2. cables
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How Big of a Difference?

Hello all,

I have near completed upgrading my system, but have left my speaker wire the same. My system is as follows- Laptop (Tidal) > Schiit Gumby Multibit > Freya S > Vidar monoblocks > speakers. My usb cable is Supra usb, and I am using xlr connections with amazon basics cables. If I am not mistaken, xlr is already super good at being noise resistance so I shouldn't need to spend more $ on fancy cables at my current level of audio equipment. My speaker wire is traditional 12 gauge wire I spliced from the spool. Nothing fancy. The reason I feel I shouldn't spend money on better speaker wire is because I traded the Supra usb for a super cheap usb and could not hear a difference. On top of that, I used to use single-ended connections using Chord C-line cables, and I could not tell the difference between those and cheap ones. What is everyone else's consensus? Can you guys hear a difference in your system? Thanks for the help.

oedstrom11
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,502 posts
 

Isn't it wonderful to be proclaimed not everyone else?

mrskeptic
262 posts
 

So much silliness in this thread. Supposedly "everyone" can hear a difference using cable elevators, but maybe not you, so I guess you're not part of everyone. 😏  Unless you can get the help of a friend or wife and swap cables without YOUR knowledge of which one is carrying the electricity, you'll only be dealing with confirmation bias or the placebo effect. I mean, if someone spends a few thousand $$$, they dang well should sound better, right?

steve_wisc
45 posts
 

I haven’t seen mention of Morrow cables.

60 return policy and always seem to have generous discounts. Different price levels. Hand made/assembled. Imo, very good "bang for the buck".

I heard an immediate difference on headphones with their phono cables out of the box. I am certainly hearing more detail with stream/flac reference songs now that they have settled in. Of course, YMMV.

At the time, it took about 3 weeks to get them. Well worth the wait for the price.

rudyb
141 posts
 

I'm not surprised you didn't hear a difference between the USB cables ... that's because there IS no difference. Any decent USB cable brings the 0's and 1's to the other end perfectly fine without errors.

With speaker cable there could be audible differences, given the rest of your setup is capable of bringing out the nuances. But it'll be subtle ... so subtle that only few people with almost absolute hearing will be able to spot them. These people exist, just like there are people who can name the vineyard when they smell and taste a wine, or the 'nose' of a perfume brand, who designs the fragrances. But these people are rare and are well trained ... the question is if you can hear the difference.

holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

I'm not surprised you didn't hear a difference between the USB cables ... that's because there IS no difference. Any decent USB cable brings the 0's and 1's to the other end perfectly fine without errors.

With speaker cable there could be audible differences, given the rest of your setup is capable of bringing out the nuances. But it'll be subtle ... so subtle that only few people with almost absolute hearing will be able to spot them. These people exist, just like there are people who can name the vineyard when they smell and taste a wine, or the 'nose' of a perfume brand, who designs the fragrances. But these people are rare and are well trained ... the question is if you can hear the difference.

I am much better with the wine than with the cables.

I would not waste even a cheap bottle on a USB cable, unless it had a good return policy.

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