Whether they actually sound better or not, I don't really care but I have a fetish for beautifully made, anaconda sized audio cables, especially with unusually well made connectors. Any ideas here especially where 2nd hand is a deep discount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
The biggest interconnect cables are from Bocchino Audio. http://www.bocchtech.com/bocchinoaudio/complete_cables.html
I know because I make them myself. Users consider them the best value for money. I make everything from the connectors to the cables themselves. All custom made.
A bit of self promotion but read the reviews there and contact the individuals who have done the reviews for their comments.
I agree with you I wa pressed for time and did not fully finnish my though process. It's nice to see people are reading. Thank you I did want to spend more time on the insulators of the wire. For one thing being in the construction business. I come across old speaker wires. I see the affect of time on cables. the wire is always copper and turns green over time I live close to the coast and we might be more affected here than other places. This will affect the sound signal. I have seen where mice have eaten away the insulator. Some might bring up EMF (elctro magnetic fields) This will be greatest around the power cords. A good sujestion is try to keep your power cords and IC's apart from each other. I use wire ties to guide all of my wires. Keep the wires as short as you can. I hope this helps someone. Good Luck
Horsestoharleys, yours is a strange post. It starts off along the usual path of arguing wire is wire. Suddenly, it turns to Transparent and MIT and says they are better wires?
Hi I have been in search of the best stereo system for many years. And this includes wires. Wires have been the most difficult to judge. For those on the same mission, here is a few thoughts I have for you. I am Calif. State Lic. Electrical Contractor. Lets start with a few facts. ALL music signals are AC current. The only reason we use wire is to complete the circuit. (ya need something that conducts current to get from point A to point B) There are 3 parts to a wire, CONDUCTOR, INSULATOR, & what ever else you put on the end, spade,bannana,RCA,etc. Gauge of wire is determined by load. 14g wire is rated for 1800 watts, 12g wire has a rating of 2200 watts. these are not peak ratings. This is continous power! That means even the big bad ass McIntosh 2000 watt amp only needs 12g wire. AC current is carried on the outside of the wire. Thats why we use multi stranded wire, it increases the surface area and at high current it disapates heat better. Ohms is another rating. Resistance. even the cheapest of the cheap goes below .000 so I'm not going to say anyting more on this subject. Yes silver has a lower resistance, but gold is even lower. Why nobody has come out with pure 24ct gold wire is beyond me. I'm sure there are a select few who can afford pure gold. Now lets talk about INSULATORS. ALL wire is subject to RFI (radio freq Interference) But you lower this to almost 0 when using XLR cables. Think of every wire in your house acting like antenna picking up noise. This is the reason for power filtering and surge protection. Gordon Gow wa right when he said wire is wire! Transparent and MIT add network boxes on there wires. And I must say I like both. They add the 3rd demention to the music. Better detail, deeper sound stage, yes the cables are over priced but once you have had these network boxes in your system I can't see myself without them. Shotgun S3 & Musiclink Plus are about the same and both are good. But I have up graded to Ultra's by Transparent. I am very happy.
Lacee, when I had Fulton golds, I thought they sounded good but familiar. I never found an exact match, but welding cables looked much like them and sounded as good.
I suspect that some of today's speaker wires would sound better.
I had the Fulton golds and you really got your money's worth in weight.They are long gone from my system but I wonder how they would compare with today's offerings. I could try some battery booster cables,oops!
I use common HOME DEPOT #14 AC SOLID COPPER, plastic insulated, HOUSE WIRE (15 cents/foot) for my RCA interconnects. I run a SINGLE WIRE from preamp to amp without any shielding. The amp and pre-amp are then grounded together with common standed wire. I strip back about 1 1/2 inches from each end of this wire and then bend back (180 degrees) about 3/4 inch, then I tightly crimp the folded wire. This forms a perfect center RCA pin to insert into the RCA jack. ALSO #12 GAUGE colid core HOME DEPOT AC house wire makes FANTASTIC/IDEAL speaker wire. ONE WORD OF CAUTION: the single wire RCA #14 interconnect has DIRECTIVITY, so you must test the sound quality in one direction and then reverse the wire to find out which is the best direction ( this effect is likely due to the way the wire was maufactured, a larger guage wire is passed thru a machine die while being pulled in one direction)
Very Happy with Vitual Dynamics Revelation. Been thru Au24, Nirvana SX Ltd, Siltech, Audiovox, Sigma Retro Gold, Venustas and top to bottom, get the best presentation out of the VD's in my system.
Biggest diameter; Bill Low's Big Red circa 1973 over an inch in diameter. Highest capacitance: Cobra cables, circa 1977. Stiffest: FIM Golds, circa 1998.
The original MIT Shotgun 750 Speaker Cable.When it first came out ,this stuff was just huge.The original music hose,But double in size and double the cable.A MANS CABLE FOR SURE.
Cwlondon, I've been pursuing high end for just as long and remember the early exotic cables. Of course ths topic of this thread is 'biggest and baddest...' but it sounds more like a phallic reference than anything else. Otherwise everyone would fill their cables with lead shot and such to achieve highest mass :)
I like your system. Biamp those Tympanis with tubes and you'll go much farther down the road.
I first experimented with high end cables around 1979, when a friend gave me a set of Fulton interconnects which I used between my Hafler amp and preamp.
I would not say I am an expert, but I have learned one or two things in my 26 years of study.
There are other threads that discuss "other aspects" of cabling, but THIS thread is devoted to the "Biggest, Baddest Audio Cables" where pounds/foot could be one of the the most important variables to analyze.
Beyond that, if anyone has also listened to the PS Audio xStream cables, I would be curious to hear any feedback or advice.
Cwlondon, weight is hardly a valid measure of quality except in some source components and speakers where reactive mass can make a difference. In cabling there are other aspects to consider. Brian
Have any of you tried the "Biggest, Baddest" PS Audio xStream speaker cables, now dramatically discounted on some of the audio websites?
Further to this classic, timeless thread, they allegedly weight 2 pounds per foot!!
With those "anaconda" credentials, I almost don't even care what they sound like, but it would be great if any of you could recommend them, particularly for taming brightness.
I have been just on the brink of ordering all new cables from signalcable.com, but perhaps these are worth a try?
I have a Sunfire Tube Preamp and a 600 Power Amp. Some expensive interconnects I have tried cause too much gain loss for use in the system. Any suggestions out there...I would rather make a $100 mistake instead of another mistake that cost mulitiples of that.
I gave up on Transparent cables for several years and tried almost everything else available...just went back to Transparent Ultra and reference level MM cables...aint no comparison, they are theee best cables made by man...period!!!!!
If biggest and badest is what you want, try the Stage III Vacuum Reference cables. They were recently, very positively reviewed on SoundStage. I agree with the review that their detail is very realistic.
I owned the Acoustic Zen Hologram speaker cables and they are one of the biggest cables I've ever seen. However, they were a mother to fit onto the terminals.
You really ought to check out sonoran ic's at audiopoints.com. I bought them on a tip from a friend in the business who had them in his home but didn't carry them in the store he worked at. Awesome quality. They also can be found as an audiogon dealer.
I have tried many cables before, some in the price range you have specified and others that are considerably more. In my opinion, the Jaden Standard interconnects are high quality cables and would do well in a high quality audio system. These cables are not only priced right, they are the real deal! Ric Cummins really has a firm understanding in designing and manufacturing cables.
Although Ric has introduced the Signature and Pursang cable line, the standards should not be taken lightly because they are truly very good cables.
I am in the process of upgrading cables. I use 2 sets of ICs. CD to Pre and PRe to amp. I see that you have Jaden cables. My budget is very tight and I can only go about $300 each for cables. And I don;t know what to do for speaker cable. My system is resolving enough that I need better than what I have DH labs BL-1. I was wondering if you had heard Ric's standard ICs? They are about all I can afford. I would also liek to ask if you had heard anything that comes close to them or the Signatures for less.
System FWIW is Cary 303.200 cd, dehavilland UltraVerve pre, Bel Canto Evo 2 (coming) and Thiel 1.6s.
Your comments, thoughts, and ideas are appreciated.
Either you have not made listening tests on a high end system or dont own a system capable of the resolution necessary. If your goal is sound quality equal to the best available in the 1970s, then your link has value.
However, if you have a system pushed to the limit, high quality wire (both speaker and interconnect) is just as important as the rest of the components. As with all things in life, ones perspective is relative to where they are.
Many Audiogon members treat this hobby with passion and commitment, exploring every detail in an attempt to get closer to the live event. It took me many years to evolve my system to its current state and I assure you I did not get there by throwing away money on my purchases.
Most other passions cost more than audio. Luxury automobiles immediately come to mind, as do boats, motorcycles and high rental fees to live near an exclusive area or landmark.
On the other hand, many products at Audiogon, including wire, may be found at prices that allow trial and resale without loss.
Oh, and by the way. I ran a high end store that was the number one McIntosh dealer in Texas. So I am familiar with their products and how the company operates.
I would love to have the money you guys are throwing away on speaker cables. But don't take my word for it, just pay a visit to the following link and included is Gordon Gow's opinion. That's McIntosh for you who are not familiar with his name.
I'm glad to see that someone ( Charker ) finally mentioned the original "biggest, baddest" speaker cable i.e. the "original MONSTER" cable. That is, the old Fulton Gold's. These were 4 gauge and pretty rigid. The rigidity did not come from the size of the conductor so much as it did the type of dielectric that they used. As far as physical size goes, these were 7/8's of an inch across the two conductors.
Tireguy: Cornfedboy was not "banned" or "kicked off" Agon. He voluntarily "retired" as he is now working on an as needed basis for Agon. As such, he publicly declared his his affiliation with Agon and decided that his continuing to post in the forums could be construed as Agon trying to demonstrate favouritism to specific brands, subjects, etc... when Kelly responded. As such, he did the ethical thing and decided to lay low. This speaks volumes about Kelly as how many other "ethical lawyers" do you know ? : )
Duane: It is not the gauge of the conductor that creates the problems that you mention so much as it is the geometry of the conductors and how the conductors are made. If a cable is "all skin" i.e. a wide & flat solid conductor, it will not suffer from skin effect and strand jumping. Both of these are what i consider to be major problems with "most" heavy gauge stranded wires that are lumped together in one dielectric jacket. Sean >
The funny thing is that it is harder to make a large guage cable sound good because the frequincy balanced gets scewed towards bass with the larger conducters and the skin efect goes up creating a grainy and splashy extention in the highs.
I had Fulton Js and used their cable. It was welding cable and had to be a certain length, 29" if I recall. It was about 1/2 inch in diameter. I never saw anything 2 1/2 inches across. The Fulton cable was soon followed by the Cobra and then Bill Low put out many more cables, and we were off to the races.
Way back when the fulton "j"'s were one of the hottest speakers around they would be demonstrated with a cable that looked like the cabling going from a ground auxillary power unit to an aircraft. they had to be 2.5 inches across, and god were they hard to use!
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