Who else is using old cables/interconnects, and is happy?

Glad to see I’m not the only one still enjoying their old cables. I still rotate my Audience au24 speaker and interconnects, Bob Crumps TG Audio solid core silver speaker cable and silver power cords. XLO signature interconnects, JPS power cords, Super conductor 3 speaker wire and digital coax. Acoustic zen silver ref 2 amazed they still make that one. I have some old silver wire from USAF made into interconnects from Don Allen who built very nice amps. Even some unmanageable Virtual Dynamics magnet power cord that will pull your gear off the rack, those collect dust. 

It shouldn’t matter how old the cables are.  There are not many breakthroughs in cables.  Most of the time it is a small company buying off the reel wire with expensive connectors and a fancy sleeve for the wire.  How many companies actually make the wire the manufacturers are shilling for?   The longer the wire is used, the more broken in it will be.  Win, win situation. 

Moderation? that's crazy talk @rocray  😁

All my cables are from here or USAM. Had some really cool interconnects and speaker cable built by a guy using older stock, cloth insulated. Love them! Not sure if that is considered used, or new using old material... Right now have a pair of bi-wire Nordost cable that I'm really enjoying. (used of course)

Anyway, I was just thinking about some old solid core speaker cable I had 25 years ago, Mission/Cyrus made it. Really great stuff. Weird thing was since it wasn't shielded it posed a problem. My next door neighbor was a CB/HAM radio buff. Had a broadcast amp that must have reached China. Picked up his signal enough to blow fuses in my little Cyrus one amp. Weird but true.  

I make most of my audio purchases from the used market.  All my cables are older used models.  I don’t always need the latest and greatest.  Other hobbies to feed. Everything in moderation.   

I have 2 BMI Whale Elite power cords 20+ years old, I have 4 Shunyata Black Mamba Power cords, I have a Synergistic Reference Master coupler and i have a Illuminato Orchid digital cable all also 20 years old.

some of my favorite interconnects are still straightwire maestro’s and purist audio colossus and musaeus from the 90’s... modern ic's may equal but won't eclipse for performance

Late entry: Still using TG Audio HSR speaker cables, SLVR pc and High Purity i/c’s. 

Not me I use TARA LABS MUSE for best sound.

Still using Cardas Cross Link 6.5 ft speaker cables since 1995 Kimber Illuminati D60
on Sony CDP707esd since 1990 and Audioquest Diamond Back interconnects since 2014.

whipsaw
I lived with Monster Cable from 1988 to 2002. Starting in 2002, I crossed over into the "dark" side with Transparent Audio.


Happy Listening!

I'm very happy with a set of Audioquest Lapis Hyperlitz 1M cables (RCA) that must be 20+ years old (and I bought them used).  I'll probably keep them forever; since the printing has completely faded off the cabling, only I know what they are. Plus, to my admittedly aging ears, they still sound nice.

I've got some old RCAs that say JAPAN on them. I think it was made by Technics. 

My interconnects are over 25 years old. I’m going to make my own in the coming days. Custom lengths and very high quality parts. Stay tuned.

All my cables and interconnects are 25 yrs old. M.I.T speaker wires. Straight wire and XLO interconnects. Still as wonderful sounding as ever. 

Hi All,

Not sure if this exactly fits with this thread but here goes. I had been experimenting a little bit with less expensive, old interconnects as I know nothing about wire and do not want to spend a lot of money on a mistake.

I am running Thiel CS5i's and had been contacted by someone from the Thiel thread who commented they had good luck with Synergistic Research interconnects.

Maybe a year ago, I bought a pair of SR Alpha interconnects (circa early 2000's?) and installed them between my DAC and preamp. I thought they made an inprovement but not that much. 

Cutting to the chase, I bought another pair of SR Alpha interconnects and added this pair between my preamp and amp. This time around I paid attention to the arrows as these interconnects point the way the signal should go.

Oh my! Now I can hear an improvement for sure. Like a veil was lifted. More clarity, better depth of field, and better accenuated bass.

Just kinda of amazing for a $150 investment. Of course, now I am thinking about trying something better from the Synergistic line...

Thanks for listening, Dsper. 

I've been using Chord Odyssey 2 speaker cable and some fairly thick Ixos interconnects (with stupidly tight RCA connectors) for my Marantz CD player and Creek amp. Been like that for about 10 years.

Everything else (minidisc/TV/Blu-ray/MP3) is either budget oxygen free copper or budget gold plated HDMI.

After previous decades of chopping and changing I can't see any reason to experiment any further.

Those changes, if there were any, (various Naim/Linn cables etc) didn't seem to anything particularly noticeable other than cause aggravation with routing.

The Naim cable was especially bad due to its thick and unwieldy dumb-bell shape and construction. To make matters Naim stipulated that each run had to be a minimum length of 3.5 metres or so.

The reason given was that the power amps 'needed' to see a minimum amount of inductance to operate properly. This may have come from their accounts dept for all I know.

Then there were the obligatory Naim DIN connectors and the dreaded SNAIC pre to power lead. 

Ah well, it's all behind me now.
A nightmare form the distant past...

I have always been partial to Harmonic Technology speaker cables.  The Pro 9 line is constructed from solid core, multiple sized, fine gauge OCC wire that is individually insulated in foamed PE, cased, four cased wire groups twisted, and then stuffed with damping material in a tough PVC outer casing....what's not to like.  They have always sounded just right to me.  Currently running a full set of Pro 9 to the LF posts and a second full Pro 9+ to the MF/HF posts for an aggregate of 6 awg to each speaker.  That old wire sounds great.   

Cardas Quadlink interconnects and 2 sets of matching speaker cables. Purchased from Audio Advisor 22 years ago for my Acoustat Model 6 system. Those speakers are gone but the cables and interconnects remain. Guess I don't have to worry about burn-in.

My speaker cables are NOS 1950’s Western Electric 10 awg bi-wire set. So, although they are as old as I am, fairly new to me. And yes, I like them.

Still using several Empirical Design power cords and ICs in my system after a dozen years. In fact, system move left me needing a power cord recently and could not imagine anything better for the money so called Karl and picked up another ED-316 for my Herron VTPH-2a. Great cables and great service!

I've been happily using Audio Quest - Granite speaker cables and Audio Quest King Cobra interconnects for `15 years.

Mine are so old they're called patch cords and zip cords.

I am using very old cables from way back in January 2021. Extremely happy with them. I wouldn’t exchange them with anything made in March 2021 😂😂

Once I started making my own IC's from DH Labs pure silver, shielded I never ever looked back at boutique IC's again.


https://www.partsconnexion.com/DHLABS-57225.html

Still using Audience au 24 speaker cables and interconnects, TG Audio (Bob Crump) speaker wire and a silver power cord, Tara Labs The One power cables. JPS Labs Superconductor digital cable, power cords and interconnects, Acoustic Zen silver ref 2's, XLO signature interconnects and power cables.

I've not felt the need to buy more and don't even know why, I guess they do there job and sound good. I'll spray them down with detox it every year or so.

Interconnects; bottom of the line Audioquest , about ten years old. Sound excellent.

speaker wire; Rocketfish 16 guage oxygen free stranded copper, ten years old. Sound excellent.

read once the reason changing wires sometimes improves the sound is because when you change wires it cleans the mating surfaces of the connections and "re-tightens" the connection. The rest is placebo.
Nothing to do with the wire.

I have some XLR interconnects which came with my Mark Levinson 27 and 28 purchase. The seller had bought the MLs second hand, for all I know the cables came with the MLs, and reportedly were supplied by ML or their dealer; anyway, they are old, yet well made. Not my first choice (they are not too bendy), but they work just as well as others.

I'm still using "old" cables by Acoustic Zen and FMS.  They sounded great 20-30 years ago and still do today :)

Still using Audioquest Clear speaker cables, emerald and lapis interconnects. 

Interconnects: Music Metre Signature, Canto. Chimera Labs Advantage. Stealth Cross Wrapped Silver. Audiodyne Multipath. Harmonic Tech Truth-Link. MIT Matrix HD38.

Yes. 
 Audioquest. 
 I think topaz and quartz? Rca cables.
they still work great! Not the very best, but they have been with me for , must be 27 years ive owned them.  A great company, with one of audios perfect warranties. 
  

iopscrl has it right.  Every single one of my cables over forty years has been bought used and, as a result, I've been able to afford lots of Monster's top cables spread over three complete systems for less than the price of one new set.

Interconnects - I am still using my Blue Jeans cables I bought 15 years ago, they are the ones I use the most often since I have so many of them.  I also have a pair of Peterson Silver and two pair of Peterson Black cables - the original ones from the early 1980's - I use occasionally but at the moment they are not in any of the systems.   I think Peterson was the original wire guy who started the entire audio cable industry.  Before him, folks just used whatever wire was came the box and wasn't broken!   I also have some unique cables that resulted from some cable engineering work I did for a two cable companies, some of them are in the big system.   I also have two pair of very long, 50 feet, Monster Cable Interconnects that I use for Subs when I need a long run.   I also have a pair of Cardas White Interconnects that are 20 feet long.   I think those are the most frustrating pair I own.   They are always either 5 feet short of what I need or 10 feet too long.   About a year ago, I rearranged the stereo room furniture so I could make up that 5 feet!  They are currently in the big system.
Speaker Cables - I have always made my own, optimizing the parameters for the speakers in question.  I do have a very old pair I made, back around 1977 I think, that I use for a comparative reference for new designs.   It is usually not in any system though.

morestereostuff, I agree. I use reasonably priced cables from Silnote, Cullen and Morrow. For me, chasing cable nirvana is a waste of time and money. Just my opinion, I know everything matters.

After owning several cables and listening to several more through a trial service, I eventually figured out that there is not any cable that makes a lasting improvement to my listening enjoyment. Trying them out is about as much fun as taking the same hearing test over and over except it takes hours or days instead of minutes. My advice, buy good basic copper cables that are reasonably priced regardless of the rest of your system. 

@pops 
Good point about the power distribution/conditioning. Money better spent than on cables, IME. I still play around with cables, I have plenty still to play with. I recently bought some shunyata cables just to try something different  and more modern. Might as well, can’t dance..

I still have all but one of my original Transparent cables. All reference level but about 25 years old.  

I did trade up to a new Synergistic primary interconnect from my original designer reference to take advantage of their trade up program.  Made a definite difference .

However, the prohibitive cost of upgrading my Transparent speaker cables and long interconnect to my basement where my mono amps reside is stopping me from making any more cable upgrades.

At this point, my age related hearing loss is my systems limiting factor.
I upgraded my whole system easily yesterday. Bought new hearing aids.
Only $2700. for a big pop.  Cheap fix in the high end audio world.

I could literally open a cable retail outlet if I still had all the cables I have bought and sold - still have a lot of them with a few exceptions - the uber expensive ones.

For a good while I have been using Kimber KCAG, Purist Venustas IC, and Kimber 8TC.   Had them all 10+ years in and out of the system.  Best balance I have found. 

PC's are Wywires and Kubala Sosna Fascination.

The 8TC has to be the bargain of all time IME.  I have had these 25 years at least.  They always end up back in the system at some point.

I did spring for a Shunyata Denali SV2 power distributor and Sigma XC PC in 2020 and it did make a huge leap in enjoyment of my system.

Still using some old cables from 20+ years ago. I was a “part time” dealer for acoustic zen, harmonic tech back then.. Mainly so I could buy my cables at a reasonable price. I have added some Canare 4S11 for speaker wire as I needed a shorter length, I also broke down and bought a Shunyata USB cable to see if there is a difference in sound from using a cheaper stock computer cable. I saw a used .5 meter USB cable going for $4K on Agon.
I THOUGHT about getting it to see if there was actually a sonic difference..  but came to my senses and bought a new First Watt SIT3 amp instead for less..  I think I made a good choice..  IMO.

I forgot to mention my star cable, an ancient bright purple Madrigal digital cable. Cheap to buy but good luck finding one. I have heard many but nothing has bettered it yet and not really trying anymore.

I got this from a friend with a Wadia/Mark Levinson system who went all out analogue.

I went through a system revision beginning two years ago. I bought a Purist Audio Design (PAD) Colossus silver balanced cable in the early nineties to connect my Wadia CD player directly to my Krell amp. It was a crazy move to spend 1200 on a single 1 meter cable in the 90s, but it was the only one that I tried from the cable company library that reveled the detail I wanted. Fast forward thirty years and I had three new cables checked out from the cable company and compared them to the old PAD. The synergistic Research won that shootout, but my wife and I were amazed how competitive the old cable was! There are great used items out there, you need to give them a listen.

sdv0983, I used to have original Purist Aqueous. They were excellent when introduced. Colossus original, introduced later, was so much better, incomparable. I didn't try current Poseidon fluid or Aqueous Contego.

Monster Sigma are not too bad in some set ups but the rest I don't think so. They pass some signal, sure, but they can't really do singing.

Haven’t found anything affordable to better my 20 year old BEL “the wire” speaker cables...
if I could find some cheap BEL interconnects I would pick them up as well.....

If you have the money, do some research (very hit & miss) and then try some new cables. Morrow Audio makes some very nice sounding cables, and many of their lines are competitively priced. 

The key with system changes like this is to replace all of the cables in your signal path (or at least your most important signal path) and then just listen to music over time. Don't try hard to hear any immediate differences. If you do, fine, but you'll still want to live with them for a least a month-- over time you'll develop an opinion of what, if any, changes you're hearing-- after listening to lots of music, hopefully all of the kinds you normally listen to (and are familiar with).

Sometimes the change IS better, but probably, most often, you're not hearing "better" you are hearing "different". You decide if those differences are better, or are just subtle trade-offs that don't matter much to you. Unless the cables you're replacing are damaged, or are complete crap, you should expect some differences. Beyond that, it's up to you to decide if those differences add up to a real improvement that you feel is worth it. Or not. 

What is for certain true is that, above a certain level of build and materials, more money does not equal more quality. Period. Fact. It depends upon your ears and your particular system AND your room.

^^ Only if they are second or third hand and broken in!

This thread is so funny 😂. It’s like a race, a competition, which one spent the least on cables. Bonus points for age of cables. Double bonus, for rusty cables. Keep it going, there will be a prize, whoever wins will get .... a pair of nice cables 😂😂

Forgot to add to my post above, bought speaker cables and interconnects used at 1/3  or less than the price of new.
Bonus is - they're already broken in!

Most of my interconnects are at least 30 years old. These include Purist Aqeous, Tara Labs Analogue Standard, Cardas Twinlink and Audioquest Emerald hyperlitz. I no longer need 4 sets of ICs, but I still use the Purist and the Tara. The Purist were bought when the company was just starting out, and Jim Aud came and gave a presentation at a small shop nearby in Massachusetts. These are the original ones with the clear jackets, and 30 years later they have not lost any fluid and still sound fantastic. The Tara were marketed as specific for phono, and I have some new Cardas Iridium Phono on the way for comparison. The rca plating is wearing off on the Tara, otherwise I may not even have looked into replacing them. 

I find it hard to believe ANY cable is worth more than a couple hundred bucks a set depending on the run.  $1-$4k?  Unbelievable!
 I have some 25 year old heavy monster cable and my system sings!