a better interconnect cable

Cable sound is just like religion. You must believe it to hear it! And like religion it is all faith-based! So you want shiny new toys to play with? The old toys no longer seem to be much fun anymore?

@jasonbourne52

Like every hifi addicted I always try to improve my system. In this case I see a huge bunch of cable brands that refrains me to listen all the possible solutions. I ask passionates like you ideas that will help me during the brand filtering. I have only to test 3mt cables, which are not easy to find.

Which are your interconnect RCA cables?

I’ve settled on self-made cables with my choice of wire, currently I like Mundorf Angelique, solid-core with 3 lengths braided, and low mass KLEI connectors.

renato, what nature of sonic improvement are you hoping for with a change of interconnects?

are you current cables copper, silver or... and what type of construction...?

Have you looked at the Chinese cable fakes thread? There’s a whole discussion about them

Never mind it went the way of many informative threads here with off topic bantering shutting down the thread.

Assuming you're in Europe, you should take a look at Esprit and Lavri.

But there really are just too many brands and models to make any kind of informed recommendation.

Depends on your system sound / components / tastes.

I would make my choices from: Transparent, Cardas, WireWorld, AudioQuest and DH Labs. All, highly respected and well reviewed. It would be best to those three brands based on research, then compare them. 
 

I use Transparent… but have owned all of the above. DH Labs for me is the best of the budget brands. Nordost at their high end are fantastic… but above your budget.

I strongly encourage you to check out Hapa Audio with their Ember RCA cables fitted with KLE Absolute connectors. To say their new design is phenomenal would be a complete understatement. Even in a modest system like mine, the addition of these cables has improved the sound past what I ever thought possible, to the point I even postponed some bigger gear updates because I didn’t feel the need to upgrade. With a lot of other rca cables I have tried, I bounced between smooth but dark/veiled sound or detailed but thin/tinny/clinical sound. None have been so smooth and palpable sound while still maintaining that vivid, airy soundstage. And hearing the inner detail buried down in the music come to life for the first time is incredible. It is like the old adage that an item is perfect not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left needed to take away. They are by far the best cables I have ever owned. I realize they are under your listed budget, but I know their performance does not match their price. One big perk to buying from a small company.

Hapa Audio

First off, consider what you have and where you would like to go. If you want more bass, go with a cable that has conductor of larger diameter than what you have and if you want more highs go with a cable that has a conductor of smaller diameter. As for details and speed, to get more you need a cable with a lighter dielectric, look for some dielectric that introduce air around the conductors. As a DIY cables enthusiast and micro manufacturer, I make IC cables with 20, 22 and 24 AWG OCC copper, each rendering a slightly different tonal image  with the 20 awg having more bass and the 24 towards the leaner side. For the dielectric, to have a sound as fast as it can be, I use layers of braided natural fibers to enclose and assembles the conductors.

buy OCC single Crystal that's the best wire for audio and has been proven to be the best for over 40 years now.

I too went with self made cables. I used Belden cable and Switchcraft connectors. 

Townshend Fractal F1s are very good and worth an audition

@renatocomes 

There are some members you learn to ignore.

After much research, I ended up buying Audience AU24SX RCA cables to go from Dac to amp.

Best cable purchase I ever made. They are my 'end game' cables.

@ renatocomes

Remember  there are posters here that begrudge  anything that  costs more than what they have as well as the opposite  who begrudge  anything  that costs less than there's. Also remember  that there are people who post who do not listen  to there system  very often and that is telling as well. So keep that in mind. 

What I have liked over the years. May or may not work on your system.  Early generation  xlo I haven't heard anything  of there's in years cannot say now. Wire world, discovery dpeaker Wire a buddy had that very nice. The top lines of cards never liked the mad or entry level. Transparent  and furutech.  Furutech  might suit you if you buy the bulk and have the length  made you want. There power products  are in my opinion  as good as it gets. 

Beldin wire for speaker cables with locking banana plugs. I like making my own cables in order to minimize excess length. 

Wire has capacitance so minimizing length helps. 

How much of this is truly audible is not for me to tell. 

@ghdprentice

“ …Depends on your system sound / components / tastes…”

+1 …. This is the best advice you will ever get in this forum for these two reasons.

(1) In high-end, each component brand individually has its own signature sound and thus it morphs into the system as a whole. The final quest with cables is to audition options to distill the contenders from the pretenders, to foster a further synergy that will extend and compliment its own bespoke system sound .

(2) Individual tastes are intuitively a bespoke bias

One size does not fit all…full stop. Your OP is a journey and not a destination. It demands a rolling- up of your sleeves and a hands-on experimentation down the Yellow Brick to audio OZ.

I to have a pair of Model X’s and the Interconnects are the most important (and only) wires that you can easily change.  While it breaks with convention, I lengthened the wires from the amps to the speakers and used better IC’s from my preamp to the amps. 1 meter IC’s are a heck of a lot less expensive than 3-5 meter ones. Anyway, my amps are now sitting on my equipment rack, where they get a lot more air and I can isolate them more from vibration.  I never understood putting tubes inside a speaker. 
 

All The best.

JD

I have had great results over the years with Cardas and Transparent. 

I never know who to believe.  There are so many that are convinced the more you spend the better.  Then there are many who don't believe in expensive cables.  I certainly get the impression jassonborne52 doesn't believe in expensive cables.  Who's right?  Many of us in the group have hearing loss in the higher frequencies.  That too can affect what people are trying to hear better.

I think it would be nice if you could just flip a switch to instantly hear the difference between cables.  The problem is trying to remember what if any differences you hear by the time you hook up a different cable.  I think the more silver content a speaker has the brighter the sound of higher frequencies.  I changed out my speaker wires from Apollo to Synergistic Research Level One's and I thought they sounded harsh.  The salesperson I talked to said give then 8 to 10 hours of play time.  After 10 hours I began to hear higher frequencies like cymbals better more space.  Maybe, I was trying to convince myself after spending $1,700.  I have a feeling there are many in this discussion group who have systems worth $100,000 and much more.  My wife certainly puts her foot down when I spend more money.  I would imagine I am not the only one.  

I certainly appreciate the knowledge in this group.  However, at times it is difficult to know who to believe.

It’s expensive, but a good friend of mine with Soulution is having great experience with Nordost Odin 1 loom although he is considering leaping to Odin 2.  I have all Nordost Valhalla and am exceptionally happy with it.  For Soulution, I would recommend at least Valhalla 2 (warmer than the 1).  Start with Nordost Power chords, QBase, Speaker cable then interconnects.  You’ll probably end up bankrupt, but your system will sound incredible!  Lol

Note:  Soulution electronics have very low impedance so matching is more critical than many other brands.  Keep that in mind when you’re auditioning!

Try Chen Audio Labs .

@larry5729 "...However, at times it is difficult to know who to believe."

It’s not too dissimilar from an employment interview where you are interviewing your initial candidates, separating the talkers from those with proven experience.

People with hands-on experience can usually explain in detail what they’ve reviewed, completed, and failed at, backing up their findings and conclusions.

Outside of that the rest of it is parroted noise, inexperience, and limited value-add.

"I make IC cables with 20, 22 and 24 AWG OCC copper" by felixa

Around 24 years ago I learned about using Star Quad and have only used it since and totally happy with it though I have seen some dang fine braided DIY designs I will want to try out next.

Around 1985 or so I built a pair of 2 way speakers while home on leave in WA State, Dynaudio drivers, matched good caps, custom wound inductors, good resistors...wide front due to the side wings, solid white oak, clear finish. Stopped to see Stan in Eugene and he wanted to hear the speakers and really liked them, his wife loved them as did not like most speakers looks. She asked if they could buy them so I sold them at my cost though I built them for myself then built a different design when I returned to San Diego based on the same drivers, powered with rebuild stereo 70, PS Audio preamp, etc.

I will always make my own cables and most always build my own speakers and upgrade amps:)

Rick

Dang, lost part of my post....

Before Star Quad, around 1982, I learned from Stan Warren how to make a 7 conductor, 3 gauge, 2+2+3, braided interconnect using simple magnet wire and super simple and cheap, no covers, connectors from Radio Shack, cables probably cost around a buck a pair to make and sounded great.

Dang, lost part of my post....

Before Star Quad, around 1982, I learned from Stan Warren how to make a 7 conductor, 3 gauge, 2+2+3, braided interconnect using simple magnet wire and super simple and cheap, no covers, connectors from Radio Shack, cables probably cost around a buck a pair to make and sounded great.

Not sure if me or the site is acting up though I spent many hours today prepping and painting windows to install outside in 90 degree weather under the sun,  lots of fun chemicals to deal with, and now having a beer, or two, my last post of the day!

psnyder149

148 posts

07-08-2022 at 09:43am 

Note:  Soulution electronics have very low impedance so matching is more critical than many other brands.  Keep that in mind when you’re auditioning!

Could you explain what you mean by your comment.  Thank you.

I have Stager's Silver Solids pure silver cables in my two systems, high-end performance but not expensive (1 meter is $150) I highly recommend them.
stagersound.com/silver/

+1 @jerrybj Audience AU24SX is a great line of cables.

@audphile1 

I lent my Audience AU24SX RCA cables to my cousin in October last year. Using from his new Accuphase CD player to McIntosh amp. He loved them. Much better than his cables recommended by a dealer.

Lucky for him he's had them for a year, but I get them back next month.

Chord c-line and Atlas element Integra are all you need. Both are economical well Made cables and are neutral as can be....spending any more is waste of money. I’ve used these cables for years and have been very happy with them in my system.