Can hi-end cables benefit less expensive electronics?
Some time ago, there was a guy on a Polish hi-end forum claiming that in his case it was better to buy some hi-end power chord than investing in a more expensive CD player. Has anybody had an experience where they invested in an expensive cable and felt the investment justified without upgrading the unit utilising the cable? Overall, would there possibly be any point in buying some expensive cable to feed electronics nearly the cost of the cable itself? I'm currently using a KT88 amplifier with a Metronome CD8 (which is also used as DAC) plus Metronome DSS as the streamer (transport only). Speakers: Franco Serblin Accords. In my case, an upgrade in electronics would involve spending at least USD 15,000 to make it sensible. But I can also spend much less and buy a Transparent XL Digital cable to replace my DIY cable that I currently use, at a much smaller expense. Is a high-end digital cable in some cases able to make it a worthwhile investment in a setup which is not top hi-end? I can afford the Transparent XL digital cable, but not necessarily any upgrade to the electronics I own. Has anybody experienced an improvement with an expensive cable even if the rest of the system would rather call for a less expensive one? When I wrote to Transparent about it, they said I should get advice from my dealer. Cable naysayers please do not comment. Also I'm not looking for cheaper alternatives to the Transparent XL. Just fancying buying a cable that many people say is an excellent cable. Of course, I do not expect the same improvement with this cable as with a full DCS Vivaldi setup, but am I likely to get an improvement, considering that the system is balanced and nothing really bothers me in it? Or should I absolutely get a cheaper cable because the more expensive one is bound to make things worse?
’Warmth’ can be manipulated in various ways. If a system is fatiguing and has distortion, then warmth becomes a band-aid. Especially, if the room has hard walls, floor & ceiling - with no acoustical treatments. Warmth can mask subtle nuances in the music - such as triangles or snare drum brushes. Further up the ladder of good systems, the degree of warmth is dialed in for a personal preference. |
I've used inexpensive DH Labs cables in my office system (Cambridge integrated amp and NAD cd player). Never tried anything better, but I doubt it would make much difference. Speakers are decent Wharfedale and a NHT subwoofer. What I wonder about is my older systems. Adcom GFA-555 amp, NAD 1300 preamp, and Vandersteen 2C speakers. Back in the day, Monster was the good stuff. In hindsight, I wonder how well a system like this might have performed using good cables... |
Great question. Of course there is no absolute without trying. But here goes.
I actually bought a transparent cable and put it on inexpenive components long ago. It sounded terrible. But that was because I had a very noisy fatiguing solid state system with very revealing speakers. Cardas golden (reference) speaker cables warmed things up and sounded much better. I put the transparent in the closet. Twenty years later I had good quality components and those same Transparent cables sounded fantastic. So, it is a mater of what the sound of your components. Transparent will get the most out of them if good. I use Transparent throughout. Looking at your system my guess is that the Transparent would be a great investment and net you better sound now and in the future.
That’s my guess.
BTW, I have no idea why but speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords of the same manufacturer and level tend to do exactly the same same thing for the system. I find this strange, but it has been true for me all the time |
A good digital cable is critical and worth exploring and investing in, but how much to invest is very system/budget dependent. In my system a better digital cable made a very significant improvement and regretted waiting so long to upgrade, so with your current DIY cable I’d certainly encourage you to try something else. And getting a better digital cable will obviously also pay dividends if/when you upgrade other components, so there’s that. Why are you locked into the Transparent cable that may or may not work best for your system/tastes? Whatever you do, and as with all cables, I’d make sure you can try the cable first so either use a dealer who will let you do that or buy used. Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck. |
I locked into Transparent on the basis of reviews (!) and the fact that I can get it at nearly half the price ;-) Also I bought much of what I own based on intuition and somehow I feel that this cable may appeal to me... ;-) Foolish, I know... ;-) But in my case, it's not whether it's the best cable for me, it's a question of whether I will like it without listening to anything else, for which I would have to pay the full price for ;-) Crazy, I know... |
