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Newbie balanced cable help

I've never had balanced equipment before, so I'm in new territory here. My source is an ARC CD3 MkII into an ARC Ref2 MkII into a single-ended amp (for now). I am planning on upgrading my amp.

Without spending zillions on cables right now, what are some good entry- to mid-level cables that I can try out with this gear to get a feel for the sound and what kinds of improvements cables can make with this gear.

I'd also be open to recommendations on power cords for these 2 components if anyone has experience. Speakers are Thiel 2.4s. Thanks for any responses.
lrdmax
tripper
223 posts
 
bluejeanscables.com

One famous manufacturer told me he likes Belden mic wire for his kilobuck gear. Makes sense to me. I like Luminous and LAT also. You don't need to spend zillions on wire, though I'm sure the dissenters will chime in. Good luck and enjoy the ARCs.
zargon's avatar
zargon
453 posts
 
The CD3 MKII will sound better when run balanced. AQ cables are a very good match with ARC, and I would recommend an Amazon XLR.
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,236 posts
 
try Acoustic Zen Silver Ref MkII from CD3 to Ref and then Acoustic Zen Matrix Ref MkII from Ref to amp. Acoustic Zen Hologram II is a VERY nice speaker cable. All these are priced pretty good on the used market and if you don't like what you hear(I kind of doubt it) you can always sell without loosing money. As far as the power cord for CD3, I read a review of this player where reviewer had to go up to Shunyata Anaconda VX to get improvement over stock cord, so it's up to you to spend this kind of dough on PC but I wouldn't do it. In the very same review it's mentioned that CD3 sounds better balanced, so you're ona right path I think.
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