Is tonearm cable the most important cable in the system ?


Opinions ?
In the case of my Nottingham it goes from the cartridge right into the phono. It is not shielded, I guess, and there is nothing I can do to improve it. Not that it is bad, I think it's quite good.
inna

Showing 5 responses by williewonka

@inna - if you want to improve the performance of your one piece harness you could install (or have installed) a pair of Absolute Harmony RCA's from KLE Innovations.

https://kleinnovations.com/kle-innovations-klei-products/klei-harmony-plug/

They are probably the best RCA's money can buy

You will hear more clarity, improved imaging, deeper bass and faster dynamics.

I have tried the other Harmony models, but the Absolute Harmony are extremely good and well worth the investment.

Regards - Steve 
@bdp24 - and....What did you think? You can't leave us hanging like that ;-)

Mine are installed on an Audiomods Classic tonearm that supports a Soundsmith'd Denon DL103 into a Simaudio Moon LP5.3 Phono

Are there better combo's? Probably, but this one is the last I'll ever buy :-)

Cheers


Eric - the Brit's do seem to have a "knack" when it comes to most things vinyl, although there is much more competition from elsewhere these days, but the Audiomods and the Terminator do seem to be among the best on offer.

Looking through his web site Vic seems to have a rather unique view to speaker construction also. Open baffle is really tough to get right

What cartridge and phono stage are you using?
And what TT are you going to install it on?

It's always nice to know what other combos work for people

Cheers
@inna - I have experimented extensively with cables/connectors over the past 11 years,

One of my first endeavors was replacing the tonearm wire in my RB250 tonearm with a one piece Cardas harness. The resulting  improvements were easy to hear over the stock Rega offering

I then replaced the RCA’s with a pair of Silver Bullet RCA’s. Again, the improvements were very noticeable.

I now have a silver litz one piece harness terminated with KLE Innovations Absolute Harmony RCA’s - the details conveyed are exceptional.

I believe a quality tonearm wire and RCA’s to be essential to phono reproduction. It also allows you to hear improvements in other cables and components throughout the system as they are introduced.

If you think about it - if the tonearm wire is your weakest link (i.e. not conveying the highest resolution signal possible), then trying to discern improvements in the rest of the system by introducing cables or components becomes folly, simply because you will never really know what the other cables and components are truly capable of since they are not receiving the best signal possible.

Granted, the cartridge plays a significant role here - but again, unless the tonearm wire is top notch, you will not know how good a cartridge performs either.

If your tonearm/turntable is terminated with RCA jacks, i.e. requiring an interconnect to attach to the phono stage and if installing a one piece harness is not an affordable option, then having a good IC to connect to the TT to the phono stage will prove most beneficial.

In this case, take a look at the KLE Innovations IC products. I have auditioned/reviewed most of their IC line over a four year period and believe they are among the best commercial products available.
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The gZero3 is exceptional for an introductory cable, but I regard the gZero20 to be the best "value". The top end of their lineup take you into the territory of diminishing returns, but does offer exemplary sound quality. 

If you are reasonably handy at DIY - take a look at some IC’s I have developed - which I use throughout my system. They allow the natural and dynamic transfer of an extremely high resolution signal with little distortion or coloration (if any), regardless of signal strength.
http://image99.net/blog/files/4127b5fe2694586e383104364360373b-74.html

Hope that helps

Regards - Steve


@inna - re....

I could just upgrade the RCA connectors, I guess.
I would highly recommend updating the RCa’s - after all, if you really like them you can always transfer them to the next arm. They are extremely easy to install and remove.

My RCA journey
- I initially replaced the RCA’s on my turntable with renown Silver Bullet RCA’s
- I was so impressed, I immediately replaced the RCA's on all of my IC’s
- Wrote a review of the Silver Bullet on my blog - which was read by Keith Louie Eichmann (KLE) of Silver Bullet "fame"
- KLE ask me to review his new RCA’s - the Harmony product line
- the improvements between the Silver Bullet and the Copper Harmony were easily discernible and also between each successive Harmony model

I now recommend the Silver Harmony as a more affordable starting point and the Absolute Harmony for the more "enthusiastic" audiophiles. Both are extremely good compared to the other competition out there. 

In my opinion, the Copper Harmony lacks the fine details and dynamic perofrmance of the Silver harmony and if you are considering the Pure harmony, you may as well spend the extra couple of bucks on the Absolute Harmony and get the best.

My system is what I consider "modestly priced" (around $11,000 MSRP including cables), but due solely to the cables, RCA’s and other connectors, it performs well above it’s price point.

The image is expansive, three dimensional and has a clarity most other systems costing much more seem to lack.

I’m not trying to sell anything here - I’m just spreading the word about a product that actually works.

OK - I’m done with the preaching.

Happy listening :-)

Regards - Steve