2. cables
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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
dracule1 OP
1,085 posts
 
"vs someone who buys $10k speakers and slaps on cheap cables without auditioning, simply assuming cables don't matter..."
If you mean lamp cords or rolls of Monster Cable at Best Buy, I agree. 
jl35
4,017 posts
 
for me Drac, the key is the auditioning, deciding by what sounds best to you, within the constraints of your budget...
jl35
4,017 posts
 
and yes, some truly have no budgetary constraints...
phd
1,320 posts
 

It's not hard to get caught up in the hype especially when you are trying to get the most out of your system and want to fine tune it but I'm convinced that we want to believe that a ten thousand dollar cable should and will  make a huge difference in spite of the fact that all logic says other wise (diminishing returns). Any audiophile with experience knows that cabling is system dependent regardless of it's cost.

If you built an addition on to your house and the electrician told you that he could install electrical wire that would dramatically improve the performance of anything plugged into it but it would cost you a $100.00 a foot would you go for it?


folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
If you built an addition on to your house and the electrician told you that he could install electrical wire that would dramatically improve the performance of anything plugged into it but it would cost you a $100.00 a foot would you go for it?
JPS Labs in-wall power cable, only $24/foot I'm afraid but the answer is yes. And btw the electrician in question (now retired) worked on most of the studios in LA

ps head-head A/B auditioning of in-wall power cable is beyond even me 😀
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