A true believer

I just have to weigh in here. A few months back, there was a raging controversy on the Hilberink Tannoy site, so much so, in fact, the subject was banned from all further discussion. The object of all this heated debate was some Russian speaker cables that were reputed to sound as good, or better, than even the most expensive cables out there.

Many, or most it seems, of the members of that site are electrical engineers. So, there are many adherents to the philosophy that cables don't make any difference, as long as the basic requirements for adequate transmission of the signal is met.

So, naturally, I purchased a set. From Lithuania, they cost me $57 including shipping. Since this was on the cheap, I bought plain copper spade lugs from my local Ace hardware, and soldered them on. I think my Cardas solder cost more than the cables.

Anyway, I have used them to drive my custom Tannoy HPD 315's, with a VAC PA 35.35, and my Sophia Baby amp. My determination is they sound every bit as good as my $1400 Synergistic Research Resolution Reference FX speaker cables. Maybe the naysayers are right.

I'm not looking to ignite a conflagration here, as it would be rather pointless.

Different strokes.

Dan

Rok2id, My sentiments exactly.

No one paid attention so far that that person had spent $4k on amplification and $7.7k on digital. Now that's bullshit. Speakers are $10.5k so amplification should be close enough to that.

There are believers and there are those so obsessed with something in all walks of life that there are few limits.

Then there are also those who profit and make a living by promoting a way for others to achieve their ideals.

If someone buys into whatever, what difference does it make what I think about what someone else chooses to spend their money on? IT's their money and their choice. Needless to say, we all will chose differently and most will find contentment within more modest means, at least that is my hope.

06-02-11: Islandmandan
Many, or most it seems, of the members of (another) site are electrical engineers. So, there are many adherents to the philosophy that cables don't make any difference, as long as the basic requirements for adequate transmission of the signal is met.

I am a highly experienced electrical engineer/electronics designer and manager (not in audio), and I for one certainly would not make that assertion. What I would assert, though, is that there is no reason to expect anything more than a very weak degree of correlation between the price of a cable or tweak, and its sonic performance in any given system.

I say that partly based on technical grounds (I will spare everyone the couple of pages or so that it would take to adequately explain that), and partly based on opinions that have been expressed here and elsewhere by other audiophiles who are not technically oriented, but whose opinions I highly respect, and which are based on very extensive relevant experience.

Two conclusions follow from that, IMHO:

1)If the owner of the system that was referred to in the OP had utilized the same active components and speakers but focused the very extensive amount of time and experimentation he has invested in developing his system on relatively inexpensive cables and tweaks, he might very well have achieved comparable or even better results.

2)If he had allocated the $93,431 such that most of it went into speakers and components, while investing a similar amount of time and experimentation into relatively low priced cables and tweaks, assuming that he made good choices of components and speakers he would almost certainly have achieved better results.

The bottom line, IMHO: With some minor qualifications that aren't worth mentioning, I am in essential agreement with the comments made above by Agaffer, Marakanetz, Orpheus10, Plato, Rok2id, Islandmandan, and Rrog.

YMMV.

Regards,
-- Al