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Need advice on interconnects: make a difference?

I am new to high end audio, although I think I have a good ear overall. My equipment is: Audio Physic Yara speakers, Plinius 8200 MkII, Arcam FMJ CD23, Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cable, Vampire Wire Silver series interconnects. Given that this is my first experience with high end audio, I am very happy with the sound. I listen to pretty much all kinds of music except heavy metal or thumping rock.

Going by all the glowing reviews of various interconnects in the market, I came to the conclusion that I could get better sound by upgrading my interconnects. I am currently auditioning the following: Siltech SQ 28 (silver) and Analysis Plus Silver Oval. I have only spent a few hours listening to them but I have found VIRTUALLY NO DIFFERENCE between either of them. May be slightly better clarity with the Siltech and AP but one has to listen very hard to notice.

Given all the rave reviews, this just doesn't add up. Do you guys really find a difference? Have my ears just reached their resolution capacity? Or perhaps have I just hit a home run with the cheap ($80 for 0.5m) Vampire Wire cables?

Any advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
rkrishnan
inna
7,296 posts
 
Why not try very different cables,say,Purist Audio(any) or NBS? Your Arcam player should react to this.
wally_li
24 posts
 
Not until all the cables are in the same level, the weakest link can bottleneck the performance. I've similiar experience in telling the different between VDH Integration and Siltech 80B before. When I am able to upgrade all my cables and compare the 2 cables again, the different is huge! As I can tell the different, my $$$ has gone :(
morasp
48 posts
 
I am currently trying new interconnects and was about to reach the same conclusion. The manufacturer was kind of light on burn-in recommendation so I didn't worry about it too much along the way not being that impressed with the cable. Yesterday I decided to break them in right and dug out my XLO test CD and purist audio break in CD. after using each of them all day yesterday I listened last night to an acoustical wyndham hills CD and couldn't believe what I was hearing. There were sounds that I didn't know were on the CD. The soundstage went from distant to immersive. In my head I move from instrument to instrument without losing focus. It was definitely a night and day experience. If you don't have a burn in CD music direct has a new one from Ayre for $20 that might be pretty good.
phild
603 posts
 
I am not familiar with the quality of most of your components (though I am familiar with the brands), but I think your system would be capable of letting you hear the differences.

This is my theory...Vampire is a major wholesale source of bulk wire. They actually supply the wire to many of the smaller cable companies. The other wires you tried may have actually purchased their bulk wire from Vampire, so that means the only difference would be in the terminations and connectors. Your ears may be telling you the truth.

You may want to experiment with a copper interconnect to hear a more drastic difference.
musicslug
430 posts
 
Be careful - cables have been called 'tone controls' by some; perceived differences aren't necessarily improvements. There is definitely a big difference between silver and copper. I'd do a comparison between those first to see if you have a preference (silver = delicate, detailed, balanced. copper = impact, power IMO) before going further. Most important: trust your ears! If you don't love the change don't buy it. One thing your post didn't mention is AC conditioning. I've found that digital really benefits from it... If you can audition one of those PS Audio powerplants, I'd try that before getting too heavy into the interconnect game.
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