Cable Recommendations


My system is comprised of McIntosh 2301 amps and Sonus Faber Stradivari speakers. My other equipment is McIntosh C1000 c/t/p preamp, McIntosh MCD1100 CD/DAC, Avid Volvere TT and a McIntosh MEN220 room correction system (the best money I've ever spent....but that's another topic).

I do not have any decent cables as I literally have spent most on my system and then wanted to finish my room treatments first. Now that I've finished that, I am starting my cable venture (speaker, IC, PC). At present, my budget doesn't allow me to spend much more than about $5,000 for everything.

I would like to get some recommendations. WireWorld? Morrow? Audio Art? Other? Sorry, but I'm just not going to spend $20,000 no a pair of speaker cables. I'm looking for screaming good value to start out with.

Thanks!
Mike
mbovaird
Try the Von Schweikert Master Built line. They are simply amazing across the price spectrum. I have tried lots of the top name cables and I can tell you these are the best I have tried in my system. The cables were designed in conjunction with Dephi Aerospace who develops wire for the space and military. They are true engineers and have come up with top notch cabling.
MG Audio Design . Read review at stereomojo and get a SC+IC to your taste with 30 days back. I took a silver IC between source and pre and hybrids to my amp. Probably my final set of cables. Smashed cables cost 10 times more including nordost odin.
Don't have any connections with them - just one happy customer.
Personally, I would start with Audience AU24 ICs and speaker cables. They are basically neutral, very well made and a pretty safe bet. Plus, Audience has superior customer service. They are often available used at decent prices. I don't think you can go wrong and you won't break the bank.
Signal cable and audio art are fantastic value for money. Gabriel Gold is one of the rare more expensive(but still in the reasonable range ) cables that make a difference.
I am sitting here at almost 10pm with the volume down low on my stereo trying out some MIT Matrix 28 cables loaned to me by a local dealer and am astounded by the detail and soundstage of these cables. Even at low volumes timbre and detail of individual instruments come through beautifully. I've only got a few hours on the breaking in process and they have already got me thinking of how I am going to pay for them.
It would help to know what you're currently using and what types of sound characteristics you're looking to preserve or improve. Also, you don't mention any power conditioning or dedicated lines?

Morrow and My Audio Cables(MAC) seem to get consistently good reviews (along with may others listed above) although it always comes down to individual tastes and system synergy of course. At least they make it easy to try them. As for PCs, I haven't tried them yet but Triode Wire Labs seems very interesting. And I read a nice review of Luminous Audio power cables a while back (Positive Feedback I think) that always stuck in my mind. Best of luck.
I found that price does not mean anything with cables. You just have to try each of them in YOUR system to hear what each of them can do. I am using Anti-Cables with great success, any Cardas cable just ruined the sound for MY system....yet Cardas is what the manufacturer of my electronics suggest. YUK
Ohno Continuous Cast (OCC) copper or silver wire, teflon dielectric, good connectors, i.e., no brass content. The product name isn't important. What's in it is important.

Note: OCC = single crystal, just another name for it.
NORDOST FREY

Upgraded to a Shot-gunned NORDOST FREY speaker cable set ; with shot-gunned HEIMDALL jumpers, and matched to FREY XLR ICs.

RESULT: The improvements in all aspects were huge. These were a great extension to my REGA ISIS valve cdp, REGA OSIRIS amp and REGA R9 speakers kit.

Google them and you will see the HEIMDALLS/FREYs/TYRs (v.1) being heavily discounted by the dealers as they roll out the V.2
Signal Cable Silver Resolutions.
There is another gentleman on this forum who has mega-buk system like yours and uses them:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1319726155
Lots of brands...now I am confused! Been using Acoustic Zen and I've been relatively happy but always thinking there are other products I should look into. Thanks for all the new names for me to add to my ever-growing list!
Blue Jeans Cables. They don't cost a lot, but they are as good as anything else. They will charge quadruple for those concerned about their status as audiophiles.
Mogami 2549 unbalanced RCA or Mogami 2534 balanced from Pro Audio LA. Great cables that made me stop the cable dance. You can pick your connectors and get whatever length you need. Not affiliated with the company...
Never owned your equipment but I'll suggest cabling on my system. Started with a bloom of Acoustic Zen.(Krakatoa PC, Silver Ref IC's and Satori shotgun SPC)
As in this hobby your always looking to upgrade, so after reading countless positive reviews on Nordost cables I took the plunge. Boy, I'm glad I did. Sold off all my AZ cables and now have a complete system with all Nordost Norse series cables. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks guy. Rob at Audio Art has been great to deal with. I like these suggestions. Keep them coming!
Don't have your equipment but you might want to check into
Clear Day Cable SCs ; Silnote Audio ICs; Audio Art PCs - all very musical
Mike, I have a similar setup, Mc c1000, Mc 1.2k, and just sold Mcd 1100. I did like you're doing and saved the cables till last. You have a million choices and will likely get just as many recommendations. I'm not a dealer or a schill but in MY system the Audioquest cables sounded so good I stopped looking. FWIW my goal has always been no coloration, no filtration, and lower noise floor. My first AQ set of cables were the Oak SC, Colorado IC, and NRG 10 PC. These were quiet, revealing, uncolored, and reasonably priced. My amps are direct to the wall and the pre/cdp are through a Hydra 4. Through the Hydra 4 I can hear little or no difference between stock and big $$ PCs. Good Luck! Ed