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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? 

serblinfan
fastfreight
966 posts
 

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)

fastfreight
966 posts
 

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.

serblinfan OP
54 posts
 

I guess there are some misconceptions concerning silver cables. A poor silver cable can sound bright but a good one, like some top Siltech cables, for example, may sound sweet and beautiful. Not all silver is the same. And that’s also one of the reasons why I started this discussion with regard to digital cables as I’m not sure if Furutech’s silver wire they recommend for DIY digital is actually good enough. Somehow Furutech does not use silver for their top of the range digital cables....

ghdprentice
8,112 posts
 

Just a reminder that Transparent has many tiers. For me they all share the same characteristics of being very neutral and well, transparent. For me, after hundreds of hours of experimenting with many different brands of mainstream cables, to me these are the best for high end systems (systems that are synergistic and performing at a very high level… so, you want no tonal adjustment… just the sound of the components coming through). So, dedicating cabling as being Transparent of what ever tier is appropriate makes one’s life much easier and will give reliably outstanding results.

 

As one moves up from midfi to budget high end to high end component Cardas is probably the best choice ( they are warm, warmes in the lowest tier and most transparent at the highest level). For very high quality system Transparent can be the best choice. Then when over $50K per component (my components are not in this category) very careful comparison between Transparent and Nordost should be made… their top level are simply breathtaking.

johnnyotto
22 posts
 

Whenever I upgrade cables I always buy cables that are a bit of a stretch to what I can afford and better than my current components might indicate, so I’m always moving towards "better". I get the benefit of better sound immediately and I’m also future proofing my cables for later when I get better components.

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