[KevC]

I'm struggling to decide whether to drop the couple bucks on cables. It's really not that much money (bluejeans) but I'm pretty short on cash anyway and need to start saving up instead of spending.

If I had no cables at all, I'd start by buying decent ones (bluejeans) but I just noticed that my FubarII came with cables and they are kinda fat. No idea if this is good or bad.

I have a Fubar -> Darkvoice -> K501 and SR225 (soon). Will this system benefit from aftermarket cables? I always thought they were for super high end systems, but then the Darkvoice and the cans are supposed to sound pretty amazing for their price.

Possibly the weakest link the the Fubar. Hm.

Another question: Do you guys recable your headphones when you replace your ICs? Doesn't replacing ICs seem worthless if the cables on the headphones are still stock? Or are cables in headphones superior to cables that you find elsewhere?

 

[Patrick82]

People don't recable headphones because it is hard to do yourself. In my experience the longest cable in my K1000 system made the biggest difference, that's the headphone cable unfortunately.

I never replaced the cable on K501 though, so I don't know the improvements.

 

[Fang]

Since you think that your source is the weakest link, why not save up for a better one. High end cables are usually the last piece to a system.

 

[Patrick82]

When I was using HD590 and upgraded from Audigy2 to EMU0404 $99 I couldn't hear a difference after hours of trying!
When I was using EMU0404 + K501 + Graham Slee Solo amp I upgraded my interconnect to Nordost Valhalla ($3300 retail) in preparation for Benchmark DAC-1 upgrade later on. Surprisingly I heard a difference! That's right, $3300 cable plugged into $99 source! After that you bet I became a believer...

 

[krmathis]

I just replaced my weakest link, interconnect, with a 0.5m Kimber Kable Silver Streak ($300). The previous one was a $100 DIY cable.
The silver cable let much more of the details through, so I am a believer as well...

I will leave the cables to my headphones untouched though. I am pretty sure they are of very good quality already.

 

[replytoken]

Let your budget (as well as your ears) be one of your guiding lights. If you have especially good hearing and a fat budget, spend. If money is tight, then wait. I often think of cables for most modest priced systems (<$1,000) as fine tuning. For some they make a difference, for others not.

If you do decide to buy, the good thing about Blue Jeans Cables is that they offer a 30 day period where you can return the cables if you are not satisfied. Having said that, and having several pairs in my system, I can also say that they work well, but I cannot say that, to my ears, they have made any significant changes to the sound of my system. And that's primarily what I wanted from them.

 

[Solude]

Spending more than 20% of your entire system budget on cables is a horrible return on investment. Really 10% is a good place. Even then the quality difference from a $100 cable to $500 is minimal where a $100 amp to $500 amp is vast.

 

[KevC]

Hm. Cables will be ~$100. (~$40 for bluejeans IC, ~$15 for unterminated speaker cable, $40 for power cables). My headphone system costs ~$550... my speaker system costs ~$150 (very cheap i know =))... so that's $700 in total.

1/7th... or 1/8th if you'd include the cables. close to 15%. Is it worth it? It's hard to tell, without the cables I don't know if I can tell the difference.

But the nice thing about nice cables, they pretty much last forever (right?)

 

[replytoken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevC But the nice thing about nice cables, they pretty much last forever (right?)

For the most part, yes. IC's and speaker wire can almost always be used in a home system, regardless of minor upgrades or equipment change outs. If it was me, I'd hold off on the power cable.

 

[jpr703]

Generally speaking, cables are going to make a smaller difference in overall sound than your other components. For that reason, it makes sense to do them last. I think of it as an opportunity to make a final tweak to your system.

As for cost, who knows? My best advice is to buy used cables and just keep trying different types until you find the ones that synergize with the rest of your gear. Start cheap and work your way up until you're happy.

 

[revo_909]

i spent more on my cables than what i've spent on the equipment itself. i'm a firm believer that cables do make difference. i only buy my cables once, but source, amps etc, i upgrade quite a lot fyi, i'm on my third amp in the past six months. using a kimber d60 on dac ah may sound ridicolous, but imo they're worth the money.

 

[replytoken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by revo_909 i'm a firm believer that cables do make difference. i only buy my cables once, but source, amps etc, i upgrade quite a lot fyi, i'm on my third amp in the past six months.

Do you then find that your cable selections are independent of any synergy with your amps and sources?