I'm looking for a pair of interconnects that won't shatter the bank....
....but I have some extenuating circumstances that may make that impossible. First things first, the interconnects both have to end in RCA Male-to-Male because I don't have an XLR option and every component uses RCA connections.
I am running a bi-wired and bi-amped system so the interconnect runs are rather long. The longest run is around 9 feet and connects my preamp to my Subwoofer In ( the Subwoofer is a Sunfire SDS-12 ). The second run is shorter but still long. It's the Subwoofer Out to the Amplifier In which is about 6 feet. Obviously, I am looking for interconnects that already have those RCA connections attached.
Depending, yep, exotic wire to subwoofers in a good hi-fi system may not be the greatest value. That said, when fine tuning a highly resolving system where thoughtful, meticulous choices have been made over years of improvements, everything matters. My two sealed (non-ported) revealing subwoofers retail for about $2,200.00, the pair. Upgrading from my basic Mogami cable (well under $50.00) to Luminous Audio Technology's entry level interconnects ($119.00 one meter) proved wonderfully effective. Deep, tuneful low bass is a construct for improving the rest of the frequencies. These choices are led by degree of passion in one's pursuits. Money well spent here. More Peace. Pin
Duke turned me on to the fact that cable quality hardly matters with subs. He swore ordinary wire off a reel just as good as anything. So I tried it and sure enough he is right. Next I tried interconnects. I have several, currently using the cheapest one because it simply does not matter. Power cords slightly different story. Subs do need current. But even there I wouldn't do much. Save your money for where it will make a big difference, using Pods under the subs. Far greater improvement there than any wire.
Serious question - how many of you spend as much for cables for a subwoofer as you do the subwoofer itself? We're talking about a cable for a $700 subwoofer...
Several recommendations for Pine Tree Audio here. I agree! Well made quality products for very reasonable prices. Plus, they are good guys to deal with. They'll work with you.
Word to the wise... avoid any dealings with Mark Tunis. His products fall far short of all expectations, even the simple expectation of getting what you pay for. His soldering job is crap and the ends he uses are the cheapest no name crap he can find. He does NOT deliver the product he advertises. Plus the guy is a first class scum bag!
Interconnects on subs are the lowest priority I know. I've got plenty of really high end interconnects, and can stand nothing less on my mains. But on subs I have tried them, and use the same cheap junk that I recommended earlier. Horses for courses.
Save your money for where it will make a difference.
Miller at on is correct about the subwoofer run. On high quality cost effective cables and interconnects I recommend DH labs. I have used them for many years before I could afford high end interconnects. They are very good and cost effective.
Hi stereoisomer,. Yes, the minefield of wire is daunting. I won't bore you and Members with qualifications...past posts cover some. I recently upgraded interconnects both to my main monitors as well as to my 2 subwoofers with Luminous Audio cables. I have reached a place in my process of refinement where the upgrades don't attempt to fix or correct anything that seems missing or off, rather, it's a reach for more reality from the illusion. Instead of attending the musical event, by bringing the event into YOUR space. The Synchestra Reference now pair to the mains and the Monarch II's to the 2 subwoofers. To the subs, I was running some nicely made Mogami. And yes, the upgrade to the subs is significant, contrary to the opinions above. Tonality, apparent speed and depth is substantially improved. The Synchestras reach into the worlds of the exotics at a fraction of the cost, which is Tim Stinson's niche. His twenty years of design and impassioned listening result in a soundstage and dimensionality for purists. Onwards, and More Peace..Pin
I really like Blue Jeans Cable for almost everything. You can order custom length subwoofer cables from Blue Jeans Cables that sound great and also look great.
Their recommended subwoofer cable at the top of the subwoofer cable page is Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Analog Audio Cable.
I can't hear any difference between this and my very expensive reference subwoofer cable in any of my systems except for my expensive reference system and even then the difference is subtle.
I made DIY in-wall cables for most of my subwoofers with great success using Belden 1694a coaxial cable that I ran through the walls and cut to length then terminated with F-connectors. This is easy to do with affordable tools and even easier if you use twist on F-connectors. To convert to RCA for the equipment at each end I added affordable F Female to RCA Male Convertors that I bought online. I prefer the sound of the Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Analog Audio Cable to my DIY cables but I had to swap them back and forth a bunch to hear any difference.
Okay, to answer your question correctly: YES. You absolutely may use video cables (75ohm coax) as an analog audio interconnect.
And in fact it is actually a good choice.
As HiFiGuy528 points out, you can also use a video coax as a digital audio interconnect (which requires 75ohm coax).
Curbach is correct that he does not know, and despite it 'sounding' like a bad idea, it is a perfectly fine idea, and you are most likely correct in assuming that these will probably better than some cheapos.
For analog audio, the primary needs are good shielding, and low capacitance. A video coax will by definition have a shield, and generally it should be quite decent, and often quite good particularly if it's a larger coax. In addition, a 75ohm coax, by the inherent physical geometry of a 75ohm coax line, will have rather low capacitance which is also good. Check and check!
It should also be noted that 75ohm CATV coax (the stiffer stuff for cable TV/Satellite, etc) is usually copper-clad-steel, and should NOT be used for any of these purposes (analog audio, digital audio, analog video, digital video). It should also be said that the reverse of your question (can I use an analog audio cable for video, digital audio, CATV?) will depend on the cable, but the answer may be NO (unless it is a 75ohm coax and it is so labeled clearly on the cable).
Cliff notes: absolutely go ahead and use them. And you should feel good about the choice. In fact, it's not a bad idea to buy high-quality video cables and use them everywhere as you are less likely to run into bizarre 'snake-oil' type designs. The disadvantages are (basically) nil, from an engineering perspective."
I have been using Mogami Gold RCA too RCA.This cable can also be used as digital S/PDIF. I have tried many IC over the years and are very satisfied with MOGAMI XLR as well. Do your research and you will find that it is one of the cable choices for PRO. recording studios.
I have all Pine Tree Audio cables and IC. Nice copper interconnects and ribbon speaker cables. Customer service beyond expectations. Quick shipment and reasonably priced. I would say all the stuff I have is neutral in sound. The IC I have is 65 for 1M.
PS i think silver coated will give you a little brighter sound and will cost more.
My system is mostly wired with Morrow, series 3 and 5 interconnects. They are a good value, IMHO. I needed a short length of RCA cable due to the addition of a transformer, and just as a placeholder, I ordered the house-assembled Audio Quest RCAs from Audio Advisor. I was afraid they would be a bottleneck for the whole system, but I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't audition the cable without the new transformer, which I used to solve a hum issue, so I can't say how much of the sound is from the cables or the transformer, but system is just kicking butt right now. Sounds better than ever. AFAIK, custom lengths should be available in this affordable cable. https://www.audioadvisor.com/mobile/prodinfo.asp?number=AQBMII
Any cable from the various UK manufacturers such as Chord, Atlas, ecosse, QED....these brands are seldom mentioned. They all make excellent lower budget line cables.
What I’d do is get myself some decent looking but not too much costing cables from no matter what brand or store. There are many myths about audio cables and most of it is marketing babble to lure your into paying top dollar for ’left rotating silver atoms’ that in the end are just metal strands worth only a couple.
Of course if it makes you feel good when you pay a lot for some nice looking audio equipment then that can be worth the investment, but only for that reason, that it feels nice, while probably it doesn’t really sound better. With a blind A/B test most people won’t be able to hear a difference. You only hear a difference because you just shelled out $500 or more for some esoteric interconnects and now your brain tells you you want/need to hear a difference.
Check out Kimber Kable. They have silver which has the lowest resistance. You don't need silver for the subs, but I REALLY like silver over copper for everything else. Amp, preamp, DAC, phono and not that much $$.
There are some amazingly good cables available on Amazon for a fraction of the advertised brands. Like 10% of their cost. Next rung up I'd have to go with Pangaea. I got a a set of their TT cables and am very pleased for under $100. Beyond that, your wallet is the limit.
A little over eight years ago I came across a very positive review of Stager cables in Audiocgon:https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/stager-silver-solid-interconnects-2.htmlBased on that and other reviews and user comments on the Silver Solids website, I decided to try a one meter pair, given that I could return it for a fill refund if I wasn't satisfied.Long story short: They're exceptional cables, among the finest available probably at any price. My entire system is uses Stagers, and some friends who share my love of music, live and well reproduced, also have them and are very happy with them. And they are not as expensive as you'd expect for this level of excellence. (I just checked and the prices are still the same as when I bought them in 2013.) It would be advisable to use best the best cables for all your runs, being that they will be in series from preamp to subwoofer and back to your amplifiers. But if you can run the subwoofer independently and just use silver interconnects to you amplifiers, with splitters at the preamp, then the quality of the subwoofer cables will not be as important. But then you would be running the stereo speakers full range and the subs just for some additional low end boost.
@tom6897 Right? Details are actually helpful. As mentioned above, interconnects to the sub make little difference. So many other cable possibilities. None of us can give you any sort truly meaningful advice though without more details.
Why do people consistently ask for help and only give partial details instead of all the information needed to properly answer the question? A cheap cable to me is $600😂
I use SKW RCA cables, available on amazon. They provide a noticeable improvement over cheapo cables and won't break the bank. The sound improvement in the connection between my CD player and preamp was actually shocking.
I personally find most cables and the differences over-rated by LOT. There are certainly poor cables - you need solid connectors, hopefully a shielded cable, and relatively pure copper twisted pair (or with a shield, not, I guess...). The insulation ought to have linear dialectric properties since it is a very, very small capacitor.
There are several very reputable makers of raw cable including Mogami and cardas, as well as the truly industrial stuff (but then you need to understand and spec everything, so maybe not for you if you;re asking int he first place). There are a few places that assemble them - some are noted above, and others are right on Amazon and advertize what their raw materials are. Depending on several factors 12 foot pairs might be on the order of $100-150/pair.
Also agree with MillerCarbon that you might look at your cable map. I am however assuming you have a good reason: (i don’t know your sub-woofer, but the following is commonplace) that you are using the low-pass and high pass filters built into your sub-woofer. If you want to avoid running everything through it you;d need to duplicate at least half of that and ensure that the LPF and HPF are synergistic - a bit of a DIY. But yes, over time, improving that crossover and associated wiring could help at the cost of complexity for you. G
The one to the sub won’t matter, so buy whatever length you need from Best Buy or similar for $20 and call it good. You should not be running a sub out to your amplifier. That is sending your stereo signal through the sub, never a good idea. Ditch that, run another cheap IC to the sub and now you only need one good one from preamp to amp.
I bought two component cables, and ended up with 3 pairs of stereo interconnects, each pair matching colored locking rca connectors, then I just marked both ends of my positive one in each pair with red tape.
you could save money if only 1 long run is needed, use 2 of the 3 and have a spare single, but the connectors would be different colors if that matters.
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this guy, matching stereo pairs, you pick lengths, 99.9998 (hah), locking rca connectors
When I wanted to add some new IC’s to my system I bought 5 pairs of Audioquest Silver Extremes from HCM. $90/pair for 1 meter. HCM will provide longer lengths for an additional charge. These sold new for $400/pair! An excellent IC!
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