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
xti16
1,525 posts
 
@wattsperchannel
Soulution amps sound great with Raidho's.
wattsperchannel
142 posts
 
Yes xti16 you are correct about Soulution/Raidho but you must be careful. If you use these types of instruments with properly designed isolated power, an MSB Diamond Dac V and a purpose built room you might start hearing differences in cables. This sort of thing can be hazardous to your health in these parts.
dracule1 OP
1,085 posts
 
Stevecham,

"I too went down the expensive cables/IC rabbit hole for a few years (Synergistic, Tara, Audioquest, Van Den Hul, Harmonic Technologies and several others) and then found Mapleshade and Anti Cables, the latter brand being what I currently enjoy and for the past two years, have felt zero inclination to "improve."

Precisely my point. There are plenty of affordable cables that will compete with and sound better than these over marketed expensive brands. 
jl35
4,229 posts
 
I love the Mapleshade Double Golden Helix Plus, still use my pair, but found in my main system that Transparent Super MM2 sounded much better...don't know that they sound 400% better though...
jl35
4,229 posts
 
I felt it would be a tragic waste of my awesome Dali Speakers and Pass Amp to not get the best sounding cable I could afford,  and that would have good resale value...I never thought about what the cables I auditioned cost to develop, manufacture, market and distribute...
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