But the DIY cables are still a helk of a lot cheaper than from dealers. I agree about the Furutech. The Furutech I bought was actually MADE by the dealer I purchased it from.
Yes, the Pangea's have had a small cult following the last several years. One of the best bang for buck. But as bc pointed out, just b/c you can design a great entry level audiophile power cable doesn't mean you got the chops to make an equivalently good USB cord. I have also worked with AudioAdvisor and ordered some custom speaker cables out of AudioQuest 4 or something. Again, best bang for buck. They also do custom ICs, so keep that in mind.
I come from a home stereo background, this HP Schiit is new for me. In general, in home stereo, the Rec is to spend 1/3 of budget on source, 1/3 on pre/Amp, and 1/3 on speakers, with the remaining 10% on cables. Bc most people will spend and inordinate amount on speakers (50%) and 1/4 on source and preAmp. They get it all wrong. If anything, since the quality of the largely determine SQ as it travels from the wall socket to your ears, a person would be wiser to invest more in the front end of their system: My personal approach for budgeting is about 20% on source, 40% on Pre & Amp, 20% on speakers. that's 80%. The last 20% goes to cables/conditioning.
E.g. The signal NEVER gets better from the wall. And once you lose that resolution, dynamics, soundstage from dirty electricity, you will NEVER get it back. Poof. Gone. 86'ed. Ghandi. Black Hole. Never to be seen again.
1. from the wall receptacle (some people replace the receptacle to clean up the signal and reduce distortion from the get-go)
2. to the power cord that goes to your conditioner or isolator (conditioner? isolator? what?
)
3. the power cord from the conditioner (2-10 ports) to your sources: CD player, phono stage, DAC ,etc and so on and so forth. IMO, power cords are more important than IC/Interconnects.
(FWIW, I use a Richard Grey Pole Pig and 400 Pro conditioner).
Suggest the folks getting the power cords and Pangea's invest in at least an entry level audiophile power strip/cleaner/conditioner: eg. the Pangea Quattro or its larger brother. Others units are out there to choose from. But just make sure you get one. If a person is blowing mad coin on HG tubes, but neglecting their front end electrical signal, it is akin to shooting oneself in the foot. That person will never really hear what those HG tubes are capable of. never.
oh, yeah, this is a HP forum
. Everything I said about balancing out a person system applies to the HP system as well. Same deal, diff story.