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audiophile folklore - cables and claims from manufacturers

The cable debate.

Cables make a difference, sure. 

But SHOULD they?

I have been grappling with this question for the better part of 20 years! 

Fanatical claims from manufacturers, talking about how their cables will improve your system in specific ways, sonically. 

More accurate bass, cleaner midrange sounds, treble resolution... etc. soundstage and imaging, you get the idea.

The fundamental disconnect is - they have never heard YOUR system! 

So then, how do they know what their cables will sound like in your system. Not to mention, astronomical prices on some of these interconnects. The wilder the claims, the higher the cost.

The behavior we should be looking for is passing on the signal, with as little losses as possible. That can be done relatively cheaply, with well made professional interconnects that cost less than 100 dollars in most cases.

If you could build an audio system (all of it) from thrift store finds and cables really did make that much of a difference, then wouldn’t the sound quality scale that way?

It seems many audiophiles I know are in denial. And even worse, some use cables as TONE controls! This is where audiophoolery becomes a religion. Audio dealers promote it, because it impacts their bottom line! 

frank009
ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,398 posts
 

I don't read what the manufacturer says about cables and their technology. I funnel through professional reviews... now that I am a veteran of fifty years I compare any possible alternatives to Transparent... They are my gold standard. All my intereconncts with one exception are Transparent. 

Now that I have ideal matching components I want cables and interconnects not to change the tonal balance, or limit dynamics, etc. that is why I chose them. 

In an ideal world when all the dozens of variables involved in sound creation and conveyance were fully understood then there would be only a few manufacturers making them. But we are not close to that... hence they make a huge difference 

jr1000
22 posts
 

I have learned here that smoking dope helps the music.

...and also that OP is a troll!

ericba's avatar
ericba
148 posts
 

Really don't care about all the debates. Bottom line does it sound better in my system or not? The proof is in the puding as they say !

douglas_schroeder
3,328 posts
 

frank009, please list the manufacturer brands of sets of cables that you have compared in your system. Not individual cables, but sets of cables. Thank you! 

bthrb4u
52 posts
 

Hopefully this isn’t some spoof account so a cable manufacturer has a topic which they can use another spoof account to advertise their cables in the comments. Whole lot of BS m these forums like that. I like the ones where it’s a new user but that got this jew piece of gear that in their 20 years of being audiophile and trying all the big name brands (insert here so searches read tags of popular cables) these absolutely smoke them!

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