Best Budget Interconnect RCA




After 7 yrs of exclusive PBJ use I am ready to try something else with my new headphone (budget) rig. I need a .5m pair and one dig for the following:

Adcom GCD 575
CAL Gamma
Creek OBH 11SE
Grado SR 60

Thanks,

Stan (Budgetphile)
anacondastan
I think the TMC analog interconnects are amazing values for the money (especially at auction prices). For digital, I tried several cables and the budget king is the Canare Digiflex Gold, but if you can spring for a used one, the Illuminati D-60 is really worth it (there's nothing better INHO). I use a .5 meter D-60 to keep the cost down.
Stan,

Greetings from a fellow "budgetphile." In terms of "bang for the buck" value in interconnects, you might take a look at the following.

DH Labs BL-I SilverSonics: You can find handmade versions of these cables (actually using higher quality, locking RCA plugs) on eBay for $40-50. That's a great price, and they are very well made. I know user drubrew on eBay occasionally has some for sale. Depending on the unique characteristics of your system, the fact that these cables are silver coated might add some needed speed and clarity.

WireWorld Atlantis II/III: All around, these are very good cables, and a terrific value. They use the same technology as WireWorld's higher end Eclipse cables. There is someone selling these for ~$50 1M on AudiogoN.

Virtual Dynamics: I've seen a few posts asking about these cables. Based on the descriptions on the website, http://www.telusplanet.net/public/virtuald/, these cables are made with very high quality parts. I've actually ordered a power cord ($30) from them, and Rick is a great person to talk to about cable technology. He claims that his reference IC's ($100 per 1M pair) are giant killers--equivalent to $400-500 cables. At the time I talked to him, I was using a friend's DH Labs Air Matrix IC's, and Rick said his cables were in an entirely different class. That's a bold claim. He also has a 14 day money back guarantee, and offers free shipping, so it might be worth trying out. He also referred me to a friend of his who makes slightly lower priced cables. I've ordered a $50 pair of IC's from him, as well as the reference cables by Rick, just to see what they are all about. I'm anxious to test out both the power cord and IC's. If they live up to half the claims of Rick, they are a steal for the price.

For a slightly higher price range, you might want to look at:

DH Labs Air Matrix: As mentioned above... These are fantastic IC's. Super soundstaging, very clear, excellent bass. They are also very well made.

Tara Labs RSC Series: These cables vary from sort of expensive to very expensive, but I've heard them (RSC Air 2)in a demo set up, and they sound great. The salesperson did some A/B switching between these and PBJ's, and there was a VERY clear difference. These cables simply sound as if they have a broader spectrum of sound reproduction.

Hope this helps.

EWHA
Wire World has always been more musical at the lower end than Kimber. Also, the LAT International ICs are very good for the money. Listen with your ears, not your head.
Homegrown Audio silver, you can make them yourself and save $...about $50 a meter.
My suggestion would be a ZCable Jazz4 interconnect and the ZCable Digital Blue. I don't think you can find better for the prices.