Cable curmudgeon

tunefuldude

Thank you for your very thoughtful response to my comments regarding cables.

I have not tried Nordost yet-- but I will go over to their site and start doing some reading.

I don’t trust my first reactions to an equipment change unless the change is huge and obvious (something say, my wife would also notice), but I do believe that subtler differences will reveal themselves over time once I’ve had a chance to listen to a lot of different music. For me this is usually weeks or months.

I do believe that analog chains are sensitive to more variables than I am probably even aware of, and that the mix of gear and the quality of the power driving it make a huge difference in sound quality.

My main point is always the same. If you are not happy with the sound, first try improving the room acoustics as much as you can. Then, for vinyl in my case, look to the phono cartridge as that’s at the beginning of the chain, and there are real and obvious differences between cartridges. Then the phono preamp. Assuming you have good amps and preamps, look to the speakers and their positioning.

Ultimately, once you hit a certain level of quality, have enough power to drive your speakers, etc., after getting all of that out of the way, then sure, play with some cables.

My only point about cables is that price does not equal quality beyond a certain point-- what I have noticed are differences, like you might notice between some quality wines of the same varietal. They don’t just keep getting better and better as you spend more and more per bottle.

You clearly know your system, and you hear what you hear-- and in your case you like what you’re hearing from the Nordost cables. Many people have told me the same thing, so I might give them a try-- from turntable to phono preamp, from there to preamp, and from there to the amp. That’s a complete circuit and over time the changes will reveal themselves to me usually. I’m overall pretty happy with my system. The next major change I want to try is to buy a Primaluna tube amp and see how I like that sound. I’ve been on solid state for a very long time now, and I’m curious about how tube output will sound on my Genesis III’s.

Thanks again for taking the time to write what I consider to be a kind and useful reply, absent the usual insults, quips, and cultish dismissals.

The one thing that'll change as you explore the upper range of Nordost is the bass. I mean there are improvements in other areas as well, but that's the one area that made the biggest difference for me.

Actually, the relationship between the 'bass' and the ear's 2-5kHz most sensitive region. Cables have almost zero effect below 100Hz. And probably just for your LS [type].

Nordost's can be a nasty load for some power amplifiers which can have any number of audible consequences.

Did the OP get kicked off the forum, or was he just performing for us?   

+1 Thyname & Soix

@wesheadley I'm not a tube guy or a vinyl guy so I'm not really hip to your equipment but it looks like your system is well thought out and you have a real sweet setup. You appear to have good taste, I bet you're pretty discerning and you seem like a pretty bright fella.

Based solely on my own experience with cables, I guess you could say I sort of did a jump hop and a skip from the cheap s**t I guess most would consider the equivalent of lamp cord, to real entry level higher quality cables that made a small difference and then made a decision to explore some really nice cables as I collected some sweet gear.

The way our brains process the cues from our systems is one of the things that intrigues me about our shared hobby. My own experience has shown me that when we clean up the power signal, and provide an unimpeded signal path IF we're using equipment that's well engineered and the pieces are paired well with other components the music just sounds different. I personally don't care if others can perceive it or not. It's extremely subtle but it's what makes this difference some folks around here have also discovered. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. 

The approach that seemed the most legit to me was Nordost. Boy, you talk about some expensive s**t. But I shared all that to say this: I'd be willing to bet if you performed your own proposed challenge with the range of Nordost cables that it would make a believer out of you. By the way, yeah, if you come up with a unique idea and create a superior product and you can get people to pay you a silly amount of money to own your stuff then rock on. I'll even go out on a limb and say the more you charge the more it's gonna make the right folks want to own it. For me, it's not a matter of coveting stuff. Music is how I get my jollies and I'm willing to part with some pretty big hard earned bucks to achieve it.

This is sort of starting to sound like I'm a fanboy but I guess you could say I am. Check out the science behind their design. I bet you're gonna think it's relevant. And I want to apologize in advance because to outfit your cool system with a complete loom at a level that's gonna give you what you're looking for (in spades), it's going to be expensive as f**k. Ha ha ha

But watch what I'm sayin. The end result will be that those silly cables will let your awesome equipment play your music in a very uncolored fashion. When I first achieved it, even when I got close, it actually seemed a tad awkward because it was different from what I was used to. But the different types of bias folks talk about around here are very real. The one thing that'll change as you explore the upper range of Nordost is the bass. I mean there are improvements in other areas as well, but that's the one area that made the biggest difference for me.

I bet you're a Valhalla kind of guy.    : )

Well those are just silly arguments

If one can make an excellent system awful w a single cable change, it stands to reason that the correct cables can make a less than stellar system much better.

Unless one subscribes to the nonsense that cables on their own have properties that do not change relative to the devices connected.

If one bothers to pay attention to impedances, cables become much more predictable.

Bottom line is cables make a difference and manufacturer hierarchy is solely $$ driven.

Yes good cables makes the difference, especially if you are willing to listen and open to what good cable can do.

Well those are just silly arguments I’m not even going to bother responding to.  Let’s just say we live on different planets and leave it at that. 

I wouldn’t use colored components with rolled off highs to assess any cables.

How do you know the Mac system 'failings' were not the cables? One AQ swap changed it from beautiful to beastly.

 Mac/B&W D3 combos ... simply gloss over too much detail to be useful in accurately determining the subtle yet critical differences between cables.

Not my experience at all. While not my cup of tea, Mac makes some lovely gear and stellar systems can be assembled with the right choices of LS & cables.

Whenever a customer wanted to hear the differences in cables I deferred to other more neutral and transparent electronics so the differences could be more readily heard.

Wasn't that rather pointless? Since cables interact with the hardware and the effects are largely system dependent, unless you are demoing on similar equipment and program the result could be WOW, meh or BLECH when the poor schlub gets them home... hence the burn-in scam.

Also a flutist (though not professional). My take on this is:

- The data on cables does not show anything that would explain audible differences between cheap and expensive cables except if the connection is bad (e.g. oxidation) or the cables are very long.

- Blind tests generally do not show that people can reliable detect differences between cables (but if you ask which one they prefer they’ll tell you).

- Virtually all of the people who sell, and most of the people who buy, expensive cables claim to hear differences.

- What and how people hear is extraordinarily impacted by cognition and context. (remember the experiment with Nigel Kennedy playing in the subway? Or all the auditory illusions where people hear very different words in songs?)

One side of this debate thinks that some people are naturally "Golden Ears" and/or that critically listening trains you to notice differences that non-hobbyists either don’t notice or react to unconsciously. The other side thinks that fools and their money are soon parted.

My take is that you buy a stereo system for nothing but pleasure. If you buy and listen to music through $10k speaker cables, and get $10k worth of pleasure out of it, you got your money’s worth, regardless of whether the positive differences you hear come from some so far undetected physical difference in the electronic chain, or from the way your cognition and your hearing interact. If not, not.

BTW, you're not Loren Lind, are you?

@vanson1 isn't your statement true for all audio equipment - turntables, speakers, amplifies, preamps. phone stages, streamers and cassette decks?

I view everything is a compromise based on criteria and a high impact criteria is cost.

If you ask this forum which cable is best you get multiple options. 

There is no one answer as people like the one they currently use but are always looking for a better one. 

This tells me that there is no one best cable or people would tend to generally gravitate to a specific brand. 

Let the opinions continue. 

I wish I didn't hear the difference in cables - then again I appreciate the impact.

If you feel the same or different - I hope you enjoy the music!

I wouldn’t use Mac gear to assess any cables.  

Interesting concept recommending cables with no regard to how they interface in a system.

Let me add a little more perspective here.  I wouldn’t use colored components with rolled off highs to assess any cables.  I worked for Magnolia and heard more than my fair share of Mac/B&W D3 combos, and they simply gloss over too much detail to be useful in accurately determining the subtle yet critical differences between cables.  Whenever a customer wanted to hear the differences in cables I deferred to other more neutral and transparent electronics so the differences could be more readily heard. 

My system, being what it is, is very adequately served by inexpensive cables. A big issue for me has been bad connections between components and cables. As long as the contacts are all good I get the sound I want for cheap! My latest upgrade was changing my HDMI cables out to a couple grades above basic. I was getting frequent signal dropouts where the sound would just turn off and the picture would go black for a few seconds at a time. I assume that was also from intermittent contacts. If I just slightly wiggled and HDMI cable it could cause a dropout. The new HDMI cables seem to have solved the issue.

As for hearing differences with cables, I think some equipment combinations are particularly sensitive to cable parameters. That sort of "revealing" characteristic is a nuisance to me, basically a design defect, although a defect for one can be a feature for another. I don’t see any evidence that basic, serviceable inexpensive cables are the cause of any meaningful destruction of information in the audible range. They’re not doing anything wrong. They’re just failing to act as a remedy.

I wouldn’t use Mac gear to assess any cables.

Interesting concept recommending cables with no regard to how they interface in a system.

So, you’ve shared one experience where a more expensive PC was supposedly inferior (lots of variables at play here BTW) to a “cheaper” $6k cable. Good for you!

Actually, first started investigating cables and connectors in the early 70's. Done literally hundreds of comparisons. I'll wager on a lot more diverse gear, in more locations and on more program, live and recorded, than most. When I left Los Angeles, I filled a 55 gallon garbage bin with old cable.

Overall, I get way better bang by improving my room acoustics, vibrations, reflections, etc.

Far too many start at the wrong end. When searching for a new home before we left LA, realtors asked the missus "Why does he go around clapping and banging and shouting?" Get the room right, most everything else is a doddle. That's how recording studios are built.

Yep like I said @wesheadley dude.

Flute dude maybe wrong or maybe right?

Depends on your system. If you have a $3000.00 integrated and $1500.00 speakers then save your cash cause the cables are really only going to make a very minute change in your system. Money better spent on room treatment's.

Just opinion who am I to say how you spend your money.  

So $200 is the absolute upper limit on price we should pay on cables?

No, not for me. I'm more in the $300-$500 per cable, but I've bought pure sterling silver Musicable for stupid money, tried some higher-end Wire-World and Audioquest stuff, and Cardis. Small differences-- not better or worse.

Currently I'm running Morrow and I'm pretty happy with their approach, materials and careful build quality. I like quality connections, pure materials, and price really varies by length-- I prefer the shorter the better. I prefer no ferrous metals in the cable circuit, connectors, or panel connectors in the gear panels- replacing that stuff to all copper/brass/gold-plate makes a difference. Overall, I get way better bang by improving my room acoustics, vibrations, reflections, etc.

I once auditioned some AQ cables in a full Mac system that I would judge as pretty damn good.

I wouldn’t use Mac gear to assess any cables. They have a house sound that boosts tonal richness and rolls off the treble, which is why they’re often paired with B&W IMHO. It’s surely an attractive sound to some, but it’s a far cry from neutral and thus not a great vehicle for assessing the finer differences between cables.

moving from the $6k pre->amp IC to the $12k, the system became UNLISTENABLE.

So, you’ve shared one experience where a more expensive PC was supposedly inferior (lots of variables at play here BTW) to a “cheaper” $6k cable. Good for you! That means nothing. A lot of people throw around the term “confirmation bias” quite a bit here, but there’s another type of bias that also crops up here frequently, which is the representative bias. It’s when someone is exposed to results from a narrow sample sample or what they saw themselves a few times and extrapolates those findings across the board. Sharing one example of anything proves and means absolutely nothing.

Cables, and to a large extent HiFi, is Jewelry.

Some cables are extremely complex to fabricate and can somewhat justify their pricing on that basis. A large part is to drive marketing as in "The same technology in our $40,000 cable is used in our $400 ones."

What really gets my goat is companies like Nordost and Audioquest with their demonstrably bad geometry and silly names. By their design, these cables are tone controls and will interact positively in some instances and egregiously awful in others. Salespeople blather on about PTFE, µm plating, etc. with ZERO understanding of why the cables alter the sound.

It sounds better to the listener in a particular system and room.

Totally! Agreed. That’s all that matters. But I am very curious: if it’s possible that a $200 cable sounds better than a $50 to the listener in a particular system and room, Is it possible that a $800 cable sounds better than the $200 cable to the listener in a particular system and room? Or is it once you get to a $200 price point for a single cable, there is no more benefit to spending any more money, regardless of the listener’s system and room, and then it’s impossible that a more expensive cable can sound better than the $200 cable ?

Further, what if you buy a $800 cable for $200 via a screaming deal used? Is this allowed? Will then the $800 cable I bought used for $200 in theory MAY sound better than the $200 MSRP cable for the listener in the particular system and room?

Last question: what if someone gifted you the $800 cable? meaning, you paid nothing for it. Is it possible that this FREE cable can sound better than the $200 cable you paid money in the listener's system and room? 

Hookah. 

What makes a $200 cable better than a $50 cable?

It sounds better to the listener in a particular system and room.

Other than that:

Beauty is in thy eye of the beholder?

aka

Confirmation Bias?

So $200 is the absolute upper limit on price we should pay on cables? Is it one cable (i.e. power cord, or ICs), or all cables combined? If $200, why not $50? Or free (strip out lamp cord or alarm system wire)? What makes a $200 cable better than a $50 cable?

I really didn’t mean to rile up the MAGA loving or the placebo-denying crowd by pointing out that no one can rank cable audio quality by price (or to promote communism). I’m just pointing out the obvious-- very expensive cables include obscene profit margins and that beyond a certain build and materials quality yield little interchangeable differences that cannot be ranked by price.

You might wonder what kind of system I have-- I use a SOTA Series VI (w/vacuum & mag-lev bearing) with Origin Live Silver mkIII arm, Soundsmith Hyperion cartridge, Musical Fidelity VINYL phone-pre, McCormack DNA Gold amp and preamp, Genesis III speakers+ Genesis Servo-12 subs, Morrow cables (3 series) - for the analog chain, + dedicated power circuits, all copper wiring/grounding.

I can easily hear the differences between my phono cartridges’, between my different phono preamps, changes in speaker positioning, room treatments, vibrations treatments, etc., and yeah, I have tried multiple cables from decent to very expensive, living with them for a while before coming to any conclusions. With cables it’s just trading one set of micro-differences for another with NO relationship between price and ultimate sonic quality-- and frankly, I’d rather listen to music than the gear, which I think is, for some, a kind of obsessive distraction.

Anyway-- I’d bet anyone here that they would never be able to rank a series of cables by audio quality -- say five cables ranging from $200 - $10,000 each.

It’s all in your mind-- so if you want to believe that a $2000 piece of wire will beat a $200 piece of wire, then by all means, go for it! What was it again that P.T. Barnum said? Hope that doesn’t make me a commie!

@soix: Really? I won’t? Where’s your evidence of this

I once auditioned some AQ cables in a full Mac system that I would judge as pretty damn good. ToL B&W LS w 2x big REL subs. Well-proportioned and well-damped room. Excellent presentation with correct perspective, height, width and depth. One of the best store demos I’d ever heard.

So, moving from the $6k pre->amp IC to the $12k, the system became UNLISTENABLE. Now, you may say it comes down to personal preference.

If you’ve paying attention, I always audition with the same three tracks and only if the system passes the sniff test, do I continue. No point otherwise if it can’t cut the mustard. I start w "Ruby Baby"*, original Tommy "Underture" and finally Jarreau’s "Mornin’". The system in original configuration was really, really good. One of the best store demos ever!

On an audition change, the tune order is reversed.

On the new cable, about a minute into "Mornin’", I said "STOP. That cable is totally wrong for this system**." Asked "Why?", I answered "The perspective is all screwed up. The hat has gone from delicate to gritty. The vocal has lost all its air. The bottom is nebulous. It’s really bad."

Asked "How do you know it’s not the recording and the new cable isn’t revealing flaws in the recording?"

"Well, I recorded and mixed it and in 35 years I’ve never heard anything quite as bad. The other cable played it as I recorded it, so for my money, if I had the original system, I’d stick with it."

BTW, most of the time I just walk out part way through a demo because the systems are hopeless.

--------------------------------------

* Nichols is one of my idols.

** It’s always the system in a room and that’s why bloviator FanBoy recommendations are worthless.

@wesheadley should move on down to Venezuela. See how a state run economy is working.

Oh I know you are here to save us from our selves because we cannot make an educated decision on how to spend our disposable income. 

Who is making anyone buy the marketing hype or these (your words) over priced cables?

Think there is an open table at the Hookah Bar.  

You won't be able to tell the difference BY PRICE between a $200, $1500, and $5000 cable and rank them in order of cost because the $200 cable is not better or worse than the $5000 cable. 

@wesheadley  Really?  I won’t?  Where’s your evidence of this, or perhaps you can tell us what $200, $1500, and $5000 cables you used to make your assertions?  I’ve got several cables ranging from $500 to $2000, and the difference between the $500 and $2000 cables (as well as the others) is not hard to hear at all.  Again, what’s your evidence to back your claim cause I’d love to see why I’m not hearing what I clearly hear.  Also, what equipment is in the system you’re using to make these judgements?

Everyone is free to be ripped off. It's a free country. That's not my issue. Like I said, my issue is with bogus claims justifying stupid pricing. By all means, spend $10k on an interconnect and tell us all about the blacker backgrounds, better focus, soundstage depth, etc. But you won't be able to rank cables by how they sound in order of price beyond anything made with quality materials and build. You won't be able to tell the difference BY PRICE between a $200, $1500, and $5000 cable and rank them in order of cost because the $200 cable is not better or worse than the $5000 cable. 

Is this a "dear diary" post? 

How much are we allowed to pay for a piece of wire? Thank you. Please provide separate limits for developed countries , developing countries, emerging markets, and frontier countries. Thank you for your service to the audio community!

The reason I'm cable critical is because of the industry's long history of false claims and rampant over-charging. Yes, it is your right as an American to be ripped off. But to take that as a matter of pride just seems very weird to me. You want to pay the stupid money for a piece of wire be my guest!

Why all the animosity? “Flat earth crowd,” “obscene profits,” “sales poetry,” - who cares what others think about the cables you use? This is not a contest, but you can vote with your own wallet to buy the cables that sound best in your system - it’s all good.
I owned AZ Double Barrel Shotgun SCs and thought they were pretty good but then found other cables I liked better - multiple solid core OCC wires in foamed polyethylene. However, I also like heavy gauge old stock Western Electric speaker cables, manufactured Furutech speaker cables, and cables I made using Jupiter copper in cotton wire. I sometimes switch between them for fun.

Free market society last I checked (unless you are in say Cuba or China). You are free to buy or not buy.

Free to lie to folks by making false or unprovable claims about your grossly over-priced products or free to be chump enough to fall for them, or both? 

The only obscene thing here is notion that making obscene profits is obscene. Come on man with all the crap going on now days you pick cables and profit to be obscene?

I guess you might not see the connection between societal breakdown and the pattern in this country, in particular, of ripping people off because you can (monopolies) or because you are often free to make specious claims about whatever it is you're shucking. Do you think that's what made America great? Or did it make you money? You sound offended so I'll guess the latter.

 Go blow in a flute. 

If I do, I sure wouldn't buy that flute, or an insurance policy, or even an overpriced piece of wire, from you. Anyone that revels in the glory of being able to sell anything to anybody at rip-off (obscene) prices should apply immediately for a sales or a marketing position at any large pharmaceutical firm. You're just what they're looking for, and I hear the pay's fabulous, far better than selling overpriced magic-juju wire.

Well, I see the MAGA ll — Make Audio Great Again — flat earth crowd is now out in force here.  Yay.  Their motto:  I hear what I believe.  It’s a lot easier than admitting to the themselves that maybe either their ears or systems (or both) aren’t resolving enough to hear differences in cables.  Hey, they should be happy as they can save $$$ by using lamp cords and fire alarm wire and not know they’re missing anything.  Me?  The second I heard the Acoustic Zen Double Barrel Shotgun cables compared to my old Monster Cables it was game over — not even close.  To the MAGA ll flat earthers here I’d be happy to sell you my Monster Cables as they’re still sitting in my basement somewhere.  

Blah Blah Blah Blah …. Blah … Have you really changed anyones mind ?

Free market society last I checked (unless you are in say Cuba or China). You are free to buy or not buy.

The only obscene thing here is notion that making obscene profits is obscene. Come on man with all the crap going on now days you pick cables and profit to be obscene?

 Go blow in a flute. 

 Oh if it only be so. BTW, super high-end cable company profit margins verge on the unethical-- as in, they are obscene.

Could not agree more. Beyond materials quality and build quality most of the cable company claims are just sales poetry. At a certain level, the difference between one quality bottle of Cabernet and another is in the flavor nuances. Not better than or worse. Just small differences that you may or may not notice or care much about. You can get far better sound from room treatments than you ever will by spending thousands or more on cables. People don't want to believe that they are as subject to confirmation bias as the next person. In this case it is the askew notion that more expensive cables are better than less expensive ones because of fanciful claims and higher prices. Oh if it only be so. BTW, super high-end cable company profit margins verge on the unethical-- as in, they are obscene. 

There is a reason the OP likes the bell wire: Single strand copper conductors in a. thin sleeve - usually PVC, but can sometimes be found with the much preferred polyethylene sleeve. It’s cheep and in short runs, does a great job at transmitting an audio signal without adding any character of it’s own.

My favorite speaker cable/wire by far, regardless of price, is of the same principal only made with somewhat better materials and a little more engineering: single strand, 24 AWG,. OCC copper in a thin PTFE sleeve, with both leads helical wound and sheathed in a light, natural fiber, woven jacket. Not really cheep at about $1,200.00 for a 8’ bi-wired pair - still the best and most neutral I’ve found for my system regardless of price.

My point is - if you haven’t tried bell wire, give it a shot. If you don’t like what you hear, maybe the problem is somewhere else in your system......Jim

Flute dude maybe wrong or maybe right?

Depends on your system. If you have a $3000.00 integrated and $1500.00 speakers then save your cash cause the cables are really only going to make a very minute change in your system. Money better spent on room treatment's.

Just opinion who am I to say how you spend your money.  

Oh yeah, that’s it.  Just buy alarm system wire and be done with it.  To each his own.

If the high priced spread makes it worse, should he still buy it?

When I worked in professional studios where innumerable award winning albums and movies were recorded by award winning engineers, the only cable certainty was that any particular cable could elicit "WOW!", "meh" or "blech" depending on the microphone or recorder, console, amplifiers and speakers.

Unfortunately, many High End cable designs are Band-Aids for failings elsewhere.

@soix 

I think I covered the idea in the lower paragraph, that there were new experiences to be had by the OP and these could be quite influencing and possibly have the impact that creates a rethink on the current thought pattern that has been made known. 

"The OP might only be one or two new experiences away from an experience, that could encourage them to re-evaluate some of their prior assessments".

I never chose the Music I most enjoy, it chose me, all I needed to do was be somewhere that enabled me to encounter it and the rest is History.

As an indelible experience and encounter, I crossed paths with Fernando's Kitchen, when I was on my way to a Night Shift at Work, and they were Busking on the London Underground in the City of London.

I heard them in the Passenger Walkway  Tunnels, for a few minutes before encountering them, I was compelled to stay as a audience member and also purchased a CD from Heidi, the Lead Member. Many years on I use this CD at HiFi related events, and occasionally tell my story, lucky for me I can also share a moment with the Group with Youtube Footage being available. Ironically Ihad no interest in this Genre of music until that encounter at the end of  Train Journey.

Many years later on a London Underground Train for only a few Stations Stops prior to having to make a route change, Two Girls boarded the Tube with Guitars in their cases mounted on their backs, in front of me they commenced with practicing harmonies, I was mesmerised, and savoured every note they shared.

On arrival at my stop where a route change was needed, I thanked the two girls and explained how beautiful their harmonies were.

Prior to this the only Harmonies I was impressed by would have been the Bee Gee's Night Fever Song's. I certainly was not too interested in Harmonies.  

At a later date, I learned the Two Girls were 'First Aid Kit', with that knowledge I now own most of their released Albums.

I have seen numerous live acts, some performances are from very established Groups, that have not had an impact on me like these ones have.

Most importantly no special training of the ear was required to make such decisions about these performers, I encountered an experience that was much enjoyed and that had proved to be very attractive.

For me with HiFi it is the same, when a demonstration presents a device, it is either perceived as being attractive or not, the occasion, will usually always be enjoyed.

The more experiences I have the more familiar I am becoming with alternate presentations, and the more I become aware of what is an attractor or detractor.

These assessments are very much unique to me and as I do a lot of taking part in a demonstration in the Company of others, I rarely see unanimous evaluations where agreements are quite similar.

I certainly am not going to suggest to the OP what music they should enjoy, and I certainly am not going to suggest to the OP which Cables they should enjoy.

I will suggest to the OP that there are many more experiences/demonstrations that can be encountered if they are motivated to search them out. One of these might make just enough of an impression to make them have a re-think about continuing on with using Bell Wire.

Don't a majority of musicians of this type experience some type of hearing loss after years of performing live?

perhaps modern listeners are adding ’Sweet n Low’ with tweaks that old timers don’t miss.

Oh yeah, that’s it.  Just buy alarm system wire and be done with it.  To each his own. 

The OP “compared” a shitty Monster cable from decades ago to alarm system cable.

Just as pop music has devolved [see Why is Modern Music so Awful? - YouTube] and most quality has disappeared [see ieLogical Lossy], perhaps modern listeners are adding ’Sweet n Low’ with tweaks that old timers don’t miss.

Don’t misunderstand, it’s pure physics that interconnect cables alter the sound. Perhaps it’s akin to the demise of classis malts being replaced with flavor of the month for kiddies raised on Snapple. Cinnamon Bourbon?!!?!! NFW!