Reasonable but not outragious interconnects
Grannyring on this site makes great interconnects for reasonable price. I purchased a pair from him and they outperformed all other very expensive pairs I’ve had. He will make them with whatever RCA’s you want! Highly recommend you give him a shout. Just search for him or “Acoustic BBQ” which is his cable brand here on this forum. Rick |
Another nod to Signal Cable. Frank is awesome to work with, and their cables are a terrific value in regard to performance>price ratio. http://signalcable.com/ |
From a purely technical standpoint the two considerations with interconnects are the the connectors and whether or not the cable is shielded. All else is snake oil. The problem with most bundled, non-DIY cables such as some of the ones named above is they usually have OK but not great connectors. If you can at all use a soldering iron then opt for high end connectors and shielded cable such as star quad microphone cable. Finally, have you thought of the most neglected, cheapest tweaks for cables: have you cleaned the connectors and jacks lately? Caig DeOxit is one of an audio hobbyist's best friends. |
I am on day two with the audioquest black mamba ii interconnects. My initial impression is I don’t like them in my system. They seem to mute the midrange a bit which is what I probably like the most about these speakers. I ordered the Audioquest silver extreme’s. I will try them and then return what I don’t like. For the purpose of this conversation, I was telling a long time audiophile friend of mine I am surprised these take away from the midrange considering I was running the cheap monoprice interconnects. Figured they would be at least as good in that regard. Of course there is burn in and I have only played them for a few hours but can definitely hear the difference. I went ahead and bought the audioquest black thunder ii subwoofer cables because they seemed like a good deal and I think copper is probably the way to go for subs. Just hooked those up so we will see if I notice any difference. Actually as I am listening right now the bass does sound smoother but that might be premature. |
Hi Meh03, You have good components and speakers. What you put into your system is what you will get out of it. Ideally one wants to spend 25-30% of their budget on cabling. By utilizing inexpensive cables you are not realizing the full potential of what your system can produce. I would say maybe 35% as it stands now. Think of your cables as the veins and nervous system. The power cables transport energy - the blood of your system. Interconnects and speaker cables transform Information. The less quality the cables the less energy and information you will have. You do not have to spend a fortune, but you do have to be realistic and as you are already doing - research There are a lot of good suggestions provided to already - but check this out as a resource before you invest. https://www.thecableco.com/lending-library |
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned Surf Cables. They seem to try to take the “snake oil” out of it and just use high-quality materials and solid construction techniques. I’ve used their products for most of my system, and John, the owner, is great to work with. The cables sound and work great. https://www.surfcables.com |
OP: I’d recommend a decent set of Canare IC’s per the suggestion of others. I’d go further and recommend Schroeder Method Dual Canare assemblies per “Celander Specification” from HAVE, Inc. Speak to Gary P. in sales. These IC’s are far better than anything you can obtain for the same money. You didn’t mention your sources nor the nature of the amp design (class A, AB or D). If your amp is a class D amp design, then you might not want to use these particular IC’s without first consulting the amp manufacturer about the stability of their amps with respect to potential amp (and speaker) destroying oscillations created in their amps by using these ultra-wide bandwidth IC’s. The IC’s are fine with source-preamp interconnections. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/doug-schroeder-method-double-ic |
| Post removed |
For the purpose of this conversation, I was telling a long time audiophile friend of mine I am surprised these take away from the midrange considering I was running the cheap monoprice interconnects. Figured they would be at least as good in that regard. Of course there is burn in and I have only played them for a few hours but can definitely hear the difference.Bingo. Burn in is C.S.O. EVERY cable will affect a different part of the frequency range depending on the connected components. We become conditioned to how something sounds. When evaluating, take your time. Initially impressive can become annoyingly fatiguing. Listen to a wide variety of material. Adjust the gain up & down. The naming of cables after a dangerous black snake is pure marketing hype designed to suck you in. Read the 'story' of the Mamba II genesis here https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQBMII Pure marketing baloney. AND there is absolutely ZERO reason to use the same cables throughout. Devices differ. Cables should as well. Use the best cable you can find in the place where IT and IT ALONE sounds best. Subwoofer cables are a bucket of C.S.O. The range in which they operate is well below where cable artifacts are most prevalent. Beefy connectors are pure marketing hype. They are delivering the identical voltage and current at 20Hz as a main amp cable is at 2KHz. They have limited need of transient response as the harmonics are outside of the frequency range they carry. |
I understand there is a lot of skepticism about the value of cables and power supplies. I think one has to use common sense, as well. If your listening room is next to a construction site, cables are not your problem. It also does not make sense to put cables on equipment where the cable are worth more than the equipment. But in my experience, high quality cables and power handling do make a material difference in your sound in general if you have a decent room with decent enough equipment to take advantage of your upgraded cables and power handling. If you are skeptical. Start slow. Get Shunyata Venoms or get AQ NRG line cables. Get an AQ 1000 or a Shunyata PS8. You can buy all these things used and below retail here on Audiogon and elsewhere on the used online market. Try it. You like it? Great upgrade and sell your starter stuff. Don’t like it? Great. Sell your below retail starter stuff back on the used market. No biggie. But I think if you have a decent room, decent music material, and decent equipment, you should hear an improvement. I personally have heard blacker backgrounds and better soundstage, amongst other improvements. Enjoy! |
It also does not make sense to put cables on equipment where the cable are worth more than the equipment.This is bad advice Price equates little with performance. If $3k speaker cables make $1.5k speakers sound better than $0.5k cables and $5k speakers, it makes little sense to do otherwise. The audiophile market is a gigantic shell game. |
just go buy the first one you see $75 wire will drive you nuts comparing the junk, Even $150 wire won't get it you will find out the hard way. also in less then a year be ready to sell the junk spend as much as possible on all wire Maybe then you might be happy. Let's get that right Good luck on that wire Big Marv. |
Blue Jeans Cable in Seattle - http://www.bluejeanscable.com/Nice guys, very solid physically, they'll custom cut to your length and it's usually out the door USPS the same day. |
You have some great gear. So the synergy of your system should include selecting good quality cabling to maximize your musical enjoyment. This does not mean you have to spend a fortune on cables and interconnects. That is where "Snake Oil" is often touted in the audiophile community. Every cable manufacturer claims to be the best. Perfect marketing strategy. on their part. You will read glowing reviews online from many so called audio experts. Ultimately, what works well in one environment may not work in your own personal environment. You have a limited budget and it is prudent to use that money wisely. The best way to make a intelligent decision is to see if your dealer will loan you some cable to try in your own environment. Then you can make a intelligent decision that works best for you both financially and sonically. Blue jeans cables is a good bang for the buck producer. They do have a 30 day return policy. The price is good. They are around $38.00 a pair. It would be nice to be able to compare them with some cables that you can get on loan from your local dealer. Your ears will tell you what the best selection is. You don't have to spend a fortune on cables. Good Luck. |
++ Morrow AudioCables - MA4 XLR cables, and DIG4 digital co-ax....Mike Morrow indicated to me that the Level 4 class cables are the best bang for the buck in his line up, and I am incredibly satisfied. These cables MUST be broken in, I used the 20 day (480 hour) break in service they offer.. Right now they have an anniversary sale they've had for several months, Level 4 cables are 50% off of list price....also have a generous trade up program ++ Anti-Cables speaker cables, Level 2.1 and level 3.1 - NOTE: These MUST be broken in, 100 to 200 hours. The 3.1 speaker cables will probably remain in my new reference system....have tried their interconnects, but did not like them....especially compared to the Morrow cables.....too bright and fatiguing Have a generous return and trade up program |
