2. cables
  3. 146535-1557

3 things I learned from using MANY interconnect cables

At last, I am posting here for the first time! I got so much help from this forum and always felt a bit guilty about not contributing.

Over the past several years, I have used the following interconnect cables: Audioquest Golden Gate, Audioquest Columbia, Audioquest Sky, Monster Interlink 300 MkIII, Harmonic Technology Pro Silway (I have used both Mk I and Mk II), Silnote Morpheus, Anticables (the original version), Tara Labs RSC, Nordost Heimdall, Straightwire Crescendo, and Chord Anthem. They were all purchased used and I always had 2 or more pairs to compare at a given time although I didn’t have these cables all at once. Through the journey, I learned the following:

1. The price was NOT indicative of the sound quality unless you go very cheap (less than $100). I think this point is self-explanatory so I am not adding any elaboration.

2. Disconnecting and re-connecting the cables had a very positive impact on sound quality, which will affect any AB comparison. If you are comparing two pairs of cables that had comparable sound quality, the new cables will sound better because the connection would be fresh.

3. In my experience, the cables were NOT system dependent. This might raise some eye brows as it goes against the commonly held belief so I am going to explain a bit here.

All I am saying is that I have never seen a case where my preference order of two sets of interconnect cables got reversed when tested on two or more components (e.g. cable A was better than cable B on amp X but cable B was better on amp Y, etc). With any AB comparison I ever did, the better cable always won no matter what component I was testing them on.

Oh in case someone is curious, the best pair of interconnect cables I have ever used was Chord Anthem. It had a wider frequency range and a more natural tonality than others. And I would rather not add the qualification "but it was the best only in my system" because of the 3rd point I made above. Cheers!
johnson0134
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
johnson0134,

You are of course absolutely right. So right in fact that I would think anyone who actually bothers to do what you've done would have to agree. Most of the people who disagree turn out to not have spent much time doing the work to know what they are talking about. The remaining doubters pretty much all fall into the category of haven't yet figured out how to evaluate the one thing being evaluated so that instead of looking for the best component they are looking for the best band-aid. Only they haven't figured that out yet.

Well there is one more category, but it is thank God a category of one.

Anyway the connection observation is important enough I've mentioned it to people many times. Especially when comparing something like a fuse its important to first remove the original, clean everything, and reinstall BEFORE attempting to compare with anything else.

Another thing I thought you might mention, though not surprised you missed it as its fairly subtle. Simply handling a cable, wiggling it around connecting and disconnecting, is enough to affect the sound. Disconnect a cable, wiggle it real good, connect it back up again. Listen as it takes a few minutes for the sound to settle back in.

Its actually kind of funny people thinking cables are system dependent. Like the laws of the universe aren't really laws, they're a little different every where you go. Right. Good one.

Nice observation. You are on the right track. Want to hear something really good, try any wire with Synergistic Research on it.
gpgr4blu
1,076 posts
 
IMHO, manufacturers claim the holy grail of neutral sound when, in fact, many have a house sound. I can tell a Nordost cable from a Shunyata, Audioquest or Audience. (Nordost will be faster but not as full bodied as the others--and the others have differences as well). On the other hand, companies like Stealth make cables with different conductor material, each having a different sound. Thus the only way to find out which cable sounds best to you is to try it in your system.   
clearthink
1,421 posts
 
gpgr4blu"manufacturers claim the holy grail of neutral sound when, in fact, many have a house sound."

Every component within a Music Reproduction System has an individual, quantifiable, distinct sound, characteristic, and identity there is no such thing as any component being completely neutral, accurate, and free from distortion.
richopp
760 posts
 
@clearthink:

Yes, and so do each and every specific instrument that the musicians play and so do their individual choices of "stuff" they use to enhance their instrument to get the "sound" they want.  As the writer of "The Buddy Holly Story" film had the actor who played Buddy say,  

"Because he doesn't know what it is, and I can't tell him. That's why. How's he going to produce what I hear? It starts with me. Your complex system here-Heck, it works fine for you guys. But we're a little band, three pieces. I write the songs. There's no formal arrangement. We'll make a sound together, and when it feels good, we put it on a tape. Now, if your producer could do that, then you'd owe him $75,000, not me. Is that right?"

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=buddy-holly-story-the  

So, what you are saying is that a person needs to set up a system in his or her ROOM and listen and make changes until they get the "sound" they like.

"Sounds" about right to me.  And sorry, I still don't buy the cable thing, but whatever turns you on is fine with me.

Cheers! 
Post removed 
More to discover