I certainly have tried cables that made my system sound worse...but I just returned them, no reason to try to convince myself that I liked them - some were more expensive, some less...
Why Do Cables Matter?
To me, all you need is low L, C, and R. I run Mogami W3104 bi-wire from my McIntosh MAC7200 to my Martin Logan Theos. We all know that a chain is only as strong as its' weakest link - so I am honestly confused by all this cable discussion.
What kind of wiring goes from the transistor or tube to the amplifier speaker binding post inside the amplifier? It is usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper. Then we are supposed to install 5 - 10' or so of wallet-emptying, pipe-sized pure CU or AG with "special configurations" to the speaker terminals?
What kind of wiring is inside the speaker from the terminals to the crossover, and from the crossover to the drivers? Usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper.
So you have "weak links" inside the amplifier, and inside the speaker, so why bother with mega expensive cabling between the two? It doesn't make logical sense to me. It makes more sense to match the quality of your speaker wires with the existing wires in the signal path [inside the amplifier and inside the speaker].
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OP: Are you aware that higher quality preamps and amps are ’voiced’? How do you think the manufacturer does that? This article was written in 1985. It found that capacitors and resistors affected sound quality. Yes, the ones built into the circuits inside your fancy metal boxes. (Scroll down to the bottom of the article to find out about the author.) This article was written in 2020. It found that the connectors on power cords affected the sound quality. Everything matters. |
https://avahifi.com/products/abx-switch-comparator https://www.dagogo.com/audio-by-van-alstine-abx-comparator-review-part-1-audio-store-wiring/ this is a very useful tool for comparing components or cables (no xlr connections though) ... mine has been very helpful over time they used to be $999, when i bought mine, prices have certainly gone up... for reasons we can all understand whether one can hear differences reliably among cables depends on a lot of factors, one’s hearing acuity, resolution of one’s system, what is being connected, and so on... one must really try for oneself to determine if different items make a sonic difference, not just for cables, but anything we try to improve our sound folks arguing here, asserting their view, is no different than one person insisting their food item ordered is too salty... but will that same item be too salty for me??? |
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