As a long time audio freak I'm happy when I make a good guess on a cable. Most of us can't borrow a few hundred cables to compare before making a choice, so you have to take a chance (applies to other components also of course). I needed a longer run of speaker cables and Kimber had just revised their "basic" 8PR, so in I went. Superb sounding cable, inexpensive (relatively), the best spades and bananas in the biz, and the design seems pretty hip...there ya go!
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!
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- 125 posts total
- 125 posts total