Excellent description !!!
I love great music and sound... I have played with a lot of equipment over the years and nearly all my pro gear after the 60's had the "balanced" XLR type connectors and cables for low level signal transfer... mics, mixers, signal processors, amps etc.. I found that some brands of cables and connecters were more reliable than others however there was only a minimal difference in overall sound quality... as usual some were cheap junk and failed on all fronts...
My experiences with home audio gear over the years has been quite different... having worked full time in a high end audio shop for over 13 years, it was an eye (ear actually) opener!
At first, due to my pro background I found the whole cable comparison thing to be some kind of delusion until I spent some hard core time listening to high end gear like ARC, Apogee, B&W and ML (CAMACS with silver wires? OMG)... The seas parted, I spent time with Mr Kimber (4pr was magic to my ears) and began the journey of the Holy Grail of cable and connectors of which Kimber was one of the forefathers in my mind... Much has happened since I left that career for another, and I for one, am very happy to see the "Balanced Line" being accepted by the high end home industry and users... that said, most of my gear is single ended... except for a recently purchased ARC preamp which I suspect will create a cascade of change in my system... for the better!
I love great music and sound... I have played with a lot of equipment over the years and nearly all my pro gear after the 60's had the "balanced" XLR type connectors and cables for low level signal transfer... mics, mixers, signal processors, amps etc.. I found that some brands of cables and connecters were more reliable than others however there was only a minimal difference in overall sound quality... as usual some were cheap junk and failed on all fronts...
My experiences with home audio gear over the years has been quite different... having worked full time in a high end audio shop for over 13 years, it was an eye (ear actually) opener!
At first, due to my pro background I found the whole cable comparison thing to be some kind of delusion until I spent some hard core time listening to high end gear like ARC, Apogee, B&W and ML (CAMACS with silver wires? OMG)... The seas parted, I spent time with Mr Kimber (4pr was magic to my ears) and began the journey of the Holy Grail of cable and connectors of which Kimber was one of the forefathers in my mind... Much has happened since I left that career for another, and I for one, am very happy to see the "Balanced Line" being accepted by the high end home industry and users... that said, most of my gear is single ended... except for a recently purchased ARC preamp which I suspect will create a cascade of change in my system... for the better!