ALO SXC cryo mini to mini 18 AWG vs 22 AWG???

all wires sound the same hope this helps you.

correct

none, i would bet my left nut that side by side you wouldn't hear a difference.  To be completely honest there is no audible difference between a $200 cable and a $30 one. How do I know? I fell into the same trap and spent money on a fancy cable. I got a custom one done by momomo6789.

I would recommend contacting some of the custom cable builders on these forums that will be able to make you a cable using better parts for cheaper than ALO if you are absolutely set on an expensive cable. momomo6789 does a great job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freeze 

I pm'd momo. I dont rly know much about cables but anything under 100 dollars is reasonable to me. That gold silver alloy must look really nice.  I wouldn;t mind spending 80 for a nice looking cable. I might just go regular silver plating tho if it cuts the cost alot.

 

Wow seems like a very very large percentage of people are being suckered into super expensive cables.

That is because those people maintain that they can hear a difference,you hit it on the nail when you said you do not mind paying for a good looking cable,if looks are of no concern get the $3 one.

Meh, I disagree; cables make a lot of difference but IMO it depends on the quality of materials in the cable, and the equipment that's being used. 

Changing a cable on a 4 inch mini to mini will hardly change the sound but changing a 4 foot headphone cable will do wonders. But don't take my (and other's) words on it, try it for yourself. 

honestly don't get too hung up on cables.

if you're really budgeting yourself around $100 just for a LOD, but running an iMod as a source, you will honestly get measurable, quantitative  "better" results reinvesting that cable money into a better source (i.e. s.flo) or better headphones. A cable generally can't help a source cope with frequency roll offs or hiss/noise.

People who spend $100-$200 on a LOD do it because they can (i.e. heavy pockets or they just run out of things to "upgrade") or because they subscribe to the myth that cables can radically change the frequency response for the better.

While I don't necessarily believe that cables make much if any of a difference, you should opt for one of good build quality.

In terms of guage size, the general consensus is that larger (a smaller number) is better as their is more conductive material hence less resistance which means your signal will get across better. But considering the fact that your cable is less than a foot, and that it's only carrying a line-level signal, the thing you should be considering are sheilding (sort of like RCA interconnects) and perhaps capacitance. A 28awg cable IMO would be more than sufficient. 18-22 guage is more like speaker/headphone cable territory, which may be a bit overkill as it'll add more bulk and mass to a "portable" setup.

I'm not sure what the grand total cost of your iMod, LOD, and amp is..but if you want truly world class sound, you might consider the HifiMan 801 as it may total the same as your set up, which i believe is the best sounding portable player currently, doesn't require a LOD/cable as it has a built-in amp. Remember, the best cable is no cable.

Perhaps some of you should do a side by side of various cables to determine if they make a difference. I have and BTW to me the best sounding was not the most expensive. Actually in the three types of test (mini to mini, line out, and headphone cable) the better sounding ones were on the lower 1/3 of the price range.

This is an old thread on an even older discussion. Some believe and others do not, one side will not dissuade the other or vice versa. So IMO the discussion should stop for the sake of sanity. 

Cables do make a difference, and the difference to me was as much as an amp. When I changed from silver cable to ALO copper on my customs, they sounded so much worse I could barely listen to them, so I had to change them back.