why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable
I have tried expensive cables and one's moderately priced. I would say there were some differences but I can't actually say the expensive cables were better. IMHO I believe a lot of people buy expensive cables because they don't actual trust their ears and are afraid of making a mistake. They figure the expensive cables are better for the fact they cost more. If you have a difference of opinion or share the same thoughts, I would like to hear about it.
"No mater what side of the fence your on with cables looks has something to do with it as well."
I have been trying to point that out on a number of occasions. Interestingly so, anything else on cable threads gets debated to the ridiculous extent but I do not remember anyone ever reacted to my statements that have been, more or less, just what you wrote above. I think people here are ashamed to admit they function on the "looks" level, too. On the other hand, given the ferocity and style of some of the responses on cable threads, I should not complain that I got no responses.
I did buy interconnects because they did look "better" than previous ones. I have stock wheels on my cars. I do try different tires, though.
Good looking gear has always outsold high performance gear.
"The male of the species is a visual creature", one might say.
We have been asked multiple times to make our cables more ’pretty’ as they would be easier to sell, and more would be sold.
We have not, as every bit of prettiness and shininess we have at our disposal to add in, degrades sound quality. We (at Teo) can’t -and won’t- issue high quality cables with the ’shiny crow attractants’ involved, unless it is purely functional.
So far, for us, only the good looking WBT reference connectors have passed this high audio quality smell test.
We are very very good with cosmetics and visual appeal in product execution and design. The two of us (Taras and I - Ken) are well versed in such, with decades of experience. But there is little to be done in the cosmetics arena, with cables, if sound quality is the aim and outcome.
Hopefully, someone will come up with the way which will not make looks and function mutually exclusive. In fact, it is hard to believe that they have to be that way.
Just briefly visiting and seeing the first teo_audio picture (blue cable), I would say that they are not indecent-looking. There are, at least to me, prettier ones out there but these are far from unsightly. Anticables and similar would be more in that domain. Of course, some may be smitten by those.
I don’t allow photos. Long story. If someone says that’s him it’s probably not. A lot of people say I look like a cross between Brian Ferry and Horst Buchholtz.
Don't "phool" yourself. People buy watches, cars, homes, furniture, clothes, audio speakers...hell, even pets for the looks and what it says about their financial status. I get that. Just don't try to slide by me that you buy $22,000.00 speaker wire for the audio performance.
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.
There are more than two companies that offer real world improvement and technology. Come on Dave B. Clarity Cable guy was a nasa engineer. Other cables offer improvement real world when properly matched.
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!
Yeah but he was imdo my research as well. Doug Schroeder can use any Cable he wants and those are his reference. Not cheap but not Uber expensive. I use them and I’m very happy. I’m not a fan of Mit of transparent. I’ve had those and I like these better
" teo audio speaker cables, starting $22,000 USD 6ft / pairhis reference interconnects available starting at around $11,000 USDgood luck finding where he even manufactures them, dont think its canada, his address on his site leads to a postal box in the middle of nowhere."
Don’t mean to make you look any more foolish or even more petty and vindictive than you have been up to this point but the current site clearly gives an address, and there is no postal box, and btw the cables have always been manufactured in Kingston, Ontario.
What can I say, after listening to Clarity cables on several occasions ( as opposed to, say, just looking at them on the interwebs ) can confirm that, to my ear at least, they are great sounding cables that "punch" way above their price point.
And btw they were the cable used in a "Best of Show Room" at the most recent RMAF....so there is that there, eh.
Glad to see you bought into the MIT, Transparent "network" Dave, good for you. I once owned a pair of MIT cables, specifically the 770 for tube electronics, talk about specific for the application. Believe me, no objections, very nice in that system, I believe they retailed in the 3K figure at the time in the early 2000's. Problem was those network boxes climed above the floor, a no no with my then Merlin VSM speakers which required a dedicated support for that heavy network box. I couldn't tighten the lugs sufficiently to keep the spades from sliding off. In my experience, maybe not as extensive as yours, is there are MANY fine alternative cables that will work in ANY application, there is no black and white better. After all, it is more often than not about taste and specific application, wouldn't you agree?
One objection about MIT and Transparent, their upper lines are too pricey for cables, ANY cables period. I have sufficient experience owning and listening to countless cables over the years to know. When cables climb above 5 digit prices we are not talking about sound anymore contrary to some thinking, we are then in the realm of marketing and what one is willing and able to pay.
2. Identify each and every cable at or below that point.
3. Acquire (buy, beg, borrow, steal) examples of each.
4. Perform extensive comparative listening tests.
5. Months later, exhausted, announce to the world your findings and ratings.
6. Explain why everyone else under the sun, including those who have heard some of those cables and many who have not, disagree completely with your findings.
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.
I understand everyone. I recently compared clarity to cables 4 times its price and the other cable did a few things better but overall clarity was different but on par with them. If you putting together a high end system u can save some money there and get better electronics and you won’t miss a beat
Copper is copper. You cannot improve on 100% oxygen free copper. It doesn’t cost $100 a pound. Anyone that thinks a company can justify charging insane prices for “audiophile” wiring is a sucker.
As far a gold is concerned, it’s not a great conductor, it’s only useful as a corrosion inhibitor.
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