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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
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@mmrkaic (why do mentions not work with all members?)

Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to perform those measurements. If you do, I could make a new PC and send it to you to measure, since I need one anyway.

Out of curiosity, why am I being subjected to the Spanish Inquisition when everyone else recommending commercially available cables is not? I've yet to see a manufacturer who provides the info you're asking from me..
mmrkaic
33 posts
 
Sorry, did not want to subject you to any Inquisition, let alone Spanish. :))

But I think that you yourself have asked the key question -- why so many manufacturers don't provide those numbers?

I use 12 AWG speaker cables that I bought on Amazon for~$15 and the power cables that came with my amplifier. If I paid more, I would feel really stupid and exploited. Now, I have a Ms in physics and know a bit or two about electrical circuits, conductivity, electrodynamics etc., so bold claims about "the sound of cables" don't impress me too much.
toetapaudio OP
474 posts
 
@lak thanks for the Audiogon link.

I’m preparing for a shoot out between the FP 022, Oyaide f/s 2.0 V2 and my current thick shielded Belden cable.

Anybody had experience of the Oyaide Cable?

Sablon is also something I’m researching at the moment and in particular their Reservation Elite USB.  Feedback please.
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@mmrkaic. No Masters in physics here, but I did study biochemistry and taught chemistry and physics. So I understand the skepticism. I was skeptical too, that's how I ended up doing DIY. Constantly seeing people talking about cables made me curious, but I wasn't willing to drop lots of cash to see what all the fuss was about. My initial experiments confirmed that they do make an audible difference, so then I was willing to use more expensive and better materials..

I practice and teach yoga. There's plenty of science behind some of the 'claims' of yoga, but plenty of claims without any scientific studies to support them. But I don't care about science when I'm practicing. I just do my practice and notice changes in my bodymind. After 20+ years, I'm aware of what yoga can and cannot do for me. I've decided to take a similar approach to audio. Use logic/skepticism to keep my mind in check, but remain open enough to notice things. Because if you're always skeptical, you can miss a lot. But if you're always open, you can be filled with a lot of rubbish.. so I walk that line between the two, often falling to either side. But that just helps me see the line more clearly.

That said, I just looked and LCR meters aren't too expensive. I'll need to get one soon.. because curiosity is fun!
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Whoa! Appeal to Authority Alert! Big time! 🤔

"I use 12 AWG speaker cables that I bought on Amazon for~$15 and the power cables that came with my amplifier. If I paid more, I would feel really stupid and exploited. Now, I have a Ms in physics and know a bit or two about electrical circuits, conductivity, electrodynamics etc., so bold claims about "the sound of cables" don't impress me too much."

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