Do 'High-End' Audio cables matter? - Page 3  

I've tried some after market cables in the past and I heard no different upon A/B. However I am currently in the market of one for my custom but not because of sound. I look for ones that have better build quality as well as the plug that I like. Although it is expensive if it has the build quality I like among some other things i find it is worth it within a reasonable price. I don't hear any sound difference but if it did improve things i would not mind.

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Originally Posted by Gatepc 

Being someone who held no opinion one way or the other I went to a local hifi shop and brought my setup. I had been using standard monoprice cables and at the hifishop they had some of the top of the line Cardas Clear interconnects and Cardas clear USB cable. I hooked both up to my headphone setup and A/B them. The results? Well I can tell you they are not worth the price. Did I hear a difference? Well maybe but it was not my mind playing tricks on me the difference was very very minor for a cable that cost upwards of $4000... So even if their was a tiny tiny difference (which may have been placebo) I would say the money is better spent on higher end headphones,amps,dacs etc.

well it's possible they didn't matter to you, or in your system. hard to say. however, I would've preferred if you had taken the cables home and tried for few days instead for few minutes at the audio store. I wouldn't agree that the money is better spent on dacs, amps etc. as they all equally matter. for sure, cables worth $4000 are not gonna make a $400 system sound like a $4000 system.

I have about $5000 in transport, preamp and amp all connected with about $50 in power cables, interconnects and speaker/headphone cable (mostly Monoprice or Mogami). I simply cannot wrap my head around the fact that recording studios use similar wire and we expect that there will be improvements on our end using different wire. What seems more sensible, using the same or similar wire to recording studios or $500-$5000 "elite" wire?

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Originally Posted by tim3320070 

I have about $5000 in transport, preamp and amp all connected with about $50 in power cables, interconnects and speaker/headphone cable (mostly Monoprice or Mogami). I simply cannot wrap my head around the fact that recording studios use similar wire and we expect that there will be improvements on our end using different wire. What seems more sensible, using the same or similar wire to recording studios or $500-$5000 "elite" wire?

I don't understand what is that got to do with anything. where’s the logic in that? so if use better speakers than the recording studio used they would make no difference – is that what you’re saying? IIRC, Q. Jones use the cheapest speakers he could find to record 'Thriller'.

I was wondering about the exact same questions,, all of these are very helpful info. Thanks much!!

Personally, I'm a firm believer in cables making a difference.  But this difference is quite suble, at best, and you've got to have a remarkably revealing system to realize that difference. 

I find this to be the case in home audio.

As for headpone related products, my guess is that this difference would be even more slight.  But I'm not qualified to give an opinion, as I've never swapped cables out in this arena.

My guess is that upgrading the cable should probably be the last upgrade one makes.

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Originally Posted by Chris_Himself 

Oh hey, another cable thread.

Uhhhh, yup...... j-o-y.    

Not sure who you're quoting there for "cheap", but if there is no difference in sound from one cable to another, there is a difference in design and build quality.

In that domain everyone has different needs, so there is no 'best', really.

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Originally Posted by Lenni 

I don't understand what is that got to do with anything. where’s the logic in that? so if use better speakers than the recording studio used they would make no difference – is that what you’re saying? IIRC, Q. Jones use the cheapest speakers he could find to record 'Thriller'.

 

this discussion keeps going around, but come to it is always the same - have you tried high-end cables with your system? the answer is not. and there’s nothing wrong with that, you don’t have to, but please don’t give opinions on something that you haven’t tried.

 

How do you know what I've tried? Wait, do you have a camera in here somewhere?....dammit, got to find it before my deepest secrets are revealed.

In my opinion, nope.

The only reason I can see myself upgrading from cheaper cables is purely for aesthetics, ergonomics or usability. I wouldn't expect to hear an audible difference between a cheap monoporice cable and one of those stupidly expensive boutique cables.

Just my opinion though and if I do come across a cable that I hear an actual audible difference from that's not influenced by the placebo effect, I'll be happy to change it.

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Originally Posted by SHURE530 

wait, why would the manufacturers of say LCD-2 or HD800 use 'cheap' cables? wouldn't those stock cables be the best cables they produce for the headphone?

This has always bugged me.

I can't see why Sennheiser or Audeze would spend so much time designing a top-of-the-line headphone and then intentionally cripple it with a mediocre cable.