If I can afford one good cable, which component?

The single most cost effective improvement I've ever made was the addition of a good power conditioner. But Elizabeth is right about there being so many variables and we don't even know what your budget is. I concur with the Venom 3 recommendation because I think it's the best $90 power cable you can buy.

One bit of advice if you experiment with PC's: Try to get loaners that are burnt in for you. (100 hours or more) Then, let the cables run for a day on a component before you switch....quick switching is misleading and can lead to severe audio nervosa. ;-)

 
A new feature at The AudioBeat speaks to this and other cabling issues:"Front-end first".
 

Jtimothya,

Thanks for posting this article! Very well put together and highly accurate.

I am a believer that cables do make a difference but in that attachment it states that using all cables from the same mfg and family will make a huge improvement. Their quote: "Result? You’ll hear a huge improvement in overall musical coherence, rhythmic integrity, intelligibility and musical drama." Really?

This was my original goal when starting but didn't happen. I started with upgrading all of my power cords. I use Synergistic Research on amp, pre-pro and CD player. Like them very much but for me I decided the additional wart power supply was a hassle. I don't have room/plug-ins for all of this when you account for ICs and speaker cables and all other cables behind my rack. SR are/only as my power cords.

I ended up with wonderful Kimber Select XLRs for my amp to pre/pro. I have Auqioquest Comet speaker cables coming for an audition and then will try some others as well and I still would like to upgrade my IC from CD to pre/pro. If I decide to go Audioquest speaker cables perhaps I will stay with the Audioquest for CDP.

So: Synergistic Research Power Cords
Kimber Cable Select XLRs (amp to pre)
Audioquest Comet speaker cables (potentially)
Audioquest IC CDP to pre (potentially Niagra if Comet works out)

So it looks like I have made a mess according to the article and these outstanding cables I am working on will not gel as well as if I went went one brand/family.

Interesting and not sure I am on-board with that yet based on the comment from the article but do understand what they are saying to an extent (without going over the top).

Rick

Dynguy,

Your system is FAR from a mess! But what you've done takes considerable trial and error. I think * beginnng* with one manufacturer is a wise idea and to then adjust from there if one's ears tell one to. I think people get into trouble ( less than ideal results) when they start out with four different brands and then randomly switch out cords in an effort to fix what isn't working. Just my couple of Euros ( which are worth less each day)