Cable auditions - Hard Work?

Lots of good ideas, and great advice. Thank you one and all.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who finds this cable auditioning thing to be.....a pain. I actually find it to be stressful at times, like i have a final exam coming for which I haven't studied quite enough.

I would just buy some cables and stick with them, but I have found that different IC's - even in my self imposed price range - do bring various qualities to the table. I love 'air' and detail etc. but, i don't want to give up good deep bass with slam to get it. uuugggghhh!

I just have some self imposed rules on budget...I won't spend more than $250 on a pair of IC. Speaker cables are different for me because of the length of the run - 17+ feet. :-( That sort of limits my choices. I've done the DIY Canare 4S11 speaker cables - they're actually excellent for the $$.

I've never tried the Cable Co. I suppose I don't have anything to lose. Just some more sleep.

thanks again to all. Any more thoughts are still welcome.

paul

Hmm...

I used to be a skeptic about cables too. however I do hear differences in various cables - especially ICs.
So:
Bojack - Not sure i agree with your statement that cables are a scam. I agree there must be a price point where the returns diminish so greatly, that it no longer is a worthy pursuit. But, there are differences, though subtle, in the cables I'm currently auditioning.

I think my stress is due to the fact that I don't want to be missing anything in the sonic picture, not the actual act of auditioning. Although - I will admit - I hate getting up and down to switch the cables. :-)

Synergy - I think I've just been lucky so far with regard to synergy. ALL of the pieces of equipment that I've inserted into the chain have performed well. My preferences dictate which i like better, but, none of them have been a disaster the likes of which I've read about on these threads. I suppose, this is why I always come back to cables.

JD

Thank you for the amazingly well said explaination. In theory this all makes perfect sence. It's also sad to think that only one cable (KS Emotion) is able to pass a perfectly square sine wave, thus allowing a pure signal to reach the speakers. At $2700 per meter, the KS is out of the question for me. So the question arises - Does anyone want to buy my rig? :-)

Jadem6

If all of the various lines of KS cables have the same characteristics, and by that I assume you mean -they allow a perfectly square sine wave to pass, then how is the halving of costs accounted for?

thanks
paul

Blindjim
Thanks for your well thought out answer. It certainly gives alot of food for thought.

Jayctoy
Please share your new found wisdom.

I was going to look at the Oritek X-2. But, $450 for 2 feet? Plus - A 20% restocking fee? $90 for someone to put a 2 foot pair of wires back on a shelf? YIKES!!!!!!!!! Are they that good?

Glad to see the arguing is over.

Douglas_ schroeder

You make excellent points. I know I CAN'T tie up $2-4K in cables "just to see".

Maybe if someone could explain what to listen for when auditiong cables...ie: greater frequency extension, increased detail, increased dynaminc range???? Maybe i expect too much when changing cables. Maybe ALL cables in a given price range sound the same? I know this....the more I think I know....it seems the less i actually know. hmm.....

p

Lacee

Yeah, i feel kind of weird saying all this, because i actually get paid to listen, critically to things. :-) I'm pretty good at it too. That's why i wonder - why don't these differences knock me out? Am i expecting too much? hmmm

You guys tell me about the equipment:
TRL Marantz SA-14
First Sound Presence delux MkII
Krell FPB400cx
Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature (one piece)
Room is treated with 16 Tube traps, of various sizes, placed symetrically around the 13x18 room.

I think the equipmet is revealing enough. What do you think?
Thanks for everyone's help.
paul

TVAD - where did your post go???!!!! I saw it here last night, but haven't had a chance to post. YIKES!!!

Hi Tvad

Glad to see you back. :-)
1. It seems resolving to me too.
2. I have never investigated power conditioning. Not really familiar with it or its benefits.
3. Just thinking I might be missing something. I think i'm coming down with "the disease" Adiophilia Nervosa! :( I'm trying my best to keep perspective though. Plus I don't hear obvious differences in the cables I've switched in and out. That's about it.

Thanks for getting back.
BTW - how did you delete a post?
paul

Thanks Grant. I'll be doing some research.

S23chang - I have not had the oppurtunity to hear the Rowland amps.
As for tube Amps - Several things:
1. I like slam. I'm not sure you can achieve really good slam with tubes.
2. I'm NOT going to be bothered with tube bias-ing. Plus - the cost of tubes is really getting silly.
3. I think a tube amp system would be really nice for 'relaxing' around the house, with their 'euphonic' type for sound that they're famous for. But, for more serious listening, I prefer a more natural, or un-emphasised, sonic picture in front of me.

As with all things, I suppose if I heard the VAC Phi 110/110 in MY system, and loved it, I would make efforts to aquire one. I must say - the VAC amps and preamps definitely LOOK beautiful. Are the Phi 110/110 amps current production? Web site info?

I'm sure there must be other tube amps beside the VAC which would be sonically satisfactory.

thanks