RCA Cable - Question on Quality/Cost

[lnforno]

Hello,

Please note the next paragraph is backstory and can be skipped to see my question regarding RCA Cables.

I am new to audiophile but I have thoroughly enjoyed it with my entry level set up of a Schitt Jotunheim and Focal Clear. I have now decided to venture further by exploring tube amps and separate DAC and have recently find myself in possession of an Auris Headonia 2a3 amp along with the Auris D1D DAC. I must admit I probably went to deep too quickly but sometimes I like going all in and learning from there. Given this is my first separate amp and dac (second overall), I am not entirely familiar what cables are needed but from research it would be RCA cables. I can just buy a cheap $15 cable off of Amazon and call it a day, a decent $50-$100 cable for better safety net, or a high end cable for like $3k which seems to be advertised as a TOTL cable. But I have read and even watched videos of people claiming that cables do not affect sound as much as one would hope and that the diminishing returns kicks in very early in pricing.

To summarize, how true would a high-end cable provide that TOTL listening experience? Does it actually improve the sound that the price is justified compared to some decent $50 cable? As an entry level audiophile should I invest into this or would I be better off starting low and then explore this type of cable in a future date? Granted I already went all in on the amp and dac, should I just finalize it with a bang with the cable?

Appreciate the help!

 

[ThanatosVI]

Since you're still new, I recommend to go with a basic but well made cables.
Something like "amazon basics" is a safe choice. I personally used some 40€ Oehlbach cables.

You will notice much more impact with different gear (headphones, amps, dacs). So you should settle here first. Especially if you consider spending 3 grand, you will notice the impact much more if those go into the named devices. (or maybe even a separate streamer on top, which is also better than a non optimized pc)

After you have settled on gear you like, and no more urge to change the gear or "upgrade" then you should think about cabling as finishing touch. (this can then easily cost as much as another device in the chain)

From own experience cables do matter, but the price/performance ratio is much worse than on the rest of the gear.
When buying better cables start with the headphone cable, that one has way more impact than interconnects.

edit: the named devices are already summit fi, so it doesn't really get better than that, only "different". Since you're new, you might not even know what your taste is, to compare to other similarly priced gear.
Also, how much did you test headphones?`
With that kind of money invested you could basicly afford any flagship, and therefore should choose the "right" one for you. This would have the most impact.

What is your current source?

Audiobacon is a site with quite a lot of cable reviews. You should start with reading reviews to find cables that fit your taste in sound, then probably order them to test them at your own rig. Preferably from dealers with good return policies.

 

[lnforno]

My current source is my pc. And still looking to expand on my headphones. So far I have used the focal clear, Stellia, and Harmonicdyne Helios. Just got the Ollo S4x which I am testing out right now. Always looking to trade in and out headphones until I find that right pair. End game would be the Focal Utopia, Meze Empyrean, and Susvara.

Still waiting for the Auris Headonia and D1D to arrive later this week but I will start upgrading the RCA cable slowly as you said. Probably the best to actually test out lower end to higher end to see if I even notice a difference.

 

[Deolum]

Of the RCA cables i tried i found price and performance to be completely uncorrelated. Regarding cables i don't think it's about that 0,01% more detail you might get but more about that the slight difference in presentation for example a bit more warmer or colder matches well with your setup.

I tried different rca cables up to 300€ and by far the best cables for me were from a discontinued brand that were 70€ new, i bought them for 20-30€ on ebay and wouldn't sell them under 300€. Later i found out that there are people who run their six figure setup with those cables and they are somewhat of an insider tip.

Complementary to those i have another pair of solidcore cables that plays a bit warmer and smoother.

So i'd say stick to the sub 100 category and demo many different cables. Cables are the easiest thing to demo of all audio stuff.

 

[JDFlood]

Since you are pretty new to this I would not spend much on cables yet. Cables become important when your system performance gets very high. They are not likely to provide much difference in a less than great system. I own well over $20K in cables, so clearly they make a difference. You want to wait until you have the system you want and are really happy with. It’s ok to spend $50... but don’t waste money at this stage. The system sound is the result of streamer + DAC + amp + headphones and once those are very high quality and you are happy with the sound, then interconnects. The resultant sound is strongly limited by the components at the beginning of the chain and strongly effected (until you get into the real high end) by the headphones. So, you want to make sure you have a really good streamer... if It is noisy then it passes that along to be amplified. PCs are very noisy devices. If you like natural sound, tube amps are a good choice (have a look at Woo). Virtually all my gear, other than streamers are tube gear... not an objective, the result of seeking high fidelity. Get your system zeroed in on what you want... then play with cables. I don’t think I have heard much of a difference in cables less than a couple hundred dollars. But have heard jaw dropping differences in the + $1000 cable, but only in VERY high performance systems. As a gross generality I am thinking say $3,500 of very well chosen complimentary components. Some folks with the right components and well educated ears will hear differences on less explensive systems and some folks with poorly chosen components or who do not value small important differences in sound will not hear a difference in interconnects on $10K systems.


My strategy has always been to reach as high as possible on components cost wise. Then once I have those and a little time goes by for me to really know the sound of my system and my wallet recover a bit... then look at cables. Then with cables, do the same thing, don’t fool around. Do your research. Then, for example if you have two $2,500 boxes you are connecting, think about $500 - $1,000 range for interconnects. Then evaluate, was that a good decision? If you buy used (typically sold for 50% ) and don’t like the results or you couldn’t tell... then you can sell for nearly what you bought them for.

 

[VladYR]

You might want to try using Audirvana with a quality USB cable going to your DAC/headphone amp. It produces some rather impressive results for software that's under $100.