2. cables
  3. 137534-112139

Looking For 90% of the performane of the super expensive cables for much less money

I currently have a system which consists of Vandersteen 5A's, THor Audio TP-150 tubed monoblocks, Thor Line Stage and Thor phono stage, Marantz SACD player SA-114 and will take delivery of the VPI Prime Scout with a Sumiko EVOS 3 Cartridge. I am currently using LAT International Speaker Cables, Power Cords and Interconnects. (They are no longer in business). I am in immediate  need of turntable cables and would like to update my new speaker cables and interconnects. Not willing to spend thousands on this upgrade. Seeking to capture as much of the "magic" that the super expensive cables deliver but at a more realistic price point. I understand that I have really good quality equipment, but at this stage of my life cannot allocate mega dollars towards cables.
 Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 
kjl1065

Showing 2 responses by almarg

almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Regarding Clear Day cables which Stringreen suggested above, there has recently been sad news regarding the health of its proprietor, and he may no longer be able to produce cables.  See this recent thread:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/trouble-contacting-clear-day-cables

Regards,
-- Al 
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Regarding the phono cable, if perchance your EVO III cartridge is the high output version you will want to keep in mind the following statement in the cartridge’s manual:

Note: If your receiver or pre-amp has capacitance loading capabilities, a Sumiko high output moving coil cartridges should be loaded with a value no higher than 200pf, and ideally below 100pf.
According to a review I’ve seen in "Soundstage" the Thor TA-3000 phono stage (if that is the model you are using) does indeed provide a selection of four different load capacitance settings.

You would presumably want to use the lowest of those four settings, if I’m correctly assuming that the numbers in their statement refer to the total of wiring capacitance plus phono stage input capacitance. But given that the tonearm cable and the connectors that are involved will probably present a load capacitance in the area of 20 or 30 pf or so, keeping the wiring capacitance in itself in the area of 100 pf will not be possible with many phono cables.    ***And that has no particular correlation with price.***    For example, the Purist Genesis phono cable has a capacitance of 45 pf per foot, while the far less expensive Signal Cable Silver Resolution phono cable is 18.9 pf per foot.

If your EVO III is the low output version, though, while cable capacitance would be considerably less important, minimizing it would still be preferable. See the information provided by Lyra cartridge designer Jonathan Carr that is quoted at this link, which is based on test results with a low output moving coil cartridge having the same output voltage rating as the low output version of the EVO III. And note the conclusion:

Comparing the simulations of the 3 cables shows that higher capacitances in the tonearm-to-phono stage interconnect cable demand lower resistor values at the phono stage input to control the resonant high frequency peaks. This in turn reduces the cartridge’s dynamics and resolution, and can also worsen tracking ability.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al
More to discover