Unity in cable manufacturers?


Is it important in a high end system to have all interconnects and speaker cables from the same company, i.e. Transparent, Nordost, Audioquest, etc.?

pianoconcert

I found it very hard to mix cables. It was like having five different people in my listening room yelling at me…. Hi Sound brighter, no I’m brighter, you suck I’m brighter than you got to be like a fist fight between the brands. It got so bad I couldn’t hear the music anymore so I ripped everything out and replaced it with (No Name) now everything is nice and peaceful in my listening room, nobody is telling me what they do better than others anymore we finally can all just get along

Generally no, there is no reason to have all the same. But on the other hand I finally ended up with components of great sound quality from the same company which required neutral passing of the signal so, it pointed to the same neutral interconnects.

 

If you are able to get to a really high end series of components that are compatible… then the solution becomes transparent communication of the signal. In that case a single weave makes sense.

 

I have fooled around with interconnects and cables for many decades. When your components have different strengths or character you are trying to tune your system (make up for individual shortcomings), if your components are compatible and synergistic, then all you want is transparency.

I think you get a trust or comfort factor using a brand you like throughout your system. Except tonearm cable I have all Cardas Clear and love the results. 

I have two systems. One is all Audioquest and the other has three different brands. So I guess for me the answer is yes and no.

All the best.

JD

I haven’t done any testing on this and I only have my system and common sense to go by. But here are my thoughts:

1. Yes. It is system dependent. 
2. But aside from that I think that it may not matter that all your cables are of the same maker and the same series within their lineup. 
3. But I do believe in the weakest link concept in that while your cables may be from different makers, they should all be of similar quality as your system (or my system) IMO, is only as good as the weakest link. 
Have a good weekend.