2. cables
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new at this

I have B&W htm1 center,cdm-nt9 front, cdm-nt 7 rear. Adcom 7500 (5 by 150) amp and Adcom pre amp. Mids and highs are harsh from mid volume on up. Could this be due to cheap rca cables? ( I have Radio Shack's best!) Front and center speaker cables are big....the size of car battery cables. The wires inside look to be about 14 guage. I paid about 5.00 per ft.....not sure what brand. Rear speaker cable is Monster 14 guage. Front speaker cables are about 8 ft long....rears are about 25 ft. Music source is usually Comcast Cable digital music channels or 250.00 Denon CD player. So, is it cheap rca's, cheap speaker cables, all of the above, or none of the above? There are ton of cables with a 5 channel system and I do not want to spend a lot of $$$ and not hear the difference. If new rca/speaker cable is the answer, what would you recommend?
Also, I have seen power cables discussed here. Is that the power cable from the amp to the wall outlet? Am I to beleive that matters too?
I asked these questions at my local high end store and was told I need new cables. Another said I need a new amp, possibly Rotel, and went on to say that beyond Radio Shack sheilded rca cable I would not see much improvement. I am forever the sceptic when talking with commissioned salespeople! I would like to know what people who play with sound systems for the love of it would have to say. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
John
baffled

Showing 2 responses by baffled

baffled OP
106 posts
 
Thanks Fife. I am starting to think a new amp would be a good idea. What would you think of Adcom GFA 7805 300 by 5? I am thinking about using both the 7500 and 7805 bi amp if the 7805 alone is not enough. If I do go the bi amp route, do I put the bigger amp on the bottom end?
baffled OP
106 posts
 
Problem solved! First and foremost, thanks to all who helped. A new amp was the answer. I went from 150 by 5 to 300 by 5. Both Adcom. I still have the same cheap IC cables and cheap Denon 2910. I have a new Denon 3910 on the way. I would not have bought it if I knew what a difference this amp would make. New cables are coming too. I cannot possibly imagine this system sounding any better than it does now. I am embarrassed to say that I think the harshness I was hearing was the amp clipping! Someone at usedcables.com told me about the clipping possibility and suggested I try more power before I try new cables. How's that for honesty? I am sure there are those who responded to my questions that thought about clipping. Probably assumed I would know clipping when I heard it. Thank you for that assumption....but.....like I said....I am new at this! Vman71 and Fife nailed it with their responses. Thanks, man! By the way, my closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. He commented that he likes my new Tracy Chapman CD. What do you suppose he was trying to say?
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