2. cables
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Opening a can of worms

Here is the can filled with opinions. It's been hashed and rehashed to infinity and beyond with no clear result. Since I am a seeker of truth I'll post my thoughts here for the yea and naysayers to debate over. Question is: Are expensive speaker or any other cable in a system worth the exorbitant cost over a reasonably priced cable loom? I thought I'd  experiment myself to find out. My comparison is between Transparent Ultra cable loom and Blue Jeans cable loom on a pure stereo system comprised of Proceed PAV,  Proceed PDSD,  Krell Kav 250, Musical Fidelity A3cd, Sony Ps4300 TT and B&W 803D2 speakers. All sources were used by this experiment using identical playback material. Cables had in excess of 200 hrs burn time and all were identical in lenght. The only variation were the connector manufacturers.
One change that occurred during this 4 week long endeavor was that I'm firmly seated on the sharpest picket on the fence.
My result is that I'm now a believer that there are audible differences in cables. I also believe that these differences are minute and one has to really listen carefully and for a long time to discern these differences.
Now to the crutch of the matter, $$$$$, As we all know Transparent Cables would reside in the upper tier of Audio Cable expense.  Blue Jeans Cable on the other hand falls into the lowest tier of expense (well maybe not lowest but low nontheless )
One would think then that the Transparent would be far superior to the BJs. Not really! Yes the highs were a little cleaner, mids a little tighter and lows a tad more pronounced but not by as much as one would expect. Soundstage was somewhat more open and airy and depth was somewhat more defined with the higher priced cable but again less than one would expect. 

Now for my personal opinion regarding the cable debate: expensive cable looms are slightly better than reasonable priced looms, if a dollar equals a penny to you then by all means opt for the higher priced loom, if a penny equals a penny don't be ashamed for opting for the best you can do. The differences are so minute that it's not worth going into debt over. BOTH looms sounded superb on my test system and I would be happy with either loom.

Now let the debate begin, just know I'm a fence sitter and not in one camp or the other
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soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
There is little doubt that some cables can make some speakers sound better.

Example: If your speakers are laid back or muffled then perhaps cheaper rougher, courser sounding cables can bring them to life. 

My preference is to have speakers that are extremely transparent and cables that are not bright or nosey. 

There are cables like that. 

Jim
Dealer 
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I myself found out about MG Audio Design interconnects from an article appearing in TAS by Arnie Nudell.  Later I learned that not only did Paul McGowan of PS Audio use them, but that members of the Colorado Society preferred them to top of the line Nordhost in a direct comparison.  But even though the top of the line MG Audio Design top of the line interonnects went for $1600 a one meter pair, still they were above my reach.  Then I found out they sell their half meter pairs for just $900 prt pair.  Even though the best pair I have to compare them to is my Audience AU24se's, their differences are great in ultimate capabilities.  I am also using for my speaker wires a combination of a one foot pair of MG Audio Design's top end speaker wires-which also go for $900 a pair, plus runs of Jenna Labs's 18 gage hook up wires.  Again, the results are simply spectacular.  I can only compare the MG Audio Design speaker wires themself to a 7 year old pair of Shunyata's top of the line speaker wires and the results are not even close.  Adding a bunch of Audioquest power cords, a JPS digital power cord for my 2 Oppo players as well as 2 Audioquest Niagara 1000 strips completes the wire-power conditioning system.  To get the best results one must complete the whole combination.  Put in one truly inferrior wire produt in the system and the whole effect can be easily lost.  But I truly believe that the combination of the above mentioned products in my audio system results in audio playback far, far above that of other alternatives for the price.  In fact, not even close.  That my 20 year old Martin/Logan SL-3 speakers never, ever sounded better.  That my 35-40 year old Mcintosh MR74 tuner, Marants 20 FM Tuner sound simply amazing.  In fact I believe my McIntosh MR74 tuner is possibly the best audio source avaliable today for the money.  At least if you live in Boulder Colorado.  
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I myself am using MG Audio Design's top of the line interconnects.  I first learned about them from Arnie Nudell when he stated that he himself was using them.  I later learned from Paul McGowan of PS Audio that he also uses them, and lastly that at a meeting of the Colorado Audio Society that they preferred them to top of the line Nordhost.  Even so at $1600for a pme meter pair, they were still too much for me.  And then I learned that they will sell half meter pairs for only $900 a pair.  I believe a .6 meter pair of Nordhost goes gor #20,000.  The results are simply amazing.  As I can only compare them to a pair of Audience Au24se's, I can not directly compare them to the much more costly alternatives oit there, but even so I believe them to truly be state of the art, irreguartless of their cost.  I have also over the last few years, by combining a one foot pair of the top of the MG Audio Designs top end speaker wires, which also goes for $900, with connecting runs of Jenna Lab's 18 gage speaker wires, which themself go for $6 a foot.  The result is clearly a truly superior speaker eire, which when combined with the MG Audio Design's interconnects.  The results are truly amazing.  Adding 7 Audioquest power cords, a JPS digital power cord as well as 2 Audioquest Niagara 1000's, well the results are out of sight.  And even though the overall costs have not been cheap, for the money that I have spent overall are tiny compared to attempting to duplicate te present results, let alone improving them.  
greg22lz
182 posts
 
I purchased the CT GE  sc and found very good results at a very reasonable price. Do I need a loom to hear the difference? No! Is a loom a preferable configuration? Sometimes but not always. I find I very times consuming and frustrating to research, purchase and compare cables BUT I do hear significant differences in sound using any cable or ic. They all have an effect, some good, some less good, and are all system dependent. Money is an issue so I read a lot from different sources to make educated comparisons. My system has done nothing but improve over time. The results are better, cleaner sound, better soundstage, I.e., wider, deeper, taller, and closer to my particular goal of live " in the room sound" of acoustic instruments . 
greg22lz
182 posts
 
I also listen for a long time before making changes to understand what I am hearing and determine what changes I think should be made. These are relative to live acoustic instruments. Tone, timbre, harmonics are all on the table.
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