Advice on reasonably priced balanced cables ?

Jpgsf -

You will get alot of attention here, as cables, like speakers, are much a matter of taste, or so I am told...............................................................................................................

I am tried several and have fallen into the PS Audio line, their Extreme Statement balanced cable. It has sonic characteristics (or lacks them, some may say) that suite my room, ear, equipment, and price point. Not to mention, when replaced with some other more expensive cabling, in my room, with my gear to my ears, there was no difference that warranted the extra expense.

The Extreme Statements can be had on the preowned market (a GREAT place for cabling - burned in, half OR LESS than retail...) for about $150 for a 1M pair.

Dan

I believe that buying used is generally preferable, mostly because you want interconnects or speaker cables that have a lot of hours on them and are thus fully broken-in. Stated another way, most copper cables require 100-200 hours of break-in to really start to open up, and cables with silver conductors can take forever to break-in. Thus, buying used can get you around the painful break-in process and gets you a cable with hours on it (the rule is, the more hours, the merrier). Of course, you have to hope that sellers know and will be candid with you regarding how many hours are on the cables, and frequently, they are not, because they think that labeling a cable as "new" or "low hours" will increase opportunities for sales (it does, to those who do not know any better).

Exceptions to this general rule may include flat cables like Nordost and Goertz, which are in my experience prone to getting damaged over time because of their flat design (but if the pair is mint, no problem).

As for brands, you need to find out what works best with McIntosh equipment, as cabling is extremely dependent upon synergy with specific components (I've never owned McIntosh gear and have no recommendations). Cables from Cardas, Kimber, Audioquest, Jena and many others are competently designed and manufactured, and can sound great in a given set up -- you just need to try to find out what works well with McIntosh gear.

If someone enthusiastically recommends a specific cable to you on Audiogon, make sure to check their equipment for sale to determine whether they have a conflict of interest.

Jpgsf

I agree with Porschecab " A matter of taste " and this has to be what YOU like to hear not someone else. I am not familiar with the PS Audio line that was mentioned but I can only speak from experience in having this exact set up as you are going to. The C2200 & the MC352 Awesome Combo.
I found after trial and error that the Acoustic Zen Silver Reference MKl gave me the sound I was looking for. I then after about 6 months moved up to the MKll which really took my system to another level.
I felt with the C2200 ( Tube ) using copper I.C.s were not giving me the detail I wanted, yet I still wanted the warmer sound. This is when I went with the Silver Ref. and got the combination that I wanted.
Very true on burn in time in both copper and silver being even longer.
It should be known that this was last year's system and I am now all MBL and have gone with Harmonix through out my entire system.
Good Luck and try to stay sane in this hobby as I found that cables, Interconnects and power cords can drive one nuts.
And yes, I would consider used over new in this if you can.
Let someone else go through the long hours needed to get these burned in.
Dave

I followed the recommendation of fellow McIntosh-owner ljgj for LAT International-cables, when I looked for cables for my C200/MC402-combo. I found them great indeed, and now run their balanced cables throughout my system. Even new, they are resonably priced. You will find quite a lot of info on LAT by searching the archives here

jpgsf,before you leap into a world of big$ interconnects why not give this a try?

go to your local guitar center or whatever place is around that sells musical instruments & get a set of balanced cables there,you will save big cash & still get the full effect from running balanced.

im running a c2200 with a mc500 & my balanced cables are the pro version i mentioned above & its a great match,i paid $37 out the door.

you will pay between $20 to $50 a set from a pro gear shop depending on the lenght & brand.

mike.