interconnect and speaker cable advice


Folks, here's my deal. I have the sunfire stereo amp and classic preamp and dunlavy scIII's. My budget won't yet allow me for the best cable set up but im loooking for advice as to what connectors and speaker cable I can get away for on the ecomomic side until I can upgrade. Any advice on my immediate and long term solutions? Peace, Andy.
ajd
I think the Alpha-Core Goertz cable is one of the true steals in hi-fi. You can start out in the very affordable but still excellent copper, and down the road upgrade to silver.
If you are handy with an iron you can make up a very satisfactory set of interconnects using cannare quad cable and neutrik RCA's. These are available through the many pro-audio dealers, ie., Full Compass ect. Nordost makes decent speaker cable, on the cheap, that seems to be an approprite match for your system. I would suggest buying used for a significant discount.
I can't suggest any interconnects for you, But I did audition some CV-4 speaker cable from AudioQuest and I really liked it. Cost is about 6/ft.
I have won a nbs interconnect right here on audiogon and I really like it. Nordost spkr cables are good and the connections are well made. Peace and good listening.
Budget lines from Kimber or Tara Labs should be quite sufficient in the short term for you.
Audio Advisor always has MIT interconnects at about half price. Kimber PBJ's or Heros should do the trick as well. Good Luck.
I've used quite a bit of Goertz cable, and think it's great stuff. Their latest interconnect, the Purl, is quite affordable, I think $80 per meter, and you only need 1/2 meter if your components are stacked. But the latest gem is Analysis Plus "Copper 12." Check the website...analysis-plus.com. This cable is not 'pretty good', or even 'great'; it's astounding. No gimmicks, just seriously good stuff, $150 for 8', only slighly more than Goertz MI-1 cable. Watch the CES reports.
Andy, I SAY STAY AWAY FROM THE ALPHA CORE GOERTZ STUFF. I've tried some of their best, and it's distorted. The low impedance design is flawed for sure! I've tried a ton of expensive cables. I use a Krell amp and Resolution Audio CD player. MY FAVORITE CABLES: MIT 330 Shotgun interconnect (you can get it used for like $350/meter RCA), with AudioTruth Dragon speaker cable. KIMBER 8TC SPEAKER CABLE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT FOR THE PRICE ALSO. The 330 interconnect has beaten Transparent Reference, MIT 350 CVT Reference (both of which cost over $2000!!!), Harm Tech Pro Silway, Cardas Neutral Reference, AudioTruth Lapis and Diamond, and Kimber Silver Streak interconnects in my system. THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO IS TRY TO DEMO DIFFERENT CABLES. AND BARRING THAT, BUY USED, THEN SELL WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. I've saved well over $8000 doing it (my amp, CD player, cables, and speakers).
I tried the Goertz, but I think you'd be far more satisfied with Harmonic Technology. It is the best I've ever used and I've used cable costing much, much more. Check in at audionut.com (I'm not affiliated).