Would a reasonably priced RCA-cable give me any improvement in sound?

What are you looking to run the RCAs to?  What connection would you be replacing?

 

My guess is the RCA is running from DAC > v8p?

Are you asking about upgrading your current RCAs?

Haha, it's okay.

I just wanted to make sure.  Sometimes I answer with what I feel like is the response to an "obvious" question and it ends up being something entirely different (some people just don't know how to talk I guess, or I'm slow).

 

Anyways, cabling questions are always so unique to the situation as to whether or not upgrading makes a difference.  Are your current RCAs running a standard gold plated termination?

 

Considering the solid connection you have from the DAC to the component, I can understand why you might want to upgrade the RCAs - considering they are likely the weakest point in your chain.

 

I will tell you this much, my background comes working with larger scale audio (cars, home, etc) and cabling is everything.  Some people don't believe in cable upgrades, but I think up to a certain point they make heaps of difference... on a macro scale.

 

I'm sure you'll observe a subtle difference with higher quality RCAs (if the ones you are using lack basics like gold plated termination), but I can't promise it will be drastic.  If anything it will just improve the sensitivity of the setup a little.

 

Nice cables never hurt, and just don't brake if you use a little thought.  I'd say if you don't have gold plated RCAs, jump to some - it is a minor investment and won't hurt.

AQ King Cobra = Biggest Bang for the Buck.  Extremely hard to beat.

I agree.  The bot is right.  Easily the smartest pick - the last stop on the line before crazy territory.  Fine materials, conscientious construction, plus the plugs aren't stupidly big.

new RCA's may look nicer and have better build quality -- both valid reasons to "upgrade" -- but unless your current cables are utterly defective I wouldn't expect a huge difference.

 

I would never spend a ton of money on the exotic stuff (i.e. "Crazy Territory" I like that! )  there is really no evidence that you will improve sound quality.  Especially not on a relatively short RCA run.

I don't buy the cable snake oil at all. As long as your cables are not susceptible to corrosion and are thick enough for the run, you are fine. I use Monoprice.

 

Any changes in capacitance from switching cable/connector materials COULD attenuate certain frequencies, but that attenuation would be SIGNIFICANTLY beyond the range of human hearing, and would be unbelievably minute anyway. Don't listen to the people who claim that their new ultra-gold-liquid-oxygen-plated interconnects are the best ever. ;)

IMO, There are two real (even if subtle) differences - gold plated and non-gold plated.  Anything beyond that is splitting hairs at best, especially with headphones v. larger setups like car, home, etc.

Think twice before spending more than the minimum on cables.

If a cable claims to "improve" bass, then why doesn't it show up in the frequency response? Anyone claiming otherwise is free to post graphs demonstrating the difference.

Also, there is considerable evidence that cable "differences" are entirely the result of imagined differences. The differences always disappear when someone doesn't know which cable they're listening to.

I don't think £150 cables are worth the money, theres plenty of decent cables for less, What about this 1 http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43_1&products_id=165 .

Agree with Eric and others. I've never been able to hear a difference - headphone cables or interconnects.

Maybe my hearing isn't good enough, maybe there is no difference, either way I get to save a lot of money by only having to consider length, build quality and aesthetics when choosing cables.

I like a good looking cable, so understand the want to go boutique, I also love cooking and know how a well presented plate of food actually tricks our minds into thinking it tastes better... I think something similar happens with the cables in this hobby...