Dont laugh


I have a respectable system and have been using several different balanced IC's in the $500+ range, but I was getting a small bit of noise, so I borrowed a 10 foot Stagg mic cable from the local guitar store, just to see if the the issue was in the cable or in my equipment. With the mic cable the noise went completely away. But I could not believe the improvement in sound. The highs more natural and the low and mid bass more weighty and articulate. So I ordered Stagg's one meter mic cable XMC1XX which they list as their audiophile grade with Neutrik connectors at a cost of $30 a piece. I put them in and crossed my fingers. What I heard was wonderful. I listened at high volume for three hours last night with no fatigue, yet all the detail and sparkle was there. Best I can tell from the diagram on the package the IC uses OFCopper, surrounded by air tubes, wrapped in a copper shielding. Give them a try against your best and see what you think. By coincidence this week Jim Smith of Get Better Sound mentioned using mic cable that he liked better than a $10,000 IC that he had.
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Anybody that would laugh at getting better sound for less money is a snobbish audio-fool. Kudos to you for experimenting and saving yourself some cash.
I am not surprised at all. After spending a fortune over 30 some years in this hobby, one thing I learn is that I don't have to spend a lot of money to get great sound and more expensive doesn't mean better.
Sounds like your original cable was broken. I never laugh at passionate audiophiles, but I do laugh every time I pickup Jim's book.
Yes, looks like the cable which produced noise is in need of better shielding at minimum and perhaps this was over-saturating the mids and lows. But I also have had other balanced IC's in the system that sounded no better than the Stagg at much higher prices. My plan now is to give the Stagg another few weeks, then pull them out and see if anything is undesirable about them compared to other cables that I have. So in effect they will be my new reference with which to compare pricier cables before purchase. This should keep me grounded about wire.