For the record, I really really hate getting kicked in the nuts! I was a wire skeptic and still am to some degree but I have tried different interconnects and found subtle differences that were worth changing from one brand to another. All within reason. I'm with Sean on this one, spending more than $200 on a used interconnect is not the best way to tweak a system. DIY makes sense assuming you're handy with a soldering iron and have the time. Power cords...nope, no real difference from what I can tell (and I do own Synergistic, YBA, ProAc, and MIT). The wire market is catering to those who seek the final frontier at all costs, logic and intuition be damned. I'm very curious who buys interconnects and power cords at MSRP in the first place? Want that last 1% improvement? Run dedicated lines so your household appliances don't compete with your source components for yer juice. Roll your tubes! Better yet, tweak your listening room.
7500 for USED cables? Are they joking?
I've been out of high-end audio for about 8 years, and the thing I am most struck by on my return is the apparent acceptance of power cables, interconnects and speaker cables that cost as much or more than heavy-duty high-end components.
As a now-outsider of sorts, this really looks like the Emperor's New Clothes big-time. Especially power cords, considering the Romex that delivers the A/C to the outlet isn't exactly audiophile quality.
Are people really paying $500 and up for wire? Is this foolishness of the highest order, or is this what people now believe it takes to extract the last percent or two of definition from their components?
What happened? Even buyers of what are now considered "modestly priced" cables would be laughed out of the professional audio world, so why do audiophiles think they need something better than was used to make the original recording? MOST professional recording engineers scoff at the difference between microphone cables that cost $19.95 vs. those that cost $49.95 -- most anything higher is rarely considered at all (the most expensive microphone cable might be $125 for a 20 foot run, and it's laughed at by most of the pros).
I'm not criticizing -- I'm too stunned to draw any conclusions -- I just wondered if anyone has given this much thought.
(At least I understand the home theater revolution -- thank heavens something came along to save the high end manufacturers, although it makes me chuckle to think of someone spending $30,000 to watch the Terminator. It's OK with me.)
Thank you for your consideration,
Mark Hubbard
Eureka, CA
As a now-outsider of sorts, this really looks like the Emperor's New Clothes big-time. Especially power cords, considering the Romex that delivers the A/C to the outlet isn't exactly audiophile quality.
Are people really paying $500 and up for wire? Is this foolishness of the highest order, or is this what people now believe it takes to extract the last percent or two of definition from their components?
What happened? Even buyers of what are now considered "modestly priced" cables would be laughed out of the professional audio world, so why do audiophiles think they need something better than was used to make the original recording? MOST professional recording engineers scoff at the difference between microphone cables that cost $19.95 vs. those that cost $49.95 -- most anything higher is rarely considered at all (the most expensive microphone cable might be $125 for a 20 foot run, and it's laughed at by most of the pros).
I'm not criticizing -- I'm too stunned to draw any conclusions -- I just wondered if anyone has given this much thought.
(At least I understand the home theater revolution -- thank heavens something came along to save the high end manufacturers, although it makes me chuckle to think of someone spending $30,000 to watch the Terminator. It's OK with me.)
Thank you for your consideration,
Mark Hubbard
Eureka, CA