2. cables
  3. 124957-818

Are audiophiles still out of their minds?

I've been in this hobby for 30 years and owned many gears throughout the years, but never that many cables.  I know cables can make a difference in sound quality of your system, but never dramatic like changing speakers, amplifiers, or even more importantly room treatment. Yes, I've evaluated many vaunted cables at dealers and at home over the years, but never heard dramatic effect that I would plunk $5000 for a cable. The most I've ever spent was $2700 for pair of speaker cables, and I kinda regret it to this day.  So when I see cable manufacturers charging 5 figures for their latest and "greatest" speaker cables, PC, and ICs, I have to ask myself who buys this stuff. Why would you buy a $10k+ cable, when there are so many great speakers, amplifiers, DACs for that kind of money, or room treatment that would have greater effect on your systems sound?  May be I'm getting ornery with age, like the water boy says in Adam Sandler's movie.
dracule1
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
dracule1 OP
890 posts
06-08-2016 10:13pm
"$100K TV is to a videophile as $100K speaker is to an audiophile. I know of no videophile who has spent more than couple of hundred on wires. At least videophiles know wire is wire."

On the other hand how many videophiles really care about sound quality? Not to mention how good does sound quality actually have to be for explosions and digital CGI effects?

Cheers,

geoff kait
machina dynamica
Post removed 
rja's avatar
rja
2,371 posts
 
Are audiophiles still out of their minds?
What a loaded question.
Are you still beating your wife?
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,475 posts
 
Cables do make a difference, but different cable (even from the same manufacturer) sound differently when attached to its components.  I used to use Audioquest Everst/Sky which I decided sounded best with my stuff.  I tried some of the Wm F Lowe Signature (top of the line Audioquest) which cost far more, but sounded awful.  Also tried much less expensive ClearCables which sounded even better.  Its a crap shoot, keep trying until you win.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
o_holter
977 posts
 
I've used JPS cables over the years, from basic to SC3 (Aluminata top model = too expensive for me). I find there are two factors, do I like this sound profile or not, and then, how far up the chain can I afford to go. Yes, SC3 sounds better than the original SC, although both are enjoyable in my system. This whole process of cable fitting does make the system sound better, but it is no revolution. Better boxes make more difference than better cables, supports etc.
More to discover