[JohnR]

From what I gather, there are some generally "accepted" ideas on interconnects. I was wondering if the following is the general idea as I can't find a definitive guide..

-pure copper is generally a warm sound
-pure silver gives better HF extension, sometimes considered bright
-silver plated copper can be harsh in HF, unless done "right" (whatever that means..)

I suppose any of these can be neutral if they are done "right".
What about carbon fibre? any other conductor types?

Another question. Without using excessive audiophile terminology, can people describe what they thought changed when they went to "better" interconnects?
eg. you used to hear some noises with one interconnect and couldn't quite figure out what the noise was, then when you got the better one, you could easily recognise what it was.

Thanks for any comments

 

[dngl]

Silver generally has better extension on both ends if it isn't braided; when braided it sometimes loses the bass. I would say it is the most transparent and, if done right, the best for those who want to spend more than $20 but less than $300.

It's easier to find good copper ICs, but there's a missing middle point. There are cheap ones (Outlaw) that are good, but not great, that present a good deal. To get much better in copper, you have to get spendy.

The effect of my silver ICs versus coppers was sort of a refining and tightening of the sound. Everything had its space and there were no "stray" frequencies. When listening to white and pink noise you could hear the differet frequencies; it became a lot less mushy. Music seemed to flow "faster", i'm presuming that is due to better transient handling. Violins got their proper texture, basses got their grumble, etc.

 

[yage]

Quote:

I suppose any of these can be neutral if they are done "right".

That is absolutely correct. Really, cable manufacturers can only modify three fundamental parameters (resistance, capacitance, and inductance) to impart a sonic character to their products.

Personally, when I dropped in some 'high-end' cables (Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker wire and Copper Oval interconnects) into my setup, I noticed that the system sounded clearer and cleaner - as if a veil had been taken off the music. The effect wasn't subtle, but it wasn't obvious either. In my mind, the cables didn't necessarily make the music sound a certain way, rather, it more easily brought to light the strengths and weaknesses of the component choices I had made.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnR Another question. Without using excessive audiophile terminology, can people describe what they thought changed when they went to "better" interconnects? eg. you used to hear some noises with one interconnect and couldn't quite figure out what the noise was, then when you got the better one, you could easily recognise what it was. Thanks for any comments

Probably the most important thing you can keep in mind when considering interconnects is what Yage said: "Really, cable manufacturers can only modify three fundamental parameters (resistance, capacitance, and inductance) to impart a sonic character to their products." All it takes is a bit of knowledge about how IC's do what they do and carefully reviewing what the cable is made of and how it is constructed to get an idea of what it will sound like.

In a perfect world, a cable simply passes the signal with no attenuation of any kind. In the real world, there are many comprimises that must be made. These comprimises cause subtle details to be lost, especially in high frequencies where much of the ambient cues and harmonics that make one instrument sound different from another reside. Overall, a poor or average sounding cable will make the music sound flatter, two dimensional, less 'real'. The better the interconnect, the more of these subtle details can be heard. And when you discover that you are an audiophile, these subtle differences become quite important.

System matching is also vital. If you have a bright sounding source, using silver IC's can make the music sound harsh. Like wise if you have a warm source, using copper IC's can make the music muddy and indistinct. Use your ears.

You must remember though that an IC is only as good as all the other pieces of equipment in your system: if your source is poor, the IC will pass the poor signal, and can't do a thing to make it better. Likewise, if your headphones are poor, no amount of transport/DAC/boutique cables/estoteric amplification will make the symphony of your source sound like anything but a fart through your headphones. Bifcake and others have suggested that the order of your upgrades should be:

1. Headphones
2. Source
3. Amp
4. Interconnects

and this is a formula that I also believe in. If you are buying your first good quality interconnects, I am sure the Outlaws are a perfect place to start. Then, when your bank account gets bigger and your desire to experiment gets larger, you can upgrade to some other combinations.

 

[JohnR]

Thanks for your replies, they contain just what I was after!

I guess I've got some experimenting to do, to see if I can find any logic to the cable parameters.

 

[Hirsch]

It's really a matter of system matching. The Grado HPA-1 amp is very interconnect sensitive, and silver interconnects turn the sound dark and compressed, not bright. Copper opens up the high end. On the Melos, silver interconnects will make the sound bright...but only with some headphones. Others will not be affected (and this appears to be independent of the "normal" sound of the headphone). So far, the more experimenting I do, the more confused I get