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Who thinks $5K speaker cable really better than generic 14AWG cable?

I recently ordered high end speaker, power amp, and preamp to be installed in couple more weeks. So the next search are interconnect and speaker cable. After challenging the dealer and 3 of my so called audiophile friends, I think the only reason I would buy expensive cable is for its appearance to match with the high end gears but not for sound performance. I personally found out that $5K cable vs $10 cable are no difference, at least not to our ears. Prior to this, I was totally believe that cable makes a difference but not after this and reading few articles online.

Here is how I found out.

After the purchase of my system, I went to another dealer to ask for cable opinion (because the original dealer doesn't carry the brand I want) and once I told him my gears, he suggested me the high end expensive cable ranging from $5 - 10K pair, depending on length. He also suggested the minimum length must be 8-12ft. If longer than 12ft, I should upgrade to even more expensive series. So I challenged him that if he can show me the difference, I would purchase all 7 AQ Redwood cables from him.

It's a blind test and I would connect 3 different cables - 1 is the Audioquest Redwood, 1 is Cardas Audio Clear, and 1 my own generic 14AWG about 7ft. Same gears, same source, same song..... he started saying the first cable sound much better, wide, deep, bla...bla...bla......and second is decently good...bla...bla...bla.. and the last one sounded crappy and bla...bla...bla... BUT THE REALITY, I NEVER CHANGED THE CABLE, its the same 14AWG cable. I didn't disclosed and move on to second test. I told him I connected audioquest redwood but actually 14AWG and he started to praise the sound quality and next one I am connected the 14awg but actually is Redwood and he started to give negative comment. WOW!!!! Just blew me right off.

I did the same test with 3 of my audiophile friends and they all have difference inputs but no one really got it right. Especially the part where I use same generic 14awg cable and they all start to give different feedback!!!

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?
sautan904
Post removed 
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
tone and "speed" are not hard to measure - for speaker cables you need to consider the complex nature of most loads (drivers)

for interconnects, use balanced cables to avoid picking up any RFI and grounding issues

for USB cables the situation is more complex and a 'box' that addresses grounding, noise, and the ability to regenerate a properly clocked signal may have benefits

you really need some IEEEs who work on digital circuits in your family

AND... a double-blinded test with adequate statistical power is an issue for any putative differences "heard"

people who don't understand science are often spouting off on these forums, but worse is they are the lawful prey of consumer fraudists who sell them pseudo-technical sounding gibberish and expensive, but unproven, cables


randy-11
1,913 posts
 
and... if you are thinking about an expensive AC power cord, buy a power conditioner instead


nordicnorm
313 posts
 
I was curious about higher-end cables as well, so I auditioned a pair of Teo Audio ICs ("Game Changer"), their entry level IC ($500). Teo offers a money-back guarantee and are located in the same city as I live, so I figured if it didn’t produce any noticeable effect, I would only be out my time spent critically listening to my system (never a wasted past time).

I hooked up the Teo ICs between my preamp and amp.The improvement was dramatic and immediately noticeable. The decay of notes became much more distinct and individual. I was not prepared for such huge improvement. It was night & day.

I have since replaced all my ICs with Teo Audio Game Changer.

Likewise, I recently upgraded my speaker cables from Grant Fidelity SPC-2.5 5n ($95) to Pierre Gabriel PGS-L2 ($1,200). While the change wasn’t as dramatic as with the Teo Audio ICs, there was still a noticeable improvement.

Would $5,000 speaker cables provide that much more an improvement? I dunno? I have a modest mid-fi system (listed below), so the law of diminishing returns will probably start to kick in right away. I would like to try a pair of $5,000 speaker cables at some point, just to see if I could hear a difference.

My mid-fi system consists of:

Golden Tube Audio SE-40 Special Edition monoblocks (highly modded)
Esoteric DV-50S SACD
Roksan Xerxes turntable (rebuilt plinth and external power supply)
RB300 tonearm (with Incognito re-wire, Audio Origami SOFC external cable and Michell technoweight)
London Decca Super Gold cartridge
Croft RIAA phono stage
Gustard x20Pro DAC (modded)
Singxer SU-1 USB DDC (modded)
Asus VivoPC (running JRiver)
Martin Logan Spire (w/BC68 power cords)
12 ga. DIY power cords
dynaquest4's avatar
dynaquest4
445 posts
 

Nordicnorm said: “I hooked up the Teo ICs between my preamp and amp. The improvement was dramatic and immediately noticeable. The decay of notes became much more distinct and individual. I was not prepared for such huge improvement. It was night & day.” 

 I’d opine that if the new IC’s made a “huge” and “dramatic” and “night and day” improvement, you must have been using very old, beat-up, falling apart RCA pairs that were smeared with butter and Cheetoes. 

An upgrade to expensive wire should make no difference as long as you were previously using Monoprice quality cables or better. Even those that believe that expensive wire can make differences mostly agree that the improvements are subtle. 

Are you by chance a dealer of these products?


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