To loom or not to loom?


Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am asking for your experiences in running a complete loom of one brand of cable, experiences not opinions and conjecture please.

I have 2 systems with interconnects from DH Labs and Zavfino, Speaker cables from Zavfino and Wireworld. Power cables are a mishmosh of LessLoss (digital front end) Zavfino (tubes), SR Research SS monoblocks, all great quality cables. 

Should I look at consolidating each system to a specific brand and model of cables or is this a fool's errand? 

Again if you do not have specific experiences please refrain from posting gibberish and innuendo. 

audio_is_subjective64

I have all sorts of cables making up my systems.

I have noticed is that there are a LOT of Cardas and Transparent full or mostly full loom lifetime happy campers.

In my unwashed opinion must of the good stuff is terrific and personal subjective subtle differences are one’s guide.

If I had started with room treatment, vibration control (and maybe DSP), then maybe the cable game might not have mattered as much? Nah; it all matters.

 

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In over 30 years as an audiophile, I've always had a mix of different brands of cables in my systems.  Never all one brand.  This method works best for me.  For example:  Here's the mix of cables that I currently am using with incredible results

Speaker cables, and one of my power cables = Brand: JPS Labs, Supercondutor 3 and Aluminata.  

Interconnects, and my other two power cables= Brand: Audioquest, Pegasus XLR and Hurricane HC.

Ethernet cable= Brand: Shunyata, Sigma

Hope this helps.

Happy listening

  

 

Understanding that it may not always work out to use 1 loom of cable in your system, it's certainly something to shoot for.  The ideal is to have the same model from the same brand or perhaps at least the same geometry and materials within the same brand.  I know this sounds like conjecture, but I come to this point from years (41+ years professionally) putting this concept to the test.  Each and every time I've come from a mix and match cable configuration in a system and then move to the same brand/model (even if that model may not be viewed as the best in an absolute sense) the result is better.  The sound becomes more relaxed (less of a tendency toward nervousness or fatigue), more coherent, and simply more natural. I've wanted to be proven wrong through my experiences but simply haven't been.  A complete brand/model loom all the way!

The idea that all-from-same-manufacturer cables can be audibly superior (since such difference is not measurable mechanically, and hasn’t been demonstrated as real by way of consumer preference studies) vs. a mix in a hifi system assumes the given manufacturer is equally understanding and competent of the requirements for all stages of signal pathway, and also more so than any competitor. To me and the rules of probability, doubt is looming. For anything that’s not quantifiable or patented but “sounds better” to some folks, that implies (assuming it’s actually real) the tech is superior by luck of design, and when that luck must extend to different forms of interconnects equally, well, also unlikely.

 

I have “gone whole hog” or “gone all out” or whatever real world colloquialism one might see fit to use, with audio cables twice, and including the power cords once (and in that case, all of the kit chain’s power supplies were also from the same manufacturer).

Predictable audible difference was not to be found in my two anecdotal cases, but alas I’m one of those a folks who does value an audio blind test over blindly testing my wallet. To each their own.