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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
timothyd11 OP
10 posts
 
Thank you very much for your replies.

This whole thing has been eating away at me!

I don't mind spending the money I did, but I want to get it as right as possible for the money.

I have done more research and I came upon Kimber Kables 8TC speaker cables.

People seem to have nice things to say about those cables.

For around the same money I spent on the Nordost cables I can get an "internally biwired" 8 foot pair of 8TC speaker cables.

My B&W DM 602 S3 speakers are biwirable.

Is this a no brainer and an upgrade from the Nordost Purple Flare speaker cables, despite the near lateral move cost wise?

It appears I can return the Nordost cables for a refund but most places I have contacted about the Kimber Kables have said store credit only, so if I buy I'm stuck with those.

I don't know if the Cable Company has these exact cables in their "library" for rental. If so I guess that would be the smart choice. Although I lose that money if I make no purchase. Plus I'll be listening to "burned in" cables and comparing them to non burned in / non biwired cables. That may be like apples and oranges but that is kinda the point I guess!
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.
timothyd11 OP
10 posts
 
Thanks Zd542.

How about with regards to biwiring? Should I lean towards biwired cables if my speakers have that capability? Seems that the majority if people (elsewhere) seem to think it has its benefits.
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.
timothyd11 OP
10 posts
 
What is currently bothering me - ELECTRICALLY, single wiring or bi-wiring appears to be the same. Either the low frequency portion and the high frequency portion of the speaker is joined at the speaker through a jumper (single wire) OR it's joined back where it goes into the amp...so I'm having a hard time figuring out just how it would sound different - we're talking electrons - electrons move FFAASSTT!! Like speed of light fast. So please explain HOW bi-wiring improves sound, IF it does.
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