2. cables
  3. 173707-139283

How Big of a Difference?

Hello all,

I have near completed upgrading my system, but have left my speaker wire the same. My system is as follows- Laptop (Tidal) > Schiit Gumby Multibit > Freya S > Vidar monoblocks > speakers. My usb cable is Supra usb, and I am using xlr connections with amazon basics cables. If I am not mistaken, xlr is already super good at being noise resistance so I shouldn't need to spend more $ on fancy cables at my current level of audio equipment. My speaker wire is traditional 12 gauge wire I spliced from the spool. Nothing fancy. The reason I feel I shouldn't spend money on better speaker wire is because I traded the Supra usb for a super cheap usb and could not hear a difference. On top of that, I used to use single-ended connections using Chord C-line cables, and I could not tell the difference between those and cheap ones. What is everyone else's consensus? Can you guys hear a difference in your system? Thanks for the help.

oedstrom11

Showing 1 response by rudyb

rudyb
141 posts
 

I'm not surprised you didn't hear a difference between the USB cables ... that's because there IS no difference. Any decent USB cable brings the 0's and 1's to the other end perfectly fine without errors.

With speaker cable there could be audible differences, given the rest of your setup is capable of bringing out the nuances. But it'll be subtle ... so subtle that only few people with almost absolute hearing will be able to spot them. These people exist, just like there are people who can name the vineyard when they smell and taste a wine, or the 'nose' of a perfume brand, who designs the fragrances. But these people are rare and are well trained ... the question is if you can hear the difference.

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