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Cable Costs Relative to System

Since making a spread sheet with my audio system prices, I have been thinking(shocked) about my total investment in cables. My total system retails at $67,000 (Digital and analog front ends included). I purchased all of it here on Audiogon so my investment is about 50%. Of that I have about 10% invested in interconnects and cables and another 10% in Power Cables (Shunyata Hydra included). That's $13,000 worth of wire. I'm starting to question whether it might be more effective to put some of this budget into acitve components. It would take forever to listen to all possible combinations, but would like to hear others experiences with relatively high end systems and cable selection. It would seem to me that the point of diminishing returns would be reached sooner with cables than with speakers and amps. Do most of you follow the 10% "rule" for cabling? How do PCs fit into this rule? Are there any super bargain cables capable of keeping up with highly resolving electronics?
metaphysics
baam23f
32 posts
 
thank you for the invitation, I would have liked it very much, but I am on the opposite side of the country. What can i say again? My system is pretty good overall (30k).. When it came down to cables I never heard any difference. Please note that I am not opening an argument here, I just wanted to post my opinion based on my own experience.
Best regards,
rugyboogie
199 posts
 
Baam23f
Sorry to hear that you are so far away. We would have had lots of fun. If you every travel this way the offer stands, my doors are open.
Take care,
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Cable differences should be fairly easy to hear on a 30K system...unless you truly can't hear it, in which case you shouldn't be able to hear the difference between the 30K system and pair of JBL's and a reciever. Given that, I would cash in the system and get something cheaper. That said, you can have great cables for less than the mega buck stuff many of us have.....the not hearing ANY differences is a concern however. Maybe a hearing test would be a good investment. Or did you hear SOME differences but not enough to justify the price ?differences?
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
a difference that makes no difference is no difference.

if you hear a difference between two components, but you are indifferent to replacing one component with the other, the perceived difference is inconsequential.

it may not be a question of price justifying the difference but rather, "the difference is insignificant".

my point is that for some, an insignificant difference is no difference.
palerider
46 posts
 
Baam23f
"Ok, cables do sound different to you, how come no one talks aout written proof and measurements? In my system expensive transparent cables were compared to off the shelves once. To me they sounded the same and measured the same."

Well, they could be identical, many audiocables do the same things wrong. But what did you meashure? Many audiophils belive in the holy frequenze-response, but without too much knowing what it really represents.
If you meashure a speakers on-axis response it only tells you the speakers total acoustic energy, not anything about the quality or dynamic contrast and so on. It might be flat, but that does not mean that it sounds good.
A waterfall will clear up a few things, but the biggest cable-differences will be seen in a pulse/step meashuring.
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