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Interconnects priority

Greetings!

I am mulling over my interconnects and one question I have is, which interconnect is the most  important, if any, in the chain.

My setup is a Rega P8 with a Hana SL LOMC cart, into a Moon 310 LP / 320S phono stage, onto a PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamp and finally into a McIntosh MC312 power amp.

I am contemplating which interconnect (using XLR in my case) is the most critical to the sound/signal path, the one from the phono stage to the preamp or from the preamp to the power amp?

Or, looking it from another practical budget perspective, if I have a total of of $1,000 to spend is it clear that I should spend $500 on each XLR pair, or should I “overweight” my spend on one set because it’s the more “important” interconnect from a sound quality perspective.

(Of course assuming the interconnects are of equal length so that’s not a factor.)

Would love to hear this knowledgeable group’s thoughts on this - thanks!

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xbimmerlover
macg19
962 posts
 

Here is what I did FWIW.

I went from RCA to XLR from phono to integrated - this was a really noticeable improvement - and I a/b tested using same brand of cable 

This lowered the noise floor and boosted the SNR

I use Zavfino Fusion which is very well made solid silver/OCC copper IC and IMO a bargain for the price at $357 for 1.5m 

I will probably try Acoustic Zen, Voodoo or maybe Audio Sensibility Statement Silvers at some point but this is very low priority (I replaced entry level Zavfino speaker cables with AZ Holograms which are really nice)

 

 

sls883
555 posts
 

I ordered a DH Labs Air Matrix ic and received it today. I installed it between my dac and preamp. I'm using a Harmonic Technology RecTa oc between my amp and preamp.  I'm using a Inakustik Referenz USB between my streamer and dac.  After messing around with various cables including pure silver cables, I think I've found a winning combination. 

I've got to do something with the pile of cables that I've accumulated.  Lol. 

ghdprentice
7,323 posts
 

@sls883

Cool. I like DHLabs a great deal. Tell us what it sounds like once it is broken in. Allow well over 100 hours.

 

I used to keep my old cables to allow me to experiment on the next upgrade cycle.

 

Early on I bought some really good high end cables that were too good for my system. This became clear when I upgraded and the old cables (much more transparent) sounded way better than the ones I transferred from my old components that were warm and not at all detailed. You can learn a lot by having old cables around as long as they are high quality.

sls883
555 posts
 

@ghdprentice

It's funny that you mention that. I've had the Harmonic Technology cable for a while. It was recommended by a rep with The Cable Company. I tried it with my previous gear and didn't care for it.  It's been sitting in a box.  On a whim, I got it out last night and tried it. 

I thought silver cables were the ticket, but they had an edginess that was annoying.  The current combination has detail, soundstage width and depth without the harshness.

I've got two Synergistic Research cables, XLO, Nordost, Core Power, and other misc cables in a box. Lol

My speakers cables are Fidelium by Silversmith Audio. I'm not a big spender on cakes, but after auditioning them, I chose to keep them. I had been using Synergistic Research cables. 

sls883
555 posts
 

Cables, not cakes. 

I don't spend a lot on them, either.  Lol. 

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