why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable

Believe me I've tried doing without MIT cables..."I can't live...if living means without you!" They are the difference between listening and being involved with the music.

Here's a thought...what is the raw material value of a Picasso vs market value? Making any sense to all you expensive cable contrarians? There is no direct correlation between materials used and retail. Are you guys all really that slow on the uptake or are all of you voting for Bernie and his merry band of socialists?

The older I get and the more cables I try, the middle of the pack for a manufacturer is usually the sweet spot. That said, I also have found that the only significant improvements I have heard in my systems have been with MIT and Transparent. I favor MIT overall.

Pot meet kettle indeed...subjectivity is thy name nonoise!! Seems thoust doth have a forest for the trees issue. Stubbornnes and a limited perspective expressed through antiquated comparative analogies does not a valid argument make.

Update...I just ordered some new MIT CABLES...expensive? Not when you consider how much more enjoyable my listening sessions are with them installed!

Haters gonna hate! My new cables retail for $15k....gentlemen start your engines

OK, so I didn't pay retail...not even close. That's why I pulled the trigger! I traded in my old cables and got 60% off from my dealer so I only paid...drum roll....$570:) Now that's sweet on my ears!!

I don't take it as arguing so much as venting and informing!!

Mitch2, you have nailed it....I remember listening to the world premier of the new Pink Floyd album, Animals on WYSP in Philadelphia. My aural thrills were courtesy of a Panasonic military style radio with a single 6" speaker! I was enthralled:)

Nutters gonna be nutters no matter what...point is, the value is in the ear of the beholder👂🏻

I must admit I have been a bit obtuse, but in all seriousness, happiness can be had all over the place with cables depending on your expectations and experience level. Of course the level of your system being critical. As for me, having had more gear and cables than a person has a right to, I have come to rely on MIT for one reason....they make listening to music more thrilling and lifelike. That being said, I once had a mid level system hooked up with Monster M series cables that sounded utterly fantastic.

This is getting to be cryptic...time to go home now Trelaine!

Of course you have to know your source material and have had experience with equipment used when evaluating new cables. I'd say over a grand maybe for expensive or around $15K if your me:)

Who uses lol anymore...jitterbug users?

Exotic metals, cryogenic treatments, various unsulation materials, cable geometry/gauge and welding techniques all have a certain effect on the signal. All have varying degrees of success in hitting certain audiophile hot buttons. At the end of the day few can deliver comprehensive superior performance that retains musicality, accurate tone, dynamics and articulation at the frequency extremes under varying volume levels. They are all wires. My ear hears significant enhancements of the musical signal only with MIT and Transparent cables. They actually address significant problems with signal transfer and have technologies that work consistently across their range of cables. Hocus locus and wire voodoo does little to increase listening satisfaction.

I have spent way to much money chasing audiophile heaven with all types of cable designs and materials...my myopic conclusion is that MIT DELIVERS THE GOODS! Now if you have owned as many cables as I have and compared them to MIT in your system, you may come to a different conclusion. My experience, which is substantial, confirmed to me that only a cable system that actually addresses the issues surrounding signal transfer can actually give you real results and not just tonal abberations and frequency variations, which may or may not please your ear subjectively.

Melbguy1, I haven't heard them but they actually sound like a successful designs that address real world issues in signal transfer. Enjoy!

It's not for money's sake that I settled on the cables I have. I tried just about every type of cable, cheap and more expensive than what I currently use....including Mogami. My decisions were based on performance only, given I have the ability to spend more than some, but as a rule, I do not overspend for jewelry factors. It is understood however that priorities can vary in individual systems.

Wow this thread went off road:()

I only buy the cables that deliver the goods my good fellow....just so happens they cost as much as a nice mid size sedan.  I am results driven...price is a factor but not so much for me as for some others.

It allows us to release the inner angst we all harbor and enables us to validate ourselves in an anonymous consequence free environment!  Now that's worthwhile....carry on!

If we are talking just wire, then there are many values.  On the other hand, MIT can not be duplicated and Transparent has a unique design as well....both offer more than just conventional performance.  There is no short cut to what they do and their is no value alternative.  So, as long as you have convinced yourself that MIT AND TRANSPARENT aren't for you....many wires exist and your results will vary.  For me MIT delivers a whole other level of realistic audio playback that no other cable delivers.

Funny that Tara Labs would come up....that is one of the other cable manufacturers that I have owned and experienced and they make some awesome stuff.  What get's my gander up is the likes of Analysis Plus or Nordost...non musical in my book!

I have to say I am using Transparent Ultra Gen 5 cables with my new Focal Kanta No.2’s (Krell amplification and Yamaha CD S2100) ....just absolutely riveting!  So lifelike on all levels...shockingly realistic to the point of enveloping me in the acoustic and textures of the original event. Never have I heard audio reproduced so compelling and alive with every last ounce of low level details coupled with such a massive dynamic range and glorious harmonics.

Send me some Teo cables and I’ll give them a fair evaluation against my Transparent cables:). It’s the least I can do!

What he said!

I agree that most cables are of a similar design and can be had fairly inexpensively.  However, Transparent and MIT cables are demonstrably superior at creating a lifelike reproduction of the music.  They offer a broad range of products for both the audiophile on a budget to the no holds barred crowd!   Choices are great these days, solutions abound for all types of audio enthusiasts...enjoy and stop arguing over which is thee best for everyone.  

Well, I’ve heard and owned a lot of these designs and they are mostly variations on a theme within a narrow band of performance criteria.  Cable Du jour if you will.  Wire is wire no matter if it’s in a tuxedo or Goodwill attire.  The range of what sounds “good” to any given human is as variable as our genetic makeup.  So...it’s silly and of little value to argue over the minutia between wire manufacturers unless something exceptional is being offered that can actually enhance the listening experience across a broad range of fellow music lovers.  But alas, we are not wired for consensus or even happiness it seems.  We prefer to argue, disagree and dissect that which may even have only the subtlest of differences when we could be discussing great music and it’s importance to our lives.  Granted, that is for another post, but the music we listen to is probably indicative of the type of equipment we use.  

Chris IS a Shaman for sure but offers only more of the same variations I mentioned earlier.  Some designs sound brighter, some emphasize bass or midrange etc..  

“Proper copper” is all you need to pass the signal along...with all the noise present and intact.  Transparent cable will remove it and lower the noise floor dramatically.  Everything else is just cable!

Consider Signal Cable d2girls!  Very good stuff and extremely inexpensive for the quality.

D2girls...might I suggest a veteran source for free advice who also handles MIT cables online.  Call Joe Abrams at Equus Audio.  He has been in the high end industry for his entire life and can offer exceptional savings on all MIT cables.  He has cables for sale on Audiogon as well.  Enjoy

Dynaquest14 sounds reasonable and has probably found himself content within his own means, meager as they may or may not be.  My recommendations are based upon over 40 years of owning a very large portion of the gear many people talk about but have not owned.  Many cables have entered my various systems over the years and although there may be some good values available, none have provided the startlingly dramatic improvements that MIT cables have provided....even the lower cost offerings are quite amazing at allowing your listening sessions to transport you to the actual event!  I have put my money where my mouth is and have found that wire definitely is wire...MIT offers a musical experience far beyond just wire.

Who gives a flying fig!  Buy what you want and enjoy.  Don’t be jealous if someone’s cables are bigger, longer and thicker than yours 😉

Geoff is definitely more than a few cards short of a deck 😝. He’s also wrong...a rich man can buy his audio indulgences over and over again until he accidentally enters Audio Nirvana!  A poor man has fewer options and needs to get it right the first time...IOW, the deck is stacked against him or her or it or whatever is PC today.  Of course Geoff would convince the poor guy his Bose would sound SOTA if only he would buy some of his audio trinkets and snake oil.  Actually, that makes Geoff worse than a rich man.  At least a rich man wants to have an honest chance at purchasing a slice of ANirvana, while Geoff lives off the poor, desperate wretches looking for a magic potion to convert their electronic grunge generators into heavenly sonic bliss!  I can respect the rich man for his capitalistic purity.  Geoff however, is far worse...for he sells empty dreams.  Then again, perhaps that defines a free society afterall.  Anyone should be able to pursue anything they want, no matter how foolish or baseless it may be.  Carry on dear patriot...let not your conscience be bothered.

Elizabeth is obviously very emotional right now.  You missed the tongue in cheek aspect of my post apparently?  That being said, anyone should be able to pursue anything they please.  I was simply riffing on the analogy GK mentioned.  It was sarcastic humor with a thread of truth perhaps...certainly not a treatise or anything worth publishing.  Relax, take a bubble bath and put on some Perry Como for goodness sake!  Geeez

I’m fine GK...no need for any of your special scam sauce on my burgers 🍔 

Looks are important glupson.  That’s why you will never see a pic of GK anywhere.

Some expensive cables do provide better performance for commensurate gear.  At some point there is diminishing returns for sure.  My experience is that most of the cable companies sell plain old wire dressed up in diamonds and pearls.  There are only 2 major companies that offer actual technology and real world improvement for audio signals and they are Transparent and MIT.  MIT makes some phenomenal stuff across a broad range of pricing, as does Transparent.  Many other brands offer good stuff, but their performance does not go up as the price increases.

True, although performance doesn’t necessarily track as their price increases.  Fundamentally, I also have experienced far less differences in cable designs that basically just try to dress up the wires with some sort of pseudo techno babble that results in marginal performance changes.  For my money and to my ears, those manufacturers who actually do something that essentially addresses the real world problems faced by an audio signal produce drastically better results.

Looked up Clarity Cable...hmmm.  Ma and Pa Kettle use Golden Ears.  Nice!  Love the lack of detail as well.  Little weird actually, kinda creepy in a way.  No NASA mentioned, but that wouldn’t necessarily equate with good sound anyway.  Makes Signal Cable look uber high end!

Yes, I have tried sooo very many cables over the years that were supposed to be better...MIT always wound up coming back!  It’s all relative so enjoy 😉 

I remember being very happy with some M series monster cables in one of my lesser systems.  Synergy, room acoustics etc..all come into play!

Teo
He’s a Te he’s aTe he’s a Te e e o!

Money come
and he send ‘em to home

The Teo Song

I agree with pricing getting out of hand but not the complaints about ancient designs that were cumbersome.  In 2018 you can get most of the SOTA sound for a fraction of the cost it once was.