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Cables 101, new student, first question

I have a simple question if I can get it worded correctly. For simplicity, let's say my system has four interconnects in a "stream," all from the same manufacturer, some from the top of the line and some from the bottom. Example: Wireworld's Eclipse 8 line, four different versions, the least expensive starting at $325 and the most expensive starting at $1700. In general, will the system's sound be defined by the weakest (cable) link in the chain, in which case all the more expensive cables are a waste of money? Or will a mix of cables that includes some really high-end ones sound better than a consistent run of the cheaper stuff? 

To put this a different way, if I'm buying a couple new interconnects (again, for simplicity's sake from the same maker), might buying better ones improve the sound or will I not hear a difference until I've replaced them all? (Here's the stream analogy: if I put a dam upstream, the flow in the entire river will be reduced.)  


northman
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I will know they did read it when they have the above post removed, thus placing them in an unwinnable Catch-22. Amusing, no?
zufan's avatar
zufan
557 posts
 
You should sell tickets. 
northman OP
236 posts
 
I appreciate the response. I'm sorry that anyone thought I was talking about the relationship between price and the subjective listening experience. I was trying to ask, simply, whether cables in a system are victim to the weakest link in the cable chain. I'm interested in how systems work, abstractly, and I'm also interested in practical applications.  That is, I'm interested in "the big picture" (and I wouldn't say we're anywhere near the big picture most of the time out here; to get there would require some serious attention to what is meant, in both philosophical aesthetics and cultural studies, by terms like "subjective," "value," and "pleasure"), but I'm also interested in praxis. I'm adding a unit to my system and need new interconnects; what is the relationship between the new cables and the existing ones? I think that was answered and I'm grateful.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"I've done a budget system where the total cost was $1200 and I've put a $2k interconnect in that system. So I know what I'm talking about."
Priceless!
soix
8,597 posts
 
This is just my personal experience FWIW.  Adding a better interconnect improves the sound of my system even if there’s a lesser one elsewhere.  But it also matters where you install the cables in your system.  I get the best results by putting the better interconnects closer to the source.  Hope this helps somewhat. 
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