[ColStripe]

With some of the prices I've seen, I seem to think you force yourself mentally to make it sound good (i.e. $1k for 1M IC). There might be some small difference, which I still doubt, but in a blind test 99% would never be able to tell. But your wallet is still crying so it's gotta be better eh?

 

[kin0kin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColStripe With some of the prices I've seen, I seem to think you force yourself mentally to make it sound good (i.e. $1k for 1M IC). There might be some small difference, which I still doubt, but in a blind test 99% would never be able to tell. But your wallet is still crying so it's gotta be better eh?

ah the common blinded by ego argument

.

 

[eric343]

With one or two exceptions (radrd is the only one to come to mind), I know of nobody arguing that "expensive cables don't make much of a difference" who has actually auditioned them.[1]

[1] And I mean sat down and did some serious listening for a few hours, not "I went over to my best friend's uncle's sister's place and threw on some Snoop Dogg..."

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric343 With one or two exceptions (radrd is the only one to come to mind), I know of nobody arguing that "expensive cables don't make much of a difference" who has actually auditioned them.[1] [1] And I mean sat down and did some serious listening for a few hours, not "I went over to my best friend's uncle's sister's place and threw on some Snoop Dogg..."

"Expensive" cables? You mean, if I re-label a Radioshack cable and sell it for $1,000, it will make a big sonic difference? (yep, I thought that's what you meant... you're probably right!

).

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch "Expensive" cables? You mean, if I re-label a Radioshack cable and sell it for $1,000, it will make a big sonic difference? (yep, I thought that's what you meant... you're probably right! ).

Obviously that's what I mean, since it indicates that I think anything more expensive than a coathanger and a pair of cheap RCA plugs is worthless.

The fact that I've put my name and reputation in the past to some decidedly not-cheap interconnects is not relevant, of course.

 

[snaimpally]

I was thought that stuff about speaker wire was crap. Then I got a deal on 12 gauge speaker wire to replace the 14 or 16 gauge I was running for my speakers. I had hooked up one speaker with the new wire and then the phone rang. After I finished on the phone, I played a CD for fun. One speaker had my old cable and the other the new thicker 12 gauge cable. What a difference! After that I was sold.

But be wary of all the exotic formulations. There are diminishing returns.

 

[raisin]

Not only diminishing returns, but emperors garments, and Peter's Principle all rear their thorny heads as the price and rhetoric increase.

 

[averydonovan]

Interconnects and other accessories should be lower on the priority list than more active parts of your system, like the source, amp, and cans. And just as with any other component, it comes down to personal preference as to which cables are "better". Any cable with reasonable construction, such as the RadioShack Gold Series or others like it, will be a worthwhile improvement over el-cheapo thin stock cables, if anything for build-quality and reliability alone. It's easy to get obsessive about cables once you discover that you hear a difference between them, and as others in this thread have said, proceed with caution

Which reminds me, once I get a better source I think I want to try another power cable for my PPX3. I really wish I had never discovered power cables

 

[parrot5]

I am interested in buying these(http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1) interconnect, but as you can see in the graphic, it's just 22AWG. Will it improve the sound quality of the one that comes with PA2V2?
I don't know where else I can buy mini-to-mini cables.

 

[averydonovan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by parrot5 I am interested in buying these(http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1) interconnect, but as you can see in the graphic, it's just 22AWG. Will it improve the sound quality of the one that comes with PA2V2? I don't know where else I can buy mini-to-mini cables.

It is using Canare StarQuad cable. I bought a 6ft mini-to-mini cable like that from Markertek a couple years ago and it is a noticable improvement from the RadioShack-type ones and other inexpensive cables. You might check with Markertek if you want to save a few dollars on essentially the same cable. Or there are a huge variety of vendors that make or sell mini-to-mini cables, like Headphile, HeadRoom, Moon Audio, Bolder Cables, etc.

 

[Lisa]

parrot5,
Check the meier Audio link on top of this site. He's selling really nice budget ICs.

 

[bjackson]

I am not going to get into this argument, really, because this is a DBT-free forum and all of my responses would include them, LOL.

However the change in speaker wire from 16 to 14 to 12 gauge is very understandable for longer runs, and lower impedance speakers, especially on more expensive speakers.

However, on the other hand, inside many sub 1000 (and probably a lot of +1000), speakers they use inductors with very small gauge of wire like 18-22 if not smaller, and there are literally thousands of feet in many inductors, so the last 10 feet of cable really don't matter all that much.

In my polk R30 speakers they used 26 gauge inductors, LOL.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjackson I am not going to get into this argument, really, because this is a DBT-free forum and all of my responses would include them, LOL. However the change in speaker wire from 16 to 14 to 12 gauge is very understandable for longer runs, and lower impedance speakers, especially on more expensive speakers. However, on the other hand, inside many sub 1000 (and probably a lot of +1000), speakers they use inductors with very small gauge of wire like 18-22 if not smaller, and there are literally thousands of feet in many inductors, so the last 10 feet of cable really don't matter all that much. In my polk R30 speakers they used 26 gauge inductors, LOL.

Hi bjackson, I was under the impression speaker cable shouldn't be smaller than 12 gauge. I happened to be interested in a pair that are 14.5 gauge, 8 & a half feet long and thought "damn I wish they were 12 gauge". Now I was told that it "has extremely low inductance, which is the major issue with high-current cables." Being electrically ignorant, not entirely understanding inductance, am I being silly in not wanting to try these speaker cables between 150-200 watts and 84db sensitive 8 ohm speakers? Anyone?

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donovansmith Interconnects and other accessories should be lower on the priority list than more active parts of your system, like the source, amp, and cans. And just as with any other component, it comes down to personal preference as to which cables are "better". Any cable with reasonable construction, such as the RadioShack Gold Series or others like it, will be a worthwhile improvement over el-cheapo thin stock cables, if anything for build-quality and reliability alone. It's easy to get obsessive about cables once you discover that you hear a difference between them, and as others in this thread have said, proceed with caution

I may get knocked for this, but I've always liked the "sound" of RatShack gold cables. They are reasonably well constructed too, although nothing to write home about. I wouldn't use them in a really pricey system tho... there's something to be said for the extreme durability and reliable contact surface of reasonably priced higher-end cables like Outlaw PCA, Magwire and Cardas (I won't re-start the "do they make a difference" debate, as it seems pointless -- but put it this way: Many cables are overpriced).

 

[parrot5]

Thanks donovansmith and Lisa for the list of stores. I found just what I'm looking for!