Mogami 2791 with Neutrik XLR. Best bang for the buck imho and what I'm using in my system and will use until I will have the cash to buy a full loom of Nordost Tyr or Valhalla.
Reasonable high end interconnects: without breaking the bank
I am in the process of updating my audio equipment and have realized my interconnects are probably not up to snuff; I use the ones provided by the manufacturers. My current set up includes a Leben cs600 amplifier, California audio lab Icon Mark II CD player, Linn Akurate Streamer, Feikert Volare Table and Spendor SP1 speakers ( in final stages of upgrade to either Audio Note E, Devore O93 or Joseph Profile). I have been investigating interconnects and have a bit of sticker shock. So any suggestions on interconnects that won't bankrupt me? Is silver truly preferable to copper with respect to resolution and detail?
Thanks
MP
Thanks
MP
118 responses Add your response
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Cardas copper.. Yet, reasonable price! https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGICCASRR |
mpomerantz, I was the sole proprietor of a mid-fi to high end shop from 1986-1993, sold more than a dozen brands of cables, with the most expensive being MIT if I recall correctly. Was also a Spendor dealer, and we should have sold a lot more SP1's than we did. Nice speakers, to this day. Yes wires make a difference, but to those of us on a beer budget... buy beer budget cables. don't get me wrong, I sold a good bit of audio equipment to those that made 10, 100, probably even a few making 1000 times more than I did peddling hifi. I HEARD the difference that MIT-750 shotgun cables made in certain systems. As for what I used at home in my own system? Much less expensive stuff. I bought a bunch of Mogami neglex 2534 mic cable that came out of a decommissioned recording studio a few years ago, and have made up a lot of interconnects for myself, friends & customers using quality connectors when I have had the time to do so. They are not invisible, they are not perfectly transparent, but they are pretty translucent, and sound 100 times better than those "free interconnects" included in the box with stuff, and with some components sound as good as, or better than $500 retail interconnects. Depending on the connectors, I sell them as low as $25 a pair for a half meter. Its all relative. There is a lot of snake oil sales in high end audio, always has been, always will be. But if YOU hear a big difference between spending $100 and $5000 in interconnects and you can afford it and that makes you happy? fine bidnez. Don't even get me started on speaker cables, or internal wiring! |
I use a lot of Ernst&Engbring microphone cable in my audio systems. Neutral no-nonsens cables at a reasonable price. I haven't compared it to cables in the $1000/m range but so far they have outperformed all other cables that I have tried. They BTW comes as standard with Neumann microphones and Rupert Neve uses it a lot too. It's a 3-lead cable so for unbalanced connections it's recommended to use one of the leads as shield return. In this configuration I have used it for unbalanced signals up to about 20m without a hint of any problems. If it should be regarded as a high-end cable can of course be discussed as it is a professional product aimed primarily at the recording industry but you might already have 25m of this cable in your signal path without knowing it. That is, if the recording was made in a Rupert Neve designed recording studio with his mixing console and a Neumann U47 as the vocal mike. Even if one likes to spend more money on primary cables in a system it is an excellent cable to use with tape decks, FM-tuners and other such sources. It comes highly recommended! |
That was partially the intent. Some folk use objectivity as a fall back position, a crutch to use when they don't have a good or valid point with which to counter something that makes sense, like, "I hear what I hear." The only other option is to employ ad hominen attacks questioning the person's sanity, gullibility, or ability to hear well enough. It's not quite a straw man argument and more like a mott-batte (spelling?) technique where you waylay an argument with something akin to what you're talking about but not related to the actual discussion. From there, one can redirect the discussion to a more defensible position, which at first blush, makes sense, but in actuality, has nothing to do with the topic. All the best, Nonoise |
+4 for elizabeth, very good advise given, for the Ops question of silver vs copper again I'm with elizabeth. Spend an extravagant amount assembling silver loom (used) only to be disappointed. Back to copper. I do firmly believe that cables are system dependent and one size does not fit all. Price does not guarantee better. For example I had Transparent Ultra SCS at multi multi Benjamins only to be never wowed at all, boring, then bought some Tara labs (used) and cheap and was blown away. They are still in the system. I found Blue jeans cable very good for providing a base line and are a very acceptable cable in all configurations. Not plugging BJC as none remain connected but they did their duty well and provided great comparison opportunity. I see a lot of plugs for specific brands and that's a good opinion but it's opinion of their system which differs from your system. Get a affordable baseline first before wasting $$$ trying to get YOUR sound via cable swapping. JMO! |
jworth: A recent AQ audio left me severely nonplussed. System was all McIntosh driving Bi-Wired B&W 800 D3. Generally excellent, with all AQ cables. Switching the speaker cable to a higher priced $12k vs $6k destroyed the balance. Vocals became boxy. Restoring the speaker cable and replacing the DAC/pre cable with one @ 2x $ made the system unlistenable. The top end became aggressive and phase coherence destroyed. Silky cymbals became clangy with edgy harmonics. Grand piano sounded like 3 separate instruments. A perfect demo that price means nothing and cables must mate to the system. |
It is interesting how many responses (many) come from a question about cable performance. I have had 45 years of cable experience. During that period of time I have learned a significant amount about cable brand performance. The obvious key is to match Cable performance With price/return. all that said, here is a simple answer: The pricing of Audioquest cables is well matched with their market level performance. You cannot go wrong at any price point when purchasing an Audioquest product. Unfortunately, this line of cables has been bashed in terms of their price/performance balance...This is far from accurate. The key is to match the right Audioquest cable(s) to your system. I have no association with Audioquest outside of respecting their product line. |
tobor007 Correct! If you blind test and fail to hear the difference in a between a $15 cable and a $300 cable you must throw the evidence out. What will be attacked next? Perhaps walnut speaker wire elevators? Special on eBay now. 8 elevators for >>>Do I detect a faint underlying sarcasm? 😬 |
@ghasley That's a rich and, truth be told, beautiful story. If only we could all afford to be that way, but, truth be told, we could, in our own way. It's all a matter of perspective (there's that subjective truth at work again). I've always loved models as a kid so things like mechanical watches, analog cameras, and cars made before the advent of OBD devices piqued my interests. Things made well with the intention of being well made. I'll always fell back on them until I couldn't figure them out. 😄 It was then that I relied on what my senses told me and it's served me well all these years and will continue to do so. If I had a sensor built into my shower that'd regulate the water to a perfect temperature setting so I'd never get burned, I'd still stick my hand out into it to make sure, no matter what the manual states. All the best, Nonoise |
@nonoise I agree with you completely. I admit as well to purchasing premium unleaded gasoline! Hi-end coffee on occasion without knowing if I got the best coffee at the best price. I don't have a clue if the vehicle I drive is approved or not by Consumer Reports. I buy plenty of things by only overlaying my decision points on the subject, of course, failing each time to overlay the values of others. I buy a certain cut of meat and when I am unsure, I buy the more expensive cut to play it safe. My mechanical watch cost more than a Swatch and the Swatch keeps better time. I have multiples of the sames shirts, suits, slacks, jeans, etc. I give $20 to the homeless guy each time I'm caught at the red light he frequents. He takes the bus here from 20+ miles away because its a great corner. Its a game we play each day. We smile at one another when I catch a green and he almost laughs out loud when I catch the red. Maybe I'll buy him a huge box of interconnects to hand out to those who give him $15 or more. That would surely please @tobor007 wouldn't it? We could have a daily double blind interconnect test at the stop light. My guy is honest, he will tell me the truth which cables sound better. |
There's nothing wrong in being subjective. Why is it we are just that in every manner of life except when it comes to audio? The fallback position of being an objectivist is merely a facade for being subjective in that belief. Those that say only blind testing and "the manual" are to be believed take it on faith and refuse to actually listen. Søren Kierkegaard would just shake his head at all of this and buy what his ears told him sounded the best since all truth is subjective. All the best Nonoise |
Uh, I never met anyone who was so impressed with a cable’s appearance he psyched himself out. Most audiophile cables look great, it’s part of their appeal, even inexpensive audiophile cables look great. Look, if someone reports bad results for a Double Blind Test my instinct is to throw those results out. Is that wrong?😳 |
No disrespect intended, everyone has good intentions, but are people recommending cables because they have heard them with the equipment he lists or because the cables worked for them on unrelated equipment? The OP can buy what they want, I get that, but some of the recommendations made here I have heard with Leben and Devore and some of these recommendations like the DH Labs I tried and they were shrill. Again, this is on Leben and Devore...they probably work wonderfully on other equipment. I also freely admit a bias toward smooth and warm. Horses for courses. |
All of the above are worthless because no one has your gear in your room with your source material and your preferences. The outputs, cables and inputs are a complex impedance. They interact, so without identical parameters, recommendations are worthless. You can audition cables in $x00k systems with top flight hardware and supposedly better cables [read pricier] may make the systems next to unlistenable. Read this http://ielogical.com/Audio/CableSnakeOil.php PM questions. |
I am in the process of updating my audio equipment and have realized my interconnects are probably not up to snuff; I use the ones provided by the manufacturers.
Patch cords! Good Gawd man! You may be having sticker shock now, but just wait. When you hear how much better your gear will sound with really good wire you will be SHOCKED at how much money and time was WASTED listening to those crap patch cords! Might as well get over the shock. Not only the patch cords but the speaker wire and crap amp power cords need to go. Budget what you spent on your other components. |
I usually don't play around with ICs at all. I use a basic cheap brand that someone gave to me. That being said a buddy of mine did a lot of listening last year to ICs in the $500 or less price range, he usually buys used and in his system the Harmonic Tech (one model up form the TRUTHLINK BASIC) was very nice sounding for what it is worth. Happy Listening. |
Wow you are still using California audio lab Icon Mark II CD player. I had used that one from 1989 to 1998. Teo Audio GC II has very natural sound with nice decay at 600$ https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis92173-teo-audio-gcii-1m-new-model-upgraded-interconnects Silnote Morpheus Ref Series II is also good with overall refined sound and excellent details at 400$. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9dga6-silnote-audio-morpheus-reference-ii-series-ii-rca-ultra-silver-24k-gold-top-reviews-wor-interconnects Choice of Cable is dependent on system and personal taste. Many cable companies offer return period. Thus I recommend you to try them out audition in your system. |
I would add three points: 1. It ain’t just the cost and the sound, it’s the stiffness too. I’’m a big fan of Acoustic Zen—reasonably priced used and well made. But in my system (housed in a Salamander cabinet) they were just too stiff to make the bends. Especially the power cables. 2. Power Cables. In my experience, power cables easily make the biggest difference in sound, and I can’t explain why, it just is. 3. Second the comments on Morrow. Inexpensive fire what you get and very helpful people. My current system is all Nordost (great but expensive even used) with Morrow SP5 speaker cables. If I had started out with Morrow all around, I’d be just as happy and would have save al lot of money. |
What I have been doing is buying the wire geometries all ready figured out .VH Audio uses the purestSolid Core ,not stranded -0 Crystal Copper,using ultra thin foamed Teflon which is second only to air as a dielectric , then use top WBT ,or Cardas high Silvercontent solder,and Copper Connectors .not Brass like most companies .since cables are marked up often 4-6x the parts cost. for $250 in parts cost these better any $1k interconnects I have compared out there ,and speaker cables over $1500 to equal. |