Cables 101 for a beginner

There is a plethora of opinions on the subject of cables so we can't cover them all quickly. My 2 rules of thumb that I try and go by are:

1."Try before you buy" if you can. If you can't then buy used - helps if you have to or want to re-sell.

2."What is lost at the beginning cannot be recovered." I always try my best cable at my source to preamp link to ensure I've maximized the signal at the outset. This doesn't mean that your "most expensive" cable has to be the one that goes there but its always a good place to start.

You can always audition cables via an outfit called the Cable Co. or maybe its www.fatwyre.com where for a fee they will loan you a number of cables and the fee can be applied against the purchase price if you decide to buy.

First thing you do is forget about the terminator 4's. I've owned a lot of MIT and the bare minimum IMO would be MH-750 CVT's which can be had for around $250.00 per pair right here at a-gon. Try to find some 330 interconnects too ($150.00 per pair used) and you'll be set up for awhile. Later we can upgrade you to their reference line or even Oracles.

look into making your own. audio asylum and other sites. you will be able to match most everything in the 500 to 1k price range for very little money; time and expertise.

jim

Lots of great suggestions, thank you.

RE: losing the MIT terminator 4; I already own these. I could sell them and replace them, but I'm not sure how important that would be.

Finding a place that will loan out cables to test (for a fee) sounds too good to be true! I went to fatwyre.com, and emailed them. We'll see what they say. I couldn't find any reference to a "loan" policy on their site.

RE: getting two 20 amp dedicated circuits, that sounds like a good idea. I realize power is important, I work on computers, and many people don't realize how important the power supply is for computer performance. However, I live in a condo building, so I'm not sure I would be allowed to make that kind of electrical change. At the very least, I'd have to have it approved by the board. What about a power supply? Would that do the same thing?

Shielded cables sounds important... I have a feeling there is a lot of interference where I live (I'm in downtown DC).

... OOPS, spoke too soon. fatwyre.com does have a "library" policy...

http://www.fatwyre.com/about.html