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

Fairy dust, Diminishing returns Placebo sucks rendering the only wow factor being the ability to return product wearing that brown paper bag. 

kind of like all that noise out of say a 455 HO V8 compared to a modern twin turbo V6 with electric boost?  Just :)

Yeah, it is sort of crazy what they can get out of an engine these days.  I just bought a new vehicle with a V6 (non-electric) that has higher HP than the very cool 455HO V8, and many other hot engines from back in the day.

I have no idea what that has to do with cables except that vehicles cost more these days.

@skinzy that’s because Audioquest cables in general aren’t all that in my experience. I had their Thunder, Tornado and Hurricane PCs and didn’t like them in a long run. I do like their Diamond USB cable though.

Better value and performance can be obtained from Audience, Nordost and Acoustic Zen to name a few.

@audphile1 Would agree with Acoustic Zen recommendation.  I've been using their Absolute Speaker Cable for years now and very happy.  It's an old design that was done right.