Price is absolutely not indicative of quality, especially with wires of any kind. Also, they don't make any objective difference regardless of what people think they "hear."
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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@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. |
I think different cable types also interact with different levels of equipment. As @soix said, a good digital cable can help any system or digital front end. Similarly, I have never heard a nicer power cable cause detriment, but always improve or smooth things out. Of course better equipment will reveal more goodness. But interconnects and speaker wires can be detrimental. Silver cables (to me) tend to exploit glare and harshness. Nice copper cables are what I like, and they provide smooth resolution throughout the entire spectrum (Kubala Sosna Realization and elation for me) |
BTW, in one system, where I have a 20 and 30 foot run from amps on the side to speakers, I have made speaker cables from Furutech FS alpha 36 wire and Furutech Gold Spades. They are excellent. They replaced generic 8 gauge copper wires that I also made. I kept the old copper wires as one run to the low end, and used the Furutech to bi wire into the top end. big improvement. |
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