Cable curmudgeon


I'm not an 'audiophile" but I like to think I have a good ear having been a professional musician (principal wind player in major symphony orchestras) for 50 years. A number of years ago going into an excellent audio equipment store I talked with, what seemed, a knowledgeable salesman.  Being a musician experienced in audio systems but not expert on all the equipment out there I had some questions concerning high (over-priced?) end cables. The salesman assured there was an audible differencet in a demo room switching back and forth etc.  After a few minutes I noticed the sound coming out of only one channel.  He complemented me on my "good ear."  Hmmm? A few years later when setting up my home system I investigated speaker cables. Two sets of Monster, stranded standard cable, solid core copper (used for alarm system) attached with like connecters. There was a difference.  However, not in terms of better or worse: bass and treble were acceptable as was clarity loud and soft.  Differences were esthetic- like asking "whose the best tenor" (I like Plácido).  Now I know as a musician used to live (i.e. un-amplified) music that all I hear coming out of a loud speaker is perforce ersatz.  But most everything today comes out of a loud speaker whether a rock concert or a hi-fi system so perhaps my opinion is curmudgeonly. But, for me, spending oodles of money on hyped cables, well... I  liked the solid core for my alarm system- still do.

 

exflute
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When I started out in this hobby, speaker wire was 18 ga. zipcord...16 ga. if you felt like a splurge.  Premium interconnects were Switchcraft.  Speaker terminals were screws with knurled nuts, and the Marantz 7, 8, and 9 were still around (but on their way out).  The "audiophile" bible was Edgar Vilchur's "Understanding High Fidelity".  The most revered recordings by Mercury (Living Presence), RCA (Living Stereo), and boutique labels like Vanguard and The Connoisseur Society were being made...using utterly pedestrian copper wires, vacuum tube recording electronics, and excellent musical judgement. Draw your own conclusions.

On a personal note...

I was in the room when Noel Lee came (personally) to the store I worked in to announce the coming of a new order...in which hanks of zipcord would no longer be given for free with the purchase of a pair of speakers, which was the practice at the time.  He spoke with evangelical fervor...and our buyer/owner listened and heard that the Word was Good...for the bottom line.  Disciples, copycats, and believers in alternate versions of the Word followed, and the old order was indeed overturned.

The profit motive cannot be ignored in this discussion.  I absolutely support the right of every audiophile to buy whatever they deem best for their listening preference.  But in the real world environment of audio retail most buyers are not hobbyists, are not skilled in discerning fine differences, and are often over-sold purely for profit.  

The OP makes two points I strongly agree with.  Musical fidelity is best, perhaps only, discernable based on acoustic instrument reproduction, and cables' contribution to overall system performance is of tertiary importance.  First is the room/speaker, second the amplification, then the in-between stuff.

word of the day,  sommeliers 

 

I love this forum. can't we just all get along. 

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