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Interconnects:Dazed and Confused

I am fairly new to the high end audio world. I am switching from an integrated amp to separates, so I am in the market for new interconnects. I have been reading reviews by professionals, and cable threads on audiogon and audio asylum.
I would appreciate some comments from those more experienced than I.
I read reviews and comments about IC’s that cost under $900 made by Shunyata, Luminous, TG Audio and others and people rave about them. I then read about IC’s that cost between $3,000-$10,000 made by Nordost, Jena Labs and others and people rave about them.
I have not had the pleasure of auditioning a $5,000 IC. I am wondering if the people who rave about the less expensive IC’s got a chance to try several of the high price models would they be willing to go back to their lower priced cables if cost were no object; or would they hear such a difference that they could never go back?
I know everything is system dependent, but I guess I am wondering if a $500 interconnect could be just as satisfying as a $5,000 one. Does a great review for a $500 IC mean for this money this is great or does it mean I don’t want a Jena Labs Pathfinder ($6,000) this is it as far as sound is concerned?
Thanks for your thoughts
graub
dalekroberts
24 posts
 
If your separates are new you'll want to make sure they are thoroughly burned in before you evaluate ICs. This usually takes more than 100 hours. Depending on usage, it can takes months. Of course leaving your system on continuously will shorten the time frame considerably.
sonic_genius
528 posts
 
Sorry Bob. Your prices are so good I forgot about that. :)
rcrump
427 posts
 
No problem whatsoever Sonic Genius! I don't advertise which essentially cuts my pricing in half from those that advertise. I built up my dealer base over twenty years and most manufacturers don't have time for that and either go with a web retailer, like Cable Company, Galen Carol or others, or go direct......I like little retailers who normally specialize in tubes and analog and offer decent advice and service. Set-up is so important and advice over the internet is normally flawed that it takes a decent retailer spending time getting things right at the customer's house to get the most out of a system. Guess I'm old fashioned, but like to see my retailers do more than sell boxes.....
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Bob's right. It's a challenge to help customers over the internet. You never know what level of sound quality they are really at. They may be at level 5 and you are at level 10. Or you both may be at level 10... Sending out demo units helps.

It would be great to have some hard metrics for comparison, like for instance the clock alarm sequence in Dark Side of the Moon. With my system, I can tell how large the room was that the clocks were in and which clock is mounted on which of the three walls of the room. Most people are shocked when I say this. I have not found a customer that has this type of resolution yet.
rcrump
427 posts
 
Dark Side is child's play......Go get "After the Dance" by Bert Jansch and John Renbourn on Shanachie label (99006) and note the dog barking in the other end of the house from the recording venue. This was recorded on tracks 4, 12 & 15......On track 4, Goodbye Porkpie Hat, there is a doorbell at 1:57 into the cut and the dog goes to the door and at 2:11-2:25 and there is commotion with the dog coming from likely fifty feet away at the front door through good English lath and plaster.....Most systems will not reproduce much of this and doubt the mastering folks even heard it or they would have done a retake.....Track 12 has two dog barks and track 15 has three and suggest Q-Tips before listening to these tracks....Oh, the CD has better dog barks and the analog has a better door bell if one could find the vinyl......Great test of low level resolution on any system.....If everything is working then sounds like the dog is next door outside the listening room on track 4..........Tracks 12 and 15 are very subtle BTW......
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