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Cable confusion

Help. Am replacing my system after 30 years. (Former system Pioneer integrated amp, Alison One Speakers, Thorens turntable, nice stuff in its day). Have chosen speakers - Wilson Audio Watt Puppies 5.1 (got a great price used); BAT Preamp; Sim Audio W-3 amp, CD player TBD (maybe a Sim or a BAT). Hard enough sorting through all these possible choices. Now I have to pick speakers cables and interconnects (interconnects need to be balanced because BAT and Sim amp are balanced). 30 years ago store would just throw cables and interconnects in. If you had driven a particularly hard bargain they'd charge you $10.00 for a 50' spool of copper wire. Now people are paying $1,000 for speaker cable (Geez my Alison Ones, which were considered fairly high end speakers at the time cost less than that). Interconnects can be equally expensive. Silver? Copper? Titanium? Read all the hype and it sounds like, if you make the wrong choice your $20,000 system ends up sounding like a transistor radio. I just want a decent speaker cable and the necessary interconnects that won't sound like crap and will cost under $1,000 for the whole shebang. Am willing to buy used or demos if it will save me some money. Can anyone help me out here? Just want a cables and interconnects that isn't going to change the sound of my pretty expensive components. Isn't that the whole point?
houndog1

Showing 1 response by rja

rja's avatar
rja
2,384 posts
 
What ever you buy, try to get a money back guarantee. Many sellers and manufacturers offer at least a 30 day money back program. That way if you don't like them you're not stuck. Remember though to let them break in for a couple of weeks before you make your decision.

Another route is The Cable Company. They offer a loaner library that allows you to try as many cables as you want. You can keep them or return them. I've done this many times with success. Nice friendly folks there. You can also ask them for recommendations as they keep a data base of past customers experiences. Give them a try I'll think you'll be pleased.

I would keep reading this forum for a month or two to identify cables brands that interest you, maybe 5 or 6. Then you could test drive them through Cable Company. Everyone has favorite cables but in the end the only thing that's important is how they sound in YOUR system. A little hard work will pay off!
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