Special "phono cables" from turntable to phonostag

I come from the same doubting background. I did not believe that cables made much, if any, improvement. I definitely changed my mind and heard a difference going from Monster to Audioquest to Goertz.

I recently upgraded to a SOTA turntable. I needed a cable and won an auction for a Zu Xaus tonearm cable. I can't put a definite amount on the improvement as I have a new turntable and tonearm making differences (same cartridge), but the Zu tonearm cable is kick ass and I get a presentation of both weight and air that makes spinning vinyl a real joy.

Try to audition Zu Xaus if you get a chance.

Your dealer is correct - the networks on Transparent's interconnects are designed to work with line-level signals, not the tiny ones from the cartridge to the phonostage. Transparent actually makes some "phono cables" sans network for this specific application, and they are good.

I'm of the opinion that quality phono cables are just as important (if not more) as the ICs going from your phonostage to your preamp.

The best phono cable for the money is the XLO signature phono 3.1 and 3.2. used price around $350 to $450 for the 1 meter length.

This is an interesting coincidence, because I had a ruby that I was stuck with when a dishonest dealer would not take it back from an audition (a rare occurance). I tried it for a phono cable and found it to work extremely well, evan outperforming a lot of more expensive cables made for phono (another rare occurance, as I didn't really think it was that great in other applications, and it is not a "phono" cable). Then, when I upgraded my phono stage, I then used it for the phono to preamp ic, and it worked so well it lasted longer than any other cable in my system, including cartridge, arm, phono stage, and ic's for the entire system.
Anyway, to make a long story short (too late), I would try the ruby for your phono application. It may outperform many more expensive cables in your system as it did for me, as well as give you something to campare to. Also, what I did was upgrade My phono stage and put it right next to my turntable, where I have my tonearm wire directly plugged into it, eliminating the phono cable altogether. There are also a lot of tonearms that come with the tonearm wire long enough to reach the pre, eliminating the connections of adding a cable. If you think about it this way, perhaps the money you spend on a phono cable could be placed elsewhere to bring you to a higher level.

I agree that Transparent networks cables are not the best for phono applications. I had a pair of Transparent Reference MC Phono cables, and found they were easily bested by a pair of Discovery Essence for less money. I also tried the XLO Signature 3.1, but preferred the Discovery interconnect. Maybe it's because my VPI JMW 10.5 arm is internally wired with Discovery cable, I don't know, but it works for me.

Cheers,

John

So what type of IC(cable) do you use for the connection from phono preamp to receiver(in my case)? Or did I just miss the whole point of the conversation?;)-~ Does it matter?