2. cables
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Who out there wants to, or has, validated an amazing cable find?

I own a very decent audio system and have slowly been moving up over the last several decades weeding out less-natural sounding equipment and focusing on best sound for my money (what I can afford). My current gear is a collect of Quad, Pass, Klyne, VPI, soekris and a fairly large collection of Kimber, audio quest, Furutech, Cardas, Straightwire, DH Labs cables built up over time.

I have come across lots of high-priced gear that isn't faithful to the music. My reference has always been unamplified voice and instruments and attend such concerts regularly though they are hard to find (but still easy if you live near a major city).

It always a pleasure to come across gear that is low priced and exceeds higher priced gear when it comes to faithful reproduction of music holding to the live unamplifed sound standard.

So.....

I have recently purchased some ATAUDIO cables from Aliexpress that have left me stunned due to low price and performance. Recommended by another audiophile who seemed credible and owned good equipment so decided to give them a try.

A $26 1 meter ATAUDIO copper interconnect cables is running neck and neck my Cardas Clear interconnects and beaten my Cardas clear Cygnus interconnect cables when it comes to clarity, lack of edge and sibilance, warm open holographic sound reproduction. 

Would someone here with a good resolving audio system give one of the ATAUDIO cables a try? The price is noise for us who have invested in decent (high-end) audio system.

ATAUDIO power cords and Interconnects have proved amazing. About to try their speaker cables. I would not recommend their silver cables. I tried them and while they sound more robust and full than their copper cables the silver cables have the a high frequency edge similar to other silver cables I have heard.

Just looking for couple of regular posters here to give the ATAUDIO cables a try.
Can't resist passing along an audio bargain.

If you don't believe in cables making differences please don't post here and go do something else as you have already found your happiness. 

sudnh
riccitone
229 posts
 

Finding good synergy takes research, experimentation and time. Arguing over production techniques, materials, cryo, etc. just becomes an arbitrary rabbit hole. If you find some cables that make the right difference for your system and circumstances, it makes the right difference for YOUR system and circumstances. Exorbitantly priced cables do not guarantee anything, even for a high priced and resolving system. Maybe it eeks-out that last 2%? But how can that be relevant when you’ve got a capable enough and balanced system where you already find yourself deeply engaged in the music to begin with.

If the materials, shielding, terminations and construction process (and qc) are of a high enough standard, then it’s got the capability to sound good in your system. It’s then a matter of trial to determine if it brings what you’d like sonically. Not to mention, there will always be a bit of a trade off (regardless of price level). Just need to determine if you’re willing to trade more of one characteristic aspect over the other. Nod to @erik_squires 🙏🏼

vthokie83
895 posts
 

Magnuman,

I've only found the Neotech rectangular cable available for interconnects, which I've not gotten around to. Right now building speaker and power cables

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,846 posts
 

advice to try Mogami for XLR... and that any quality wire in an XLR implementation is going to get the job done. I’ve been using Mogami 2549 (22awg) for XLR into my Ayre VX-5 Twenty.

@jim2 Just for the record that wasn't exactly my advice. My advice was that if you gear supports AES48 then you likely will hear little or no difference at all between cables as long as the cable is built correctly.

The Mogami is a good quality studio cable and compared to cables around today is really inexpensive. It also uses polyethylene dielectrics (not PVC- that is only used for the jacket).

I don't know if the Ayre preamp supports AES48 or not but the RCA outputs along with the XLR output suggests it does not. You'd have to ask them to know. 

dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 

I call horse crap here…there are some respectable bargains around but the great stuff is gonna cost you!

jim2
165 posts
 

@atmasphere

 

@jim2 Just for the record that wasn’t exactly my advice. My advice was that if you gear supports AES48 then you likely will hear little or no difference at all between cables as long as the cable is built correctly.

The Mogami is a good quality studio cable and compared to cables around today is really inexpensive. It also uses polyethylene dielectrics (not PVC- that is only used for the jacket).

I don’t know if the Ayre preamp supports AES48 or not but the RCA outputs along with the XLR output suggests it does not. You’d have to ask them to know.

Ralph, there is a switch on the back of the VX-5 Twenty amp for switching between Balanced and RCA. "Zero Feedback" and "Fully Balanced Differential Circuitry" are fundamental to Ayre equipment. I did mention the insulation on the Mogami is PE and the jacket is PVC.

Perhaps you remember this interaction you had with the late Charlie Hansen of Ayre regarding "Balanced"? You referred to him as one of the great Solid State designers. The "Ralph" he mentioned here to is you...

I presume you're both doing it right. 

 

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