Any good suggestions for phono cable?


Hi guys,

I need a phono cable to replace the stock cable that came with the AQ PT-5 arm. I use the arm on VPI jr. and Grado Blue cart.

This is my very first setup, and I intended to upgrade to VPI MK3, and a better cart when financial condition allow.

I am looking at Kimber TAK Cu now as other cables in my system are mostly Kimber. Is it the right move?

However, is there any good DIY recipy you have tried? I would be interested in building one myself to save money.

Any helpful suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks in advance,

Kent
kentchai
Last month's Stereophile reviewed a number of phono cables. The Hovland was a favorite and Coincident technologies. The later, they pointed out is not well suited for VPI or other floating platers because it is so stiff. I'm using a Siltech G3. They discontinued it for a while, but I think they are making it again. I prefered it to several cables I tried. I'm using it on a VPI TNT MK2, with SME IV.Vi arm, Van den Hul Frog, with a Sonic Frontiers Signature phono stage. The Siltech has a very thorough grounding scheme and was much quieter and smoother (without loss of detail) than any other cable I tried in my system. The Sonic Frontiers is all tube--that could account for part of the reason why I like this cable so much. I have no other Siltech cables in my system. Almost everything else is Audioquest. So I wouldn't necessarily buy the Kimber, because the rest of your system is Kimber--if you do buy the Kimber, buy it on it's own merits as a phone cable. Incidentally I did not listen to the Kimber when I auditioned all of the cables, so I really can't comment on it's performance.
The Coincident is your best choice.The reviewer did not have the courtesy to break in the cable as per MFGs instructions.I have been using one for 8 months and with no other changes it keeps getting better all the time .I used it in the cd path for about 500 hours and then put it in place replacing the Coincident IC i had on the pnono stage.You could not imagine the difference between these two cables.Same cable one with proper breakin one with phono use only.The cable that was used first in the cd path was now the best phono ic I had ever heard.
Try to get a hold of David99 he was once called a "rabid vinyl junkie" I am sure he has some suggestions.
I have the vpi jr. I have the cardas termination block,so I can use any standard rca ic. I have the XLO SIG 3.1 cable. You break this in on your cd player/to pre amp(much higher voltage). After 6 days on repeat it is well broken in. Then you use it as you phono ic.
There is no such thing as breaking in cable. Electrons don't break in. The electrons in your cable have been around for 15 billion years. You don't need to break them in. Are you guy completely out of your minds? If the wire isn't broken and the shielding is good, the cable is good. The electrons are not going to care how much you paid for the cable.
Stevemj, to appriciate the differences in cable you must first break-in your head. Stick your tongue in a wall socket 5 to 10 times a day for 2 weeks then come back and tell us all if you can now hear a difference. It worked for me.
Stevemj, I am surprised that you continue posting time and again discounting the difference in audio connecting cables. If you are a true music lover, why don't you make a minimum investment in some good used wire product and discover the difference for yourself? Measurements seldom tell the whole story, and rarely can they be used to determine anything about the way any product sounds. If you will consider the following parallel, how difficult do you think it would be to measure the difference in emotional content produced by two piano players, playing from the same sheet music, with equal technical skill? Following your thoughts, one might conclude that "dead" strings in a piano are identical in metallurgy, diameter and make up, and therefore must be identical to new strings. I assure you those same two piano players would produce completely different music from "dead" strings" than brand new ones. You are attempting to classify audio cable by its content, forgetting all other things that go into the construction. Unless you are willing to experiment, no one will convince you otherwise.
Stevemj,Get a hold of a Process Control Engineer in a MFG plant and ask him if once they have run cable do they need to recalibrate the run after a few days.the answer is yes because the signle has drifted.If there is no such thing as cable breakin,then why is there drift.To avoid this problem,they buy aged cable which has had a single applied for 72+ hours.
Kentchai: skip the upgrade to MK III and go directly to MKIV, if you can afford...huge difference.