At Axpona 2023 Audiovector had the QR 7($6500) with $9200 flagship Cardas speaker cables. This was easily the best sounding larger floorstander under $10k at the show. I believe the main reason for cable backlash is many Audiophiles are unwilling(fearful) to put the time, effort and money into finding out the truth.
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?
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I really hesitate to inject general statements into discussions. But, here goes: I have never heard a system at any price that didn’t benefit from better cables. Can you use the wrong cable in a given system? Also true. I was a dealer for 35+ years. This doesn’t make me smarter. But, it did allow me to a have a bigger "toy box" than most. At any one time, I may have had a dozen, or so, various price points of a given cable type from 3, or more, manufacturers in my grasp. I was a dealer who also lived and breathed high performance audio, so experimenting was one of those activities I enjoyed the most. And I did!! (Also was awarded a speaker patent). Swapping components, cables, and messing around with anything (yes ANYTHING) that could potentially make a difference in SQ was on the table. Of course, each "new" idea introduced a level of complexity that grew exponentially. Cables matter. Any type. Any system. Any price point. And, "other" things. You just have to have access to a number of them, and the time to experiment. I’’ll go back to my first visit by Bill Low, founder of Audioquest. He would break out a variety of speaker cables along with (surprise!) a jam box with removable speakers. And, the speaker price point progression demos began. It was very effective on a box that retailed for a couple hundred bucks -- at best. Recently, we were working on a little project for a friend which included a $99 Class D plate amp. This amp had a nasty upper midrange, sounded like mono coming out of 2 speakers, and no bottom end. First thoughts: "Sorry, but we can’t recommend this." I looked over at a premium power cord, and thought: "Nah." The tug-of-war went on for few more seconds, then I thought: "What the heck?" and plugged in the better PC. What was a completely unlistenable amp now had bass, imaging, and the "nastiness" went from "R" to "PG" rating. I use a metric I refer to as "percentage of increase" in SQ for evaluating potential upgrades. A 10% improvement in SQ for a 10% increase in cost is a good value. A 10% increase in SQ at, say, 3% of the cost is a bargain. This could happen with cable upgrades, or component upgrades. Or, something else. But, it’s not surprising, in my world, that cables often offer better bang for the buck than component upgrades. Sometimes not. That’s why listening to a range of possibilities (with an open mind) is the key. @ghdprentice comment about a particular manufacturer’s products at various price points interacting with the system in a similar manner is interesting. I can accept this premise in that a manufacturer’s design philosophy is usually consistent throughout. Mainly, more/better materials as price increases. |
@waytoomuchstuff, thank you for a very interesting response. I looked at your nickname here and it instantly resonated with my present state of mind ;-) Too much stuff on my mind now! Cable upgrades, or perhaps component upgrades etc. I personally benefited from using Furutech Nanoflux cables in my modest system, and that originally gave me an idea that cable upgrades might sometimes be worth it if you have some spare cash to burn, even if they sometimes seem illogical. My focus currently is on the digital link, which, I suspect, is much less known as to being a worthwhile investment. The knowledge of cables evolves, wth much opposition from some people. In the past, there was a discovery that IC cables matter a lot, then speaker cables. Then there was an uproar when somebody suggested power cables also matter, with later many people saying this is actually the most important cable in the system. There are still few audiophiles who acknowledge that digital cables are as important (bits are bits, right?). I've heard also an opinion from somebody who said this actually can be the most important cable in highly resolving digital setups. |
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