Interconnects:Dazed and Confused

The law of diminishing returns applies to interconnects and cable. Cost no object cables may or may not work pure magic for someone in their specific system, but there are any number of cables in the $500-1,000 area that offer very high quality sound performance. Personally, I would recommend that anyone new to high end audio stay away from the mega-buck cables. They are icing on the cake for those who really know what they're doing.

Before you do anything, get acquainted with your new separates. REAL ACQUAINTED! Pick a moderately priced IC, that you've read some good press. Now moderation, of course, is a relative word, and can go as deep or shallow as your pocketbook will let you rationalize . Moderate to me is (now) $500. Use to be less, however. Listen to your tunes with this IC. See how you feel over the long haul. Then go from there. Used, always better than new as far as $$ go. If you're not happy you can sell it back for, usually, what you've paid, plus or minus. I would think that you would have some experience with ICs as far as your, present, source material is concerned. This is the beginning of the usual plethora of IC lingo and sugestions. Always trust your tympanics. I know it's difficult for a neophyte, because you, like all of us at one time, are/were insecure (distrusting of) about what you hear especially related to $$$.. Time/listening experience, will give you the security to make good, personal choices. Relax and enjoy your tunes. Make your changes slowly so you can fully appreciate which addition to your system is affecting the sound..... FWIW...much more to come from my fellow audiophools. peace, warren

Excellent advice from both of the prior posters. I'd just add that the more expensive interconnects in a company's line generally do less "damage" to a signal than the less expensive offerings, but will consequently be more revealing of flaws in source material and source components and may wind up less musically satisfying. I would never advise anyone to get interconnects that are vastly above the quality of the rest of their system for that reason--you should listen to music rather than what's wrong with your equipment or the recording. Start simple and moderate, get used to your components as Warren says, and then experiment if you really need to, but I think you'll find that well-designed, modestly priced cables will more than suffice.

Good advice from the "seasoned audiophiles" above. I would only add that as a neophyte, it is easy to confuse "different" as being "better". As such, the advice to become familiar with what is taking place is very important. Many folks mistake "highly coloured but exciting", "highly coloured but extremely detailed" or "highly coloured but very warm and smooth" as being "better" upon initial introduction. While cables of this nature can come in "handy" for specific situations, knowingly going into a specific colouration is a personal decision that should be made with all the variables considered. One component or cable change down the road could now make the "colourization" no longer such a good deal.

I would also encourage doing as much reading, learning and experimentation as you can regarding DIY ( Do It Yourself ) audio. A little research and elbow grease can pay off in big dividends with DIY, especially when it comes to cabling.

Having said all of that, buy and use what sounds good to you and helps you to enjoy your music and system. Having a bunch of fancy crap and big brand names is no good if you can't enjoy it. Having a "trophy" to show off and talk about is cool and all, but most of the time, all they do is collect dust and take up space. Since the mass majority of audio gear only goes down in value, taking such an approach is neither enjoyable nor monetarily wise. Sean
>