"Loom" cabling vs. 'mix n match' ?

I used to be of the mindset that a "loom" set from one supplier was best, going down the ever widening rabbit hole of Nordost cables.

Finally woke up, sold the lot and read a little more and started to mix and match depending on what component and what "tonal" effect I might be trying to achieve.

Never looked back and definitely better off for it sonically and financially!

@uberwaltz

Would you mind sharing a bit of your path? I like Nordost a lot but my wallet doesn't like it so much.

you mean my current cabling ?  it's nothing serious, as I'd been playing a Wadia one-box S7i since 2009.  It's a discarded Audience power cord (hand me down from a friend who since ascended to the Vivaldi stack), a DH Labs 110 aes/ebu ($89) and siltech IC's also given to me. My new DAC deserves much better and I'm eyeing a loom of Acrotec-Mexcel wires because they're made of very very pure metals. I have their phono-cable 8N something which is the best cable in my system. Amp is a VAC Phi 300 amd speakers, Wilson ophia 3's.  I've been building up to this system since I was 28 when I built a Heathkit.  I'm 74 now. 

Pokey.

With all Nordost I found the sound was a little thin and lean although very detailed.

First area I started with was speaker cables replacing Purple Flare with Western Electric tinned copper cables.

I still really like Nordost digital cables, the Heimdall 2 spdif was an amazing cable but the analog and speaker cables combined left me a bit cold.

For the IC to the pre I'd suggest either Shindo's Silver IC or Auditorium which hopefully you already have between your Giscour and Amp. As far as the "digital" cabling I use a Wireworld Platinum USB and have been happy with it but haven't played around with others so can't compare.

Would you mind sharing a bit of your path? I like Nordost a lot but my wallet doesn't like it so much.

Don't be cheap :-).  You will be rewarded.  

I like to mix and match also.A clean and clear cable between the pre and amp,a slightly sweet cable from dac to pre,and sweet/fast speaker cables.Still experimenting with digital cables.

Use all Purist for the best sound i use Dominus but the cheaper ones are also great.

Interesting. I thought that going all Nordost route via their "foundation theory" would be the way to go but it seems that to mix and match cables still gets good results. 

They were my thoughts too but as I went up the series, I found I was becoming ever increasingly concerned on the effects on the music on my rig.
I do believe it is all about system synergy though and it is possible I needed to spend even more!

But I am most definitely at a happy place right now and do not feel the urge to pursue that avenue again.

@dr-john - I have been researching, auditioning and developing cables for the last 5 years.

There are some excellent geometries in development, but the issue with a specific geometry is that it seldom "translates" nicely to other cable functions - i.e. speaker, interconnect and power cables.

For example: the ribbon geometry (as used by Nordost) works nicely for IC's and for speaker cables, but presents problems when attempting to build a power cable.

Few manufacturers even attempt to use a successful geometry for all cables, so the mix and match method would generally be the best approach.

I have developed my own helix spiral geometry cables, which provide outstanding performance and actually reduces heat generated by the various components when used throughout the entire system. But again, when it comes to longer cable lengths, winding the helix spiral presents a problem. 

One company that does utilize the same "design principles" for all of their cables is KLE Innovations. I have had the opportunity to audition many of their IC's and Speaker cables and found it advantageous to use their products only throughout my system, simply because they sounded superior to other commercial brands. The key to their design philosophy is keeping the neutral side of a components circuit at zero volts. Based on the results I have observed it would seem tat they are successful.

If you are not into DIY, then I would also recommend trusting your ears and try different brands.

Regards - Steve 

 

@uberwaltz May I ask what level of Nordost cabling were you at when you decided to call it quits? 

Reason for asking is that I’ve just auditioned a Heimdall 2 power cord in my system and was quite impressed with how it made my integrated tube amp sound. 

Certainly.
I was not quite matched but close.
Heimdall RCA and xlr ic,s.
Heimdall 2 digital cables
Heimdal red dawn speaker cables.

All power cords have always been my own home brew.

Ah, thanks. I love what the Heimdall 2 pc has done for my integrated tube amp but I find the price too prohibitive to invest in an all Nordost power set-up (QRT plus 3 power cords). 

For now, will just keep my mix and match power cords set up as I'm already getting great sound.    

First, thanks to all the 'goners' (heh) who shared their experience, strength, and hope on my thread of cabling for the Moon 780D DAC, which deserves as good as I can provide.  After much research, I took delivery today of a full loom of Audience frontRow cables. The AES/EBU XLR digital link between transport and DAC (after about only 10 hours of burn-in at home on top of factory cooking) is the first I installed. Let no one ever preach to you that cables are not a component. This single wire has increased my system's performance to another level of magnitude; I had no idea of all the information which remained to be retrieved from 16-bit /44.1 kHz. 

I am most impressed how separate voices interplay with each other, now audible from so much air arising between them, as in the lovingly-engineered Brahms Trio 1 on DGG's Verbier 25th Festival 4-cd set.

And even in a single instrument, Arrau's piano in the Chopin Preludes, for example, octaval overtones create an additional layer of musical experience which I'd never before perceived.  I can only imagine that installing the rest of the loom, one by one, can only augment this effect. More and more music. Not to mention more timbral richness, palpability and soundstage height and depth, notoriously difficult to recreate in the digital realm. 

Pricey ? To be sure. Worth it ?  After 60 years of listening, these cables are for me the endgame, one which I wish had been available much earlier. 

Thanks again, 
Dr. John 

@dr-john: KUDOS, on expanding your knowledge base and increasing your pleasure, musically. NEVER STOP experimenting/learning!

thank you rodman - we share the same spirit.  This new digital playback system is so transparent - it makes plain the performers' and even the composer's INTENTION.