Cable upgrades

Congratulations. Yes, at first listen before being broken in, cables tend to be forward and a bit bright… they “relax” over time. So, you are doing the right thing.

Tell us how this turns out. Sorry it is such a pain for you, but I am really interested. I owned some of the same cables and are familiar with most of the Vardas lines.

OP,

I am familiar with Cardas Golden Reference. The odd thing is, your description of the sonic effect is completely contrary to what they sound like… by design and observation. Is it possible they were counterfeit? They are extremely warm cables that emphasize the bass and midrange, easily attenuating the high frequencies.

While some cables are highly dependent on the components… some cables… like these have a very definite sound… from their materials and construction. I am really puzzled. 

Audio cables/wires typically have some dominant characteristics, characteristics which they tend to impart to any system. Cardas tend to be warm… some very warm. Transparent and Straight Wire tend to be very transparent, imparting no net difference. Whether one sounds good on your system will depend on its components and your values. Matching cables to systems can be reliably recommended on this basis if the person knows the change they want. But Transparent cables will not warm up a cool system, and Cardas will not cool off a system.

Some cables have little impact on some or all sound characteristics, and the nuances that are changed can vary from system to system. Often the change might be fitting the values of the system to the user.

But in this case the effect of a well known cable was contrary to the known major characteristic.

James,

Sure. The rule of thumb is 10% the total of a component or system. It is not hard and fast. Because while wires have general characteristics and overall with additional cost they sound better… generally lower noise floor, greater dynamics and transparency… they are in your system. Each system is unique and will perform differently in each. The better the system, typically the bigger impact… looking at it as if it is a scientific instrument, the higher quality, the more sensitive. so a percentage makes sense… at least as a starting place.

Also, maybe one component has a very delicate sound and the interconnect is masking it… then it can have a very out sized effect.

Ten percent is only a place to start. I have had interconnects that cost 30% the value of the unit and were worth it, because I could not trade up components and get that sound quality boost. So, they must clearly pay for themselves in terms of sound quality improvements. This is why this tends to be a lifetime pursuit. To get good enough to know the value of sound quality among components and accessories and know your own values is a complex and long termed pursuit.

Buying used can get more impact. The Cable Company offers lots at roughly 1/2 price. Great was to start. I bought older Transparent to verify these were good solution and then bought new and higher level during a system upgrade.

I don’t think the generality is intended to be anywhere that specific, it’s more a question of are you fishing in the right hole. That said, yes, that makes sense. Then there is the big question of do these have the right tonal balance / synergy with your system.

The way I use it is a starting point for what I am going to plan on spending… so if my component is say $12K I’ll start looking in the $1.2K range… used. I will do everything I can to get the very best (I do lots of research on the qualities of the wires and hopefully try them).

My most recent upgrades have been from a knowledge base of forty years.. so, I knew what different brands sounded like and also the improvement in my preferred brand (Transparent) and so I bought all new. The most recent series upgrade was very significant.

OP,

Honestly the way I do wires is in phases. Speaker cables and interconnects and stop. I will use the 10% as a guide on those. [understand, I have all sorts of wires laying around from the past 50 years of audiophilia]. When I have finished, I will do additional moving speakers / room treatments. Then I will attack the power cords. By this stage I know my system really well and have recovered financially. So, I will then see how much effect power cords have. So, I guess I have always added those later outside of the rest of the budget.

However, the amplifier power cord can often make one of the largest impacts… up there with the speaker wires. If you make sure you get a big sonic impact from each purchase then if you end up spending more it is OK.

😊

OP,

‘Don’t be in a hurry to upgrade your power cords. Enjoy the component in your system as is. Get to know it really well (while financially recovering). Then when you know the sound of your system start looking for power cords. 

OP,

Thanks for your report on how it is going.

Yes, the change from good power cords can be huge and really counterintuitive.