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Who out there wants to, or has, validated an amazing cable find?
I own a very decent audio system and have slowly been moving up over the last several decades weeding out less-natural sounding equipment and focusing on best sound for my money (what I can afford). My current gear is a collect of Quad, Pass, Klyne, VPI, soekris and a fairly large collection of Kimber, audio quest, Furutech, Cardas, Straightwire, DH Labs cables built up over time.
I have come across lots of high-priced gear that isn't faithful to the music. My reference has always been unamplified voice and instruments and attend such concerts regularly though they are hard to find (but still easy if you live near a major city).
It always a pleasure to come across gear that is low priced and exceeds higher priced gear when it comes to faithful reproduction of music holding to the live unamplifed sound standard.
So.....
I have recently purchased some ATAUDIO cables from Aliexpress that have left me stunned due to low price and performance. Recommended by another audiophile who seemed credible and owned good equipment so decided to give them a try.
A $26 1 meter ATAUDIO copper interconnect cables is running neck and neck my Cardas Clear interconnects and beaten my Cardas clear Cygnus interconnect cables when it comes to clarity, lack of edge and sibilance, warm open holographic sound reproduction.
Would someone here with a good resolving audio system give one of the ATAUDIO cables a try? The price is noise for us who have invested in decent (high-end) audio system.
ATAUDIO power cords and Interconnects have proved amazing. About to try their speaker cables. I would not recommend their silver cables. I tried them and while they sound more robust and full than their copper cables the silver cables have the a high frequency edge similar to other silver cables I have heard.
Just looking for couple of regular posters here to give the ATAUDIO cables a try.
Can't resist passing along an audio bargain.
If you don't believe in cables making differences please don't post here and go do something else as you have already found your happiness.
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Had a chance to get my hands on a used pair of one of my old favorites from MIT, the AVT 1 RCA Interconnects. Used them in one of my systems many years ago and had fond “visceral “ memories of how great they sounded. They are absolutely phenomenal sounding in every respect…musical, dynamic, dimensional!! Jim2 would be proud of me 🥹 |
Don’t disagree overall. When it comes to electronics bargain units that hang in there with good high priced components are quite rare. Its often the unit is overpriced compared to its nearby competition. But with cables? Yes the top end stuff is amazing that I have heard but is unobtainium for most of us including me. I play in the $1500 to $2000 per run for cables. To find a low priced (sub $100) cable that hangs in there is a good find and plausible since there isn’t a mountain of electronics circuitry and assembly involved. In fact it is most likely these low priced manufacturers have got their hands on high quality cables and connectors which don’t cost very much to make but with high end manufacturers you are paying for their IP. |
Great to hear. I think as you move up the audio chain to better components the Ataudio interconnects will hold up well. As I noted in my OP I have much pricier cables that are well regarded in high-end circles and was quite surprised this vastly less expensive cable held up. Does indeed bring up questions on prices for high end cables. |
I am lately very impressed with the Mogami bi-wire speaker cables. I was using older Audience AU24 single wire, which is my go to cable, but I wanted to try a bi-wired cable and after a few weeks, I’m hearing surprisingly good things. Jury is still out, but I think the Mogamis are very good. BTW, I got them from Performance Audio with right angle bananas on the speaker side so they fit nice and flat against the speaker. They do very nice work. |
@sudnh The last couple of nights I did some testing, and the results of my subjective evaluation is that the Ataudio cables sound fuller with more bass; the Morrow MA4 have a bit more detail (FYI my Morrow cables have the less expensive RCA plugs). Overall very happy with these Ataudio cables, and if I had to choose I would pick them over the MA4s. Again, this is based on my subjective impressions with my equipment, ears, room, etc. I ordered the 2 power cables @knownothing suggested, and they should arrive within the next 2 weeks. |
@sudnh Thanks for checking with me! I haven't done a very good evaluation so far. My initial (and subjective) impression was that they were very similar to my Morrow MA4 cables. After several days of listening I replaced them with the Morrows, and I maybe heard better treble definition with the Morrows. Unfortunately it is a pain to swap cables with my setup, and I still want to do a better evaluation. This is funny, and I broke my ground rule of not buying cables that are clearly knock-offs; I didn't know Ortofon was an actual brand, so I guess these cables are knock-offs of some Ortofon cable :) |
I have made references to PC Triple Wire used as a Signal Path in quite a few thread on the Gon. This wire as a Signal Path and Power Cord has made very good impressions. It is becoming harder to source as a Wire only, and Cables produced using it will be the easiest way to experience it in use. Do not take seriously, anyone who has not experienced the wire in use in comparison to OCC, especially in their own system. Where the suggestion is both wires are very similar. PC Triple C as signal wire, at certain interfaces show OCC to have a very easy to perceive impression of being veiling and muddy. At others the OCC will be less obvious for adding colouration, bit proper evaluation with unearth its presence. PC Triple C will be the selected wire over OCC. Triple C draws the curtains wide open, along with being with much cleaner boots. I mix Triple C and D.U.C.C Wire when I want to add a hint of a Rich Tone, the D.U.C.C adds a Gin Clear experience of a Rich Tone, a little underpinning weight with no perceivable colour. Also important not to overlook the value that low eddy RCA Phono Connectors can add to the good impression that can be made. |
@knownothing Thanks! I will explore their products. |
@knownothing Also appreciate your recommendations. Would you consider Audiomeca and Xangsane reliable vendors? I don’t mind experimenting with “unknown to me” vendors as long as they design their own products and build them with good materials and workmanship. |
@sudnh Thanks for the recommendation! I received my pair of ATAUDIO RCA cables last week, and currently evaluating them. I have very modest cables in my system, so any improvement to my ears will be greatly appreciated. And for the price of two pints of beer one can’t go wrong :) |
The Ayre VX-5 Twenty with the switches I referenced is my amp. I have an Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamp. You have me curious and I’ll ask them about that. Good guys over there. I’ve read you mentioning that AES48 standard and if it wasn’t clear, I appreciate you taking the time to share all of that info / perspective about balanced cables / "properly balanced" equipment. I suspect you’ve also helped others... and you’ll never know about it. Many with knowledge don’t bother taking the time to share it and help others. Thank you. |
@dave_b meet my (now) good buddy @dave_b
Since we are avoiding any particulars (always handy to remain vague when suggesting it’s "gonna cost you!")... Can we get a clue? What do you think? Can we get this done for about Tree Fiddy? What’s an example of the "it’s gonna cost you!" stuff, since very clearly you're saying "great" means "it's gonna cost you!"?
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@jim2 Sorry- somehow I missed that. Thanks for the blast from the past about feedback. The reason zero feedback is used is to prevent distortion rising with frequency. But if you have enough Gain Bandwidth Product in the design, you can do that with feedback also. Amps that could do the latter did not exist before about 2000 or so and if they were around that long ago they were very rare. |
@jayctoy Pangea has some decent cables, as does Anti-cables, Signal Cable…so many choices for conventional designs. My personal experience ( from Fulton to present) emphasizes the obvious superiority of certain cable designs over others, but may be subjectively preferred or not, depending on individual systems matching and musical biases. |
Try adding Puron with your modest price cable , you will be surprise how they will be transform to a more good sounding cables..I tried using Pangea pc on my Viva, cobra ic on my cd player to my preamp, then blue jeans speaker cable for my omega rs8.The result I forgot many times , Iam using modest price cables. Puron made me feel , Iam done with cables. |
See, I knew there were 2 of you! The Crap comment was referencing the OP…as for the misplaced tension, affirmation comes to those who are unbiased. Additionally, I did not indicate my reasons or experiences that influenced my outlook on cables, nor did I imply a level of monetary outlay that might be required to achieve an objectively superior result in this most subjective of hobbies. |
It clearly says "Jim2"... "Jim1" is the truly enlightened One. "Jim1" is when I drink a lot of water. "Jim2" is when I drink coffee in the morning. I can assure you I seek to be happy... I also try to avoid deluding myself. |
Ralph, there is a switch on the back of the VX-5 Twenty amp for switching between Balanced and RCA. "Zero Feedback" and "Fully Balanced Differential Circuitry" are fundamental to Ayre equipment. I did mention the insulation on the Mogami is PE and the jacket is PVC. Perhaps you remember this interaction you had with the late Charlie Hansen of Ayre regarding "Balanced"? You referred to him as one of the great Solid State designers. The "Ralph" he mentioned here to is you...
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@jim2 Just for the record that wasn't exactly my advice. My advice was that if you gear supports AES48 then you likely will hear little or no difference at all between cables as long as the cable is built correctly. The Mogami is a good quality studio cable and compared to cables around today is really inexpensive. It also uses polyethylene dielectrics (not PVC- that is only used for the jacket). I don't know if the Ayre preamp supports AES48 or not but the RCA outputs along with the XLR output suggests it does not. You'd have to ask them to know. |
Finding good synergy takes research, experimentation and time. Arguing over production techniques, materials, cryo, etc. just becomes an arbitrary rabbit hole. If you find some cables that make the right difference for your system and circumstances, it makes the right difference for YOUR system and circumstances. Exorbitantly priced cables do not guarantee anything, even for a high priced and resolving system. Maybe it eeks-out that last 2%? But how can that be relevant when you’ve got a capable enough and balanced system where you already find yourself deeply engaged in the music to begin with. If the materials, shielding, terminations and construction process (and qc) are of a high enough standard, then it’s got the capability to sound good in your system. It’s then a matter of trial to determine if it brings what you’d like sonically. Not to mention, there will always be a bit of a trade off (regardless of price level). Just need to determine if you’re willing to trade more of one characteristic aspect over the other. Nod to @erik_squires 🙏🏼 |
I bought a used 7’ pair of Anticables 4.2 speaker cables for $212 to my door and they are shockingly good. I also have 16awg solid core wire (of another brand) insulated w/ polyethylene. I’m going to try all solid core wire and am in the process of ordering bulk wire from Paul at Anticables to make my own XLR cables. In the past, I’ve taken @atmasphere Ralph Karsten’s (much appreciated) advice to try Mogami for XLR... and that any quality wire in an XLR implementation is going to get the job done. I’ve been using Mogami 2549 (22awg) for XLR into my Ayre VX-5 Twenty. When I tried 25 year old Vampire OCC Unbalanced / RCA cables into the amp, I found them soft compared to the Mogami 2549 via XLR. Could have been the wire... could have been the input... could have been both. |
You're using Fyne speakers. That's your problem right there. They can sound uncouth at the top, the cable you are raving about is acting as a tone control and reducing clarity, definition, plus glare, and sibilance.
The best cables i have used are Entreq and Dalby Audio Design. Nothing else comes close ime. |
This isn't a purchased cable per se, but because it was an inexpensive experiment, so I gave it a go. This was to connect Maggie MMGs to a modded Hafler DH 220. While not the end all be all by any stretch, I was fairly blown away by the sound this DIY speaker cable produced. I'm certain it would be pooh-pooh'd by many, but hey. So what. I believe my seasoned, trained ears. I was also able to find a cord with a white sheath, so that made it somewhat attractive as well. https://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/whitelightning/moonshine.html I'm not currently using the ones I made, as I stuck in a beefier amp so came up with some new cable, but was looking at them the other day and was considering swapping them in for the single-conductor 12-gauge wire I'm using right now (to good effect, I might add) just to see how they measure up. |
All of my ic's are from Koldingaudio (eBay). They are smooth, open, and dynamic. They are digital RCA for my cdp, AEB/EBU streamer to dac, and XLR DAC to my Luxman class A. The lowest cost cable was $8 delivered, and the most expensive was around $23 delivered. They are all OCC, and the digital RCA is OCC silver plated. Very well pleased, and I am not looking to replace any of them. |
*Audioquest Hurricane High Current, 15A, power cable used on my DAC. I know, this cable isn't recommended by Audioquest for source components, but it works just fine and sounds absolutely Incredible on my DAC!!! *JPS Labs Aluminata power cable used on my integrated amp. Initially, I tried this power cable on my DAC, but it turned out to be a game changer on my integrated amp instead. Incredible!!!
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vthokie83, And if you really want to up your game you should try the neotech rectangular OCC cable unfortunately their top stuff which is the Amazon and the Sahara are not available in bulk but they do have other rectangular OCC available and it is far superior to the round OCC because that's what I upgraded from. |
Lots of views here. I am a firmly midfi guy so take everything I say from that perspective. I use an assortment of wires from Audioquest, Shunyata, DH Labs (good value) The Chord Company, Nanotec (outstanding value), Furutech and some from China - various makers. I am not going to claim that Chinese cables that cost $50 rival $10,000 wires but some sound pretty good and are holding a place in my current system. You must be selective. I currently assemble most of my power cables. I started out buying Furutech parts at full retail and had some success and some disappointments. I have found some Chinese sourced bulk power cables and connectors that are great, but you have to buy and try to determine which ones from which venders are effective, and which just look pretty. I use an ATAUDIO interconnect for my subwoofer and like how that sounds. I have an Audiomeca power cable that is supposedly OCC copper that looks lovely, comes in a nice box, cost a little over a hundred bucks and rivals the sound of power cables I have and have tried costing $500-$800. I am currently using it to power my Swagman Labs SE linear power supply for my analog front end with great satisfaction. I bought a Xangsane “7N OCC silver plated power cable” for under $100 on a lark and it sounds terrific. My son is currently using it in his Naim/Rega/ATC/REL system side by side with quality Audioquest, Naim, DHLabs and Isotek power cables. Not saying it is an Audioquest Hurricane killer, just saying it is a good value if you can overlook the hideous lime green color and component lifting stiffness. I bought a Chinese replica of a $3,000 Furutech power cable for $100 and got what I paid for. Looks great, sounds just OK. I bought some “Valhalla” speaker jumpers from China that are supposedly silver plated OCC to replace the stock metal plates on some Wharfedale Diamond 12.0s in a second system, and WOW, are they good. They cost $45 and are worth every penny. Compared to some other jumpers I’ve tried made from bulk wire and other store bought versions, these phony knock offs are hands down better. It takes a long time to burn them in, but they make the little Wharfedales sound like much more expensive speakers. Lastly, out of curiosity I bought some $45 interconnects from China that look very much like $19,000 top of the line wires from a certain US vender. I put them in my system and gave them every chance to impress me, and ultimately they didn’t. They weren’t completely awful, but my Nanotec wires with Furutech rhodium plugs sound way better. Those Chinese wires are now gracing my spare cable box. YMMV kn |
Like most of us, I started with average components and cheap cables. After getting a few nicer components, I tried more expensive cables. More expensive meant Blue Jeans, cheap good deals on random cables, etc. These did improve things and made me feel better about my cables. When I moved up the chain again in components, I took members advice and sought help from The Cable Company. I tried many, and landed on Audience AU24SX. I quickly acquired a full loom as they are easily available used / demos. So I thought I was done. Well, when I moved up the component ladder one more time, my dealer said hey, let me try different speaker cables to compare. Wow. I can not unhear these improvements. Fuller, richer, better bass, and still very resolving. So I sold all of my Audience (easy) and now have a full loom of Kubala Sosna, and like @pennfootball71 , now have all Realization in my main system. They are the real deal. This is not being arrogant, they just sound better to me and to me they are worth it. But, having a vacation cabin with an audio system, I try to be value conscious in that system. For me, Zavfino hits the mark. Their Aradia copper cables are very nice and a great deal in my opinion. I do not like silver in my system as too bright and flashy. So I understand value conscious shoppers, but also hear the quality as does our Penn fan. I believe in synergy of cable type and brand. It just all comes together. I have also made nice cables. In my family room my speaker cable runs are very long. This is my second system. so I did not want to go crazy. I landed on Furutech FS Alpha 36 from VH Audio. I got all the heat shrink I needed, Furutech gold plated spades, and made beautiful long speaker cables. I can solder and I bought a heat gun for the shrink. I installed these on the high / mid speaker binding posts, and left my generic thick copper cables on the bass posts. This change was transformational in this system, and was unapproachable with nice commercial cables (runs were 25 feet each). My interconnects and power cables in that system are Elation, so the speaker cables were the bottleneck. Huge improvement and a fun project. So there are better cables at all price points, you just have to find them, and for me they are not made in China. I hope I spelled etc correctly!. |
I do not have "an amazing cable find" but I want to confirm that previously reported Chinese Valhalla 2 flat speaker cables iare a great find. These have moved my listening to another level for $205 (2.5 meters). The vendor is RMDigital. You can find more information on the Chinese cable threads.
System is Tidal>optical rendu>Pontus>Doge 10 or Coda Csib> QAcoustics Concept 500 speakers. Room is somewhat acoustically treated. |
I have never owned any of the stratospherically priced cables, however in my search over the last several years, I found that Audio-Envy cables were the best sounding in my system from a $$$-to-performance perspective. Recently, I had the opportunity to try Iconoclast cables as they have a 30-day money back guarantee. While they are definitely more expensive than the Audio-Envy, the Iconoclast speaker cables have made a notable improvement in micro-detail in the mid and treble ranges and improvements in the depth and width of the sound stage. I would highly recommend you try both the Audio-Envy speaker cables and the Iconoclast speaker cables as they both have a return policy. Yes... They are priced quite differently but both cables are really good sounding with Iconoclast edging out the Audio-Envy enough for me to spring for those. The Iconoclasts are ultrasonically-welded to the connectors. And there is a really good reason proven scientifically that they are woven in the way they are. Also, should you try either, please give them at least 50 - 75 hours of break-in or more. They both smooth out with break-in. One final comment, the law of diminishing returns (also balanced with level of discretionary income) is different for each of us. In my opinion, $-for-$, Audio-Envy is the one to beat. At least in my system ! |
