My experience was a little backwards. Years ago I bought a whole used system that included Synergistic ICs and Speaker Cables. Since their original price was pretty high, I always assumed they were "better" than what I was using, mostly Tara Labs. No issues with the ICs but I always thought I was lacking in bass. I upgraded gear but kept using the SR speaker cables until about a year ago. For fun, I decided to swap out the SRs with my old pair of Tara Labs Prism Bi-Wire cables. I got all my Bass back and other noticeable changes. I never thought a $300 set of cables would out perform a $1200 set.
Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?
Many of us with highly resolving systems have found that speakers cables and interconnect cables can improve the sound quality of our systems. But are they also just as likely to do the opposite?
A few months ago, I “upgraded” to a renowned speaker cable, and immediately noticed more detail and resolution. I was so pleased I also “upgraded” the interconnects. But with more time I realized that the trade-off for more detail was a thinner sound with diminished tonal richness. Thus began a maddening series of attempts to fix the problem – different speaker cables, different DAC, different streamer, and now even a 30 trial of a new amplifier to try to overcome the thinness and find a more natural tone. It finally occurred to me to replace the out-of-sight-out-of-mind interconnects (with my original interconnects), and immediately the problem was blessedly solved.
Have others experienced this frustration? What recommendations do you have to avoid such fiascos?