I've had problems with their "I'm smarter than you" salespeople. But there's no better cable resource.
For Those Who Are Unaware of The Cable Company
If you are shopping for new cables and are intimidated by the enormous range of possibilities, The Cable Company might be of interest to you because:
1) Their cable lending library is an affordable means of borrowing already burned in cables and auditioning them at home.
2) They offer individualized advice based upon your budget, gear and sonic preferences.
3) Return/refund policy.
There have been some complaints in the past about salesmen pushing particular brands. This hasn't been my experience, however. I've repeatedly sought out the guidance of one particular guy and I couldn't be more satisfied with how I've been treated and the sonic improvements. If you are intersected, PM me and I will provide you with his name.
They don't carry every cable in existence. Nobody does. But they carry a much greater range than anyone else I know of. Accordingly, my last 5 out of 6 cable purchases have been from them.
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+1 @lalitk +1 @krelldog agree didn't meet my expectations. |
I don’t agree that their prices are somehow out of line. The guy I’ve ended up working with is unfailingly patient and has never pressured me to buy anything. It’s a collaborative relationship, not a dictatorial or manipulative one. He’s let me keep cables longer than stated on the website. Once, when he was on vacation, I talked to another guy who I did not like at all. I simply waited until my guy was back. Yes; at times he gets very busy and I may have to wait a couple days for a response or call back but I don’t mind this. No big deal. If you want to go the buying used, trying and selling what you don’t like route, then clearly TCC is not for you. For me, selling gear is an unavoidable part of the hobby but not something I want to do any more than necessary. Nor do I want to deal with buying new cables and hoping they’ll burn in before it’s time to return them. I find the opportunity to try several.cables from different manufacturers at a given price point from one source a very convenient and practical way to go. |
There are a few folks better at being more helpful than others at TCC, for sure. Whether people like the price or not, having a library to choose from is a nice option if you dont like to buy/try/returning cables at one of the big retailers. The good news is you can pick and choose the final set of cables you like the most once you are done rotating a handful of cable sets. Enjoy!
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@stuartk Tried sending you a PM but it wasnt an option. Possibly they changed how to do that since the last time I attempted it. Trying to find out the guys name that provided you with excellent customer service. Thanks in advance! |
Funny, about i.e. "pushy sales people". Let's see, folks contact them about cables, because they sell cables and might let you try them. They are in business to provide a product and a service to the general public, and to make a profit doing it, or they would not be able to remain in business any longer. If you are calling them to simply waste time, or preloaded with a bunch of long-winded questions with no intent to buy anything, yep - best to just move on and let them help other customers who are serious. I have absolutely no affiliation with The CableCo but can't imagine what its like to be a salesperson trying to help people out who dont want to pay for a little extra for advisory and consulting to get the best value cables for their system. The whole damn thing is a crapshoot anyhow not knowing if any cables will help your system or not. Just have to try it and see what works. And, what TheCableCo is all about. Option-B is to buy a stack of cables, try them all out, take a big loss reselling later. |
The lending library is part of their sales model, you should expect they'd not be happy with one who endlessly borrows, never purchases. With freq. flyer program you end up paying at competitive price. As for pushy sales people, you, the customer are the boss, simply reminding them of this in a kindly way usually makes for a satisfactory exchange. |
I just received a new Acrolink interconnect from them, brand new. Wait time was 6-7 weeks. The importer of Acrolink is a real sh**head, he sat on my order for weeks but Steve at the Cable Co stayed on him and he finally checked his stock and shipped it to me. If it wasn’t for Steve, I would still be waiting. Steve sent me numerous email messages keeping me up to date. I will definitely do business with them again. |
I worked a the CC for a number of years. There were numerous people that were simply information and time sucking Dudleys .. The CC is a business; as such if you want to sit around the campfire chatting about cables maybe do it on a forum such as this. I know from experience that if I have a customer that buys stuff I’d take as much time as they needed. |
Makes perfect sense. I don't contact them unless I have a specific sonic goal in mind and money in hand. I can see how dealing with "tire kickers" could get old very fast! I prefer to establish long-term relationships with businesses. I guess this is an old-fashioned idea that I picked up from my dad, but at any rate, it requires mutual trust and knowingly wasting someone's time is not a particularly effective strategy for nurturing trust.
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