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Cable Costs Relative to System

Since making a spread sheet with my audio system prices, I have been thinking(shocked) about my total investment in cables. My total system retails at $67,000 (Digital and analog front ends included). I purchased all of it here on Audiogon so my investment is about 50%. Of that I have about 10% invested in interconnects and cables and another 10% in Power Cables (Shunyata Hydra included). That's $13,000 worth of wire. I'm starting to question whether it might be more effective to put some of this budget into acitve components. It would take forever to listen to all possible combinations, but would like to hear others experiences with relatively high end systems and cable selection. It would seem to me that the point of diminishing returns would be reached sooner with cables than with speakers and amps. Do most of you follow the 10% "rule" for cabling? How do PCs fit into this rule? Are there any super bargain cables capable of keeping up with highly resolving electronics?
metaphysics

Showing 1 response by arthurp

arthurp
37 posts
 
My system retails for $30,600 without the cables. I'm getting ready to spend $8,700 on two interconnects and a set of speaker cables. When I tried the new cables I found they elevated the whole sound of the system more than changing any one component. They offered me sound that I didn't even know my system was capable of. Down the road I'd like to change the power cords as well.

I recently sold my Hydra 4 in favor of running dedicated lines. A friend helped me and it wasn't a big job at all. I have a dedicated line and outlet for each component. The dedicated lines offered me a more natural open sound with much better range then either the PS Audio Ultimate Outlet I had or the Shunyata Hydra with a Taipan power cord (you need a 20AMP connector). The retail on the Shunyata products is $1,350. I installed the dedicated outlets using Porter Ports for a total of $200. That was by far the greatest upgrade I've ever made for the least amount of money.
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