DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

I entirely agree about the importance of the quality of interconnects.  I was fortunate to read comments made by the late Arnie Nudell on his own choice of MG Audio Design.  Even so at the time their top of the line interconnects went for $1600 for a one meter pair-still to much for me on my limited budget.  Later I learned that you can also ask for a half meter pair which go for $900.  So I was finally able to try them out.  They are simply amazing.  In actuality top quality interconnects can by themself make as significant improvements in audio quality as the choice of audio components do.  By the way Paul McGowan of PS Audio also uses MG Audio Design interconnects as well as their speaker wires himse;f.  I have also read that some members of the Colorado Audio Society also are using them.  Oh yes, if you are using a pair of mono amplifiers, that you can obtain a one foot pair of the MG Audio Design's top of the line speaker wires also for $900 for a pair.  Simply I believe that MG Audio Design wire products can compete with the best of them, but at a fraction of the cost.  Check with Paul McGown if you don't believe me.  Also I have no financial or other dealings with their product other than being a totally happy customer.

I set up a new listening room recently (McIntosh and Revel). I auditioned several different sets of interconnects and speaker cables (AudioQuest, Tara Labs, and Kimber). After several days of listening, I perceived very little (if any) difference in sound. However, my Salons sounded a tad bright in the mid range. I ended up spending a few hundred dollars on acoustic panels. This approach (working with the room)  gave me very good results that were easily noticeable. For me, cables should fall in the category of "Do NO Harm". 

dynaquest4

Our ears and brain have very short term audio memory.

There’s a shred of truth to this, but it’s hardly an absolute truth. For example, I’ve haven’t listened to a Bob Dylan album in weeks. But I could easily distinguish his voice from Bruce Springsteen’s anytime.

So, unless you have an AB blind test switch as a permanent part of your system, in the time it takes to switch out a set of cables, you will have lost the ability to accurately recall the exact sound of the previous cable or any subtle changes that the new cable "provides. "

You don’t need a permanent AB switch to do blind tests of cables, there are comparators that offer that function. Wireworld makes one and there are others. Have you ever experimented with these to test your opinions that you state as fact?

Of course, using an AB test - or better yet, an ABX test - is just one way to evaluate an audio component or cable.

Power cables can not make a difference…Can not convince me that the power cables that came with my Marantz MM8077 or my Parasound A21 are mediocre. Why would engineers design a product that its only purpose in life is to produce good sound with cheap power cords?  Also, please explain how three feet of power cord somehow improves  the electric that it is receiving from 100 ft of romax cable that is running through your home...

I am also at the stage in my gear collecting where I’m trying to tweak everything to it’s maximum performance. So, I recently replaced the XLR interconnects between my CD player and preamp and preamp and amplifier. I had about a $350 budget per set and stuck with it until my final decision was made. This is about a 300% increase in cost from the original cables. I started by listening to several songs I know well and use when I want to really show off the performance of my system. Then I replaced the CD to preamp cables first. I instantly noted there was more clarity, increase in timbre and depth to each of the songs when played back again, it was subtle but apparent. I then replaced the preamp to amp interconnects. This was where most of the changes happened! I’m not that good at using audiophile technical terms, so at the risk of mis-conveyance in description, I will simply say I am very happy with my purchase! My previous cables were Audioquest Diamondbacks, the new cables are Shunyata Venoms. The Diamondbacks were coloring the system, making everything too warm, while they did great for there cost, I wanted more accuracy. My preamp is tube and my amp is ss. The Venoms have brought a great balance to my system now and it doesn’t sound colored in the least. The great thing I’ve discovered with tube gear is that they are less fatigueing on the ears, so I’m getting great accuracy now with no fatigue, making it more an more difficult to break away from my listening sessions.