@jumia - ALL cables are important, not just IC's and speaker cables.
But in order to hear the improvements I suggest tackling the cable issue in the following order
That way you will be able to hear exactly what is changing
As for your statement
As for which brands make a "real difference"
As for RCA (i.e. Single Ended) vs. XLR.
That's my "five thousand foot" assessment - diving into the details of "what makes a good cable" gets complicated fast and most cable companies do not provide the details required to make a meaningful assessment of their products (for obvious reasons) so best rely on observations and recommendations from others.
Hope that helps - Steve
But in order to hear the improvements I suggest tackling the cable issue in the following order
- Speaker cables
- Interconnects
- Power cables
That way you will be able to hear exactly what is changing
As for your statement
My sense is that interconnects need to be of quality but their role is greatly exaggerated.ALL My cables provide the best ROI - better than any of my components ever provided - they are the most important part of my system, because they allow the components to work at their very best.
As for which brands make a "real difference"
- try KLE Innovations cables - all of them (IC;s apeaker and power) are very good.
- If you want to step up a notch, try Nordost or Inakustik.
As for RCA (i.e. Single Ended) vs. XLR.
- some people prefer XLR
- others prefer RCA
- XLR has the advantage on long cables (over 30 ft)
- otherwise well designed single ended will equal XLR performance
- I happen to use single ended
That's my "five thousand foot" assessment - diving into the details of "what makes a good cable" gets complicated fast and most cable companies do not provide the details required to make a meaningful assessment of their products (for obvious reasons) so best rely on observations and recommendations from others.
Hope that helps - Steve