[The Monkey]

First, I am cable agnostic. Second, this is not a trick question. Third, I do not wish to start a debate about believers vs. non-believers--take that elsewhere.

Here's my question: to those of you who have experienced a sonic difference between different cables, what is the cheapest pair of cables you have used that have presented a noticeable difference/improvement from/over a basic, well-made, but otherwise non-descript cable?

EDIT: Sorry, I am asking mainly about interconnects. Specifically RCA-RCA. Or XLR-XLR.

 

[jazznap]

Sounds like a trick to me

. It depends on how much you spend on those cheap cables (i.e. new/used, good deal/so-so deal). I got a great deal on some used Kimber Toniks that gave a noticeable improvement.

 

[Currawong]

I've found there are quite a few cables that make a significant tonal difference, such as the well-known silver plated (rather than silver extruded) over copper types that make the sound bright and harsh and the pair of Nordost Heimdall XLR I have here that bring forward the mids in a noticeable way. The cheapest cables I own that brought out a significant difference improvement in detail, without adding any tonal changes or distortions that I could detect were the Van Den Hul "The Orchid" RCA I bought off Audiogon for $225.

 

[boomy3555]

Cardas 3.5 to 3.5 from Headroom. 18.00.... Started me on the road to making my own IC's

 

[IPodPJ]

XLR to XLR: Audio-gd Sharkwire XLR for $40 I think, clearly beats out the $15 top of the line Monoprice XLR.

For digital coax it's a no brainer... 18 ft. Blue Jeans BNC for $24.

 

[The Monkey]

Thanks for the input so far. I guess my base comparator would be an IC made with something like Canare or Mogami with reasonable terminations (e.g., Neutrik pro-fi's or similar). Or basic braided SPCC with similar terminations.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'm also interested. I'm not much of a believer, but I have bought cables in the past seeking a difference. I might be willing to try another if the price is reasonable. Right now, I use Blue Jeans interconnects.

 

[scootermafia]

Homemade headphone and USB cables. Big difference for both. Night & Day

 

[Seamaster]

In my case, XLR to XLR Zu Varial MKII. They made a significant change. More dynamic, open, puchy bass without sound harsh, but not the warmest either. A good pair for tube gear. $350 used 1.5m pair on audiogon

 

[krmathis]

RSAD Poiema!!! Signature XLR
A clear improvement sound wise over my previous cable, a Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR. A bit pricey, but well worth it.

 

[Shahrose]

Blue Jeans LC-1 IC's. They sounded smoother and better than the Radioshack and Monster ones I had before them. The difference was subtle and I would have been happy with any of the 3, but for the price ($40 shipped to Canada) it's easy to recommend the LC-1.

 

[MikeW]

the old volex 17604, no longer availible, think I paid 8 bucks a piece for 5 of them. Nice upgrade

 

[Mehve]

Don't know whether this counts as an improvement in sound quality, but switching over to a BJC 1/8">RCA cable drastically cut down on the interference compared to the Radio Shack "shielded" version I used previously.

 

[Currawong]

I should add to my comments, I didn't find any difference between <$100 cables, certainly not significant ones, unless they were cheap rip-offs of known designs, but using cheap connectors that added obvious distortion. That's why I put "significant" at $200. I think that, if the cable itself is ok, better connectors is what makes up much of the improvements when you buy a basically decent cable.

 

[dungie]

The Monkey,
cool question! extremely educational. mine was $150 - bigonnoise singularity. from this one, I started to understand IC importance