Silver Power Cables?
So its copper for miles and copper from the panel to the music room then 1 meter of silver apprently will improve the sound? Im curious!
This cable game is making my head spin
Hello all
I'll start by listing my system for reference.
Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black cart.
Tokyo Sound Phono stage (A late 90's Japanese Audio company)
Aric Audio Unlimited all tube preamp
Odyssey Khartago w/ upgraded power supply and internal wiring
Divine Acoustics Proxima speakers
Now the story of my Frankenstein cable setup. When I started purchasing cables I found an independent cable maker online who used silver in all his cables. I had purchased 3 power cables for my phono pre, preamp and amp. Unfortunately we had a falling out and I decided not to purchase any more cables from him. I was very green in the whole cable game and I still am but have learned a bit since. Most notably is how silver can brighten a system and the Ortofon 2M black is known as a bright sounding cart to begin with.
Being on a budget and wanting to upgrade all my interconnects at once I came upon vintage western electric interconnects being sold on here and elsewhere. Purported "giant killers" so I bought those for the time being at $114 a pair. But I needed a phono cable and being as green as I am/was thought you needed a cable with an attached ground and extra shielding. I couldn't find a western electric specific phono cable so I bought an Audio Sensibility impact SE phono cable. For speaker wire I went with the Belden 9497 from the same place I got the western electric. A nice budget cable and also a purported "giant killer". For my turntable I got a western electric power cable from the same place.
So I'm running 3 silver power cables to phono amp, preamp, amp and a western electric power cable to the turntable. Audio Sensibility phono cable. Western Electric interconnects from phono to preamp and preamp to amp, and the Belden 9497 speaker wire. What a mess right lol.
I want to streamline all my cables so I bought a pair of Audio Sensibility impact se interconnects. Same make as my phono cable. When I put them in between the preamp and amp I was shocked how dull and lifeless the sound was. Granted they are not broken in and only went through the 3 day burn in process Audio Sensibility offers but I was not expecting that dramatic of a change. The phono cable sounds good so maybe it is break in? Or the phono cable being OCC copper is taming some of the harshness of the Ortofon cartridge but the interconnect from preamp to amo is taming it too much?
I'd like to start auditioning cables from different manufacturers in the "mid-fi" price range and actually get this done right this time around. Given my system is there any advice to be offered on where I should start? I don't want things too bright sounding but not as lifeless as the Audio Sensibility (occ copper) either. And I'm a sucker for lush mid bass and mids hence the all tube preamp.
Sorry for the novel and thanks for any help!
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- 49 posts total
I have some basic acoustic foam corner bass traps and a small amount of acoustic foam on the ceiling above the main listening position. They tightened the low end up a bit not much but better with than without.
Correct.
Thanks for the suggestions guys I’m checking them out. I do have an Audio Sensibility Impact SE power cable I could try with the amplifier but is it important if its high current? Technically I’m half way there if I want to go the audio sensibility route which is my conundrum now. Abandon ship and start building a loom of another make or stick it out with Audio sensibility? As for the silver debate and the miles of copper debate I’m not getting involved LOL! I may be green but I know about that drama. 😂 Just playing guys. I appreciate the responses. This cabling is becoming more fun if that’s possible. |
Do you have any isolation feet or vibration control devices under any of your components? Remove them and see if the sound changes. Some of these devices kill dynamics and make your system sound just like you described. As for the cables, I would allow the new interconnects to break in for at least 100hrs and if possible 200hrs to really be able to draw your conclusions. The original Audience AU24 interconnects and speaker cables on a used market for a very reasonable price deliver the type of sound you’re looking for. These will be tough to beat. Another experiment to run is to reintroduce all the stock cables back into your set up and re-evaluate. Good luck!
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Metals matter not much. Geometry and insulation matter more. It makes more sense to find cables that mate between components than a ’brand’. Power cables are largest cable snake oil category. Chosen for sonics:
* no longer available |
@blue_collar_audio_guy if that’s where the last change occurred, focus there yet there can be a double-up effect if you run the same cables at source/pre and pre/amp if its already headed in a certain taming direction you don’t like. Fwiw, while I do run same_brand and model cables (Analysis Plus Crystal OCC) from streamer>DAC as source>pre>amps, some times I intentionally intermix different ICs at different layers to change it up every once in a while. I was a 25+ year Cardas diehard, tried 12+ different TOTL pairs, and use to intermix some for fun. Did some demos for the factory too years ago, was asked to give feedback on new versions. Sometimes with great results, "intermixing". Remember, the wiring inside each of these components can be different too. The notion of holding firm that you "must" run all of the same type/model of cable is one way, not always the best way. Each system and each of components, internal wiring, can be unique and not the same there either. This is why I was recommending trying other source components to re-test in the chain (instead of phono) and leaving your AS Statement SE cable in play pre>amp. You may in fact notice a difference there not having a phono/pre section in play with the Audio Sensibility cables doubled-up source>pre>amp. Try it. |
- 49 posts total