2. cables
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What do audiophiles want from a cable?

What should a high quality interconnect or speaker cable do to the sound of a system? Make it more transparent? Improve the sound stage and focus? Soften unpleasant highs? Tighten the base? Bring out the mids?

To me, a good cable should reveal more of what is on the recording and more of the true nature of my components. So when trying new cables, I look for more detail and accuracy without becoming cold and clinical. This seems logical, and yet after reading reviews and trying a few of the cables in the reviews, I find that the cables that have received glowing endorsements are not especially transparent or revealing. They modify the sound, but they don’t take me where I want to go. I wonder if the reason I don’t hear what the reviewer heard is that I don’t know what to listen for. Am I too focused on cable accuracy and resolution, and not enough on actual sound quality? Or is it just a case of no two systems sounding alike so why trust a review anyway? Thanks.
mward
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
"...I have tested these things for decades and cables are about the last thing to do (usually); interconnects would come after speaker cables"

"FWIW, I have Kimber on my speakers - and I got them at a very large discount - I consider having them bi-amped to be more important"

Randy, we learn only two things from all of the posts you have made:

1) You are an objectivist and an extremely slow learner.
2) Your simple single reply to the OP’s question, "What do audiophiles want from a cable?", could have graciously been, "Whatever is most heavily discounted".

No insult or disrespect is intended to my friend Ray Kimber nor to his fine cable products.

Best to you Randy,
Dave

randy-11
1,913 posts
 
actually, you haven't learned anything, and aren't likely to do so in the future either - but stay in school
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Randy,

Now we have a third lesson regarding you:

3) You are infantile.

I submit that these three are more than enough. Shoo, shoo, horsefly.

Best to you Randy,
Dave
inna
7,296 posts
 
Assuming all the same level, whether speaker cables or interconnects give bigger difference cannot be answered generally. Of the interconnects, it is usually the very first one that is most important. In my system that's the tonarm cable that goes from the cartridge to the phono stage. But in any case, I believe that speaker cables should be viewed as one element of the amp/speaker cables/speakers unit. On the other hand, the entire cable chain including speaker cables is a unit too. So, I think if you want the highest performance it does get complicated. Except for power cords I try to follow one brand approach but not one model approach.
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