I think some cables are just a little too expensive.


A while back a shop I did business with carried Transparent Audio Cables. They were so expensive it was obscene. They did sound good, but you had to move up from the bottom to the more idiotically pricey models to start to feel the magic. It had been several years ago and I wanted to check in on my old friends at Transparent Audio. This is their top of the line speaker cable. Now if you don't have a problem with this whole cable thing, this might push you over the edge. I can't imagine a speaker that would need such a cable. Wilson? Rockport? What amp? You can buy a nice luxury vehicle for the same price as a pair of speaker cables? Nelson Pass would be embarrassed to see these monstrosities on one of his amplifiers.

https://www.transparentcable.com/collections/magnum-opus/products/magnum-opus-speaker-cable
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Showing 2 responses by keithtexas

After 40 years in this hobby, I have bought and retired probably 50 pairs of speaker cables. I think most of us have the "used cable" box or drawer. I will say that there is some logic to the phrase "pay once and cry once". As long as the "pay once" cables are indeed a ’final solution’ or the absolute best for your speakers and system, and if you achieve musical satisfaction, where you can say "there may be better out there, but in the here and no - I'm good". There is definite value to no longer wondering or being somehow dissatisfied with the sound of your system. Quality, technologically advanced high end cables ARE ’too expensive’; but they represent not just material cost(s), but time, designer’s experience, and technology implementation. How much is your time and ultimately satisfaction worth? Personally, if they are the perfect fit for my amp and speakers, speaker cables for example are worth one-two weeks salary. A month’s? Probably not so much. But, it’s going to be different for everyone.
One thing most audio people fail to realize or value is that cables should maximize or almost ’perfect’ - all of the components in a system.
One analogy is that non-audio people just don’t "get it" (the beauty and satisfaction most of us enjoy with high end music reproduction). Non-audiophiles just shake or scratch their head about the cost of a system of more than, say $1,000 (their idea of high priced).
Similarly, many audio folks don’t "get it" regarding the price/value of cables that can maximize achievement of that goal. Those audiophiles just shake or scratch their head about the total cost of cables in a system of more than, say $1-5,000+ (THEIR idea of high priced cables).
Imperfect analogies but you get the idea.