far so good but cables are a long and twisted rabbit hole. Good luck with your quest.
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I have all Analysis Plus IC, PC by LessLoss and Speaker Cable is Townshend Ribbon Isolda EDCT speaker cable. Fantastic sounding system.
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To bear the fruit, you need the full loom.
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You can try either method. Both work, and yield different results you might like. The wiring in your components is not all the same now - it’s already intermixed. While I’m back to running a full loom of Cardas now, end to end from source, digital, for all components all the way to the and inside my speakers - I have intermixed a lot. Intermixing the best from Cardas purist copper, Analysis Plus OCC, Aperture Silver, Audioquest, and others with nice results. Some actually prefer intermixed cabling over one brand/level end to end. Try both methods if you can.
You might also land on an intermixed cabling setup that you like more for your system, your room, and your ears.
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I don’t use equipment from the same manufacturer, so the way I see it, a mix of cables is probably ok. That said, I do like SR’s cables and mostly run their stuff.
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MIX So much great stuff and the high end nuance hardly matters to me. Should I win the lottery, then I would go all in on Hijiri cabels or maybe Cardas clear beyond.
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I don’t use equipment from the same manufacturer
The wiring in your components is not all the same now
Excellent points.
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As said by others...unless you can A-B test cables in a system, any use of memory is suspect to me. I think, I hope, most of us can agree synergy is a real thing in pairing pieces of equipment. I think it also exists in mixing cables. If synergy is real and exists amongst equipment, amongst cables, and the pairing of the two, and that is a big IF for some people, which is easier, finding synergy amongst various cable manufacturers AND various electronic manufacturers or in finding a full loom for electronics that themselves pair well together? I have an Aavik U-300 integrated paired with Raidho TD1.2's...it is pretty widely accepted these pair well...I'm sure many would say I should go with Ansuz cables but I can't afford it and I'm reluctant to put all my electronic/cable "eggs in one basket." So, I have a full loom of Audience Front Row and I feel it fits well with my system today and likely anything I would get in the future. I guess I'm a whole loom person who finds that easier than mix and matching while looking for synergy between cables and equipment.
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The manufacturer will of course tell you that for best results you should use their product throughout your system. Heaven forbid that another brand gets in between theirs and prevent you from reaching audio nirvana.
Some really high end components include custom speaker cables, power cords, etc. You should probably throw those away and get a full loom of something else.
As you may guess, I'm a bit of a cable skeptic. Not in the sense that they are all the same, I can hear audible differences between cables.
However, I would rather pick up good used cables at a heavily discounted price and piece together a system with high quality cables of different brands than to pay list price for a full loom of cables throughout my system.
If you have the funds to do so, and it matters to you, I don't think it's a bad thing and certainly will look better than the mess of cables I have behind my system.
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I have never had a full loom of any brand. I let my ears do the talking when it comes to what I purchase. So a couple of years ago I, @blisshifi suggested I buy a Silver Sonic Mirage USB . I did and it was really good. A couple of months ago I tried a Clarus USB that retails for twice as much. I went back and forth with it and the mirage and ended up sending it back. So right now I have a Silver Sonic, some Clarus, an Audio Art and an AQ cable in my system.
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Your equipment isn't made with the same internal cables, even if you use the same equipment brand.
Your equipment may not have cables at all internally, sone very high end equipment commonly has only PC traces.
There are different loads all equipment are designed with, the cables should be transparent making those loads exactly the same at the inputs and outputs.
RF negation is real but with quad interconnects and good ground and insulation it's not the problem it used to be.
Line level signals next to power lines can change signals with low quality cables, but not good cables.
How does the cable manufacturer of very high end cables know exactly what interconnects/speaker cables you need unless it is tested in your system, answer, there is no way and if the cable does make a difference in the sound it is only negative a perfect cable will only make no difference in the signal.
Just go with what sounds good, don't get caught up in the silliness.
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I am going for full loom of nordost Norse 2 line and each missing link I'm replacing is improving my sound. Interestingly a huge jump happened when I swapped my Transparent Musiclink Gen 5 interconnects between preamp and amps with Frey 2 interconnects. Is that because Frey 2 is way better cable or because it was the last remaining non-Nordost analog cable in the set? Not sure, but sounds amazing.
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I use Nordost Tyr 2 XLR, Frey 2 power cords on DAC and amp, Heimdall 2 power cord on a streamer.
Speaker cables are Audience FrontRow. I use AQ Diamond USB and Purist Audio Designs Ethernet 🐈⬛ 7
I never had a full loom but got very close with Acoustic Zen cables. I really liked their Absolute Copper XLRs but when I tried adding the matching power cords and speaker cables I hated the cumulative effect. I can accomplish much more balanced presentation with mixed cables. I am curious though to try Tyr 2 speaker cables to see how they compare to Audience and how the sound signature would change. I have a feeling it would work out just fine. But I’m content with my system now and don’t feel like disturbing the synergy.
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@average_joe
If those are base gen 5 musiclinks they are about $200, where the Frey 2 are about $800 used prices, so not surprising there was a noticeable difference.
The Transparent Ultra gen 5 compared to the Frey 2 would be more apples to apples.
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Full loom, all my cables are from Blue Jeans, most of that is they are local to me.
Would like to try out a lot of other cables, but don't have the time, effort and cash to mess with all of it. Right now, everything sounds "good" not sure what needs to be changed. I guess my streamer can be on the bright side, usually I just dial down treble to compensate.
My main rig is vintage, so can't change power cables, weirdly, my tuner, even has built in RCA cable.
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I have found the perfect mix for my system a combination
Of Shunyata Omega and Italian cable company VYDA
VYDA : speaker cables, interconnects, three power cords.
Shunyata Omega: all digital cables, AES/EBU, USB, Ethernet,
SPDIF, and Four power cords.
Upgraded this year, bought used and new, All these cables were the icing on the cake.
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So mixed is I would say just as good as fullloom
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Mix, although I try to have my analog ICs brand/model consistent.
I understand a full loom may give sonic preference consistency, but I’m not convinced that a brand’s analog and digital are sonically at the same level or the same voicing. For instance, I choose Siltech analog IC for their sonic clarity, but will choose a digital cable from another brand/model whose performance is based upon credible positive reviews.
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