??? Full Loom vs Mix ???

• My experience: Mix or full loom? It depends entirely on the bespoke audio performance characteristics of your current (emphasis added); audio system .

In a prior system, I started with an ad hoc cables mix driven primarily by the alchemy of availability, budget, and reviews. That predicated a lengthy continuing and never complete trek searching for an ethereal end point. Kind of yeah….fine but still a head scratcher.

After a lengthy experimentation with many contenders and pretenders, I upgraded from a mix mosaic to a full loom of NORDOST FREY. In my system BACK THEN (a fine but important distinction…) there was an immediate and pleasing audio performance improvement that was clear and unambiguous .. Fine .,,, for a while.

When I changed to new HARBETH speakers and moved the entire rig to a new room, the all NORDOST array was now anything but optimal : brittle, harsh, more bright and edgy …. fill in your own description. Go figger ..So the new cables search was restarted again.

After auditions and guidance provided by my both local dealers and discussions with CARDAS CABLES itself, I took a bold leap of faith and upgraded to an all CARDAS CLEAR array. For me in my system: yep …. an immediate audio improvement and system synergy uptick that was not subtle, and the ”edginess” and like warts were thankfully eliminated.

TAKEAWAY:It is quite simple:

- it depends entirely on your bespoke system and bespoke listening arena ….full stop.
- There is no silver bullet one size fits all magic solution .

- Mix or full loom array .,,,, you-wont have a clue until you actually do your direct hands on experimentation and audition.

- This is an experimentation journey and no easy destination. For like reasons, it’s also a misguided fallacy to automatically assume that a full array / loom approach is an assurance to the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ.

I have a few different mfg cables but I have been leaning toward DH Labs. I think they offer a good cable for the money.  

I have a pair of AQ Water (pre to amp ) that I picked up because they were only $200 on CL , a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven ( Phono stage)  ,  

My DAC uses DH Labs  Mirage USB , D750 digital ,  Air Matrix Cryo.   They usually have a monthly 20% off sale on a category.   

I have a mix of quality cables most of which I have found used for about 50% of retail. I have bought some new but never at suggested retail prices. I have a mix of Jorma, Acoustic Zen, Shunyata, Nordost, Zavfino, Silversmith Fidelium. SOtm, DR Acoustics. No rhyme or reason as to a procedure, but if I see a good deal on a cable I try it. At times I have used something I thought was a downgrade, but most times after swapping a cable that was worth $500 for something that retailed for $1000 it sounded better. And swapping out a $1000 cable for a $2500 cable was also an improvement. Go figure. I will add my Silversmith Fidelium's replaced a speaker cable that retails for 3 times what they did, so it not always the higher priced items win. I am happy with the sound of the system but I will probably always tweak away with different cables to see how the sound gets "tweaked". Like experienced audiophiles stated above, you don't have a clue until you try it yourself. 

Don't know what a full loom sounds like. Maybe I will try a full-loom of something someday, but for an example the Tyr2 XLR I bought that I do think sounds wonderful between my DAC and pre amp, if I were to pop down to the dealer and "full loom" my system with this cable here is what it would cost me in Canadian retail prices:

Nordost Tyr2 2m speaker cable: $9965

Nordost Tyr2 1m XLR: $3959 x 3 = $11877

Nordost Tyr2 digital: $2300

Nordost Heimdall ethernet (no Tyr2): $990

Nordost Tyr2 1m Power Cord: $4421 x 5 = $22105

So I would walk into a dealer and hand him a grand total of $47237 plus taxes of $5668 = $52905? 

I can't do this. And if I could I wouldn't want to. 

But also waiting until I find all the pieces above at a used price could take years. Also I love what my Shunyata Sigma V2 power cable did in my system, so maybe I will go all Shunyata? Choices choices. 

I’ll add it does make sense to me that a manufacturer suggests to use a full loom of their product. We bought their cable, we think it sounds great, someone there or a team of people must have good ears to be able to voice this cable to sound this good, right? so we should take their advice and trust them that the other cables "match" and have "synergy" with the rest of the system, right? Seems logical. But again this is in the particular system they tested their cables with, and someone else has different speakers, amplifier, and source and may have completely different results.

What makes just as much sense is what the designer of the 300b tube amplifier I just bought said: "I recommend you use my cables because it is the same wire that is inside the amplifier".

Although a full loom can be nice (sometimes), if you really know what you are doing you can create a mix that is to your personal liking. I have found and others have said its a matter of trial and error, and what sounds good in one persons system doesn't necessarily mean it will sound good in your system.