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How high end must your system be...

...for you to be able to notice the differences different cables will make. I've always said that I have ears of tin until a friend of mine came to my house and said that my system was just not high end enough to be able to hear the differences different cable will make. My system isn't the newest but it wasn't that cheap. My system is valued at several thousand dollars and I don't think I have anything in my system that you can find at just any audio store.

So, how high?
matchstikman
cyclonicman
693 posts
 
I changed the interconnects and speaker cables in my midfi system that I have in my office and I can hear a difference. The system has captured power cables, so they remain. In all, this setup costs about $1,000 - $1,200, so I don't think a system has to be "high end" to hear differences in cabling.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
The first set of upscale cables I bought were here were Cardas Neutral refs. About $270 or so. Like their name indicates, they are pretty neutral. A good thing to have as a main IC when stepping up things elsewhere. I then bought one more set.

Thereafter, it was power cords.

It was when I bought a set of pretty good speaker cables though, that everything began to get squared away. I still have the SR Sig 10s running my main speakers. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be a pricey affair to improve upon them, but I will at some point.

Once neutral signal cables are in place, power cords are key.

At that point, you should be able to discern readily other changes in your system… given the parameters Al pointed out.

A reference is a prerequisite in order to step up. Crazy $$$ doesn’t have to be spent all the time either in order to achieve such a situation.
cdc
1,664 posts
 
Usually super-bright systems will be more revealing of cable. Then the stereo mags brag about how the speaker is EXTREMELY sensitive to cables, amps, etc.

Disclaimer: This is a generalization.
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