2. cables
  3. 192296-1635

What % Of Your System Are Your Cables?

IMO, the “10% rule” for cable expenditure really should be stated as “when you’re building a new system and you have a limited budget, allocate 10% to cables” and I think this is a good idea. But again IMO, this is not necessarily the stopping point. I recently purchased some new cables and I was wondering, hopefully without getting into the cable debate, what percentage of your system do you have invested in cables?  No need to go into brands or actual cost, unless you want to. With my new purchase, I would say I’m around 25% depending on whether you count my analog rig as part of the system price, as I did not buy any new cables for the TT, because my TT has captive cables. Probably up to about 30% without the analog.  I understand the percentage numbers can be highly deceiving if you bought used. 25% used is probably about 50% of your system price if you bought new. Anyway, just curious to see what you’re doing with cables. Be well. 

chayro
squared80's avatar
squared80
120 posts
 

Just get the cheapest OFC cables you can find and they'll be objectively better than any boutique snake oil brands with their marketing markups. It should be a very, very small percent of your budget, and it shouldn't go up just because the price of your sound system has gone up.

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,514 posts
 

I have interconnect cables ranging from around 400 bucks to about 80 bucks. But the bottom line is, I used the cable that sounds right for the gear that I'm hooking to. It ads up but I slowly built my inventory over time so never had a huge outlay.

whoopycat
169 posts
 

In my main rig, about 5%.

In my bedroom rig about 33%, but In that system I spent a total of $220 combined on source and amp.

slaw's avatar
slaw
21,585 posts
 

I think cables become a necessary component when one finally discovers components that are satisfying. Then there’s an urge to possibly discover more.

I've lived with many different pieces that I felt could use some massaging.

Number one thing is to be sure of your listening space. If that is sorted, what a great opportunity to move forward.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,584 posts
 

These are numbers based on replacement value for all gear and wires.  I am including power distribution and conditioning in “cables” numerator.

Main system - hybrid home theater/two channel: 46% of system cost in cables.

Office system: 53% of system cost in cables.

I have purchased a lot of my gear used and assembled many of my own power cords, so these numbers reflect what I would have to pay retail to duplicate my current setups.  I am guessing many folks look at these percentages and say I am heavily “over cabled”, but I think it’s just right.  When I add new electronics, I can easily hear differences, if they exist, because my cable looms are reasonably capable.

kn

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