I recently upgraded my family room system (Ayre AX-5 “Teenty” integrated amp, Aurender A30 Streamer, Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution & REL S/2) with AudioQuest Thunderbird interconnects, Nordost Frey 2 & Tyr 2 power cables and Frey 2 Speaker cables. Major improvements in clarity, / resolution, singing and soundstage. My wife also noticed the improvements. I love the music even more post cable upgrades. No need to upgrade any components.
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?
- ...
- 113 posts total
@serblinfan good thread. Yes, excellent cables can generally help any system, and I generally error on the higher percentage of system investment in cables. ALSO, my experience with gear several rungs down from your kit is that there is a big difference between sound of different digital cables, and that you will do yourself a disservice if you do not try several different cable brands and designs in your system in your listening room to see which works best for you. I did somewhat exhaustive test of digital coax cables with an earlier permutation of my main system and the results were that I ended up buying a coax cable that in its current iteration retails for more than half the list cost of my streamer and DAC combined, with zero regrets. if interested, you can read about my experience in this thread. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/yes-digital-cables-matter-too kn |
@knownothing Thank you for your interesting post. By the way, anyone has tried the Hijiri Million digital cable? I can see some conflicting opinions on forums, mostly very positive. Some warn it’s not the best cable for a system on the neutral/cool side. I wonder how it would sound in my system. Expensive, but still cheaper than top cables from brands such as Transparent or Siltech. |
- 113 posts total