I am sick of cables

"I was wondering why studios that record the music we are listening are not using super expensive cables..."

Because they are businesses that must manage expenses wisely and whose customers are largely not audiophile extremists.

Mmarvin19,

I am similarly hard pressed to find a reason to change cables in my current system. The MIT Terminator line ICs I use absolutely sing and are affordable when you find them second hand.

$$$s do not necessarily determine utility with ICs I have found. There seem to be many very very good not too expensive wires out there.

Of course anything that costs mega-dollars should be expected to excel without fail. IS that always the case? I do not know since I do not swim in those hallowed waters.

My approach is the same with cables as with any other potentially large investment.

I do some reading on what others have experienced with various products then start small (ie not too expensive) + typically used.

If I am not satisfied, I try something else.

If I try various options around a particular price point and am not satisfied with any, then I look to move up to something more costly when needed.

This is the fast track to landing on an overall system configuration that sings to you without necessarily just throwing $$$s at the problem out of the gate and hoping that solves all problems.

Isn't that the way most folks shop for most things?

You really have to resist the natural inclination to believe that price determines results. It may or may not in the end. You need to take things in reasoned steps, one at a time, to really know for sure.

Years ago, it used to be that vendors made their margins on speakers and accessories. There was in comparison little or no margin on electronics.

I don't know if this is still the case or not, but it would surprise me if not.

This is a pretty active thread.

Apparently a lot of people are really not all that sick of talking about cables.

Viva la Audiogon!

How can one tell when a cable "disappears"?

Does that mean if I substitute another cable and the sound is the same, that they both disappear? That would seem to make sense if "disappear" means do nothing to change the sound.

But I was under the impression that different high end cables sound different as well. Does that mean that they might not always disappear either?

Personally, I have never heard two ICs that sound the same on my system, so I have to believe that none of them truly disappear.

It is easier and more practical to determine the effect a particular IC has in a particular system versus another one, like any other system component. I feel more able to do this and determine the right "synergy" that sounds best to me than I would to be able to determine that a particular cable "disappears".

A system is the sum of its parts (including room and the ears listening) anyway, so what difference does it make if something does dissapear or not? THe rest of the system is not going to. SO in the end I do believe it is the overall "synergy" that counts.

Its like making soup. The right combo of ingredients works to make good soup. A bad combo will not work as well. Even so, some may still like the soup and others not.