Tone arm cable for SME V

Mgottlieb, you mentioned that the Purist Dominus phono cable "isn't even all that horribly expensive." The Cable Company is showing a retail price for a one-meter cable as $5,830 (!). Is this an accurate price?

Bob, I don't know the MSRP for a Dominus phono, a Venustas is $1800. However they are both available new for the following prices:

Venustas-$1150.00
Dominus w/Ferox-$3300.00

I'm using a Venustas with my SME V / Tranny W, and the sound is quite spectacular. I'd like to hear a Dominus just to see what (if anything) I'm missing, but up til now, the Venustas is the best I've ever heard.

Dear Barolo: Almost all cable manufacturers can give you the right-angle that you are looking for.

I agree totally with what 76doublebass already post.
You don't have to put several KK dollars for a stellar cable performance, there are many great cables for a low price, between them: Harmonic Technologies, Analysis Plus, XLO, Kimber KCAG.
I own all of them ( silver ones ) and in the past I try severals top dollars cables ( including Purist Design, Nordost, Siltech, etc... ). Those ones outperforms the top dollars cables.

Be careful when you make your phono cable choice.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Barolo: A little mistake: the XLO is a cooper material cable.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Many cables require a break in period of several hundred hours. Translating that into hundreds (perhaps, even more than 1000)of LP sides and accompanying stylus wear before full break-in should serve to strike dread into the hearts of anyone considering new cables between the tonearm and step-up or preamp. Add to this a right angle mini DIN plug and the fact that many cables, such as Cardas, maintain that the signal flow during break-in establishes the directionality of the cable, and you realize that you can't just plug the RCA end into a tuner or infinitely repeating CD player and go about your business while the cable breaks in.

Cardas sells a male mini DIN plug for $6.00 that can be soldered to appropriate L-R wires of the cheapest RCA cable you can find. After completion of the soldering and wrapping of the connections (shrink wrapping or electrical tape will do just fine)plug the the RCA to male DIN to tonearm DIN cable end of this wondrous new appliance into a tuner, probably best with the gain set relatively low, or CD player with some sort of magical break in sweeps* or other with the RCA end of the tone arm cable into a high level preamp input. Listen to make sure that both channels work, and make sure that it's the tone arm cable RCA end that goes into the pre so that directionality is correct.

Once sufficient time has elapsed, disconnect the tone arm cable from the wondrous appliance, plug into arm, and see how it sounds.

Why Cardas and others who sell tonearm cables with mini DIN plugs needing extended directional break in don't include this cheap and easy accessory as part of their megabuck cables is beyond me. Cardas told me they have made these for a few customers who also apparently did not delight in the prospect of listening to each nuance of change during the break in**, but shelved an idea to market them. I mention Cardas only because I went through this after purchasing a set of Golden Reference for my SME and had to talk to them about this. No one else selling to this sector of the market offers these break in cables. I checked. I may market mine for a mere $300.
Footnotes:
*Our crack research team charges more for this disc of carefully, extensively, and expensively researched electronic tones than one of interesting original music made by real live musicians who are trying to make a living.
**You know who you are.