Please tutor me on some integrated amp basics.

I also did not get the feeling he wanted to go to a great length about cables so I suggested a shortcut, provided it is within his budget.

If the power is really unstable, that may be a problem, too. Now how unstable is unstable enough to do something about it is on someone else to chime in. Someone other than power conditioner manufacturer, that is.

Everything can count in the end, but for someone just wanting to listen to music in decent quality, it is hard to miss it completely with a collection of good components. He is certainly on the right track.

I am not sure if speaker manufacturers have different approaches to cables but, for whatever it is worth, Revel mentions it in instruction manual in very simple terms. They give way more details about speaker placement than wire. Resistance/gauge and that is all.

"Use high-quality loudspeaker cable with a maximum total loop resistance of 0.07 ohms or less for each wire run. Refer to the table below to determine the appropriate wire gauge for your installation.

NOTE: High loop resistances that exceed 0.07 ohms (for each wire run) will cause the loudspeaker’s filter network to be misterminated, resulting in considerable degradation of sound quality."

Power around here is both unstable and very dirty, so I use PS Audio regenerator for all components, including 120 Watt/ch integrated. Dynamics is not compromised, in fact better than straight to the wall.
This integrated, Redgum RGi120, is also quite high current but not at all like big amps, of course.

Gentleman, nice to read the back and forth on cables since my last post from three of my favorite people on this site.

I’ve been in touch with both Magico and Luxman about cables. Magico says they’re using Audioquest cables at their current show in Canada to demos their A3’s. Perhaps they’re cryogenically treated and well suited to cold climates. Magic said the also use Nordost, MIT and Transparent cables at other shows and in their factory, Luxmans rep said he liked Audioquest and Nordost. The dealer who sold me the Luxman integrated said he recommended MIT’s among cables he didn’t carry at his store for Luxman’s.

Interestingly. Magico said they are currently demoing their A3’s with a Luxman 509x amp, only one step up from my 597ux Mark II. Wish I could have afforded it. Luxman independently informed me they are demoing their 509x with the Magico’s. Either they’ve formed an unholy cabal, or I’ve gotten lucky with my research and choices.

A couple of you on site have mentioned the Nordost’s are too bright, so I’ll rule them out, The Audioquest’s are available locally in Roanoke so maybe I can wrangle a demo. I also read the MIT’s are good only at their highest priced models, and I’ve read only positive things about the Transparent cables. The dealer who sold me the Luxman 507 also recommended the MIT’s among brands he didn’t carry at his store. So I can add at least three possible brands to my short list, straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Audioquest’s are the only ones I’ve ever heard demoed, actually when I first heard about expensive cables and questioned the local dealer if they were any better than zip cord. They were.

Next up is to look up prices, new and used, for them along with a couple others on my short list that you’ve recommended.

Glupson, you’re right about the two camps from what I’ve read so far. Some of those in either camp get so excited about wires you’d think they’re ready for a fist fight. Get a life instead is my recommendation. You mentioned you have Shunyata Venoms. Where do they come up with these names is what I’d like to know? I looked up the Audioquests to get a price and they listed twenty varieties of speaker wire alone, most with ridiculous names too. How many variations of wire can there be that one company can come up with?

I will keep in mind to look at each wires flexablity as they will have to bend a few times on the way to the speaker Good advice. I added your Zavfinos to the ever expanding long list. They might get lost in the shuffle though. I posted them at #106 so I wouldn’t be forgetting them.

You’re right, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life messing with this. I’m pretty content with a "semi-logical approach" as you say. I’m enjoying learning about cables now, but soon as I get some, that’s the end of it until the next go round in 2058. I expect I’ll have to call that one in. You also have to consider too, you can spend so much money on this stuff you couldn’t afford records or CD’s to listen to afterwards.

Appreciate your encouragement, sensible approach to cabling and making me laugh. Semi-logical, huh? You didn’t even intend that one.

Inna please don’t tell me there’s an even more complicated approach to choosing cables. I am going to look into that esoteric brand you mentioned, but couldn’t recall the name. It’s posted way higher on my list than Glupson’s Zavfinos in any event. He didn’t even like them well enough to purchase them, while you did invest in the model that you recommended.

Power cords, transformers and line conditioners are up next for research.

Ieales, If I find out that expensive cables purchased don’t sound significantly better than Bluejeans or Beldens I will be quite perturbed to say the least. Some of these wires are so expensive its ungodly. I mean I didn’t work and save my whole life to end up with ten feet of wire as the reward.

Anybody with any opinions (except Glupson) on the Audioquest, Transparent, MIT or other lines just mentioned, please chime in with your thoughts or experience with them. I’ll be carefully considering what you have to say before making a purchase. Thanks so much,

Mike