Basic cable question


Hi everyone---I'm new here and a fairly 'new' audiophile. I'm currently updating my system and just need some basic advice. I've heard two different opinions on interconnects and speaker cables. I have Transparent speaker cables and standard stock interconnects which I'm updating next. The Transparent salesman told me that I need to keep my interconnects with Transparent as well---is this true? I guess my real question is: do speaker cables and interconnects need to be the same brand? Thanks so much in advance! 
bluorion
Thanks guys! Thanks for the info!! I thought it was kind of sales-pitchy as well. Like gdnrbob, I've been out of the audio world for a while and trying to catch up. But here's my current system:

VPI Cliffwood TT
Marantz PM 8006 integrated amp
Marantz ND 8006 CDP/Streamer
Dynaudio Special 40s (w/Transparent cables)
(my old Denon 3-head cassette deck)

My Dyns are not efficient as I have learned and will be upgrading to a proper amp and preamp down the road. I can use the 8006 as a preamp but I'd like to go with balanced if I can.


... do speaker cables and interconnects need to be the same brand?

To add to the previous responses, with which I agree, the idea that the cables in a system should all be of the same make is often referred to as "loom theory." While a goodly number of audiophiles subscribe to that belief, and many of them have achieved satisfactory results following that approach, I daresay that the majority of audiophiles have achieved satisfactory results without following that approach. And as I see it "loom theory" is fundamentally flawed in that it fails to recognize that the sonic effects of a particular cable are dependent not only on its intrinsic characteristics, but are also dependent (and in many cases are more dependent) on the technical characteristics of the components the cable is connecting.

For example, the sonic effects of an analog interconnect will depend to a significant degree on the output impedance of the component driving the cable; on whether the cable is balanced or unbalanced; on the susceptibility of the components that are being connected to ground loop effects; on whether the signals being conducted are line level or phono level; if they are phono level on whether the cartridge is a moving magnet or a moving coil; and on other variables. While the sonic effects of a speaker cable will depend to a significant degree on the impedance of the speaker; on how the impedance of the speaker varies as a function of frequency; on the criticality of woofer damping to the particular speaker; on whether or not the amplifier utilizes a feedback loop from its output; on the sensitivity of the amplifier to spurious energy that may be introduced at its output and couple from there into that feedback loop; and on other speaker-dependent variables.

As evidence of the dependence of the sonic effects of a cable on what it is connecting, here are a couple of relevant examples:

1) If an interconnect having relatively high capacitance is compared with one having relatively low capacitance, and if everything else is equal, the higher capacitance cable will produce a duller and more sluggish response in the upper treble region if used as a line-level interconnect (especially if it is driven by a component having high output impedance), due to the interaction of cable capacitance and component output impedance; while in many and probably most cases the exact opposite result will occur if those same two cables are compared in a phono cable application and driven by a moving magnet cartridge, due to the interaction of cable capacitance and cartridge inductance.

2) It is easily possible for digital cable "A" to outperform digital cable "B" in a given system when both cables are of a certain length, and for cable "B" to outperform cable "A" in that same system if both cables are of some other length. The happenstance of the relationships between cable length, signal risetimes and falltimes, cable propagation velocity, component susceptibility to ground loop-related noise, the happenstance of how closely the impedances of both components and the cable match, and the jitter rejection capability of the DAC, all figure into that.

Given these kinds of component-dependent variables, happenstances, and dependencies, it is hard to conceive of how, as a general rule, a single-manufacturer loom would necessarily stand a greater chance of being optimal than a mixed set. And for that matter, given that the components in a system perform completely different functions, are very different in design, and are usually produced by different manufacturers, a mix-and-match approach, if pursued with reasonable thoroughness, would seem more likely to do so.

Regards,
-- Al

Al’s response is much more technical than anything I could offer you, but the ’loom theory’ is also based, to a degree, on the ’house sound’ of particular cable brands.
To me, the only way to know is to live with it in your system. Thus, The Cable Co. loaner program may make sense. I don’t know if they are price competitive, I do know they also have a ’Used Cable" business but don’t know if you can home trial some cables then try to buy them used from The Cable Co. My dealings with them were confined to the Audio Desk record cleaning machine and Robert Stein was a good guy.
I think it is impossible to figure this out without listening unless you just decide to go for some tried and true combo- there are known synergies that people seem to prefer for some products, but again, that may not replicate your system in your room with your ears.
For my vintage second system, I bought very inexpensive cable and it's fine. For my main system, I home trialed (by owning and by loan from manufacturer) several different cables and have not changed them in a decade, other than to upgrade one IC.
Good luck, it’s a bit maddening since you can begin to question what you are hearing which only reinforces the negative view of cable changes. I’m not a naysayer, but sometimes, a change in a system will improve one thing and negatively affect something else. That’s why longer term listening is the route I prefer for evaluating things.
Thanks so much! Al, I love your response---I had to read it twice but it makes perfect sense. I guess the loom theory is alive and well---I'm a little embarrassed that I fell for it. It seems like there are as many cables as there are cereal. But I have my work cut out for me---I guess it's time to start auditioning some cables. 
What's funny is that I auditioned several speaker cables when I bought the Special 40s and that's how I chose the Transparent cables. Duh!
Post removed