I think some cables are just a little too expensive.

So, let's see if I get all this.  If we all buy expensive wires to hook up our expensive stereo systems, everyone will become a billionaire.

Or, if we do not buy them, America will become a commie (I love that word from the 1950's!) dictatorship with an authoritarian leader who lies to the people and uses our armed services to keep us all doing what he or she says.  Or ELSE!

Wow!  I guess some of us has a LOT of time on our hands these days.

Well, thanks for the entertainment...oh, wires make no difference in systems unless you are still using the 22-gauge Radio Shack spools from your college dorm Advents from 1960 that the cat has chewed on.

Cheers!

+1 noromance, some may indicate that the cables are not expensive, just that some can’t afford them. A humbling thought. 

chrismini,
Sorry for your bad fortune, but you did tell the sad story twice. Forgive yourself and move on. Other people do similar things but don't get caught.

🤔....

as long as people have that much money available to give away ... sorry meant spend.... there will be products like this available...  

amazing 🤦🏻

Countering the fairness argument with a false dichotomy that it's either all-out Mad Max libertarianism or The Gulag is disingenuous. 
As it is, we get minimal benefits for our taxes. A few crumbs like universal healthcare, removal of property taxes, and college costs in line with Europe might be a start.

@noromance 
" As it is, we get minimal benefits for our taxes."

Considering how many countries would love to take the US down...I would say your tax benefit is far greater than minimal. Thank you.

Now back to our regularly scheduled cable melt-down....................

@barts That's what they need you to believe. 

Thanks for the link, I just purchased two!  My wife is going to hate me now.

"Sorry for your bad fortune, but you did tell the sad story twice."

Wait, are you saying that story was true?

No contradiction. Participation doesn’t get a trophy. Participation is an opportunity and sometimes in the pursuit of such the ball doesn’t bounce your way. 
Grow up.

I'd just like to get the inside scoop (i.e. what really happened) as to how they arrive at this MRP.  My suspicion is that it's more the spaghetti/ceiling method than careful cost analysis.

@twoleftears That is a very good question.  All I know, is that based on hearing quite a lot of the Transparent line, they make sure there is a pretty audible difference at each level (at least to my ears, on pretty high quality systems).  And each level doubles in cost.  Whatever the pricing strategy is, it worked to get me to buy.  But I'm unlikely to ever go past the Reference line - if I put any more money into my system, it will go elsewhere.

My conscience won’t allow me subscribe to unfettered capitalism that enables one person have 1000 million dollars.

First, the puppet masters create these conditions so 'the masses' will cry out for a government intervention.  The intervention, more government control = socialism/marxism.  

I am a capitalist/market guy but $65,000 speaker cables?  How can we influence the younger generation to get into this hobby?

They also make excellent $200 speaker cables so all is well 

@Thankful, that was actually my point, such items are a turn off to anyone wanting to get into the hobby.

Cable threads are not worth participating in much anymore. 

Is this a cable thread?

"Cable threads are not worth participating in much anymore." I feel that way about Audiogon period and have been very reluctant to post anything. I respect different opinions and like to have dialogue with people. So many threads on Audiogon turn into senseless arguments that prevents Audiogon members from learning anything. 

It is like buying a Rolex with emerald studs.  Does it keep the time any better than a $10 Casio ?  Nope.  Nuf said....

My conscience won’t allow me subscribe to unfettered capitalism that enables one person have 1000 million dollars.

Oh noromance, you mean unfettered capitalism like in China and Russia?

There is a diminishing return element to all the components in audio. I agree that $65,000 for cables is utterly ridiculous. But again, it is up to people to make their own decisions regarding their own money.
 

@glubson 
You said it yourself. The vast majority of those institutions are supported by DONATIONS... in other words, by the PEOPLE. We are BY FAR the most giving society in the world. Why? Because we the people, CAN. Our people are not being saved by other countries... There will always be the “haves” and “have nots“. No matter the scheme of governance.

Evidently, these cables are priced to appeal to a demographic that wouldn't be seen dead on Audiogon forum.

My god.  Would it be possible to talk about audio here on audiogon instead of political BS?  
Take that crap to another forum. 

Hey, check this out, a cable comment!
If you have read some of my other dialogue/comments on other threads than you would know that I really enjoy the Audioquest brand of products for signal cables, speaker cables, power cables, and AC conditioners.  So here comes the comment.  I have owned the Rocket 88 speaker cables for the past year.  It's a very good and very respectable cable that is not inexpensive at $1,200 for an 8' pair (relative to one's budget) but not too terribly expensive either (also, relative to one's budget).  I just took delivery of a significant step up in the line, the William Tell ZERO speaker cable, which is $3,000 for an 8' pair.  This is pushing the boundary of cost on speaker cable, for me.  I had a good long listening session last night.  I figured that I would be pleased with results.  However, what I discovered was a level of improvement that went well past my expectations.  It was rather awesome, to say the least.  Some of you may want to think that I found the greatly improved results only due to my wanting to rationalize the added expense, or possibly some other explanation.  I have been involved with quality audio products for many years and know better than that.  If the product is not so good I won't make excuses to find any justification for my investment, I'll just move on.  The bottom line is that high grade (and yes, more costly) speaker cable (and other types of cables) do indeed play a big role in overall sound quality.  And, more importantly, in personal enjoyment of your audio system. 

Now, does $65,000 for a pair of speaker cables make sense to me?  Absolutely not.  I don't have the rest of the system that would keep up, even if it does provide some added level of sound quality.  And it's way out of my league and budget, anyway.  I have always recommended to buy products that are a good relative match to one another.  Even that, however, leaves plenty of room for placing your money how you best believe it will provide the best return on investment and maybe leave room for ad-on improvements at a later date.  If you have the money, if you have the desire, and if you have the smarts to know where best to place your investment, then you should do as you wish.
Do enjoy the music. 

I'm waiting for the $100K speaker cables! Audio Note are you listening?

I plan on upgrading from Ultra G5 to REF when I can, but that is about as far as I can stretch it, and that.. is a BIG stretch for me.

I would hate to think reputable cable companies would try to fool us into thinking we can get a lot better sound if we spend a lot more money. So I did spend a lot more money on my cables because they sounded much more neutral, however with a slightly forward presentation, not warm but there was notably less edge on the crack of snare rim shots, slightly more air under orchestral strings without being too floaty, still have a well preserved image on delicate  garden music (you can actually hear the Petunias growing), a wonderful open, but slightly restrained sound on Norwegian Death metal. They also have a masculine look  without being offensive to those of a more gentle nature. Also they don't need batteries.

Nice. That's about $6 worth of laminate print over ABS to emulate carbon fiber. Good biz if you can find a buyer!

are you saying Transparent is lying about the network being Carbon Fiber?

Cable threads are not worth participating in much anymore.

why not?...I find them extremely interesting...it is a good measure of the sanity of our society..

There are regular cables, and then there are cables with a built-in network/component, the two are totally different animals. A lot can be done to change the sound with a network connected to it.
What will they come up with next, a cable with drivers at the end, and still call it a cable? 

You goez to work,you savez your moneyz, and you buyz stuff. Welocome to the real world. I can’t afford Uber expensive items,and never will. But by God,I will not begrudge someone  that can. That my friends is the US of A. Everyone does not get a participation award. 

After 40 years in this hobby, I have bought and retired probably 50 pairs of speaker cables. I think most of us have the "used cable" box or drawer. I will say that there is some logic to the phrase "pay once and cry once". As long as the "pay once" cables are indeed a ’final solution’ or the absolute best for your speakers and system, and if you achieve musical satisfaction, where you can say "there may be better out there, but in the here and no - I'm good". There is definite value to no longer wondering or being somehow dissatisfied with the sound of your system. Quality, technologically advanced high end cables ARE ’too expensive’; but they represent not just material cost(s), but time, designer’s experience, and technology implementation. How much is your time and ultimately satisfaction worth? Personally, if they are the perfect fit for my amp and speakers, speaker cables for example are worth one-two weeks salary. A month’s? Probably not so much. But, it’s going to be different for everyone.

are you saying Transparent is lying about the network being Carbon Fiber?

No, I'm saying "That's about $6 worth of laminate print over ABS to emulate carbon fiber."   You know ... like the CF laminate parts you can buy for automotive trim for $20 to make things look expensive.

The network is made of carbon fiber. Go look at one in person and try to peel the laminate off? LOL...
You have obviously never seen one in person.

@mikelavigne 

Thanks for throwing some perspective.  I fantasize about owning certain gear I will never own, usually pre-amps and DACs.  I will reserve some dream-time for cables.

oldhvymec

"Allow"? It wasn’t allowed in the 1950s. We had a 90% tax rate, ... and we had David Hafler. The Dyna Stereo-70 amplifier was launched in 1959, and more than 350,000 sold before production ceased, making the ST-70 the most popular tube power amplifier in history. Today, the Dynaco ST-70 is still considered to be one of the most outstanding tube amplifiers ever made.

In order for technology to "trickle down", there has to be some quantifiable proof that 1.) there is in fact some technology that is being applied in a product that is not found in cheaper models, and 2.) that the technology actually fixes an issue in some repeatable way.  It should also be true that there is a level of technology/use of materials that will be the best for the job, and there would be no better in the transmission of signals.  You might not have the level of equipment that would take full advantage of the "best" cables, but the idea that you should spend a certain percentage of your money on cables no matter how much you spend makes no sense. Similar to walking into a car dealership and asking a car's price, and the the salesman asking how much money you have, because he bases the price of the car off of that.  What that magic level is, there is no agreement nor evidence to prove it one way or the other (the cable companies certainly don't provide it). As always, if spending $20,000 on cables will make you happy somehow, have at it.  At least try expensive cables with the option of taking them back if you must, and keep the ones that fill your heart with joy.

Maybe these are more in your price range. ;)

I have a lot of heritage low end of this brand and it works quite well for my ears. Blew away everything I ever replaced with them for both interconnects and speaker interfaces.

https://mitcables.com/product/acc-268-articulation-control-console/

Prices for audio equipment are unbelievable. I inherited what was probably, at new prices in 1980, a system that cost about $12,000 back then. I inherited it from an audio dealer friend who passed away. I've listened to this system since 1998. It blows me away. The best part of this system is the preamp - a Spatial Coherence TVA1. There were only 400 ever made, and I am privileged to have one. Its sound has been compared to preamps costing $20K or more. This system does far more than keep me happy. 

chrismini

Thanks for sharing. This is a Top level cable system for a Top level audio system. One owes to himself to find such a set up in retail to hear all things possible. Audio Advice in Raleigh NC is one dealer/retailer to feature this experience.  Expensive- yes. Experience- priceless.

Happy Listening!

@mikelavigne  After you sold you VR9SEs, didn't you replace them with VR55s or the Ultra 9s?  I intend to purchase the VR9SE MkIIs.  I have a superb engineered listening room but I don't want to buy larger tube amps so I decided against the much less efficient VR55s.  I figure that the adjust-ability will make up for the new technology of the VR55s (the Ultra 9s are out of my price league).

The multiple times I've auditioned systems using Transparent Audio cabling, it seemed that the more expensive cabling levels resulted in worse sounding systems (even though the systems also were more expensive).  Just my experience.

I am a beta tester for a cable manufacturer and don't intend to change my cabling with any new equipment (cartridge and speakers only).  After 20+ years of testing and various lines, I purchased the top of the line Pharaoh GroverHuffman cables which retail in the $700 to $1000 range for PCs and ICs and double that for long speaker cables.  His Empress line now incorporates some of the new attributes of the Pharaoh line at 40%-50% lower price.  My system is high end but by no means SOTA.  The cabling is as important as the equipment.

A little expensive ?

After you sold you VR9SEs, didn’t you replace them with VR55s or the Ultra 9s? I intend to purchase the VR9SE MkIIs. I have a superb engineered listening room but I don’t want to buy larger tube amps so I decided against the much less efficient VR55s. I figure that the adjust-ability will make up for the new technology of the VR55s (the Ultra 9s are out of my price league).

@fleschler

my Von Schweikert story has a few twists and turns, a few i’ll keep to myself.

obviously i owned VR9SE’s in 2005-2006 until a friend (from Hong Kong) made me an offer to buy them i could not refuse. so what i did was try to purchase VR11SE’s. at first i was going to buy a set of VR11SE demo’s, but it turned out they were already sold. so i ordered a new set to be built. this was summer of 2006. Von Schweikert then sent me a set of VR7SE’s to use until my VR11SE’s showed up.

5 months later my VR11SE’s had not yet even been started, i had no idea what was going on, so i decided to buy a set of speakers from a new company, Evolution Acoustics. i bought the 2nd set of MM3’s to be produced. i was still waiting for my VR11SE’s to show up thinking when i got those i would choose which speakers to keep. i then had the MM3’s, the VR7SE’s in my garage crated up, and the VR11SE’s still on order.

turned out there was a dispute between my dealer and Von Schweikert which was causing the delay in starting my VR11SE’s. and eventually by mutual agreement the order was cancelled.....but not because i did not want those speakers. a few years later there was a legal settlement involved which i’m not getting into.

so i did not leave Von Schweikert, Von Schweikert left me! and i still love those speakers to this day.

btw; the ’Ultra’ versions of the Von Schweikert speakers did not appear until 5-6 years ago.....2014-2015; which was 8 years after my experience. when i was involved it was just ’SE’.

and.......my Evolution Acoustics MM3's and now my MM7's were designed by Kevin Malmgren, who also happened to be the designer of the VR9SE and VR11SE while he worked for Von Schweikert.....prior to moving over to Evolution.