Cheap/expensive or expensive/cheap?
three_easy_payments A good system with a bad power cable will sound better than a bad system with a good power cable. Same applies to all other cables. Yes, cables make a difference but they aren’t going to move the needle as much as fantastic primary components...not even close. auxinput2 I actually completely disagree with this. |
Cables makes a difference... But i am flabbergasted by these many cables thread.... The really fundamental audio basic problem is: How do i embed mechanically( controlling resonance and isolating/coupling/decoupling vibrations), How do i embed electrically (controlling the general noise floor of the house, How do i embed acoustically ( with passive materials room treatment but also active methods of controls), my audio system first.... After that we will think about not too much costly good cables if necessary... Before that putting so called good cables on speakers in a bad acoustical room, in a high level noise floor in the house, and with no attention to resonance or vibrations controls, knowing that all non treated room are bad, is like putting first a plaster in a cutted finger for a man laying in the concrete and hurted on the head by a hammer few minutes ago... Can we speak about other thing than cables in Audio? I am kiding, for sure we are free to speak about cables, and it can be interesting, but there is so much more important matters to give attention first.... P.S. The price of a cable has no relation in general with his S. Q. in a particular system and will sound less good or less bad in some system and not so in another audio system.... Forget price.... |
Excellent points on the comments here---I used standard stock cables on most of my equipment years ago and started using higher quality cables/cords over the past few years. I (as well as my non-audiophile friends) heard a noticeable difference on better ICs followed by speaker cables----not as much on the conditioner and power cords. But I still wonder about the other accessories: sound isolators under equipment, butcher blocks, those little stands that keep speaker cables off the floor. Is it that much of a difference with those items?? |
I will say something that many will probably disagree with but I have found it to be instructive over many years in this hobby: you should budget almost as much on the the amplifier to speaker interface (speaker cables) as you do on the amplifier. Strange but true. From examples of David Wilson demoing speakers with a basic receiver (but good speaker cables), to testimonies of guys putting together their most satisfying systems with integrated amps and speaker cables that cost more than the amps, the experiences go on.. Not sure where those observations fit in this cheap/expensive or expensive/cheap discussion, but it is what it is. Some guys that spend $100K on speakers and amps will spend 'only' $5K-$10K on cables. Big mistake; and they can't figure out why the system is still not satisfying. Lots of different variables of course but that is my opinion. Flame away :D |
