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Phono cable, are they really different?

Going to VPI from SME, will need some RCA to connect from junction box to phono stage.

Was thinking of using a spare pair of Audience AU24 I have since used phono cable are not common and usually pricey. Are phono cables really constructed differently and if so what's the difference? Will I be better off building myself a pair instead of using a regular RCA cable?

What do all of you VPI owners use? Anyone compared both and heard any difference?
semi

Showing 2 responses by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
The Discovery Essence is a good reco, I used it happily for a couple of years. It was a huge step up from the Transparent Reference MC phono cable I had been using. VPI does use Discovery cable inside their arms.

Currently I'm using a pair of Nordost Valhalla, mainly because I was very impressed with a Valhalla power cord, and saw a pair of Valhalla interconnects for sale with RCA>XLR connectors, which fit my VPI arm to BAT phono stage. I'd heard that it's best to use the balanced inputs on the BAT phono stage. Is the sound better than the Discovery? Different, not really better. It's faster and more transparent, but has lost a little musical weight.

Cheers,
John
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
VPI must have switched vendors then, because two years ago Mike at VPI told me they DID use Discovery cable in their JMW arms. Maybe when they started making their own cables they stopped using Discovery, who knows?
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