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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

brighamdoc
mclinnguy's avatar
mclinnguy
1,066 posts
 

@ulcerdoc 

 If that’s flat, I’ll take it all day.

At this point I’m more interested in listening to music than chasing marginal, system-specific differences. Blue Jeans cables let me do exactly that - and the $ I don’t spend on expensive cables is available for more meaningful upgrades.

And that is just fine. Nobody here is trying to convince you otherwise. 

 

What Blue Jeans cables do well is remove themselves from the equation. Their cables are very high quality, very well built, and there’s complete transparency about the internal components and electrical parameters being used. Low capacitance, proper impedance, good shielding — no mystery, no “secret sauce,” and no attempt to voice the sound.

Others have concluded differently, in that they have cables that do a much better job of "getting out of the way". Most take the understanding that a cable can never add anything, it can only remove things. Preventing the soundstage to expand and masking low level detail is definitely a voicing. 

Some expensive cables do sound different to some listeners, but those differences are often system-dependent and small compared to changes in cartridges, setup, or room. I prefer cables that are neutral, predictable, and not acting as undocumented tone controls.  I have plenty of predictable ways to do that: tubes, cartridge loading etc. 

Do you know this from experience? Or are you just guessing? 

mclinnguy's avatar
mclinnguy
1,066 posts
 

@bruce19 

Cable play usually is at the bottom of my list of tweaks. 

The bottom of my list of tweaks has been changing out an amplifier, or a pre-amp, or a DAC. Swapping cables is much easier and sometimes has a greater effect in changing the sound in my system. 

knownothing
1,821 posts
 

@mclinnguy 

”Most take the understanding that a cable can never add anything, it can only remove things. Preventing the soundstage to expand and masking low level detail is definitely a voicing.”

100%

kn

bruce19
347 posts
 

@mclinnguy 

The bottom of my list of tweaks has been changing out an amplifier, or a pre-amp, or a DAC. Swapping cables is much easier and sometimes has a greater effect in changing the sound in my system. 

interesting approach, but it seems most of the audio industry relies on reviews of amps, preamps, etc., and very little on cables. Which suggests to me, at least that the differences between cables are pretty hard to discern.

Likewise, your proposition that cables never add they can only take away. But I can think of EMF as something that cables can add I think microphonic‘s are also possible in some instances too.

mclinnguy's avatar
mclinnguy
1,066 posts
 

@bruce19 

But I can think of EMF as something that cables can add I think microphonic‘s are also possible in some instances too.

Okay, I do see your point, but my point is a cable that picks up emf or rf due to a lack of shielding, or transmits resonances due to a lack of vibration control, results in the purity of the signal being reduced.

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