2. cables
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DO CABLES REALLY MATTER?

Yes they do.  I’m not here to advocate for any particular brand but I’ve heard a lot and they do matter. High Fidelity reveal cables, Kubala Sosna Elation and Clarity Cable Natural. I’m having a listening session where all of them is doing a great job. I’ve had cables that were cheaper in my system but a nicely priced cable that matches your system is a must.  I’m not here to argue what I’m not hearing because I have a pretty good ear.  I’m enjoying these three brands today and each is presenting the music differently but very nicely. Those who say cables don’t matter. Get your ears checked.  I have a system that’s worth about 30 to 35k retail.  Now all of these brands are above 1k and up but they really are performing! What are your thoughts. 
calvinj

Showing 6 responses by rhartshorn

rhartshorn
8 posts
 
To my ears, a good quality cable makes a significant difference. However, I play in the cheap end of the pool, and buy used, close out deals, and cruise flea bay on a regular basis. I recently picked up a pair of zu audio wyld cables in their outlet for $32.  They sound substantially better than the old audioquest evergreen cables ($18 )to my ears, and at the moment a bit worse than my silver wire interconnects ($28).  I’ll give them some time to break in (yeah, I believe in that too) on my secondary system. 
My point?  Cables can make a definitive difference, there are always deals if you’re willing to hunt for them and be patient, and not everyone who talks about cables is trying to impress/brag upon how much their system cost. 
rhartshorn
8 posts
 
I totally agree with you Calvinj. I don’t need an astrophysicist’s level of understanding how a sunset works to enjoy one.
rhartshorn
8 posts
 
One overall observation to this topic - I often find that the things I like about how a tweak makes my music sound are not always the things that are the truest to the music. I’ve heard some vocalists that live will make your ears bleed, but through the magic of mixing in the studio become quite listenable. In that case, aren’t we already giving up the idea of audio purity and chasing what sounds good?  That’s an entirely different conversation than what the most accurate reproduction of sound is. If all we wanted was accuracy we’d all have studio monitors. 
rhartshorn
8 posts
 
So prof, a question for you then.

Supposing a studio uses a certain grade of cable, and cost had something to do with it. If that same studio went Nordost (or similar) would there then be a higher ceiling for how “good” the sound would be and that ceiling could only be reached by using a Nordost or similar cable?  Or is the studio grade stuff they’re already using as good as you feel a cable has the ability to sound?
rhartshorn
8 posts
 
Sorry Prof, I might have missed that you weren’t an engineer. I’m still catching up on who’s who. Your statement is actually quite logical. It would seem that one cannot reproduce sound that is objectively more accurate than the source. I think that might bring my observation more into the forefront then...   we’re actually chasing what sounds good to us and not what is necessarily the most accurate.  I think we might be able to agree that different metals or construction techniques might offer a different sound, and that sound might be more or less pleasant to an individual listener in a given system. However, I’m no engineer either, so I could be wrong. 
rhartshorn
8 posts
 
Very true. I am of the opinion that if you’re enjoying what you hear then you’re doing it right, whether you’re listening through bent coat hanger or million dollar depleted uranium balanced cables. 
It does make conversations like this difficult though, because enjoyment is subjective, so people look for objectivity in measurements. If those don’t exist to support an opinion, then it may be “right” to the person hearing it, and wrong to the data driven types. 
For myself, I’ll keep tweaking my system and hopefully enjoying the results. 
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