How good does my system have to be to realize an improvement with cables?


I've heard the difference power cables and interconnect cables in a highly resolving system so that's not the question.  $200 for cables  on a $500 DAC doesn't make sense to me.  Wouldn't that $200 be better spent on a better component?  At what point is an expensive cable the best choice?  Spending $500 on a $15,000 DAC does make sense as the transparency and resolution of the component could be better realized with a better signal / power source.

My question is what's the  percentage of the overall component's cost should be the cabling and at what point should it even be considered?

Or put a different way How would you know if your cables are your weakest link?

 

128x128danager

@tablejockey +1 to that.  Where were you when I started this thing?  For every minor change I have hours and hours of research. The good part is that I can listen while I study.

 

@tablejockey +1 (very wise and sage advice there.)

if it sounds good, then the “fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) is mostly coming from reading the forum.
So if it sounds good, then just enjoy it.

FWIW, the best cables I've found for my system are Anticables. The speaker cables in particular made a dramatic difference over my previous Blue Jean Canares. Interconnects are also excellent. The Level 3 cables, which I use, were a very reasonable $350 for the speakers and $200 for interconnects. Levels 1 and 2 are even more affordable.

A number of folks have commented on Blue Jeans.  I've got some and like them as well.  Now they have the Iconoclast line if you're not aware.  Intended to compete with the high-end audio cable brands but with more down to earth pricing and designed by a Belden engineer specifically for audio applications.  I'm anxious to see reviews on them. Are they an even better Blue Jeans product?

Spend whatever you want on cables but they are system dependent. For laughs I put a pair of ten thousand dollar interconnects between an old receiver and CD player (used them also because they were handy) and the results were better than I anticipated.