I’ve recently purchased Magico A3 speakers and a VPI Classic 2 SE turntable with an Ortofon Black 2M moving magnet cartridge. I have a Marantz SA 8005 CD/SACD player to play the few (maybe a hundred or so) CD’s in my possession. I’ve mostly vinyl albums and no streaming sources. I’m next going to upgrade my old amp/preamp purchased back in the late 70’s with a new, probably integrated, one and am starting to do some research.
Here’s where I need some tutoring. A lot has changed since the seventies with the advent of digital technology. As well as I need to learn more about amplification components in the high end of audio technology. I keep running across terms I don’t understand. I’ll give you a list and if someone would be kind enough to explain these basics I’d be obliged.
For instance I was reading about the Hegel H360 integrated amp that Magico’s Alon Wolf recommended for their A3’s. The review mentioned they were a Class A/B amp, another person commented Class A’s were better, and a third person said he didn’t care for Class D amps. What do these classes signify?
A second question is about DACs. I generally understand their purpose of the DAC, converting a digital to an analog signal. However my only digital device, the Marantz SA 8005 already has a DAC, ostensibly of good quality. The turntable ’s Ortofon cartridge would not need to play through a DAC, I presume. Would I bypass the CD’s players DAC if I purchase the higher quality Hegel H360 integrated amp?. Or could I find an equivalent integrated amp without an integral DAC?
On the other side of the equation I understand the turntable’s cartridge cannot play through the Hegel without first going through a phono stage. My old Phase Linear 4000 preamp you just plugged the turntables RCA cables into the back of the preamp and you were done. What’s that about? Do they make equivalent integrated amps to the Hegel H360 with integrated phono stages already in place, so I can just plug my turntable in as I’ve been able to do before. The amps don’t seem to be well integrated at all if you have to add a pricey phono stage to make them work, and end up having an extra DAC. That’s just me whining.
Third question is what are monoblocks, how are they used, and what are their advantages to a system? They were used at one of my speaker auditions.
I figured out the answer to what amplifier damping was myself, so I’m sparing you that one, but what does the term impedance mean? I keep coming across that.
Thank goodness I don’t have to figure out the cabling nightmare yet. Thanks for any help.
@austinbob I saw you had previously commented favorably on the Luxman integrated sound. I was going to get the Mark Levinson 585 for the Magico A3 (great fatigue free sound). However, that system will have to wait due to space issues. The office room I ended up with is only 10Wx12Lx9H and I do not want to put an A3 in there, instead I will get the KEF Reference 1.
I am now considering the following integrateds: Micromega (with MARS), Lyngdorf, and the Luxman 509x (with tone controls). Would you say the Lyngdorf is comparable to the Luxman sound (with tone controls for room adjustment)? If you were given a gift between the two units which would you choose?
This question is slightly divergent from this thread, If annoying I will create a new thread.
No- I have only spent time with the Anthem STR. Both Accuphase and Luxman are on my must demo list as well. This is another excellent thread. Staying tuned. Happy Listening!
Putting cost aside for the moment, it is interesting how to best match speaker cables. Though to both, of course, I think one should match them more to the speakers than to the amp. I would not go with either excessively warm cables or too cold, let alone zippy with articulated high frequencies ones. Cables should be linear, balanced, clear, harmonically correct. It might also depend on the kind of music you mostly listen to. Mike is going to listen to a lot of classical jazz, this requires both detailed and sophisticated sound with great imaging and soundstage. I would probably though not necessarily go with the same brand for the amp power cord. Model can be the same or different but the cord must be capable of passing a lot of amperage and be very well shielded.
Inna, Certainly interesting, but not easy to figure out for sure. I’ll try to find some described as "linear, balanced, clear, harmonically correct" to audition at home once the components are all here.
Twoch. I heard them demoed with ss and they sounded great, not to mention the Hegel H360’s Alon Wolf recommended were ss. I thought maybe tubes might not be as synergistic with a speaker designed to be more detailed and analytic, prompting his recommend. I have no idea anyway, just guessing.
I did think about that aspect about the Magico’s needing a bit more warmth, and the Luxmans were described that way in one review. more in the midrange if I recall. I thought I was making a wild enough decision straying from his Hegel 360 recommendation, much less going over to a tube amp. A Magico VP I spoke with also recommended another solid state integrated as an alternative to the Hegel. I didn’t want Magico to be thinking of me as a warm, cuddly sissy either for considering a nice warm tube amp, so I toed the line with ss.
Yysantabara, that’s a good question, please keep it here. I’d be interested in the answer. I would have loved to have that Mark Levinson 585, only the fear of potential poverty quenched my desire for it. Same with the Luxman 509x.
Hello, I strongly believe that you must put aside any prejudice regarding purchasing used.
the A3´s are also on my bucket list.
My humble opinion is that for this kind of Speaker, you need:
1-Lots of Power 2-Class A/B 3-An Amp capable of low loads.
After doing lots of research on my own, since the A3 are also on my watch list and Integrated Amps for me are the best choice as well, I have narrowed a few AMPS FOR THIS SPEAKER.
But take in account than in order to fulfill this "perfect match" and stick within budget you must purchase used.
So my ultimate choice to feed the A3´s are:
1-PASS LABS
*INT-150 (discontinued) *INT-250
I personally have 3 AMPS now, among them I have the INT-30A but it wouldn't be a good match for the A3´s. So I could sell the INT-30 or trade it maybe at Reno Hi Fi, they are the uppermost specialist of PASS LABS in the Whole USA. They Buy, Sell, Trade, and when you sell an item to them, they will send it back to Pass to be refurbished. So basically you are buying almost new products for half the price.
I purchased the INT-30 from them for half the price as new.
From their web site:
"PASS Refurbished Product DOES guaranteethat the product will perform like new, that the product has not been modified by a consumer, and that you are getting product designed as Pass Labs intended.And the one-year factory transferable warranty is your assurance of continued performance"
2-Boulder
*865 Integrated Amplifier
This is a match made in HEAVEN , MAGICO + BOULDER
Rarely seen on the USED market, and still in production.
If you are lucky to find one for sale, it will retail around 6,000 - 7,000
3-Wells Audio
*Majestic Integrated Amp with Phono Stage. $4399 NEW
If you definitely want NEW this could be your best choice :
150 wpc at 8 ohms
ALSO Modwright could be a good match. But I would consider first the 3 of the above.
I am 46 years old, Audiophile since the age of 15!
I have been a subscriber of a dozen of magazines, publications, blogs, etc of Audio since then. I spent hours and hours on the web reading about Brands, Products, etc.
I have had many audio systems thru the years among the Amplifiers I have had:
1-Carver (When I was 15) 2-McIntoish (When I was 18) 3-Krell (Keep it many years) 4-Nakamichi w/Stasis 5-Goldmund 6-Cello 7-Carry 8-Redgum (Australia) tube like and very good with low loads. 9-Shindo Labs 10-Pass Labs
And at least to my ears , nothing comes close to PASS, not even my SHINDO amp nor Goldmund or Cello.
Mike, you can call me names, but I read thru some threads on Audiogon, thought about it a little, and if I were to take a wild guess taking into account everything, I would say that unless you value ultimate high frequency extension at the expense of other things, very probably the best speaker cables for your Luxman/Magico duo would be Purist Audio Design Neptune fluid cables. That would be $2000, and there is nothing I can do about it. I suspect you could get away with something for $1000 but it would not be the same, possibly not even close. The alternatives could be - Echole and Stage III Concepts brands - more expensive. Yes, I use Neptune interconnects. I have never seen them used for sale since the time of their introduction, and many have been sold. You could try some Wywire, Audience and Acoustic Zen copper cables but..
Inna, fortunately I have until February, when the Magico’s hopefully arrive, to study and make choices on the wiring.Rest assured I will not call you names due to your suggestions, even when they haul me into bankruptcy court. At your suggestion, I will see what information I might find out about the Purist Audio Design Neptune fluid cables. What do you like about those cables? Is there something special about their design you are aware of, or is it simply the results from listening to your system with them? If you never see them used, that is a good sign, like my having to wait another five months to get my Magicos.
Kapa11, I looked into the Pass Labs integrated amps, before purchasing my Luxman integrated amp last week, and was quite impressed. If I could have afforded them, I very well might have purchased them. I still do not wish to purchase new for the aforementioned reasons, even if I could get a better product. I feel the risk is not worth the reward and don’t want the headaches of repairs to worry about when I live so far out in the country, away from but one high end service person. I’ve been there, and done used that in other realms. I won’t buy a used car for the same reasons, unless you happen to have a used low mileage ’55 Mercedes you’re thinking of parting with.
My sister still has and uses a complete set of Carver equipment from years ago she still uses. You remember those big trapezoidal shaped speakers he designed after moving on from Phase Linear. Her system still works perfectly. Thank you for your suggestions.
Mike, I am not a technical person and can't judge the design from this point of view. You can talk to Jim Aud of Purist Audio, he replies quickly, and ask him any questions. He is a former NASA engineer specializing in underwater signal transmission and he has been making cables for over 30 years. Aqueous fluid cable was his original cable. You can also talk to Audiogon member albertporter who is now Purist dealer as well. He personally has been using these cables from the very beginning of their existence, though he always has top of the line. As for the sound, I'll spare you all the audiophile jargon, they are exquisite sophisticated cables with incredible soundstage. They do nothing wrong and almost everything right. I would not rush with buying expensive power cord for Luxman. First, I would get tonearm cable and speaker cables and would listen for a few weeks or month with either stock Luxman cord or, say, $200 Audio Art Classic cord. 300 hours of burn in time for Purist, less for Audio Art. Then you could decide where to go next. It would also to a degree depend on how much electrical work on your house wiring you were going to do. But if you want to get everything at the same time and everything new, that's more difficult and possibly more expensive. Getting cabling perfectly right is tough even with unlimited budget.
Inna, thank you for the contacts. Last night I looked up the price for a pair of the length Audio Design Neptune fluid cables
I'd need, about three yards long. They were running well over three thousand dollars a pair, which is unfortunately well out of my price range. You're fortunate to own some. I'll be done paying off my VPI turntable in a couple weeks and will go ahead and buy the VPI cables you suggested to get started.
I'll have to do a lot more research on cables next, which appears to be a fairly complex subject to sort out.
Mike, no, don't look at the suggested retail prices, street prices are much lower. I checked two weeks ago with one dealer. Purist Audio Neptune speaker cables with spades 2.5 meter pair are $2050, brand new, not demo not return.
In any case, with Magico speakers I would go with copper wires only unless it is top of the line, then it could be silver or alloy as well, maybe. Your speakers are on a cooler analytical side of neutral. If you cannot afford Neptune you might consider Poseidon model, which should be half the price and should be excellent too, but I haven't heard it.
I found some Poseidons for around $1300 for 3 meters. The Neptunes would have sunk my financial ship. Maybe I could stay afloat with a Poseidon adventure. I’ll look into them.
I think, the price is about right. Two years ago when I still had older Purist interconnects, I asked Jim of Purist what he would recommend to go significantly higher. He said - Poseidon. I eventually decided to go with Neptune, though it seemed terribly expensive for me.
I hear you Inna, I’ve spent so much lately getting the Magico’s, VPI Classic 2 and now the Luxman L-507uXII I have to stop being extravagant for a time. I’ve some other expenditures to consider what with building a workshop and a few other things. Instead I’ll trying studying cables for a while and figure out what I want to do. I’ll find a way to make due, until I feel the time is right to make another investment in the system. I'll keep the Poseidons and Neptunes in mind.
One last thought. You could, theoretically speaking, go with Purist tonearm cable too if you choose Purist speaker cables. Poseidon or Neptune, copper wire. I don't know the prices, unfortunately I cannot upgrade my tonearm cable, it's one piece, I would have to have complete arm rewiring done. But VPI tonearm cable should work very well with your table. There is almost always something better, that's an opportunity and a problem.
It's only nightmare because people have unreasonable expectations fueled by ridiculous manufacturer claims and utter nonsense from non-technical self-appointed experts.
Plain and simple, cables are subtle equalizers modifying frequency and phase response. ALL source material has varying frequency and phase response depending on the devices used to record .
On some program a particular cable may be 'magic' and all others, mud. The more outlandish the cable, the more likely the latter.
All too often, people are hoping for a magic pill to fix defects that reside elsewhere.
Pricing has very little correlation to performance except with small subset of components.
Ieales, have you mentioned what cables you're using? I'm curious as to what you have and why you chose, or like them. Like anybody else, I'd prefer to find less expensive ones that do correlate with good performance. In the end I'll pay what I have to, to not have cables that perform inadequately with the Magico A3's, that I purchased expressly for their detailed sound. I don't expect cables and the like to improve my new system, I do expect them to not mess it up, or waste my hard earned life savings.
I'm still having a hard time with seeing how costly a few feet of wire can be, research costs or not. I'll sort it out eventually. I've only had a couple days to research so far and am basking in my own ignorance, which is a sure fire recipe to make poor, if not costly decisions in a market that smells rife with hucksterism. I had 25+ years working in Corrections before retiring. It's a familiar odor.
Another road trip is now over. Picked up my Luxman L-507uXII integrated amp today. Let's hope it synergizes well with my new Magico A3's when they arrive in February. It's built like a brick, and weighs a ton. It should last forever from the looks of it.
Mike, yes they will. But don't forget about burn-in time, the difference before and after can be dramatic. I don't know how many hours, but you will hear when the sound stops changing. Speakers and even some electronics might not reach their full potential before 500 hours.
500 hours, that's like listening to over a thousand record sides. I suppose I could start working through my entire record collection. Since I only get in a couple of hours listening tops each night this might take a while. I suppose I could leave some background music playing each day if I'm inside.
Kosst_amojan, My Magico A3's were mentioned to need 300 hours.
Those Pass XA100.8's weigh in at a heavyweight 99 lbs. making my 55 lb. Luxmans seem anorexic in comparison. They didn't feel that way carrying them up a flight of stairs though. I would have liked a Pass Amp if they hadn't been out of my price range, and so heavy.
I use Transparent Audio interconnects and Belden 1311A speaker cable in a self-designed bi-wire. Every few months I replug connectors as IMO, cables don't burn in, connections deteriorate. But hey, I'm a dinosaur engineer from the last century.
Transparents mate well with my taste in electronics and the speaker cables work well with the my loudspeakers, the failings of each complimenting. See http://ielogical.com/Audio/#CableQuest for past cable tribulations.
A lifelong pal & his missus visited us this week. We began our audio odysseys as boys, grooving to his guitar and upright bass playing father's Pass, Kessel, Mingus and Brown and my dad's Harry James, Satchmo, etc.
He's a live music fan, the aforementioned Pass and Kessel to Stevie Ray Vaugh and Joe Bonamassa.
I asked him the favor of a listen. Listening to Joe Pass Virtuoso, his first three words were "Wow! - Wow! - Awesome!" I knew he was grooving because his toe was tapping and his head was bopping. Later on Stevie Ray Vaughn, "Man, I can hear everything. I feel like I could get up and walk around among the musicians. Nothing competes and nothing gets lost no matter how thick." His dad said something similar when he visited us 30 years ago about a system that was north of $30k in 80's dollars.
No one has ever commented on tonal balance when listening to one of my systems because they are drawn into the music, not pushed away by the sound
BTW, we used burn in new studio drivers for about 24-48 hours continuous. Ditto amps. But, hey, what did we know, we only had live musicians on the other side of the glass for reference. 500 hours? Poppycock!
I think you need to be a little cognizant that many who are giving you advice on expensive wires never have a system more than a year or two before changing. Its a little like a person who goes out with a woman/man for a year and gives their knowing advice on relationships and then theirs is over before you know it.
If you want to save a few dollars, there is nothing wrong with getting some inexpensive interconnects and speaker wires by canare, mogami or morrow, clear day, or many others for the interim and enjoy your system. Then when you detect that maybe a change is in order, you can research what wire may help meet your desired change.
Kosst_amojani, you’re truly fortunate and skilled to be able to build them on your own. Unfortunately my skills are in other areas. I’ll look you up if I’m ever considering monoblocks.
Jetter, well I did stay married to my late wife for almost 30 years and kept and used my original stereo equipment for forty years. But my advice on either subject would be suspect at best.
I’ve never had "audiophile" quality cables. If I decide it’s worthwhile to purchase a relatively expensive set, I’d like to do it once and once only. I’m not into switching components, or wives for that matter, a costly endeavour in either event. I might go the interim route you suggest if I decide to defer investing in pricier cables to a later date in favor of other things outside of the audiophile realm. Thanks for your sensible advice.
Ieales, I’m suspicious of the cable burn in concept too, and have heard like you said, connectors should be moved around or cleaned every so often due to corrosion. I’ve been doing that forever, but only after the effects of that corrosion become audible. Shame on me. Congratulations on being an engineering dinosaur. I suspected you might be an engineer from the import of your posts.
I looked up the Belden 1311A cable, the in wall speaker CL3 type. It certainly seemed economical. What did you do to make it into a "in a self-designed bi-wire", if you don’t mind my asking? For a couple of short ten foot lengths I might be able to replicate what you’ve done I’ve done a fair amount of wiring in my day, mostly home and hydronics stuff like building a relay station, so maybe I could pull it off. I’ll check out your link. Maybe you explained it there.
Sounds like you and your friend listened to some good music on fine equipment. I auditioned my Magico A3’s in part with some 45rpm Stevie Ray Vaughn the dealer had on hand. Joe Pass, Charles Mingus, Barney Kessel, and Clifford Brown are right up my alley too. I brought some Mingus to that same demo too.
Maybe I’ll try burning in my new equipment playing it for a couple days straight like you said. Hopefully the Luxman 507ux integrated amp won’t catch fire. I read it runs a bit hot. Take care,
Belden is a brand sold by Blue Jeans cable who also sells the canare wire. When you mention you only want to purchase the wires once, you do understand that a full set of speaker cables and interconnects by belden, canare, mogami , morrow, etc will cost you a few hundred dollars to try out. Canare and mogami are said to be the wires that are used by a majority of recording studies that record the music we listen to.
I admit I am rather budget minded at times, but many audiophiles over the years have liked these cables, and at their price to me its a no brainer to try them out. Honestly though, just my 2 cents.
Jetter, Honestly I’m not sure what the wisest path is on cabling and am open to any and all ideas before plunking down some cash. Maybe there’s no avoiding the expensive ones, but it won’t be for lack of trying on my part. I’ve recently spent a small fortune on all new components and really want to get on to something else. Only these damnable cables are holding me back from that now. I’ll just have to keep researching until I’m convinced that I’ve no choice but to buy these ridiculously expensive wires. How’s that for sniveling and complaining?
Inna, don’t remind me. I know I’m doomed, but am still trying to find some way to squirm out of it.
Look into the cables from Audio Sensibility in Toronto. The have a 30 day trial period with free shipping. In addition as their prices are listed in Canadian Dollars you price is about 3/4 of that listed. You can buy them in either OCC copper or silver. As they are Internet Direct only you save on the distributor/dealer markup. Another company to look into is Cabledyne also ID sales.
No, it’s not hard to build cables per se. However building cables that truly sound superior is a horse of a different color and requires some special knowledge and skills beyond what most people probably would be thinking. For example, almost all high end cables are cryogenically treated.
Mike, you are not doomed but you got high end components that do require high end interface. Usually, audiophiles gradually improve their systems, with some errors and sometimes surprises. Many buy used, if they can find what they look for. It might take years to get it right, especially if you can't spend much. But even if you can you have to listen and compare and develop what I call audiophile instinct. It takes time to develop. Another thought, an analogy. Take good acoustic guitar, you can put different strings on it of equal quality and the guitar will sound both the same and different. Gut strings, nylon strings, metal strings ? It depends. If you were going to listen to mostly rock music or heavy metal I would not have recommended Neptune because it would be waist of money. With that kind of music you don't need such resolution, details, soundstage, harmonic texture and very low distortion. With jazz, vocal, different acoustic music, classical it's different. And yet another consideration. Some members who participate on Audiogon forum do not listen to records or tape, they only have digital source. If they can take it, their opinion on the sound and equipment doesn't have much weight. By the way, when trying to get some information on Poseidon couple of years ago I could find virtually nothing. In the past quite a number of Audiogon old time members used Purist cables, now I don't hear much about them. Anyway, today I went to supermarket and spend $120. I didn't buy much, it felt expensive and it was. $1300 speaker cables look cheap by comparison.
Well, you could try $560 DiMarzio Super M-path speaker cables with spade connectors from thecableco.com or even Mogami with banana connectors on ebay from Japan for about $130. I know DiMarzio M-path interconnects, still have them. They are..okay. DiMarzio cables are wildly used by electric guitar players. Those Super M speaker cables are said to be better than interconnects, but they are not exactly free.
Kost_amojan, I didn’t think my house was hard to build, plumb and wire, but I had some idea about what I was doing. I would like to learn about electronics but that will probably never happen. I’m impressed it would be easy for you to make your own cables. I always admire people who have the skills to do things. That cryogenic freezing of cables sounds pretty hokey to me too, although I know zero about it. I’ll think about your last post tomorrow when I’m not so tired. There’s a lot to learn about cables as you say. I’ve only been reading up on them two or three days now.
If I can find some relatively expensive cables that are universally recognized as being of high quality, and would likely synergize with my equipment, maybe that’s a direction to go. I’ll probably get the VPI phono cable which isn’t too bad at $300 and is supposed to match the wiring in my VPI Classic 2. So I only need pricey speaker cables at this point. I'd really like to find something I wouldn't have to replace later on. I can deal with power cords, power conditioners, and the like at a later date. Appreciate your advice.
Jackd. I’ll add the Audio Sensibility name to my list of cables to look into. Thanks
Shkong. I’ve added Audio Note and Analysis Audio cables to my list too. It’s amazing how many cable manufacturers there are out there. Thanks for your followup with some more details on the Audio notes.
Jones4music, "Just quantum tunnel and run 3,000,000 volts and move on with it?" Can I borrow your quantum blaster when your done with it? In order to reduce external noise pollution the next door neighbors yappy new dog could use a taste of that.
Inna, I may consider buying used cables from a reliable source. I don’ t think cables could get abused as easily as components that I wouldn’t want to buy used might. Unless maybe you ran them over when vacuuming. Used, I could get closer to some top of the line stuff, and be done with it. Maybe I’ll luck into some used Nordost Valhallas or some such at a cut rate reasonable cost. I’d prefer to not go much over a thousand for speaker cables if I have to.
I’ll have to figure out good, reliable sources for used speaker cables. I was looking at The Cable Company site tonight. There must be other sources too. I can afford good cables, just don’t want spend money on them versus other things. But it looks more and more like I have to suck it up. I don’t want to marginalize the rest of the system I’ve put so much into just like you say. So it goes. I’ll get over it in a few days and after another thousand or so is gone with the wind.
What’s your point? Who can’t buy reels of cryo’d cable and wire? I can. I don’t think it makes any difference.
>>>>>Bingo! That’s my point! You don’t think it makes any difference.
And cryogenics is only one example of things people don’t know about making cables or dismiss. That’s why I say building a superior sounding cable is difficult for most people. Directionality is obviously another issue people don’t know about or dismiss, no?
Kosst_amojan, It’s a new day, I’m awake again and have reread your post. That’s sensible advice you’re offering. I do need to research more on this fairly complex subject, and be patient doing so. I am getting into a bit of a rush to get this project, buying a new stereo system, over with. At the very least I can make do until February when my back ordered Magico’s are set to arrive, and obtain at a better understanding of what’s involved with audiophile quality cables. That’s a way more sensible idea than taking a shot in the dark. Thanks for your advice.
It’s taken a few days to adjust to the idea cables are an important part of a stereo system and the non-expense of using zip cords is a thing of the past. Back in the late seventies, when I last purchased components, you never even considered wiring or cabling in the overall cost or budget for a system, and honestly I didn’t when budgeting for my recently purchased new equipment. That’s why I’m been trying to find a way out of this somewhat unexpected added expense.
Are there any $1000+ speaker cables you would personally recommend, that you’re sure are well built and legitimate, and not too esoteric. I’ve received well over twenty recommendations so far without even asking, and read reviews of even more possibilities. I need to start narrowing down the field to a shorter list of legitimate contenders to research.
I’ll maybe make due with something in the Blue Jeans range in the meantime, as some have suggested. It would be nice if there were some cables in the $1000+ range that there was a consensus about, that you couldn’t go wrong with. Maybe with some further research I can turn some up. I’ll have to find what cables Magico uses for demoing their A3’s at shows too. (I’m thinking out loud). Thanks again
Geoff, I’d appreciate if you didn’t head my thread off in a related, but different direction, while I’m trying to figure this out with your and other’s valued advice. Are there any $1000+ cables you’d consider to be a sure bet and should be on my short list? Preferably ones by not too esoteric a manufacturer with a a decent track record? I read your thoughts on cryogenic treatment of cables, and had read some others who passed this off as gimmickry. Not to focus on cryogenics, I’m curious what aspects of cable design you’d recommend I should avoid as gimmicks and what might be legitimate design factors to look for. I really have no way of knowing what’s legitimate design or manufacturing practices, and what’s not, and opinions on the internet are all over the place. I am trying to learn though, best I can by asking questions. Thanks for your advice,
Not sure what cables Magico uses at the shows but I did read a review about 3 years ago in stereophile where they went to their factory and they used MIT cables and Soulution Electronic mono blocks on their high end speakers. I have seen MIT speaker cables from around $1000 a pair to over $50,000 a pair. In my opinion copper wire of an appropriate guage and insulation with good connectors are all that one needs.
Thanks anyway kosst. With your knowledge and expertise you could probably become the 101st audiophile cable manufacturer if you wanted to be. Take it easy.
Djones, thanks for the info on Magico using MIT cables at their shows. I’ve actually heard of that manufacturer. Their cables were recommended by the dealer who sold me my Luxman, and he didn’t even carry that brand. Their most expensive ones are a bit out of my range though without my selling my house.
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