While there is no question cables can make a difference, the current commercial cable market is nothing less than pure alchemy. Until consumers, equipment reviewers and dealers push for some objective standards and information it is a shell game. Every other type of audio equipment sold publishes standards such as s/n ratio, etc. but not the cable industry. It boggles my mind that someone is willing to spend thousands on what amounts to a black box. Yes, of course, amp, speaker, and turntable specs do not tell us how a particular piece of equipment will sound to an individual user but specs can help narrow the choices and differentiate between levels of sophistication, but not so with cables. The infamous test many years ago when Absolute Sound compared Home Depot extension cords with big bucks cables remains an eye opener. They wouldn’t do that today because the cable manufacturers who advertise would pull their ads.
Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse?
Many of us with highly resolving systems have found that speakers cables and interconnect cables can improve the sound quality of our systems. But are they also just as likely to do the opposite?
A few months ago, I “upgraded” to a renowned speaker cable, and immediately noticed more detail and resolution. I was so pleased I also “upgraded” the interconnects. But with more time I realized that the trade-off for more detail was a thinner sound with diminished tonal richness. Thus began a maddening series of attempts to fix the problem – different speaker cables, different DAC, different streamer, and now even a 30 trial of a new amplifier to try to overcome the thinness and find a more natural tone. It finally occurred to me to replace the out-of-sight-out-of-mind interconnects (with my original interconnects), and immediately the problem was blessedly solved.
Have others experienced this frustration? What recommendations do you have to avoid such fiascos?
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- 64 posts total
- 64 posts total