Musing following some cable posts...

I can hear the differences in cables.

My opinion on the subject is this.

Your hifi can be balanced within a range. If your hifi is teetering on being to bright or too muddy but still within your brains happy range then your brain can adjust to compensate for the sound,.

As some cables alter the balance slightly and if your system is already quite bright or quite dull then adding a bright or dull cable tips the balance too far to what your brain classes as comfy and it lets you know with listening fatigue and headaches.

I believe that most systems being quite balanced dont have the problem so a bit of extra brightness or dullness doesnt make much difference and so you cant really hear it. But get it totally wrong and the difference can be night and day.

My system has a really hot treble and a big powerful bass. If I add nordost speaker cable it takes the treble over the edge and loses the bass. The system sounds quite bad and not listenable to for a long period. Throw in a nice large thick copper cable and the hifi remains quite balanced and great sounding.

 

I use the free cables that came in the boxes, plus some long interconnects I made from the cheapest thinnest single core coax I could find by the reel at Maplin for the Sky box/DVD player

Paul

 

I've used freebies whenever I'd been given them, but not many hifi companies include them nowadays, they've probably worked out some people will pay ridiculously over the odds for them, after all.

-- Ian

 

reading that ABX report is interesting,in that all it really shows is that there was only one guy who could accurately hear the differences and the rest of them were just full of shit.

and i think that's probably representative of audio guys on the whole, we'dall like to think we hear differences, but most of us probably don't.

 

apart from my technics hifi system that I bought in the late 80's - no other compnanent I've bought has come with any cables except hardwired power cables...which I still use!

 

The last 3 brand new components I have bought all came with a freebie power lead in the box. With a Schuko plug on

 

I use cables made with ‘Musiflex’ mainly. The reason is that I like to keep the cables only as long as they need to be to avoid clutter - so I make them myself. I am happy to use a freebee one otherwise.

 

I have an opinion In contrast with many here. - I have a medium end system built up over quite a few years. I think I have used my ears to buy it. I only spend money when I think I need to. Currently Vinyl player, Phono stage, preamp, power amp and speakers totted up to £1830 (mostly second hand). The system cables and mains filter cost me £985 (also generally second hand). Rediculous maybe but the result for me is passable happiness. IMHO Cables are the make and break of any system. I am very comfortable with the concept that 1/3 of my system cost is on cables. In fact I have an idea that 50/50 would make for even better value.

 

on all these sorts of threads, I rather enjoy the concept that all men are unequal when it comes to their ears. I wonder if we are brought up to trust our own opinions or to trust others. Sometimes it seems to me that those who demand 'proof' (as if such a thing were ever concrete) are just those whose parents and education led them to mistrust their own views, and those who proclaim for 'I hear, so it is true' are just those who were brought up to be confident in their own abilities.
Of course either view might be right, or nonsense

 

I've you'd spent £950 or so of that £985 on better speakers, and £35 on cables, I'm prepared to bet extremely good money you'd end up with far better sound, but hey, that's just me.

-- Ian

 

...and me!

 

QUOTE=zanash;208493]the poor cat sneezed as I took the pic ....its internal eye lids closed ..I just thought it amusing to put the red eyes in ...unfortunately people take it that I'm as spikey as the teeth when in fact I'm just an old ***** cat ![/QUOTE]
That is Pete in real life when there's a full moon.

 

Yeah he be the devil himself

Watcha Pete keep up the good work mate.

 

I use the cheap n nasty crappy cables supplied with my Naim kit and funnily enough they sound fine.

When I don't run Naim I make my own cables using cheap pro cable such as the Musiflex mentioned by Simon (80p mtr) or if I'm feeling really extravagant I use Klotz guitar cable (a whopping £1 mtr) - the stuff used by those splendid folk at Rega.

 

Sideshow - Thanks for your comments - I note that your aviator has cloth over the ears.

 

its amazing how many people use those crappy free cables....I wonder just how many people REALLY use them??? Come on! Cant help feeling theres a bit of bullshit flying around.....Ive used them, to wipe my arse with....best place for them is down the shitter (IMO of course) you always have to end with that to be polite dont you...

 

Aviator is good, although you mean avatar. It's Sun Ra, one of the finest musicians who ever lived. Aviator is quite appropriate, he was born on Saturn, or so he claimed.

My hearing is excellent, btw.

-- Ian

 

You dare to doubt him? I suspect he couldn’t have been born anywhere else!

Tony.

 

I hope I never meet an aviator with cloth over his eyes...

 

Well, I know some pedants claim he was actually born in Alabama, but obviously I don't believe them

-- Ian