I founded and t the same thing with speaker cables. I figured a good set of $250 (or so) cables could give you 90% of what much more expensive cables could give. I had some very reputable Mogami cables to connect my monobloc power amps with my speakers. After reading a couple of reviews annd taking advantage of the fact that they have a trial period, I ordered a set of Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables. I hooked them up expecting a modest improvement, but I was simply astounded by the difference between them. Even my music-loving but non-aaudiophile wife was amazed at the major improvement in sound quality. There is always the issue of diminishing returns, but this experience convinced me that cable quality does play a very important role and that improvements can be had at moderate cost.
Dang it… cables do matter (at least in my system)
I really didn’t want to write this post.
Like many of you, I am not a cable guy. I would much rather believe that a well-made, sensibly priced cable gets you 99% of the way there and that anything beyond that is mostly jewelry for audiophiles. In fact, that belief is exactly why I started this experiment in the first place.
I recently picked up a higher-end phono cable (Nordost Heimdall 2) to compare against a Blue Jeans Cable I already owned and respected. My intention—honestly—was to scratch the curiosity itch, confirm that the cheaper cable sounded just as good in my system, and then send the expensive one back with my wallet intact and my worldview reinforced.
That… did not happen.
In my system, the pricier cable consistently sounded better. Not “night and day,” not “jaw on the floor,” but unmistakably better: wider and more coherent soundstage, stronger and more articulate bass, better placement of instruments, more air around them, and a more resolved top end that wasn’t brighter or etched. Just clearer. More sorted. More believable.
Still, I was fully prepared to chalk some of that up to expectation bias. After all, I knew which cable was which, and $1,200 has a way of whispering sweet nothings into your ears.
So tonight, during a dinner party, I did something unplanned. I had four people listen—my brother (a dyed-in-the-wool non-audiophile), my daughter (a budding audiophile), my sister-in-law (a musician), and my wife. I didn’t tell them which cable was which, only that they were two different phono cables at very different price points and that I was trying to decide between them.
All four, independently and without hesitation, preferred the same cable. Not subtly. Not with hedging. My brother—who could not care less about hi-fi and would happily listen through a Bluetooth speaker—said there was “no question” which one he liked and that he wouldn’t use the other if given the choice.
Cue my quiet sigh.
So yes, to my chagrin and to the detriment of my wallet, the more expensive cable outperformed the cheaper one in my system. I wish the Blue Jeans had won. I truly do. This would have been a much cheaper and more philosophically satisfying outcome.
I’m not claiming cables transform systems, nor that everyone needs to run out and spend real money on them. I’m also not suggesting this will translate universally. But in this case—same system, same music, multiple listeners—the difference was real enough that even the skeptics in the room heard it.
I remain annoyed.
But apparently… cables do matter. Somewhat.
Dang it
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https://forum.audiogon.com/users/seymour-krelborn thank you! If I spent over 1k for a powercord and my soundstage was weaker I’d puke. I’m going to wait for that tweak. In the mean time in regards to interconnects. I currently have a silnote Morpheus iii phono cable which I have broken in and I’m going to replace a nordost red dawn 2 cable with another silnote. |
Cables. The final frontier. If OP decides to keep messing with cables, highly recommend the Cardas Parsec for power cabling. Beat Nordost cables that were 6x more expensive among others including Shunyata gamma and analysis plus clears. For $300 (or less used I have gotten them for around $200), they will certainly beat your stock power cabling. I recommend amplifier first, then preamp, DAC and subs last. You will hear a difference in each. And if you don't have proper power conditioning/etc, the Shunyata MPC-12 can be found for a steal at times. Yes it makes a difference, and a bigger difference than cables in my system. Best of luck! Yes it's annoying to pay money. But keep it reasonable and you will see big improvements without a ton of cash outlay |
Yup. They are on this site also. One of them already posted. Just waiting for the others to find this thread in their favourite sub-forum, cables, to tell us they know how our system sounds to us.
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