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Cable Survey

The idea for this thread came from @sautan 904 op titled “Who thinks $ Speaker cable really better than generic 14awg cable?

My reply:

From op:

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?

Some are, some are definitely not. It really is a matter of discovering what brands out there (and there a lot) offer the best performance for your money. Some are really worth the money and clearly they offer a big increase in sound quality. It seems the dealers you used were not very discriminating about what brands they carry. This does not surprise me since I have found many are not well informed. You really need to seek out somebody who has compared different makes of cable and really believes in what they are selling.

So I thought it a good idea to pool knowledge on this subject and make a list of what people are using and why. This is my current preferences:

Speaker: Hi Diamond 7

IC XLR: Hi Diamond XLR 3

USB: Vovox

Ethernet: AQVOX, Vovox

Power: Belden

The Hi Diamond speaker cable was so much better than other cables I have tried to date. The increase in musicality, depth and detail in bass, increased sound stage and cleaner more detailed top where some of the benefits I had with this cable. The same can be said of their XLR interconnect.

The Vovox I have only been able to compare with some generic cables, and it is much clearer than those. I intend trying some other brands in the near future and I will post my findings.

Ethernet cables I find make a difference and I am currently using both Vovox and AQVOX, compared to various generic makes and the blue Meicord these are both much preferred, opening the sound stage and lowering the noise floor.

Power cables I haven’t so far experimented with a great deal, I’m using heavy Belden cables that are part of a dedicated mains spur arrangement, so that each individual piece of equipment has its own spur. In order to test cable types I will need to introduce a mains block (Shunyata?).

toetapaudio
twoch
429 posts
 
I could not even google
That speaker.  But the wire i got.  If it's  like thoses Italian made cars. Double up on it   Four 6  foot runs
 Should be fast as hell
maine95
12 posts
 
This may not be the correct thread but has anyone tried the Mundorf silver/ gold hook up wire using the helix design? I made a pair of 1/2 meter interconnects with 24 ga wire, cotton core and Absolute Harmony RCAs several weeks ago .They probably have 100 to 150 hours on them now, connecting Bel Canto 1.5 DAC to Van Alstine T10 pre. I was concerned the cotton core would overdamp the fine wire but that does not seem to be the case. The depth of soundstage increased  with clearer placement of instruments and surprising vocal nuance. What permutations have others experimented with?
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I myself replaced my then Shunyata power cords a few years ago with Audioquest power cords because I found them much better.  I currently am using eight Audioquest power cords plus twp of their Niagara power strips.  But I hae also found that my $400 JPS power cord with my OPPO 105 player works much better than a three times the cost of an Audioquest model.  The same thing for the power cord that comes with my Rega Orisis integrated.  Far, far better.  But if I try out the JPS of Rega power cord with any other audio product, the Audioquest will perform much, much better.  Recently I tried an $1280 Audioquest power cord on my Oppo 105 and he sound sucked.  Big time.  When I replaced it with my $400 JPS power cord, it sounded wonderful.  What I have said is perfectly true.  I could eaily demonstrate these facts n a demonstration.  The changes in audio performance are easily recognized as soon as the changes in power cords are made.  Just something more to think about.
toetapaudio OP
474 posts
 
@alanholvey, what model Shunyata and Audioquest please?
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@maine95 I made a pair of ICs using the helix design and the pure harmony connectors. I didn't use mundorf, but I did use 24awg solid silver in cotton. I purchased mine from vh audio. I used his unicrystal OCC silver and, instead of teflon or PET tubing, I used his hyperflex tubing. It's amazing stuff. https://www.vhaudio.com/wire.html  Then, for the neutrals, I used an OCC copper magnet wire I bought off eBay. It sounds great and helps the IC keep it's shape better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/112418636937

If you look at my system page, you can see the ICs.

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