Interconnect cable upgrade disapointment

Sorry I missed that part on you having XLR Ics.

The cable burner idea is a good one, if you don’t mind the expense for something you only use once a year or so for a few days, maybe. It would be handy in any case though.

Of course there are adapters too which make XLR into RCA and cost around $8 a pair. Your XLRs could then be plugged into another setup easily.

The cables which I’ve seen requiring more time than others are those ‘brand new’ sorts. Other preowned cables only need time to be “re-loosened” up, as I call it. The significant time or the more important time is that period where the cable has to be attached to the two items it’ll hang out with until it’s replaced. I call it the “getting acquainted” period. That should not take more than a day and likely, less.

There are lots of pro XLR cables around really cheap. $20 per pair or so. Having a set of them around and exchanging them with your more expensive ones will no doubt prove some things to you as to cable performance. Same thing with RCA cables. Radio Shak has loads for way cheap. I suggest the Rat Shak as the build.connectors are usually a tad better than the ones supplied with mass fi items and again, should prove or disprove the aspect of cables performance, run in, etc.

My exp, and more importantly, my ears, have shown me there is something to the fact of run in times, getting accquaitned time, and one level of cabling over another. There are those who do not hear any substantive diffs. I wish I was in that camp, and RAT SHAK wires would be draped all over the rear of my rack instead of what’s hanging there now… and I’d enjoy the savings… trust me on that!!

To give some substance that differing cables, both brand and model do have differing
Characteristics, and therefore sounds, I thought I’d do an A – B test and see for myself, once and for all! I’ve never had items with remote control that could provide me such a testing base. It came to last night that I did, so my curiosity got the better of me and I did my test.

I hooked up two devices. A receiver and my DAC. The DAC has two sets of analog outputs. Once connected and a source selected, and with no changes anywhere else in the system, and setting the receiver to use no EQ or DSP effects for either selection, all I had to do to select either pair of ICs was to push a button on the remote.

All else in the signal path was exactly the same. Same amp, same speakers, same source. Only the two different pair of analog ICs were the difference.

The ics being A – B’d, were Nirvana SX Ltd., and HT Magic IIs. Clearly, unless someone is tone deaf, there were audible diffs, in tonality, and sound stage. More noticeable in the former than in the latter, yet in sound stage too there were changes.

Why?

Cables conduct signals. Electricity. The issues with conductance are simple…
impedance, capacitance, resistance, and inductance. EVERY cable has varying values of the aforementioned amounts.

I believe it is these values which aid or disparage the synergy of components. If it takes only a $10 pair of wires to do this for you, then that’s SUPER! If it takes $1000? Well that’s a drag by some accounts, and ridiculous by others’. I’m not real keen on the idea of spending loads on cables either, and won’t unless I hear what I want or desire from a cable as an improvement …. Not just different.

But there are diffs from one conductor to another. How much of that your gonna hear depends on your ears, the despairity of these amounts, and your rigs resolution.

To further prove that point, I’m very happy so far, with RAT Shak RCA cables for my DD 15 sub woofer use. I’m not happy with the power cord supplied with my subwoofer.
Changing only the power cord there is good enough for me. So perhaps there is another element in picking out conductors …. “what can you live with”?

I don’t hear the lower part of the bandwidth nearly as well as I do the rest of it. Under 50 hz gets real tough for me to discern, and certainly under 40 for sure. There all I need is impact so the signal cable I require doesn’t have to be as articulate. .. and consequently, it’s not expensive.

First impression is usually correct. If you don't notice immediate difference when you changed something, there probably was little or no change. If there is a slight change in nuance that can be noticed only with extended listening, then you'll need to decide whether the change is worth the cost of the new gear.

I have different philosophy with swapping cables than swapping components. Swapping cables is more like a tweak, or something fun you can do on the side. I would first start swapping cables with friends and establish a baseline as for what kind and how much change can be expected. Going to different brands is usually more noticeable even at the same price range. Change in the speaker cables is usually more noticeable than change in interconnects. If you are rather skeptical or don't find the whole process fun, I would recommend saving money and upgrade other components instead.

Whatever you paid for the cables seems to me to just be tuition for a good lesson - that if the people posting who have scientific backgrounds point to the lack of proof of any meaningful gain from a product, and if the only place that does point to a meaninful gain are the manufacturers - while the non audiophile community pretty much looks at the justification as on par with aliens, ufo's, and the Yeti (which they do) then there may be more to that viewpoint than to the "it just sounds better" viewpoint of those who are selling the product or who are trying to justify their purchases to themselves.

It should just be common sense that the 'break in' for cables is just more of the same, kind of like warming up the ouiji board for better spirit contact because it takes time, depending on atmospheric conditions, to form the invisible ectoplasm pathway. Of course, the tuition has only been well spent if the lesson has been learned.

I reciently put in a set of tara labs rsc2 interconnects between my cdp and my preamp. i had some htp pro xlo wires in the same place before. I was a bit upset when i didnt hear much of a difference. so i thouht i will just put the xlo cables back in and sell the tara labs ic . Guess what happened. I put the old ones back in and it sounded awefull. i stuffed the tara labs back in and had the quality sound back. It was night and day. Some times i believe you should go the opposite direction to really feel a difference. try that a nd see what happens. kevin

Musicnoise, I'll be eager to read the results of your blind testing on your speaker isolation bases you plan on building (I'm sure you'll be posting it here)!

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1221925281

Seems any of us can be a bit inconsistent; after all, what evidence scientifically do you have that your home made isolation devices would result in improved sound over speaker spikes (In fact, I don't recall seeing much of ANY scientific studies on the efficacy of speaker stands)? Maybe you'd better start ripping on the speaker stand makers while you're at it. They're probably a bunch of crooks too. Maybe those sound isolation devices, and room tuning panel guys as well...

I'm thinking you'd have a really tough time distinguishing between the sound of your speakers in blind tests if they were set on spikes, carpeting or your supports. But, hey, if you believe your spring box device will work, GO for it!

You'd better watch that you get the absolutely correct rubber and wood; we wouldn't want a botched job due to poor materials!

It seems we all have our prejudices based on presumption. You presume cables cannot have efficacy, but that rubber and wood boxes do. And it's all happening in your head. Amazing what we can believe! :)

We don't really care to entertain any reports from you about improvements on the sound of your speaker springy things, or whatever you want to call them. We want real science. Your anecdotal report would be more akin to support for Yeti or UFOs! Really, I didn't think you were such an anti-scientific guy.

Sorry if I've been a bit sarcastic; couldn't help it. You're just a bit over-aggressive in this matter and someone has to call you on it!

Flyin2jz, it's amazing isn't it when you actually do the comparisons and hear it. No major scientific tests needed. The ears can tell quite easily the improvement. Yea, even "night and day."

One thing that is becoming clear to me through online discussions is that virtually no one has actually conducted comparisons between suites of cables. It seems that typically one cable is changed, one power cord, etc. No wonder so many give up or conclude cables have no effect. Between so-so systems, hearing problems, playing solely in the lower price brackets and similar constraints it's falling into place why people reach the wrong conclusions. Not to mention stubborn refusal to try based on distrust.

Now, I'll be very sincere. Musicnoise, I believe your home made box WILL work; it will make a discernible change in the sound. I do not think it is a foolish idea; however I do believe you should incorporate spikes with it for the ultimate isolation effect. I sincerely hope you will enjoy the difference, and I believe that you will hear it. Unless you will conduct actual blind tests, all you will have to show for it is the same anecdotal evidence persons like myself offer, which you have been mocking.

So, trust me, saying that cables make a difference isn't nearly as crazy as you think. Soon you may be joining us, albeit from the isolation device perspective.