Transparent. I have owned Cardas, Harmonix, Straight Wire, Wire World, Nirvana, Nordost, and a number of lessor brands, as well as auditioned a number of others. but after my system reached a certain point I began zeroing in on Transparent for all interconnects and cables.
The top three are 1) WireWorld, 2) Transparent, 3) Audioquest... then all others in very small percentages... from a fairly recent survey on a high end forum. |
- Audience (XLR / RCA interconnects and speaker)
- WyWire headphone
- Benchmark (XLR interconnects and speaker for value) |
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In order... - Inakustik,
- Nordost
- KLE Innovations
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SKW from Amazon cheap and they sound very good. |
Cost No Object - 聖HIJIRI “Million” Series PC, Speaker and Interconnects.
Budget friendly - Audio Envy and Zavfino PC, Speaker and Interconnects. |
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Which is my favorite brand depends on just what you mean. If you mean what is my favorite go-to brand in general, no matter what type of wire or what it costs, then Synergistic. Ted makes everything, they are all very high quality and value, and there are so many out there it is almost a no-brainer. Also his Passport program gives really good trade-in, I got way more for my old wire than I could have sold them for.
Townshend however is my favorite speaker cable and interconnect, by far, not even close. They only make speaker cable and interconnect though, no power cord.
For power cords my new favorite is M one o one, but they only make just the power cords. But they are totally my favorite power cords!
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Audioquest. Ever since I re-soldered my Neo Geo AES to use S-Video (Stock set up was Composite, and Component wasn't really feasible (for me at the time)) back in the day. Compared the then new Radioshack gold plated (cheap) to Monster Video (remember when they made actual cables) to Acoustic Research (remember them) to Audioquest S2, which was solid silver coated long grain copper.
King of Fighters '98 was enjoyed by all. |
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Any recommendations where the cables were used in mixed sets should have a qualification. The house sound, how the cables were designed to sound as per manufacturer, is not obtained unless, and ONLY unless they are used in a complete set. I have demonstrated this with many systems (i.e. dozens) with several genres of speakers over the past 14 years of reviewing.
As notoriously difficult as it is to gain consistency with cables using a variety of gear and speakers, it is IMPOSSIBLE to isolate the characteristics of cables when mixed. In that sense, "favorite" is not helpful.
For this thread - or any others like it - to have even marginal benefit - such qualifications should be made. It would also be helpful to describe the system, if not shown in the virtual systems. That way, an interested party may learn something about the cables' interaction with specific gear, and perhaps contact the owner. :)
It should be expected that responses will vary widely, simply because there are so many brands available. I would not be surprised if after some time we see 100+ different brands mentioned.
Now, please do not get upset with me for telling you the reality of the situation. I realize that most do not have the means, nor inclination to compare entire sets. However, that is the only way to begin to drill down to the innate characteristics and why a particular cable is a favorite. :) |
Douglas you have a point, using at the moment 2 Kondos KSL i had the chance to try a Kondo pc and that thing really started stretching the system.
But for the record, Kondo (OCC copper) and Acoustic Revive (Triple C) would be my favourites at the moment to choose from and go all the way when ready.
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+1, @douglas_schroeder on using entire loom of cables from a single brand. |
After years of using Synergistic Research midlevel interconnects and power cords I auditioned the C2 and D2 level cables from Ansuz. Holy crap, what a difference. The power cords alone improved everything so much I was shocked. The interconnect just poured on more realism and dug deep, deep into the recordings. Yes, I am hearing things I never heard before in recordings I have been listening to for decades, and I have always had very good gear. I purchased the C2 level interconnects and power cords, and I couldn’t be more satisfied. Was the D2 level better? Yes, but a twice the price. The C’s seem to be the bang-for-the-buck sweet spot in the line. I am scheduled to audition the C level speaker cables in a few weeks. I’ll post my opinions on them then.
A word about price. Ansuz prices their stuff in the upper echelon, but do dismiss them out of hand for that. Actual dealer prices are way lower. In my case, less than half the marketed price. Final word, do not take my word, or anyone else’s, about the quality of these cables. Instead, contact a dealer for a loaner pair and hear them for yourself in your own system. I suggest staring with the power cord. |
The original 47 Labs OTA sounds and tastes GREAT...
I use it for both speaker cable (bare ends) and IC's along with their non metallic RCA connectors.
Power cords are old BMI and Absolut (sp?).
In the past I've used various Kimber (speaker/IC/digital), HT (power/IC), and Homegrown Audio (IC).
Also used various other solid core copper/silver bulk wire for DIY experiments (Chimera, XLO et cetera).
DeKay |
Darwin for ICs.
Cabledyne for SCs (no longer in business)
TWL for PCs.
All the best,
Nonoise |
I admit, I can't discern very well any audible differences between cables, but I do have some "favorites" I've picked up along the way. I'm moreso drawn to them due to the materials and construction.
Kimber - the braid structure did me in when I noticed their PBJs were as good as more expensive shielded cables. My #1 go-to to this day.
Straightwire and IXOS - I purchase them at pennies on the dollar in the used market.
Audioquest was my first dive into "cables", but I left their market with the introduction of DBS.
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Audio Note, Auditorium23, Kondo
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Blue Jeans. Monoprice. Using cables as tone controls, let alone actually looking for cables as tone controls, is something i will never ever understand. Clean, powerful, shielded signals. Thats all you should want or need. |
I support my local HiFi shop by buying Transparent for my “mid-fi” system. Tried 4 other brands since my return to the hobby and the Transparent just seems to work for me. |
My favorites are audio magic, kimber, and cardas they are the best with my gear.
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duddley74 posts04-28-2021 6:46amAfter years of using Synergistic Research midlevel interconnects and power cords I auditioned the C2 and D2 level cables from Ansuz. Holy crap, what a difference.
Nice looking cables. Can someone explain why I might wrong, as I believe any cable that can supply mains at the needed current without a voltage drop is suitable provided it has low leakage shielding to contain Electromagnetic Interference. If the shielding is of a poor standard and it allows some EMI to escape, then that's not good. I could agree more that shielding makes a massive difference. |
I'm a fan of Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference IC's and Absolute digital coax, use Anticables speaker wires, great combo |
Kimber Kable for life lol |
I like to DIY with Mogami. I use DH Labs for power cords. |
Audio Envy are my favorite budget cable
I'm very happy with ZenWave right now after trying a dozen or so other brands
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I use four different cable brands. An Audioquest Diamond 💎 USB, AQ Earth XLR’s, and an AQ Thunder power cable. Two WAVE STORM BNC’s. A Danacable Lazuli Ultra hp cable. And a Stefan Audio Arts Endorfin power cable for my hp amplifier. I like Audioquest because they’re readily available to me and their pricing isn’t too outrageous for what they have. The other three I would consider audiophile boutique offerings. |
In order of preference from what I have currently:
Inakustik (by far the best)
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Ocellia
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Gabriel Gold
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Here are my cable makes and models:
power cords: Shunyata Delta NR and AQ Tornado HC
RCA interconnects: Shunyata Delta mainly. But a do have a longer pair of Kimbers and a pair of AQ Colorados.
SPDIF/coax: Nordost Blue Heaven and Silver Shadow
USB: Shunyata Venom and AQ Carbon soon to be replaced by AQ Diamond
Ethernet: combination of DH Labs Reunion and Supra. A couple of AQ Diamonds on the way.
Speaker cables: Shunyata Delta. But I have a pair of Cardas Clear Lights. For my Benchmark AHB2s when I use them I use my Zu Audio Libtec or Missions because they have a Neutrik NL4 termination at the amp end. |
I like harmonic technology and acoustic Zen because they use OCC single crystal wire which has been shown to be the best wire for audio for over 40 years now and their prices are a lot less than audioquest and wireworld which also use OCC single crystal wire. Any company like transparent that uses ofc copper is way behind the eight ball and way overpriced. Remember folks it's just a piece of wire and not very good wire or IFC has 600 Crystal Bears which is little fractures in the wire per foot OCC has no Crystal fractures in 123 m. |
I’ve always set my cable priority at OFC cable, proper gauge, low capacitance and great shielding. Additionally I like my speaker cable to be a little more showy with nice techflex sleeping. I was introduced to Blue Jeans Cable and have used their LC-1 signal cables exclusively in all my setups. I don’t even even remember the brand of my speaker cable in my main setup but I know they use Canare 4s11 cable with nice well made connectors and techflex. In all my other setups I use 14 gauge monoprice speaker cables. I keep it simple but I feel very good about the choices. |
Zu. Very affordable and very well conceived. Sound excellent. |
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Thanks to all who have replied. There are numerous brands mentioned that are new to me. |
I use World's Best Cables off Amazon.com, they range between $20-$100 and are built with quality components. Do I believe they are the "world's best cables"? Not really, but they are robust and reliable. I experimented with some AudioQuest and Blue Jeans but didn't hear any difference, so I went back to WBC. |
LOVE me some Grover...Grover Huffman that is! |
Audiomica Labs. PAD was very good but once I heard Audiomica there was no going back. |
Tellurium Q Ultra Black II. |
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Just look at the huge list of companies making big money out of gullible audiophiles.
I don't say cables can't make a difference but hasn't it all got a bit silly?
I note that each post names yet another cable as favourite. Surely if there is big SQ benefit there should be some measure of agreement on which ones are best. The more different choices there are, the more intelligent people think 'snake oil'.
I had my piece recently on $50,000 1m cables in another thread. |
Townshend for speaker wire and interconnects. No question. It sounds a lot better than anything else I have tried. HFC has impressive speaker cable in its upper ranges, their ’entry-level’ wire was less impressive.
Phasure and SOtM for Ethernet cable. For longer lengths cheap cord from Kasimo cat 8 and FS.com cat 8 is pretty good too, especially for the price.
CAD and Phasure for USB cable. Low cost Supra USB is not bad either if cost is an issue.
Supra for subwoofer cable.
Van Damme for XLR - really cheap studio wire which is top quality. And to my ears sounds better than many audiophile brands.
Van Damme for 75 ohm sine wave master clock cable. Again very cheap and very well made. I could not hear a difference between this and expensive cables. It was not better, just not different. I am not sure re square wave clocks as I understand that they need a more rigid expensive cable.
Power cable - Shunyata and MCRU. Naim makes a good value mains cable. Nothing else has really made a significant difference to the sound for me. |
I have used a few over the last 20 + years including Transparent, Kimber, Shunyata, Voodoo, La Spada...I also just placed an order with Morrow. I have a pair of MA4 XLR IC's and Map3 power cord arriving Friday. Going to try them out and see if they are an improvement over my current Voodoo Essence XLR's and Voodoo Mojo Digital Power Cord on my DAC.
For Toslink I am using a Lifatec-had to throw this one in!
For IC's and speaker cable, another vote for Transparent by far.
For power cords definitely Shunyata.
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