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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 kcaudell

kcaudell
1 posts
 
Well, here is my two cents worth on cables. I just bought a Rega Jupiter/IO DAC on this site. The Rega supplied digital cable was replaced due to a reviewers recommendation for this combination. I bought an $11 silver digital cable from a guy on ebay because I too was a skeptic about throwing $500 at a cable. I can say that this $11 silver cable made a TON of difference in the sound of this Rega CDP. It opened up the soundstage and turned the muddy midrange into a delight. No longer a cable skeptic.

My next question has to do with a different digital cable. I'm tempted to buy a used Kimber D60 or Nordost Silver Shadow to see if there is an audible difference to this no name cable that cost $11. I'm also curious what difference a power cord will make for the amp. I'll let you know.

My curiosity concerning power cords goes to how your house is wired. Most residential homes are wired with 14 gauge copper. Hmmmmm..... what then is the meaning of a fancy 6' silver cable attached to an 80' run of copper.

My system is low to mid-fi. Everything was bought here on Audiogon. Jolida JD801A(J&J KT88/6SN7EH/Sovtek 12AX7LPS), Rega Jupiter/IO DAC, Vienna Acoustic Bach's, and a Velodyne CT80 sub. Silver 12ga. 50' speaker cables (ebay), Straightwire Encore Interconnect(ebay), and $11 digital cable(ebay). Nothing great but a nice sounding system for $ 2,261. New this system would have been around $5,000.

My thought is this. Buy decent but not the best. I hear more of a difference in the CD's that I buy and the engineering that was done there than I will ever hear in a decent versus ultra-expensive interconnect or power cable.
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