A New Believer


I have listened to many systems over the years, and have never appreciated the difference speaker cables can make to a sound. In fact, I was so skeptical of the sound changes they can make that I have always not bothered with any special type of cables, generally going for generic (and dare I say it) roughly made ANY copper wire plugged in to amp and speaker. Well, imagine my surprise when I decided to do a blind test and listen to what difference cabling can make. Wow, my Vand 3A Sig's had been getting strangled! (some of you guys may want to strangle me if I told you what connects I had been using). So I am now a firm believer, cables DO make a difference.
joshc
To be a believer you must have 'faith', to which proof is not available. To those who believe, no explanation is possible, or necessary.
Buconero117
Can I get an amen?

Talk is cheap. Rather than state that speaker cables are all the same or vastly different, why not actually try them? I used to be of the belief that the idea of differences in speaker cables, power cords and interconnects was snake oil.

However, there was a simple way to prove it. I contacted at least 9 different companies and they were willing to let me audition their respective cables in my home for 30 days. The only downside is that I had to pay shipping.

After experimenting with Wireworld, Straight Wire, Transparent, Home Grown, Signal Cable, MIT, Cardas, Acoustic Zen and Nordost I came to the conclusion that Wireworld Silver Eclipse was my personal favorite.

Does this mean that this particular cable is the end all be all? No, not at all. As they say - De gustibus non est disputandum. If you don't mind driving yourself insane and paying for shipping, I would bet that you would find that cables do indeed sound different. Is it worth the hours of changing out cables and spending time sampling and listening? Some people will love it and some people will dislike it.

The only downside is that after you select your favorite cable, it costs a pretty penny to purchase them for your system. Is it worth it? I believe it is. I feel a synergy to my system with all matching cables from one manufacturer. Am I crazy? Perhaps.

I would suggest, try it yourself and let your ears decide.
I believe there is a difference; it can be heard very easily by even the most untrained ear.

However, I also believe there is only a very tiny positive correlation between what a person finds most pleasing and price paid.

IMO
Not to mention, if you buy used, the cost of even "expensive" cables, ends up being quite small after you sell.
Certainly stirred up a hornets nest with that one!
Just to clarify, it was only the speaker cables that I changed, and the removed cables were very cheap (and nasty..). The cables I moved to were not uber-expensive, but the sound difference was real. Mceljo made a comment "were they junk ..." and yep - I'd agree the old ones were. Still, as a skeptic, I believed all cables send a signal, and can all do so effectively (a long as the guage is suitable) and any differences in sound between them were 'make believe'. Not true. I'm not even going to comment on my belief about i/c's and power cables...maybe one day I'll explore that too.