Cable vs. Electronics: biggest bang for the buck

Being serious, I need help with the finishing touches of my system. My little Swans should be back from MODWRIGHT next week and I have some serious speaker and power cable issues.

Dan has done an *impressive* modification including 4 Bybee filters, Auricaps, Deflex panels, Jena Labs deep immersion cryo treatment of the four crossover boards and their speaker wire used for internal wiring. Dan says they will "blow me away".

My weak points will be speaker wire and power cords from my 220V ONEAC iso trans to my Tice A/V Solo and PS Audio Juice Bar, as well as all the smaller iso trans I have floating around. I need to find a reasonably priced alternative for my nomadic lifestyle. Also, right now I'm using a mixture of CAT5 and 18 ga Carol silver plated copper wire from The Home Depot. Deano auditioned my system in Chicago and liked the speaker wire--but I moved again.

I e-mailed Bob Bundus the details of what I'm thinking, since he was already informed of my progress as I went along, but I'll appreciate any feedback.

I live in a small 1 bedroom apt. Please realize I'm aiming at a near field system capable of successfully playing any recording of any type of music regardless of recording quality...

Albertporter/Nrchy -

If you will allow me to wipe egg off face, I will admit that I was a bit overly enthusiastic. I do not expect anyone to be swayed by my opinion, after all I build cables as a passion and a business.

On the other hand, CD's do not "throw away" information intentionally, as MP3 and other lossy algorithms do. They just suffer from a slightly lower sampling rate than desirable. This is fixed incidently by DVD-A, which is completely lossless and very high sampling rate. The only problem with DVD-A is the absence of content, but that will hopefully improve over time.

WOW... Gone a few days and look at the action! Ah.. it looks as if most of you have started to realize something...

Albertporter! Outstanding response on 09-15-02! That made my day. :) Pure class and well written indeed. Touche'

Hshapiro: my 1m Kondo KSL is a doubled version of AN-Vz. AN-Vz is made of "four wires" and KSL-LP is eight. Similarly, Nordost Valhalla interconnects are rumored to be a double run of Quattro Fil.

Even though the Kondo stuff is expensive, my cables do not cost $19K. They're much less expensive. That person in the quote you made must have been using a 2 meter length. :) Seriously... I think with the Yen/Dollar conversion Kondo KSL is now retailing at $3500 but the US distributor has been selling for $1800 new.

A few years ago however I read stories of AN-Vz being sold in the US for nearly $22K for a 1m length - while in Japan it was only $5K. Weird stuff. Can't explain it.

I've never read of anyone who could bag on Kondo's cables for issues other than price.

Psychicanimal did you get your speakers back yet? What do you think of the mods and the filters? I have been considering the filters since TWL recommended them a few months ago. I'm curious about the results.