[BIG POPPA]

Think about this: You listen to your rig everyday averaging 3 to 4 hours a day 7 days a week, 12 months a year? OK with that much time you will get very intimate with the sound signature of your gear. OK, now you change a cable in your system. The sound will change. You will notice this immediately. You tweaked the sound. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not as good. I listen to my rig this much, just ask my wife. New music keeps me going.

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Think about this: You listen to your rig everyday averaging 3 to 4 hours a day 7 days a week, 12 months a year? OK with that much time you will get very intimate with the sound signature of your gear. OK, now you change a cable in your system. The sound will change. You will notice this immediately. You tweaked the sound. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not as good. I listen to my rig this much, just ask my wife. New music keeps me going.

x2

([size=xx-small]except I don't have a wife T_T )[/size]

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Think about this: You listen to your rig everyday averaging 3 to 4 hours a day 7 days a week, 12 months a year? OK with that much time you will get very intimate with the sound signature of your gear. OK, now you change a cable in your system. The sound will change. You will notice this immediately. You tweaked the sound. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not as good. I listen to my rig this much, just ask my wife. New music keeps me going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif x2

I totally agree with this. The more you listen to a particular system, the more sensitive you become to changes.

During a jitter study conducted by the AES (Benjamin & Gannon), the scientists conducting the research realized that the more people listened, the lower the threshold of audibility of jitter.

So when you have listend to hundreds of hours to a particular system, changes will jump at you a lot easier than they will on an unknown system.

 

[Currawong]

x3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CANiSLAYu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like someone else alluded to in this thread I can at least buy into differences based on the materials (ie silver vs copper vs silver coated copper, etc). When it comes to the same material (ie typical OFC vs 7N copper vs cryo treated copper, etc), that's where I become a little skeptical. Maybe if you can hear like Ted Williams could hit a baseball you could notice a difference, but for the 99.9% of the rest of us, not so sure. When I had a Sennheiser HD 650 I tried a couple of different aftermarket copper based cables and I couldn't tell a lick of difference personally.

I'm with you on this. Many of the copper cables aren't that different in construction or wire, being about 22-26 AWG copper in a braid or twisted, so likely there wouldn't be any difference worth caring about.

I'm trying some DIY RCA cables using inexpensive Audio Technica cable, which so far has given good results.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Going on my 4th hour listening to music. Anyone doing it too?

 

[Mad Max]

Same here, but a mix of music/anime.

 

[momomo6789]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG POPPA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Think about this: You listen to your rig everyday averaging 3 to 4 hours a day 7 days a week, 12 months a year? OK with that much time you will get very intimate with the sound signature of your gear. OK, now you change a cable in your system. The sound will change. You will notice this immediately. You tweaked the sound. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not as good. I listen to my rig this much, just ask my wife. New music keeps me going.

better test would be to put box around your cables and have someone switch them sometime within 3 weeks time and see if you ever notice. i will be waiting your results in 3 weeks <3

 

[Lenni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickassdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cables do not make any differences. Reviewers will just try to justify their 200 dollar purchase using vague audiophile terms. Expensive cables are pure scam, do not buy them.

just curious... is there any other component in a hi-fi system that you think is not worth spending too much money on - like the CDP, AMP., or even the speakers, may I ask?

 

[kickassdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lenni /img/forum/go_quote.gif just curious... is there any other component in a hi-fi system that you think is not worth spending too much money on - like the CDP, AMP., or even the speakers, may I ask?

IMO the most important factors for sound quality are speakers, than comes room, source and amp. So most of your audio budget should be spent on speakers. I would never spent more than 800 bucks on a amp though, because the extra value is low. On the other hand, if you've just spent 50k on speakers you might as well buy a 10k amp and 200 dollar cables, if you want to keep it balanced.

 

[Lenni]

my experience so far differs from yours. looking to buy a budget amp for the S1 speakers after reading countless comments & searches, I got the Onkyo 9555 - positive review on Stereophile; good satisfied owners all around; positive comments from Paradigm's owners; and was almost half price of original retail price, can't go wrong, right? - wrong!

the 9555 is a fine amp compared to similar priced amps; pair it with similar priced speakers and you've got a pretty good system. use it with more expensive gear and it'd be wrong, I cannot think of a better term to describe it. it's not about power; the 9555 can drive the S1 to deafening levels, I enjoyed the sound, but wasn't quite happy about it, something wasn't right.

then I got the Anthem 225, and I was instantly blown away. everything that I wasn't quite happy about it's gone. it's perfect. I cannot tell you I glad I am I got this amp. I work hard for my money, £1500 is a lot of money to me, but I'd spend it again.

I think speakers are the most important factor in a system as the starting point. you need to find speakers that you're happy with first and proceed from there, but, in my experience, every other component is of equal importance; if you spend $2000 on a pair of speakers, and use a $500 amp to drive them it's just wrong. you can, but it wouldn't be right. using similar priced components is very important, IME. so much so that I've shipped today back the Emotiva CDP for a refund, I decided to save for a similar priced CDP.

as for the cables, I don't know if they make a difference or not, I may do a test once I get a chance, but the fact is I'm not prepared to take a chance to have the cable to be the wickest link in the system. I wouldn't spend thousands on cables, no way, but I wouldn't spend $10 either.
my 2c

 

[endless402]

i'm just too lazy to do reviews but i do have ppl pm'ing me about the cables that i've used in the past. my amp is high end enough to be quite sensitive to cable changes.

 

[kickassdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lenni /img/forum/go_quote.gif my experience so far differs from yours. looking to buy a budget amp for the S1 speakers after reading countless comments & searches, I got the Onkyo 9555 - positive review on Stereophile; good satisfied owners all around; positive comments from Paradigm's owners; and was almost half price of original retail price, can't go wrong, right? - wrong! the 9555 is a fine amp compared to similar priced amps; pair it with similar priced speakers and you've got a pretty good system. use it with more expensive gear and it'd be wrong, I cannot think of a better term to describe it. it's not about power; the 9555 can drive the S1 to deafening levels, I enjoyed the sound, but wasn't quite happy about it, something wasn't right. then I got the Anthem 225, and I was instantly blown away. everything that I wasn't quite happy about it's gone. it's perfect. I cannot tell you I glad I am I got this amp. I work hard for my money, £1500 is a lot of money to me, but I'd spend it again. I think speakers are the most important factor in a system as the starting point. you need to find speakers that you're happy with first and proceed from there, but, in my experience, every other component is of equal importance; if you spend $2000 on a pair of speakers, and use a $500 amp to drive them it's just wrong. you can, but it wouldn't be right. using similar priced components is very important, IME. so much so that I've shipped today back the Emotiva CDP for a refund, I decided to save for a similar priced CDP. as for the cables, I don't know if they make a difference or not, I may do a test once I get a chance, but the fact is I'm not prepared to take a chance to have the cable to be the wickest link in the system. I wouldn't spend thousands on cables, no way, but I wouldn't spend $10 either. my 2c

S1 speaker, you mean the NuForce S-1? That's like a 400 dollar speaker. I rather have 1500 dollar speakers and a 400 dollar amp. You can get some really nice floor standers or some really good quality bookshelves with that money. And whether it's right or wrong, it doesn't matter. It's about what performs better for the same money.

The thing is, when amps go up in price the change in quality doesn't go up much compared to when speakers go up the price ladder. You won't get maximum value if spent too much on an amp.

And regarding cables. I can assure you, your cables will not be the weakest link in your system. Even with good measurement equipment, differences between premium price cables and normal price cables are neglect able, while price difference is huge. So much, I consider it a scam.

 

[endless402]

heh my amp is more than 4x the price of my speakers

 

[Lenni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickassdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...You won't get maximum value if spent too much on an amp....

I'm not after maximum value - I'm after maximum sound for what I spend.
you may spend $1500 on speakers and use a $400 amp, and if you're lucky it works out (but I doubt it). In my short experience didn't work.

let's see if I can get you around to what I mean: is not a matter of better or worse between the ONKYIO 9555 and the Anthem 225, but a matter of right and wrong amp. there's really not better way to put it. the 9555 is the wrong amp for Paradigm S1, whereas the 225 is the right amp. now if I was using a $5000 amp, then it would be a matter of better or worse. capische?

if someone told me when I started putting together my system that I would've to spend more on the source then the speakers and amp put together I would've never believed them. as it's turn out I'm gonna have to spend £3k on a CDP. madness
in the beginning