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Radioshack wires....

post #1 of 212
12/17/05 at 4:06am
Thread Starter 
...what's so wrong with them? It seems everyone downplays Radioshack.
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post #2 of 212
12/17/05 at 4:29am
There's nothing wrong with them. They actually sound pretty good. I think of them as the poor man's UR7.
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post #3 of 212
12/17/05 at 4:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
...what's so wrong with them? It seems everyone downplays Radioshack.
There is nothing "wrong" with them they are just not all that a cable can be. They will work just fine and degrade and color the sound as much as most. Its like anything else out there. The basic will do if you dont care but, if you do care there are other better options out there.

I actually use a pair of their "Fusion" RCA cables every now and then and quite like them... their Gold line and such is pretty nice and does the job it is ment to do... its just does not excell at it.
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post #4 of 212
12/17/05 at 8:59am
OK for starters. They are not bad cables for the money but they are very basic designs with cheap connectors. Consider upgrading to a slightly higher level sometime and then let us know what you think. I always recommend www.bluejeanscables.com and/or www.heartlandcables.com for "the next step up". You'll find reasonable prices, handmade (in the USA) speaker and interconnect cables, worthwhile upgrades for you such as better shielding, teflon dielectric, Neutrik plugs, and Canare "true 75 ohm" or Eichmann Bullet Plug connectors, and more... I've never found better values anywhere.
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post #5 of 212
12/17/05 at 7:23pm
Radio shack cables don't color the sound at all. They have two quality grades of cables. The better one has very solid connectors, but even the lower grade cables sound fine.

Spend money on things that really count.

See ya
Steve
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post #6 of 212
12/17/05 at 10:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael G.
Consider upgrading to a slightly higher level sometime and then let us know what you think.
I like the look of those Heartland cables. In the radioshack price range I like Belkin's PureAV Silver Series interconnects. I think they can be had for $25 a metre some places. They sound OK to me. No magic though. That costs a bit more.

"hocus pocus"
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post #7 of 212
12/18/05 at 3:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigshot
Radio shack cables don't color the sound at all. They have two quality grades of cables. The better one has very solid connectors, but even the lower grade cables sound fine.

Spend money on things that really count.

See ya
Steve

Your last comment, that's what I always thought. But in a lot of conversations on here, people seem to recommend another cable brand over a Radioshack, as if Radioshack is a bottom of the line brand. Radioshack is all I know!
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post #8 of 212
12/18/05 at 3:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by grandenigma1
There is nothing "wrong" with them they are just not all that a cable can be. They will work just fine and degrade and color the sound as much as most. Its like anything else out there. The basic will do if you dont care but, if you do care there are other better options out there.
Well put.
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post #9 of 212
12/18/05 at 4:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sumone
Your last comment, that's what I always thought. But in a lot of conversations on here, people seem to recommend another cable brand over a Radioshack, as if Radioshack is a bottom of the line brand.
if you want better sound, buy better headphones, amplifiers, and other such gear. if you want audio jewelry, go ahead and buy cables with pretty sleeving.

to be fair, Radioshack cables can have cheap connectors.. but as far as sound quality goes - you aren't missing a thing. many people that frequent places like this tend to listen with their eyes.
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post #10 of 212
12/18/05 at 5:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by asmox
if you want better sound, buy better headphones, amplifiers, and other such gear. if you want audio jewelry, go ahead and buy cables with pretty sleeving.

to be fair, Radioshack cables can have cheap connectors.. but as far as sound quality goes - you aren't missing a thing. many people that frequent places like this tend to listen with their eyes.
Gotta love your pretty Cardas cable
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post #11 of 212
12/18/05 at 5:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by grandenigma1
Gotta love your pretty Cardas cable
lol, yeah.. you've got me.

That was actually my first aftermarket cable purchase (for headphones, anyway), and I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last. The sound is a bit different, but not $150 different.. audio jewelry is its own justification though, which is why I'm going to keep it!

Though for RCA cables, digital cables, speaker wire, and other cables like that - I've never been able to detect any difference in the sound AT ALL, whether with sighted or DBT tests.. and that's why I made my previous comment, since those are probably the sorts of cables you'd be buying at Radioshack, as opposed to headphone replacement cables.

YMMV
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post #12 of 212
12/18/05 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by asmox
lol, yeah.. you've got me.

That was actually my first aftermarket cable purchase (for headphones, anyway), and I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last. The sound is a bit different, but not $150 different.. audio jewelry is its own justification though, which is why I'm going to keep it!

Though for RCA cables, digital cables, speaker wire, and other cables like that - I've never been able to detect any difference in the sound AT ALL, whether with sighted or DBT tests.. and that's why I made my previous comment, since those are probably the sorts of cables you'd be buying at Radioshack, as opposed to headphone replacement cables.

YMMV
Fair enough lucky one
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post #13 of 212
12/18/05 at 7:04am
eyeteeth: $25/metre is in the Radio Shack price range? Deep pockets you've got there! I paid CAN$50 for 80 feet of 12-gauge from Radio Shack. Let's see, 80 feet is 24.38m, CAN$50 is US$43.12, so I paid $1.77/metre. The Belkin stuff is therefore 14.13x more expensive than Radio Shack bulk 12-gauge. If only I could ignore a 14x price difference like you...
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post #14 of 212
12/18/05 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamWill
eyeteeth: $25/metre is in the Radio Shack price range? Deep pockets you've got there! I paid CAN$50 for 80 feet of 12-gauge from Radio Shack. Let's see, 80 feet is 24.38m, CAN$50 is US$43.12, so I paid $1.77/metre. The Belkin stuff is therefore 14.13x more expensive than Radio Shack bulk 12-gauge. If only I could ignore a 14x price difference like you...
I've never had a true mega-bucks cable. The most expensive I've had was a balanced (employing a double run at 2x the cost) pair of Audience Au24 interconnects ($975.00) used at half price of about $500.
You do the Belkin comparison math!

I like getting inexpensive cables and hearing how close they come to more expensive. A pair of Signal cables gave the boot to the Au24's and some Nordost Red Dawns. I lost some refinement and linearity but the price differences were far vaster than the performance differences.

I'm definitely fascinated with the range out there. Fascinated by the psychoacoustics, the goofy claims, the differences between pro and amateur descriptions, the good designs, the good and bad price/ performance ratios, the objective vs the subjective, the science and or lack of, the real uses and real limitations of blind listening, etc.

I think I have a cable fetish!
I'm picturing a stationary bicycle with multiple 2 metre cables attached to the rear wheel for self-flagellation!
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post #15 of 212
12/18/05 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by asmox
lol, yeah.. you've got me.

That was actually my first aftermarket cable purchase (for headphones, anyway), and I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last. The sound is a bit different, but not $150 different.. audio jewelry is its own justification though, which is why I'm going to keep it!

Though for RCA cables, digital cables, speaker wire, and other cables like that - I've never been able to detect any difference in the sound AT ALL, whether with sighted or DBT tests.. and that's why I made my previous comment, since those are probably the sorts of cables you'd be buying at Radioshack, as opposed to headphone replacement cables.

YMMV
Hmm... interesting that you can hear a difference in your headphone cable but not in IC's or speaker cables. Does that mean you cannot hear the difference in IC's when listening with your 650's or through your Denon receiver and speakers? Also are you only including your current source or others? Just curious
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