Cables, a case history of an Agnostic


I have been reluctant to post any information regarding cables for two reasons. First, I only became serious about trying various different power, speaker and interconnect wires about nine months ago. I felt that most of you knew so much more, and I did not want to sound stupid. Second, I was hearing very little if any significant differences. After a number of purchases, I realized what had happened! You guys were all on this site for a big scam just to separate ME from my money!
Well that was quite a shock, knowing there were so many of you out there spending all your free time making up stuff just to get me.
But, a mere $30,000 worth of shrink fees took care of that. I now understand we are all Bozos on this bus.
For those of you still with me here, this is what happened. I have an "office" system where I do most of my listening. At the moment it consists of B&W N speakers on stands filled with shot, a Cary SLI80 integrated amp, a Cary CD303, and a Sonic Frontiers CD1 (why? because I can't make myself sell one.) I tried various cables over the past months. Listed below are most of them.
SPEAKER: Audio Quest Granite, Analysis Plus Oval-9, Tara Labs 1800, Nordost Blue Heaven (thanks to the Cable Co. for lending me these 4 sets) Cardas Golden Cross, Canare 11gauge self-terminated with WBT and Monster something....all were biwire configuration.
INTERCONNECTS: Steath (blue), Monster middle of the line something, Homegrown Audio Super Silver and Silver Lace, Cardas Golden Cross, Nordost Red Dawn, and one or two others in the same league.
POWER CABLES: Tried several under $80 and settled on BMI Elite. Can't explain why.... more expensive,need to see the shrink again........
If one or two of you are still reading this drivel, there is a point to all this. Last week I had a long talk with Joe at JC Audio. I was looking for a deal on Audio Tekne speaker cables. He had sold them, so naturally he tried to sell me something else. Uhoh, the conspiracy theory is creeping back......Ok, I'm back. Thank God for prozac.
Anyhow, Joe recommended I try this combination by Ensemble: Megaflux FSF speaker cable and Dynaflux FSF RCA ICs. I demanded a money back guarantee, he decided I was crazy, but took a chance and sent them to me after breaking them in on some special new break-in machine. They arrived on Friday.. Two days later I stand here bleary eyed and can honestly say...
I AM A BELIEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cables can make a difference. No more shrinks. I have seen the light. Thank you Joe and Ensemble.
Ag insider logo xs@2xsnooker14
I've tried two burners. One did nothing as far as i could tell and the other made a very noticeable difference. The "good one" was a Mobie. While i know that Music Direct sells them, i think that Bob Bundus was able to find a better deal on the one that he just bought. If he doesn't catch this thread, i'll ask him for the specifics. Sean
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Redkiwi: Your responses confused me 'cause I can't remember if I got cut in, or did not get cut in, or just plain had a bad dream, or what. But I'll keep up the good work. I know Joe did mention a Nordost burner, but there was another one too .... More will be revealed tomorrow.
Someone on another recent thread mentioned the difference between being addicted to audio and being addicted to life and death type substances like alcohol, drugs, cigs, etc. I have been in the hell that surrounds both, and I have returned to tell you this. Compared to the hell of the latter, the former is heaven.
Drubin, there is a guy name of Scott, member name 'disco' that has a cable burner that he uses for selling cables. I have seen said burner with my own two eyes. It is very cool looking and he swears it works like a champ. Just email him and he can probably get you one at a real competitive price. If not, he is very cool and will tell you where he got his.
Thanks. Scott uses the Audiodharma Cable Cooker, which costs $649 (!!!). But, unlike the MOBIE, it does everything: RCA and XLR ICs, digital cables (RCA, BNC), speaker cables, and power cords Anybody in the SF Bay Area (a BAAS member would be good) interested in going in together on one of these pups? Just a thought. ---dan
As promised, I talked to Joe and it looks like the new cooker he used may be the same as the one mentioned by Drubin. here is the info he gave me. The Cable Cooker by Audioexcellenceaz in Arizona. Phone 602-277-0799. WEB site is here on A-gon in Manufacturer links. List was about $750 and there is a newer Pro version on the way.... In case anyone is interested.