A little History lesson on, "High- End" cables:


Inquiring minds might want to know, how the High-End cable market all got started.  Expiring minds?   Well......   (http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/a-short-history-of-high-end-cables/)
rodman99999

Showing 3 responses by jimski

No doubt the brickbats descending on some pricey mega-cables (or many others) are well deserved, but, wading into better cables years ago with no knowledge or expectations, my ears instantly recognized a favorable difference, since reconfirmed many times as I've gone up the ladder.  (Notwithstanding my remaining opinion that cables are perhaps the biggest snake oil area in audiophilia--some of the prices are beyond ridiculous.)  I've recently transitioned from very well-known and respected cables that made a nice difference in my system to a brand with a very radically different approach, Omega Mikro.  Their cables are "planar", i.e. extremely thin single ribbons of copper with minimal dielectric, almost no dielectric in some models.  The company's emphasis is on the importance of timing, not the standard criteria seen in most cable designs.  Pricewise, compared to performance, they are a bargain.  
They've elevated my already excellent system to a new level--clean, pure, highly resolved, complete music.  They require careful handling and a bit more attention in selecting, but once it you are set for enchanting sound.
Jim Heckman
O yes, also Omega Mikro recommends single-ended cables, in contrast to my component companies that recommend balanced which I'd thought were superior.  Not trying to start another thread here, but again just curious.  Their RCA-ended cables did best my pretty high end balanced.
Jim Heckman
fleschler, I'd never heard of Grover Huffman cables.  They do look interesting, and certainly nicely priced.  Once again I have to marvel at how apparently many of these almost invisible companies there are that may well be selling superior products at relatively bargain prices.  As for RFI and EMI affecting the signal, I was surprised that with the nearly naked Omega Mikro ribbons, the music is very clean.  I'm not trying to sell them--pls don't misunderstand, just commenting out of interest--but I'd have guessed those factors would have affected the signal in view of the very minimal dielectric.  Don't know how that works.  As for Masterbuilt, I recall seeing them in a room at a show where the cabling alone was $200k.  
Jim Heckman