[Matthew-Spaltro]

Why do people buy $500 interconnects for a $400 headphone?

Doesn't that outshine the headphones to pay more for interconnects then the headphone itself?

 

[Ebonyks]

Because they're idiots

Interconnects, IMHO are used to flavor your system, contrary colorations, per se, however, it seems foolish to use 500 interconnects, unless you're using a multimillion dollar speaker system. Just my opinion though.

Besides, people like certain headphones, possibly for fit and finish, sonic traits, etc. and don't want to change

 

[pigmode]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ebonyks Because they're idiots Interconnects, IMHO are used to flavor your system...

...I understand why you feel that way.

 

[TravelLite]

Quote:

Originally posted by Matthew-Spaltro Why do people buy $500 interconnects for a $400 headphone

Usually because they're fine-tuning their system's sound and they don't accredit the use of signal processing, e.g., equalizers.

TravelLite

 

[tanfenton]

Cables are the almighty synergizers and balance an audio system's chi.

NGF

 

[tom hankins]

I don't see any problem with spending 500.00 on IC's in a system that uses 400.00 headphones. If these are the phones you have decided on and they are the ones. Why not build your system around them. I would spend the money getting everything else in order first.

 

[pigmode]

$400 headphones are approaching the high-end of their product category.

$500. cables are a sweet spot within their product category. Cables may very well be overpriced, but that does not mean their audio value is not comensurate within their given price range.

Tanfenton, great analogy

 

[markl]

Quote:

Interconnects, IMHO are used to flavor your system, contrary colorations, per se, however, it seems foolish to use 500 interconnects, unless you're using a multimillion dollar speaker system. Just my opinion though.

No, it probably doesn't make much sense to attach a $400 cable to a $400 source. But I disagree that cables are merely expensive tone controls or that the stock cables are "just as good and simply different in tone" than the $400 cable. Stock cables can definitely be a bottleneck on an otherwise good system. Problem with cables, in my experience, is you have to be willing to spend more than $100 (nominally) to start getting results that make you feel you got your money's worth, and start to see how much a cable really can open up the components they're attached to. Yet $100 may still be way too much to spend on the cables if you're attaching them to an Altoids amp and PCDP.

Mark

 

[tom hankins]

markl, on a 400.00 source your right. But 400.00 headphones, like pigmode said are right up there just under only a few pr. of phones as far as price goes.

 

[Ebonyks]

I'd be willing to wager money that no set of cables will make a 200 pair of headphones sound better than a 600 dollar set.

For referances, let's say the 600 dollar pair is the HP's, and the 200 dollar is anything else.

 

[markl]

tom, I totally agree, that's why I stipulated *source*.

 

[markl]

Ebonyks, don't necessarily disagree with that, either. But the top-of-the-line cans from the headphone manufacturers top out typically around $400 (rough median price), and those are worthy of good cables, and in fact, given their limitations, you may need better and better cables to max them out fully (witness the popularity of expensive *but effective* replacement cables for the HD600).

Mark

 

[tom hankins]

Ebonyks, Thats not the point. To alot of people some 200.00 phones already sound better than some 600.00 phones. The cables are to help them sound better than they themselves already sound, not better than another pr. sound. I don't think anyone would buy any cables thinking they will make Hd600's into R-10's. Only to make better HD600's.

 

[pigmode]

Only a select few have had the oportunity to try out a really broad range of wires. for my limited but decent experience with ICs, I found the $400 to $$600 cables to be much preferable to the $200 and below. That's the view from my particular corner...

 

[Matthew-Spaltro]

So it would not be out of reason for me to spend 500 600 on a pair of interconnects/headphone cables on a $1300 Arcam source?

I am very scepitical of cables. Although my sceptism is most probably unfounded.