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Blindly deafly? bought Purple Flare cables...

Blindly (deafly?!) bought Nordost Purple Flare cables yesterday for my Rotel RA-1062 integrated amplifier, RCD-1072 CD player and B&W DM602 S3 speakers that I bought almost a deacde ago and never used (long story)...

I bought the analog interconnect, the speaker cables and the power cord for 2 dollars shy of a Grand after tax!

PLEASE tell me I did alright!

This exact system is no longer in stores and I don't think many places would let me bring my gear in and switch out cables...and it would have been a total hassle even if they would.

And I'm eager to finally start listening to my stereo.

I called A BUNCH of Rotel dealers yesterday, to try to get advice on what cables would pair up well with my equipment and I got a different answer out of everyone -

Audioquest, Nordost, Transparent, Tributaries, Kimber...

But a few mentioned the Nordost White Lightning.

I decided to take a drive to northern New Jersey to a BEAUTIFUL shop that claimed that they had all levels of Nordost and Transparent cables.

But when I got there they only had the whole lineup of Nordost cables and a few Transparent cables lying around.

The guy highly recommended the Purple Flares for my equipment - swears I'll be happy.

I could have gotten the White Lightning cables as a few people recommended, but I figured since I'm buying without hearing I'd 1) be safer moving one up the line, and 2) spending that kind of money on cables I'll have less doubt and worry that I didn't get good enough cables.

Please express your thoughts!
timothyd11

Showing 4 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"I bought the analog interconnect, the speaker cables and the power cord for 2 dollars shy of a Grand after tax!

PLEASE tell me I did alright!"

You did alright!

That said, I think it was a foolish thing to do for a couple of reasons. To start off with, its crazy to buy expensive cables without demoing them first.

"This exact system is no longer in stores and I don't think many places would let me bring my gear in and switch out cables...and it would have been a total hassle even if they would."

Any decent audio store will let you bring your own components in so you can demo equipment with your own products. As far as it being a hassle, I would suggest that it was probably a bigger hassle to earn the $1000 than it would have been to spend a few hours moving your system around.

Also, what you paid for your cables cost several $100 more than either your amp or CD player. The components you have are very good but I don't think but I don't think they justify that kind of investment in cables.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Is this a no brainer and an upgrade from the Nordost Purple Flare speaker cables, despite the near lateral move cost wise?
"

The only no brainer here is to just stop. I don't say it to be mean, but just so you don't go and spend any more money on expensive stuff that won't make your system sound much better than it already does.

I read your original post again and may have a solution for you. I noticed you are in NJ. Get rid of the Nordost if you can. Then just go to or call Audio Connection in Verona. He sells everything you have so he knows it very well. And just ask him for speaker cables that will match well to your speakers and amp. I suspect you can get something like an Audioquest Type 6 or 8 and spend about $100-$200. It will probably sound just as good, if not better than the Nordost. (Just to be clear, I'm making the recommendation in the context of the OP's system. I'm just saying I think the AQ is better for the OP in this application, that's it.) If he happens to recommend something else, that's OK too. He knows what he's doing, and more importantly, you can trust him. I know from experience.

One last thing. You seemed to be concerned that your Rotel gear was about 8 or so years old. Don't be. For the money, you still can't do better. I listed my 1072 on Audiogon for a very high price and it was sold and paid for in under 5 min. I'm still sorry I got rid of it.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Biwiring is a tough call. The difference it makes varies for each system. Most audiophiles, myself included, feel it makes more sense to go with one run of better cable than to buy 2 pairs of lesser cables. There are exceptions, however. In my main system, I use Vandersteen speakers. Biwiring those speakers makes a big difference. More than any other speaker. B&W's are known to benefit from biwiring, but nearly as much. My advice, given your system, would be not to worry about it. If you happen to come across cables you like and they are biwired, get them. Otherwise a single run should be find. If, at some point, you upgrade to more revealing components, it will be more important.

I don't know if anyone has brought up The Cable Company yet. If you don't end up using Audio Connection from my last post, give them a call. They'll send you a bunch of cables to try in your system so you don't get stuck with something you don't like. I use them all the time. Its a great resource.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"My only concern / curiosity is that I am "starving" or "short changing" the woofer by splitting up the 8TC through internal bi-wiring, and adversely affecting the sound because of it.

I may look into "renting" an internally biwired 12TC from The Cable Company and listening for any differences. If I hear none I'm done."

You're not starving your woofer with the 8TC's. Its easy enough to check, though. Just but the jumpers back and connect everything to just one set of binding posts.

No reason to upgrade to the 12TC. Your equipment is very good but when you start to consider cables that cost more than the equipment, it makes much more sense to upgrade active components. Don't get sucked in to the cable trap.
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