[souporhero]

I see high-end audio as a hobby. All hobbies are confined by inclination and cash. So if you are so inclined, you might check out

http://www.audiogon.com/

This site is home to people who want to sell their high-end in order to get higher-end, and hobbyist who want to gear at a legal steal.

There are retailers there, but I am personally more interested in the classified. After I research a cable, I just buy it around half off of retail and see how I like it, for as long as I want, on my own equipment. If I don't like it, I can just sell it for the same price that I bought it for, and everybody's happy. Of course, if I love it, I keep it and it becomes the reference to what all other things in its class will be judged...and may eventually be replaced.

Going through the discussion forums will bring you into another place (the link below) where cables are discussed, and if you are into it, verbal shoving matches unfold like we have seen on this site, but good personal experiences might eventually be found.

http://audiogo5.iserver.net/cgi-bin/...bl&1&ctg&0&50&

Audiogon is after all how I found head-fi.

If you find that you are irretrievably sucked into a certain hobby, the web has suddenly made it possible to get guidance from someone else who is excited enough about what they are into to offer their time and advice...for free.

In the end, I think that you like what you like. And, if you like what you have, be happy. It's not all that great to be sucked into paying big bucks for copper wire, plastics, and teflon.

But if you are bitten by the bug, personal experience is the only thing that will give you an understanding of what others are talking about and the only way you will have a personal understanding of what is available and what is reasonable.

I once though that if I ever spend more than $100 on a pair of cables, that I would have completely lost it. I think that it is clear to say that I have lost it quite a while ago, and the journey is still fun.

al

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by ponzio Has anyone performed an experiment where they use one cheap interconnect for one channel and one expensive interconnect for the other...

I, too, have tried this. Unfortunately, the mind "integrates" this information, so all I got was some weird phasing...couldn't tell which channel's "fault" it was...(and no, one of the channels was not miswired, because I tried a bunch of different cables, and some combinations of them had less of this problem than others)...

 

[thomas]

I'm sure that every interconnect will change the sound slightly

However, in your audio system, there are dozens feet of conductors, semiconductors, and insulators in the signal path. So the overall effect of the 3 feet of interconnect is minimal. And even a $50 interconnect will be much higher quality than rest of the wiring in your system. And semiconductors, resistors, and capacitors that have a MUCH larger effect on the sound than conductors. Finally, wouldn't the best interconnect be no interconnect; ie using integrated componants?

I think very poorly designed interconnects can have serious electrical problems that compromise the sound, but anything that is competantly designed should not have a large effect on the sound.

 

[rohorn]

Ai0tron: A fair question indeed, and one I've always worried about. Some of the bikes (XR1000, CBX, GSX-R1100) could wake the dead, and my head would ring for a few days. but the quiet ones (FXRS-sp, K100RT, RZ350, M2) would still be a problem due to wind noise past the helmet. But the hearing tests I've had say I have nothing to worry about. The testers used to play around a bit because I had a suprisingly low theshold. With some of the super low Db tones, you start to wonder if you are hearing or imagining them. By goofing around with the timing of the signals, they can tell whether or not the response is real or not. On the other hand, there are days when my hearing IS noticably off, and other days when everything seems to be coming through perfectly. I wish I knew why. Weather? Climate? Diet - or lack thereof? Male PMS? Intermittent connection between the ears?

Gotta be the weather.

I did see JP3 last night. My ears were ringing 12 hours later. But I loved the movie. It is better story-wise than JP2. The animations (and how they act) are mind blowing - especially if you love the subject matter. The human characters range anywhere from annoying to exagerated. As I told my brothers, watch all of the JP movies imagining that the dinosaurs/pteranodons are real and that it is the humans that are just computer generated animations loosely based on weak theories of how real actors work.

Tomcat: I actually watched something about a guy whose job it is to taste ice cream for some "high end" ice cream company. He has a custom made gold spoon....

Oh, yeah - the topic. My ER-4Ps sound a LOT different than the 'Ss. The only difference is a resistor/capacitor set in the cables. I wonder how much of the change in cable sound comes from subtle changes that result in some degree in passive equalisation. What would then be neat is the possibility of knowing what those values are and changing them accordingly so one could fine tune the sound.

Either way, I won't try this for a long time. I'm hoping to buy a house in the next few weeks. My wife and I are hoping she gives birth to a healthy set of twins in a few months. No boredom around here!

 

[thomas]

Resistance and capacitance definately has an effect on the frequency response of a cable.

But every decent interconnect cable has such a low resistance and capacitances/inductances that they have 'no' effect on the sound. Cable manufactures know this, and resort to claims of "magic" (see cardas's website...lol) to explain why their interconnects can sound better. I'm not ruling out the possibility that there are other factors that can affect the sound quality that we haven't discovered yet, but i seriously doubt that they could affect the sound enough that we can hear it. Especially considering the fact that the rest of the audio system has been designed with known electronic principals.

rohorn-congrats

 

[ai0tron]

I also saw JP3 on opening night and found it to be far too loud as well as borderline ridiculous at times. Ridiculous in that raptors suddenly wish to snap necks like action stars rather than tear flesh liek animals. Although the animation was very good I thought I noticed more animatronics then in the previous two.

I just saw AI today. It was better than I thought it would be and the chincy ending wasn't as chincy as everyone I knew made it out to be. Still I have to think it would have been better had kubrick made it. Spielberg has a tendency to lag in the middle of his movies and that was characteristicly evident in AI. I often find myself bored in the middle of a Spielberg movie. I think this is because he uses the middle to tell the story and the front and end to create drama. Some directors choose to or are better at creating drama and a story throughout the movie.

One of the things I love about the Kubrick movie's I have seen is their even pacing. When action comes it doesn't become a reason for a lack of action to be a stale and boring moment. This I feel is Spielbergs biggest problem... his movies are not paced well. Spielberg also doesn't understand the fact that you don't have to end a movie with tears, extreme joy, or drama to have people like it.

To sum it up Spielberg tries to leave you with an emotion, Kubrick tries to leave you with an Idea.

In addition to everything I also must say that interconnects DO make a difference.

 

[souporhero]

Thomas,

Please state your experience with cables, the ones that you have tried, and your impressions.


al

 

[Tomcat]

Okay rohorn,
now it's official, you have your priorities seriously scrambled - for a HeadFizer. First this obsession about bikes, and now even kids, a family and a life??? Cool.

 

[raymondlin]

ai0tron, I agree to a degree, just look at Saving Private Ryan, 30 minutes of unbelievable fighting sequence at the begining and the end but very slow going in the middle.

But some other films are paced much better, Indian Jones is well paced but Schindler's List is slow all the way through.

However, my favourite Director at the moment is Cameron Crow, love both Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, can't wait for Vinilla Sky.

 

[mbriant]

People like to quote Cardas "technical papers" on cables.

Here's another perspective.

http://www.verber.com/mark/cables.html

and here's his credentials

http://www.dunlavyaudio.com

 

[templeboy]

Big difference esp. when big $ difference is involved.

My cables are all DIY silvers. Big bang for the buck. A word of caution if your system is on the bright side though.

 

[chych]

Yipes! I need to change my vote on this poll from 'small differnece' to 'big differnece', because it really is just that! It is like, changing cd players difference. Changing DAC differnece, or changing Amplifier differnece (not quite changing headphone difference). Night and day, very obvious... at least to my newly acquired Cardas microtwins comparing to the RS Golds.

And the Cardas are much better (of course).