Hello all
I'll start by listing my system for reference.
Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black cart.
Tokyo Sound Phono stage (A late 90's Japanese Audio company)
Aric Audio Unlimited all tube preamp
Odyssey Khartago w/ upgraded power supply and internal wiring
Divine Acoustics Proxima speakers
Now the story of my Frankenstein cable setup. When I started purchasing cables I found an independent cable maker online who used silver in all his cables. I had purchased 3 power cables for my phono pre, preamp and amp. Unfortunately we had a falling out and I decided not to purchase any more cables from him. I was very green in the whole cable game and I still am but have learned a bit since. Most notably is how silver can brighten a system and the Ortofon 2M black is known as a bright sounding cart to begin with.
Being on a budget and wanting to upgrade all my interconnects at once I came upon vintage western electric interconnects being sold on here and elsewhere. Purported "giant killers" so I bought those for the time being at $114 a pair. But I needed a phono cable and being as green as I am/was thought you needed a cable with an attached ground and extra shielding. I couldn't find a western electric specific phono cable so I bought an Audio Sensibility impact SE phono cable. For speaker wire I went with the Belden 9497 from the same place I got the western electric. A nice budget cable and also a purported "giant killer". For my turntable I got a western electric power cable from the same place.
So I'm running 3 silver power cables to phono amp, preamp, amp and a western electric power cable to the turntable. Audio Sensibility phono cable. Western Electric interconnects from phono to preamp and preamp to amp, and the Belden 9497 speaker wire. What a mess right lol.
I want to streamline all my cables so I bought a pair of Audio Sensibility impact se interconnects. Same make as my phono cable. When I put them in between the preamp and amp I was shocked how dull and lifeless the sound was. Granted they are not broken in and only went through the 3 day burn in process Audio Sensibility offers but I was not expecting that dramatic of a change. The phono cable sounds good so maybe it is break in? Or the phono cable being OCC copper is taming some of the harshness of the Ortofon cartridge but the interconnect from preamp to amo is taming it too much?
I'd like to start auditioning cables from different manufacturers in the "mid-fi" price range and actually get this done right this time around. Given my system is there any advice to be offered on where I should start? I don't want things too bright sounding but not as lifeless as the Audio Sensibility (occ copper) either. And I'm a sucker for lush mid bass and mids hence the all tube preamp.
Sorry for the novel and thanks for any help!
