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Budget cable chaos??? Is River Cable the new star?

Sometimes, I wonder that some audiophiles waste more time trying to determine what "budget" speaker cable to buy, than a cables costing 5 to 10 times as much. I include myself in that inglorious lot

Budget cables keep popping up on Audiogon almost daily. And, "The Cable Company" has few to none to loan out for audition in your system.

Let's see to date: there is Anti-Cable Reference, Clearday, Clearview, JW Cryo, Canare, etc, etc.... Now, I have uncovered a new budget cable company called RIVER CABLE an internet company. Their speaker cable looks well made and attractive to display, AND PRICING is ridiculously inexpensive. They basically offer three models: the entry level "Starflex". Flexgyny 6 and Flexgyny 8 (top of their line) The few reviews I found, claim that the latter two speaker cables are very good for the money, but sound distant in the midrange. The Flex 6 model I was informed is a better choice for longer cable runs because of the extra copper used. Not sure what that means or is even accurate. I have garnered that copper based speaker cables tend to sound warmer,and often more musical than the more analytical and cool silver based cables

So again begging the patience of the membership, has anyone auditioned or owned these RIVER CABLE speaker cables, and if so, how do they rank in sound quality with the others in the ongoing "budget buffet"???. I think the industry should put a moratorium on the number of so-called "budget cables" issued each year. There would probably be less buyers's remorse,and suicides among audiophiles

NOTE: Please, don't just respond by saying: "you will have to JUST try them to see what works in your system" Oh, bollocks!!! as the Brits say. The Audio business is not a consortium of roving Renaissance Faires tossing cables to the crowds for personal use. Get Real!! Thanks, Jim

sunnyjim

Showing 2 responses by tls49

tls49's avatar
tls49
1,351 posts
 

Sunnyjim, I do read a lot of your cable posts, and sometimes I realize you're just being funny, and other times you sound somewhat frustrated. Is it too much to ask, what has been the "best overall" cable that you have used in your system?
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tls49's avatar
tls49
1,351 posts
 
Sunnyjim, thanks for answering my question about the speaker cables.

Since you have posted your entire system, and put yourself on the chopping block, I’ll give you my opinion. You have built a system of quality components and cables, however I think the main problem is the synergy. Here are my observations, some from personal experience and others from a little research,

Rega Apollo CD player – very good but can be a little bright, and may not be the best choice for a system that has unforgiving treble.

Chord Chameleon IC – fast, detailed, dynamic, a dull system will definitely benefit using this interconnect.

Bel Canto PRe3 - extremely neutral, output has same character as input.

Nordost Red Dawn IC - many people have found that some of the Nordost can have a bright, lean sound in their system.

Red Dragon M-500 - like the Bel Canto, very neutral.

Now at this point, I can’t see any magic shot in the arm for any speaker cable to overcome the given character of the signal and deliver musicality to the speaker. You have an extremely nice pair of speakers, and I understand they are capable of a very musical sound, however they will only produce the sound that is feed into them.

From one of your threads,
System needs a dose of musicality
Try to think of this in two ways, not just adding, but removing things that distract as well.

IMHO, I would start with the interconnects and CD player, and really hard to say which one first. Even a different CD player that is a little less bright may not be enough with the influence of the cables. I know many have good results using Nordost cables, and initially I did as well, even moving up the chain. I used Blue Heaven, SPM, and Valkyrja, with the BH being the only one that came across as lean, however came to a conclusion that all of them seem to have a somewhat rough, bright top end. A good friend had the same thoughts about the Red Dawn he tried. Once a more pleasing sound is achieved, I would do some final experimentation with speaker cables, and as I have said before, probably use the AZ, even if it needs to be their entry level to get a manageable size, because the speaker was designed and “voiced” using their own cable, so again creating the best synergy.

Now I guess this puts me on the chopping block as well, any comments?
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