Imo, audiophile-grade equipment and decent source material need good cables to preserve the signal quality by adding as little distortion as possible. Unfortunately this doesn't usually doesn't come cheap, even with used cables. I find it hard to believe that anybody would claim they can't hear the difference between RadioShack wire and a decent set of cables, unless they've blown their ear drums and/or mind out...
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?
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- 329 posts total
- 329 posts total