I would not be surprised. there are manufacturers who do all kinds of foolish things to cables, and there are customers to match.
I will put my system up against any system to see which is more resoving. Any body who has ever heard the well set up Apogee Scintilla would know this.
If you were to have a very resolving system, you'd find out cable science is fool's gold. |
I'm with Cornfed, Ckuipers, and other experienced audio enthusiasts who know value when they hear it. I don't know how many systems I have listened to that were terrible but had "great cables." _Kid, I looked at your system pic, great room! Good amp, OK speakers, bright and shallow front end. Get my drift? There are areas due for major improvement. With the money you spent on the power chord alone, you could have bought devastating speakers and a much more pleasing front end. The time to start putting big money into cable rolling is after you've maximized playback of your favorite music styles by choosing speakers, amp and front end wisely. I just had a good fellow who has a system much like yours, only he went all the way to the breaker box with super wire. Our two systems are similarly priced. Instantly, he knew there was a whole new level of listening satisfaction, much higher than he had ever dreamed of. |
Juicebox, buy whatever turns you on. Don't go into debt doing it, though, it's clear you are already suffering from cable madness. |
Russellrcncom, I agree with you. The only problem with all of these testimonials is that they all have to be believed by faith. We hear over and over how much better people's systems sound with inclusion of cable brand X.
My disbelief stems from me being confident that I have maximized my listening pleasures without reliance on cable swapping. |
I don't care what one calls distortion, it is all unacceptable. That is, if you can hear it.
It will sound like bragging, but like I have said it before, my hearing measures way beyond normal hearing. I hate distortion of any sort. If it is there, I will pick it up.
I use short, pure copper cables and interconnects.
I don't trust proactive cables. Once, I was sharing a Pass Labs X150 with a friend. He plugged it into his system as is. I agreed it sounded terrible. Then, I asked him to switch out his MIT cables with some Cardas he had on hand. Immediately, there was a great improvement.
With my straight forward cables, the Pass amp performed brilliantly.
My speakers are among the most revealing speakers ever divised. My pass amps have the purest circuitry of all high power amps.
My front ends are to my liking, and that is all they need to be.
Some people need the latest and greatest tweak, be it cable science, isolation devices, or conditioners. If they are using frequency mashing cables, I can see why. I would sense something wrong too. |
It was said once one upgrades their system sufficiently, they will more readily discern cable differences.
My system stands shoulder to shoulder with the most transparent systems.
I have tried a number of cables based on widely differing design premises. All "fancy" cables did nothing but retard various wavelengths. That may be a benefit to systems that handle like frequencies badly. My system does not have wounds needing salve.
Like Homedesign, I just want what the disc has to offer. Short, relatively pure metal cables do best for my system. I really don't care what one or another cable expert has to say.
NEAR?????? Apex, you need to get out more. |
Sean, my comments were not directed at you. Sorry, if I bruised toes.
You are right, I do feel strongly cable cost effectiveness ratios are way out of line. I did mention, though, specialty cables may indeed calm grunge.
I don't try to cypher the production of every disc. I just judge them against what I have heard live.
The reason I throw water on cable sermons from time to time, is that there are newbies that frequent this forum.
Going solely on gee whiz testimony they read here, they are all too ready to shell out rolls of green for pretty cables, when they should be rolling out that Onkyo cdp. |
At a recent audio party, we tried a half dozen digital cables between transport, and DAC. It was a blind test. We had: On one end of the scale was a cheapy, with the three RCAs, red white, and yellow. At the other end of the spectrum was a thousand dollar Virtual Dynamics digital. In between were some silver connectors, one I remember being "Homegrown."
All the connectors sounded the same, except, darn, the thousand dollar VD. It sounded better. |
Well, that's maybe why the Anti-cables are winning out in so many systems. |
I have to disagree with you Dave b. My experience has taught me the better your system is, the less you'll want mystery box speaker cables. I know of several fabulously honed systems, including some of the finest SET systems, and the most power hungry, like my own. Some use highly engineered wires, such as VD, Cerious, and Shunyata, others have DIY silver, or copper ribbon. |
The answer is the value of any component is only perceptible by the system owner.
That given, I can truthfully say, on my system, no 10k speaker cable was worth looking at. The cabling I have is is worth .01 the worth of my system.
MIT, Cardas, Jena, and Kimber among others failed miserably.
Obviously, I am a lucky audiophile to spend so little on wires, for a sound I love. |
I use a DIY thin ribbon SC that cost a tiny fraction of other component's and beats the band. The Speltz IC does all that can be done letting the boys in the band through. I is the power cables where I have to drop the bucks. They provide the grand ole stage. |
I know this sounds nut case, but I say my system unveils cables for what they are. I can predict how they sound by how they look. Simply said, regardless of any money value, cables with the most insulation sound the worst. With every wrap discarded the cable sounds better. The culprit, as Speltz says on his site, is random white noise bleeding into the music signal. It is woefully loud on my system. |
Kijanki........ Wow......... You know your stuff. I don't know anything about cable science. I just know by experience what works, and what doesn't. My stand on insulation is not total. I am open to anything that will prove me wrong. It has to make sense, that's all. Foamed Teflon has piqued my interest, and cotton too. I am not satisfied with the interconnect I am using. I will be making my own. Mylar is not on my shelf.
You rhetorically asked if skin effect in solid wire is audible. If you allow me to answer, yes, very much so on my system.
I hope you don't think I am arguing with you. From what I read, we agree on points of common experience. I had the pleasure of listening to Shunyata SCs in comparison with solid wire. The Shunyata brought frequency extremes in focus. The solid wire held superior in the mids to my ears.
This paradox troubled me no end. It taught me cable science is more complicated than I wanted to believe. That is of what you wrote on your post.
One thing was for sure. I am happy to have mono amps. That allows me to keep my SCs very short - 18". That way, inductance, and capacitance are kept to an inaudible minimum. |
My speakers average .8 ohm, and dip to .3 ohm. My SCs are 12 gauge and are .003" thick. |
I am continually amazed at the performance of the Speltz interconnects. Whereas I have upgraded everything save the speakers, the Speltz wires stay. There is nothing they inhibit. That should be the greatest aspiration for any cable. |
