Stuck about cables

dead right IMO

 

"But not baked beans. To my taste buds, Asda Smart Price beans taste significantly better than Heinz".



NO I would have to take you to task on that statement!! Beans aint beans unless they ARE Heinz

 

OK, so is anyone prepared to say what cables they liked better than others then...?
I have an SME1V arm, and the cable that connects it to my Groove phono stage is reckoned by some to be not 'up to much'
What would you replace it with ??
The rest of my system is Avondaled Naim, if that makes any difference ?
Aside from my personal interest, how does one find out what is worth a home trial and what is not ???
Cheers
Steve

 

I assume you've done some blind testing then..?

 

Thirded.

Look at cables that do make a difference you often find something nasty - very high capacitance, inductance or resistance.

All interconnects with benign values of LCR sound the same IMO.

 

I know I am talking about higher priced cables in a high end system but i have a Cable Talk xlr interconnect at RRP £80 and a ZU Cable VARIAL xlr at £395 and when i switch from the cheapo to the expensive it is like taking blankets off the speakers.The difference is astonishing and NOBODY could deny it if they heard it. Just thought i might stir things up a bit.

 

Yes it is right, but no good trying to convince the non believers. If they heard it they would still deny it. Its called dogmatism if thats the right word.

 

It's not (only) the money OR the brand

Steve, try to see your system as a chain -- an electrical ("equivalent") circuit, as it were. The connecting wire (i.e. "cable") is part of that circuit. The wire AND the connectors will have a different effect connecting different components... So, you have to try. I recommend you TRY (i.e. borrow, etc) solid-core wire. For signal cables choose higher gauge wire (i.e. thinner), for spkrs lower gauge (i.e. thicker).

If you;re referring to the tonearm cable, leave as is. If it's the cable leading from the base of the arm to the phono, try anything that is specifically destined for "phono". Any wire used should be shielded in this application.

That's a very tough question. I would suggest you look at what is readily available to you for trial. Since you won't be buying at trial stage, borrow some "expensive" cable as well as the normally priced stuff.

Alternatively, diy. It can be done easily. On second thought, try the branded stuff, take note of the "design" characteristics of cables you like -- AND then diy
Cheers

 

Sorry but I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you guys who reckon that the cables that 'make no difference' are the ones to be using. I used to sort of think along those lines, but not any more. The problem is that you're assuming the cables you currently use are completely neutral so that any deviation from this baseline must be wrong. In fact all cables impose some footprint on the sound of a system – they introduce colourations or constrain the sound in some way. Cables are just like any other hifi component and the physics of what goes on in them is surprisingly complex.

So what is needed are cables that impose the least detectable footprint and offer the least constrained path. But most importantly they also need to be compatible with the active components you use – issues like impedance, inductance etc. This is where you need a good dealer.

Interconnects seem to be more important that speaker cables. When you have an interconnect in your system that really makes it sound better, you know it just like you would any other component that sounds better.

As I said before they are the icing on the cake and the system needs to be got right before trying different cables. IMHO they can make a worthwhile difference for the better, or perhaps I just like icing!

 

Totally agree, but it's fact. Everything else is belief IME.
No need to spend more than pence / m for cable that is fit for purpose - just like all the studios and concert venues that use kms of inexpensive Belden, Canare etc IC.