Thanks to all replying to cd sounding like LP.

I was speaking more 'in point of theory' than anything having directly to do with the thread-head's question, just regarding what a few of the comments in your post seemed to imply about what to possibly expect and what not to expect from a speaker cable change...

Zaikesman, Firstly, i definitely did not think that a cable/interconnect swap will solve any of the problems that Johnymac is experiencing. But, he inquired about cable and interconnect for his system, therefor my post was more for the benefit of Johnymac than posterity. What I thought to do was to dispell what I believe was his, and a common, misconception about what cabling and interconnects can do. As I recall he has older Hafler amps and speakers which he likes. He has an LP system which he likes the sound of but he has a CD system which has the older classic CD problems in the uppermidrange and he dislikes their sound. This sounds typical of the experience of many when they first try CD's. He wants to tune his system so he can listen to both CD's and LP's. He doesn't want to buy new amps or speakers. I emphatically agree with you that cables can and do make a great difference in the sound of your system, I have gone thru many pairs to find one to match my system and my expectations. Without getting into a technical discussion of why, what good cables do best is get out of the way of the signal from the amp and let it pass unmolested to the speakers. Most do not, and I would argue that is the designers intention, so that most manufacturer's cables are at best designed with certain expectations regarding its use. When you match the right cable to the right equipment, wonderbar! I also think most people use cable to tune their systems, a fair purpose.

Back to Johnymac's inquiry. I assumed from his equipment that he did not want to spend a lot of money on cables of any type -the cost of high quality cables could easily exceed the value of his equipment and not make the changes he would want to hear. Thats why i talked about cables not being able to amplify signals per se, but by allowing the signal to pass correctly you can hear all you components have to offer. I didn't recall the Halfer having the tightest bass but I do recall it having a full bass (if your speakers are up to the task). I didn't remember it having the smoothest mids and highs. In my experience Cardas Quadlink 5C speaker cable would help smooth the mid's and highs and maintain the quality of his bass, but I thought that even that might be more than he would want to spend. As an alternative and a base line i mentioned the generic 10 guage multistrand which should not exacerbate any of the problems he is experiencing in the bass (I'm not sure of the high end, but the mid range should be OK also). Its cheap, often overlooked, and could match up well with his vintage amp's and speakers. If it were my money, I'd be looking at a tube dac/cdp and a tube amp before i looked seriously at any cabling. I hope this clears up any confusion I may have caused, if not let me know.

Newbee, I respect your opinions - and am not claiming that a cable-swap is the prescription here - but I think your post misses the point even as it implicitly acknowledges it: Yes, it is true that speaker cables cannot actively 'increase' bass level or extension, but they can certainly *decrease* it, which absolutely means that, depending on the partnering amp and speakers, a cable swap can definitely change (including improve) what you hear in terms of extension and weight - as well as tonality, transient response, and dynamic expression, same as any other part of the frequency range. (This is something I have heard, and it would surprise me if you were to tell me you have not, so maybe I'm misinterpreting your post...)

I faced the same dilemma. Nakamichi CA-1 preamp and PA-1 amp with Parasound CDC-1500 CD player and Parasound DAC into (newer) Klipsch KP-400's. Harsh sounds thru the CD player that were just not enjoyable to listen to. Switched over to a new Sony 999-ES sacd player from my other system and things improved. Now I have the Shanling CD-T100 tube CD player in my system and it sounds great, the whole system. I find that Stealth M-7 I/C's smooth things out. Straightwire Virtuoso cable and I/C's (compared to Serenade) reveal flaws in source components but, once you get it right, deliver bass with authority. Audience cable and I/C's remain my favorite combination for all around performance.

The horns are not the culprit, IMO, it's in your using them with a SS amp that is making them sound harsh! Using Klipsch horn speakers with SS components is an outright waste of a wonderful set of horns, IMO! Anyone who tells you otherwise has likely not listened to them with good tubes, or is mostly deaf from having listened to them primarily with SS!! Replace the amp with some good tubes and you will likely hear magic coming from those boxes (I'm assuming they are vintage Klipsch by your other gear - if they are modern a Klipsch design all bets are off, and as far as I'm concerned they'd have a better use as flower pot planters by removing the drivers and turning them on their sides)! I mean no offense to your Hafler amp, by the way. I'm sure it goes well with other speakers, but I'd bet you'd find those horns much more pleasing if you tried out a good tube amp with your system.

If your Klipsch are an older vintage with metal horns, you may want to try applying Dynamat damping material to the outsides of the horns. You can find instructions and opinions on doing just that on AudioAsylum as well as on the Klipsh forum site. But before you resort to that try swapping out the SS with a tube amp. If you can borrow one from a friend, or a generous dealer, take the time to do that just to hear the difference it can make. I'd bet you'd be amazed.

My very opinionated .02 cents!

PS I own a pair of LaScalas and a pair of Heresys, and have also owned two pairs of Forte II's...all are wonderful speakers! The LaScalas I currently own are damped with Dynamat on the midrange and tweeter horns and sound wonderful! With 8 watts of SET power they get louder than I'd ever want them to be while retaining clarity, musicality and dynamics and an amazing soundstage.

PPS That Marantz CD67SE is a shockingly good player for not much money. Yes, there is plenty out there that will outperform it these days, and the sound of digital has much improved since then, but it still remains a great audio bargain in its own right, and is a very musical player. I owned one for five years. It most certainly is an entry-level component, but if your problem is quite severe with listenablility/harshness, I'd doubt it was primarily in that component either.

Good luck!!

Johnymac, I'm not sure what your experience is with cables so I'll limit my comments to one certain fact - that is cables are passive in nature and cannot increase the signal level from an amp, they can only change the signal. You can get different, not more. If you feel you are missing something really important from your speakers in the bass you would need to get something to increase the signal, like a parametric equalizer/tone control or different speakers, or reposition your present speakers to a place nearer to the rear wall (but results accross the bass may change but not get better due to standing waves). Iuse Cardas in my main system, but even this can be expensive if you need long lengths. It does have a nice effect on the highs and midrange. Some of the cheaper cardas has a nice warmth. In another system I use (cheapskate that I am) 10guage multistrand twisted speaker wire purchased at a hardware store for about 40 cents per foot. It may not be perfect but it works dammed well in that system (the components are high end). By the way I agree with you regarding the sound of your 500. This amp was one that was regularily highly modified and one served my very well until i got the bug.

When I had B&W 805's I used Audioquest Gibralter to good effect and it seemed to elecit about a half-octive greater bass extention compared to Cardas, Transparent, and Analysis plus cable. However, it seemed also to make instraments smaller but better defined. I think audioadvisor is selling some of the AQ wires as special items. You might want to check it out.