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Cable Believers -- Price/quality tipping points?

post #1 of 41
7/1/09 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Are there tipping points for price/quality of cables? For instance, say I want to buy a 1m RCA interconnect. Is there a substantial improvement over the wires that come for free in the box if you spend $100, no improvement after that until you spend $300, and then to get better you've get to spend $2000? And then if you spent $10,000 would it be noticeably better (to YOU) than the $2000? If those numbers are wrong, what are the right numbers? Is a $100 cable 5x better than a $20 one? Is a $1000 cable 10x better than a $100 one? What would your price to sound quality graph look like?

(Make your own analogies to wine, cars, college education, etc. if that helps)

I'm interested to hear both the monetary "tipping points" and examples of what brand you might buy at that price. (If you're a non-believer, I think I know what your price/quality graph will look like, so I'm looking to hear from believers.) Thanks.
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post #2 of 41
7/1/09 at 8:10pm
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post #3 of 41
7/1/09 at 8:18pm
IMO,don't get an 20$ cable (ofcourse i got a cardas 6" mini to mini interconnect in 18 dollars so it depends on the type of interconnect,length,etc.) but also don't get a 200 $ one, at least not until you will have a gear that worth that price, and even than...

just get a middle price cables that have good reputation and you will be fine.
you can find out more details on cables on the internet and especially here in head fi.
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post #4 of 41
7/1/09 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by plonter View Post
IMO,don't get an 20$ cable (ofcourse i got a cardas 6" mini to mini interconnect in 18 dollars so it depends on the type of interconnect,length,etc.) but also don't get a 200 $ one, at least not until you will have a gear that worth that price, and even than...

just get a middle price cables that have good reputation and you will be fine.
you can find out more details on cables on the internet and especially here in head fi.
x2 on that. If you have money to burn, and I mean utterly destroy, high end interconnects are fine and all. However, for most systems, a interconnect with good build quality will more than cut it.
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post #5 of 41
7/1/09 at 10:03pm

Have 2 sets of cables made with these with some 16AWG silver plated copper wire. To me I have my corvette cables without the sticker shock.
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post #6 of 41
7/2/09 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
OK this is all helpful, but it doesn't really answer my question . . . maybe it's a bad question?
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post #7 of 41
7/2/09 at 1:58pm
Find what you are looking for in a cable and go from there. Price is the last thing to look for. Like I have this gear and this is what I am trying to do? I like these qualities in a cable..... Where do I start looking at? Some qualities are less expensive than others.
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post #8 of 41
7/2/09 at 9:28pm
well, it really depends on your rig.
If you're running a Ipod HP out to an e5, it really won't matter too much.

iriver hp120 to lisa III, though, will probably benefit from a nicer IC. (Cardas, for example.. )
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post #9 of 41
7/3/09 at 2:02am
It totally depends on how good your system is. A mid-fi system like mine, does great with low cost Kimber Kable. However, my bro's Audionote system really reacts well to very high quality (1k and up) interconnects. It really is a matter of how resolving your system is and how it reacts or doesn't react to cable upgrades. If you want to make it easy...I say the cables should be like 10 percent of your system's worth - 5,000 dollar system - 500 dollars for speaker cable/ interconnects.
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post #10 of 41
7/3/09 at 2:21am
Price is not always a good factor for determining quality, in fact it's the LAST thing I look for. I've used great cables that are cheap and poor cables that are very expensive. They need to be well built, be well shielded, have a very good dielectric, and sometimes they are directional.

I personally like silver plated oxygen-free copper. Some of the best RCA connectors in the world are the WBT Nextgen line. Furutech rhodium plated connectors are also very good.
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post #11 of 41
7/3/09 at 3:16am
The futurtech 1/4 plugs are sooooooooooo bad ass.. The look. The weight. The feel. I can't say it affects the audio or not, but worth the 20.00 for the coolness factor alone.
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post #12 of 41
7/3/09 at 4:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kool bubba ice View Post
The futurtech 1/4 plugs are sooooooooooo bad ass.. The look. The weight. The feel. I can't say it affects the audio or not, but worth the 20.00 for the coolness factor alone.
I will admit I do love the feel of furutech terminations also, but I can't justify the extra cost over the less sexy but functional Neutriks.
To answer the OP: I'm not a real "believer" but I think you're probably fine with good build quality and good insulation especially outside of super-high end systems. Think blue jeans cable.
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post #13 of 41
7/3/09 at 4:58am
It is pretty to invest 5 to 10% of the setup value on cables. Anything more that that goes to waste unless you are spending for future upgrades.
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post #14 of 41
7/3/09 at 5:55am
In response to OP, I'd say that there are no real price "tipping-points" you will find similar build-quality in cables from 200 to 10,000 USD. At a certain price-point in my opinion, things turn into good marketing, and voodoo. Rather look for reviews and components used to build the cable to make your decision, and match to your system.
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post #15 of 41
7/3/09 at 11:20am
With various systems over the years and various cables, I have yet to find a cable that made a 'night and day' or 'amazing' difference, to use two common descriptives. The biggest difference cable I have bought was a RA Kimber attenuated interconnect to go between CDP and amp. The biggest difference was not to the sound, it was to the range of usable volume. My last cable buy was an Oehlbach USB at £27 from Amazon as it was the only one available at the right length with the type of connection I wanted. I than got a freebie non branded one and there is no difference between them.

My rule of thumb is a maximum of £50 and go for well made cables with solid connectors that have a good fit. The connector is the key to a good cable.
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