Shopping for Interconnects

PS.  Here are my speakers.

Mirage OM 10 Towers circa 2001
Castle Conway 3 Towers circa 2003

Slim picker's on that site for budget priced IC's.  I may be better off buying new.  Have to be RCA connectors.

First growth.  Found this.  You may be on to something.

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=10696

Nope, never really tried to solder anything.  Used the Liquid stuff that Radio Shack sold years ago to do some things.  I would guess that would not work well for these kind of cables.  

There is a local shop where I am going to bring the Yamaha A 500 for service.  Going to have it cleaned out and possibly some of the Capacitors replaced if they are defective or close to failing.  Will ask the owner if this is something he would be willing to do.

Where can I find the copper that is required for this?

Whitestix.  Thanks for the suggestion.  Have not heard of Shunyata before.  Will look into these as well.

sfar.

Which of the following Mogami cables would be ideal for use with RCA connectors and suited for musical playback?

Nutty.  Yeah, I've read some reviews on the Morrow IC's and they seem to be well received by all that have used them.  The entry level cables get very good reviews.  May try a pair in light of the fact I would prefer to own some different cables since they do seem to offer different characteristics in sound.  Can mix and match and then purchase duplicates of any that I really like.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions.   

Morrow looks quite interesting as well.  With that Return Policy it is a no lose situation to give them a try.  Most of the reviews of their budget priced cables are good.  Expensive cables seem to be more hit and miss with people.  But I am shopping for affordable cables and don't have to worry about that too much.

Will read some reviews of the Cullen cables when I have time.  

I forgot to post the link.  Got distracted by a phone call.  Work related.

https://www.performanceaudio.com/shop/Mogami/Bulk-Microphone-Cable-1701/

Have noted some other more expensive cables.  Wondering if they would offer different performance?  Even something more expensive will hardly add to the cost of the IC since I will only need a few feet.

My standards are simply this.  I want the right sounding cable for my systems that won't cost an arm and another part of my anatomy that I would early like to keep.  Want to keep my total cost for three pairs of IC's to under $200.

Let me qualify my previous statement about three pairs of IC's for under $200.  Make that two right now.  Will shop for a third pair later in the year when I purchase another CD player.  

samac.  I've read some reviews on the Signal cables and some people claim they are harsh or too bright.  I need to avoid that kind of sound.

Prefer neutral or a bit warm without heavy bass being amplified any further.

Do you own these cables?

I was doing some reading on the Blue Jeans Cables again.  Noted a couple of people are very happy with the Belden 1505f wire cable they use.  Only around $40 a pair.  I'm happy with the LC-1 that I have.

Has anyone compared the two or use the Belden 1505f cable from BJC?  Thoughts?

Scott:  Thanks.

I have to be careful to avoid brighter sounding gear.  For years I had Klipsch Heresey's with my Yamaha A 500 and they grated on my ears.  And then I switched to a  Cambridge Audio Amp a decade later and the result was still the same with that amp though it was not as bad as the Klipsch.  

Right now the synergy with the gear I have is good.  Neutral to a bit warm though the Bass on the Castle speakers with the Denon is a bit heavy at times.  But I think by changing the amp over to the Yamaha with the Castles and then matching the Denon to the Mirage speakers will resolve the issue.  

Thanks for the additional suggestions.  I will research these as well.  Since I plan to buy three new pairs this year, I will take some time before buying the second and third pairs while I research other cables.

Ordinarily I would not be up this late but I am dealing with a  bad head cold and now diminishing sinus infection.  Thanks for the additional suggestions.  

Just ordered the Morrow MA 1.1 to try out.  Found out they are silver and not copper wires.  I've heard silver can be bright which I want to avoid.  Hopefully Morrow has found a method to tame the bright sound from silver.  

Will still be buying a couple more pairs in the not too distant future.  Will consider all the additional suggestions as well.  Since I am shopping for two systems, ultimately I will need at least two more pairs of IC's.  Like to have different cables since each produce a different sounds and will help certain recordings to sound better.  One cable does not fit all.

ghost house.  Will try them and find out.  The Audio Art cable is a combination of silver and copper and that is not bright to my ears.  

herman.

Not changing speakers.  Already have a pair of Mirage OM 10 Towers and Castle Conway 3 Towers.  Love both paris and don't want to part with them.

Yes, I do agree on the integrated amp's possibly being the weakest link in the system right now.  In fact the Denon just developed a noise on some deep bass notes while listening to a Wes Montgomery CD.  Swapped out the amp to the A 5oo and the noise was gone.  

Going to at least get a diagnosis of the problem to see if it worth repairing.  If not I will likely look for a new integrated amp in the Spring.  Won't be able to spend over $500 at this point unless when I take a transfer with my company at that time, I find that my earnings have increased by at least 25 percent.  That may happen but I won't know until April or May.  

Don't want the new Yahama amps.  Too bright now.  I've read the Onkyo 9050 and Marantz PM5005 might work since they are more neutral to a bit warm.  Also can be bewired which is something I plan to do.  

perrazzi.  Thanks for the tip.  Will look into that other cable as well.  May be able to make my own with it since it appears I can find solderless RCA connectors.

The solderless RCA plugs that appear on Amazon don't look like they are very good quality.  Reviews indicate larger wires like 12 gauge may not work either.  Want to use larger gauge wire of course.

Any other sources that sell solderless RCA plugs for home stereo use?  Prefer something that will last.

I do own the IC3 IC and am very happy with them.  Perhaps I should just stick with them.  Also like the LC-1 I ordered from BJC as well.  Different sound but still decent.  Not as good to my ears as the IC3 though.

Have ordered the Morrow MA1.1 and will at least try them.  May be surprised.  

Would like to avoid buying a new amp right now.  Money is tight.  Have home upgrades that come first and have to pay a ton for heat right now due to the cold temperatures.  Figured I could get by with the amps I have for now and if they really fail then look at new.  Always was happy with the A 500 from Yamaha and the Denon PMA 520 also sounds excellent though different than the Yamaha.  I don't know why some people think just because a amp is 30 years old it still can't sound good.

One of the major advantages to cables is that it will help shore up shortcomings in some parts of a system with improved audio quality.  A much more affordable way to upgrade the sound of a system vs buying new and much more expensive gear.

perizi.  Is this the right stuff?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-feet-Belden-9259-RG-59-75-ohm-Video-Cable-Coax-22-AWG-copper/38094001204...

perizi.  What does the Nickel do to the sound quality?  I've never heard of anyone using Nickel plated RCA connectors before.

Found someone that can do the soldering.  Same guy that is looking at my Denon amp.  Will look into the wire you suggested as well.  My guess is that I will have around half a dozen different IC's and eventually I am certain that with some recordings I will prefer one set of cable or two over the others.  Makes sense to have a variety considering I have a large collection of music.

perazzi      Spellcheck keeps changing your name.  Just caught it again.  Let me know if that is the right cable and also about the Nickel Connectors.

marqmike.  Yes, they are good cables.  It is quite easy to assemble a good two channel stereo system now without having to spend thousands of dollars on each component.  Even just a few hundred for each pice coupled with some modestly priced cables like the IC3's will offer great sound that would satisfy most people.  I just can't justify spending thousands on a new system when much of my old gear still sounds good to this day.  Unless a component completely craps out there is no reason to replace it.

Have you compared the IC3se to the IC3?  Wondering how much of a difference there is in the sound.

Schubert.  Cost of those SE's is over 300 bucks.  3 times the cost of the original edition.  Can't afford to spend that kind of money for cables.  

Thanks Carpathian.  So many cables yet so few dollars to spend.  :-)  

Thanks.  Will be trying a few different DIY IC's now that I've read enough information about them.  Could easily be much better than anything I could buy for a comparable price.

Also going to look into DIY speaker cables next.  Just read a thread about the Duelund cable yet again being a great speaker cable as well.