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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
gbmcleod
602 posts
 

@macg19 

You’re right. It is the worst sales pitch.

People who know of Nordost’s eventual "larva-into-butterfly" transformation just suck it up, especially since, once it’s broken in, it is exceedingly good at bringing together dynamic contrast, dynamic range, decent tonal color (not as good as Transparent, Shunyata, Synergistic, though), extremely defined bass, soundstaging, imaging, correct timing and rhythm (no, ALL cables do NOT do timing great, as many musicians could tell you).

But at the beginning (and who knows, maybe they’ve improved on it, although I doubt it), it can be challenging. It’s certainly not for people who have no patience, or the "all-cables-are-snake-oil" crowd, 🙄 I’ll tell you that, so that leaves out a significant number of people.

devinplombier
1,657 posts
 

A cable may improve a system’s sound quality, especially when that system was designed poorly in the first place. However, the notion that a brand or model of cable "sounds better" as a blanket statement is complete nonsense.

Cables are electrical conductors. They are neither snake oil nor panacea.

macg19
1,347 posts
 

@gbmcleod I've never heard top-tier Nordost in my system. I had purple flare interconnects and speaker cables a few years ago. I don't doubt the top-tier is good - my local dealer runs them almost exclusively in all his demo systems - I am sure for good reason.

What I don't like about Nordost is the lower tier stuff is crap. The Purple flare IC's were easily bested buy $400 Zavfino Fusion (new) and $900 (used) Acoustic Zen Hologram II speaker cables were far far better, even at full retail new they are cheap compared to Nordost.

gbmcleod
602 posts
 

@macg19 

I could not disagree, although I have limited experience with the entry levels. My first Nordost interconnect was the Quattro fils, which I eventually bequeathed to a friend.

Reading between the lines of Harry’s (HP) comments on the Blue Heaven  interconnect many years ago, I knew that the entry Nordost interconnects would not show up the glories of my system at that time (Versa Dynamics 2.3 and Goldmund Studio turntables, VAC, Wilson speakers, Goldmund, Jadis, Transparent Reference). 
 I  trust your assessment! So who did you end up with?

macg19
1,347 posts
 

@gbmcleod I'm still using Zavfino Fusion ICs for DAC and phono, Acoustic Zen Hologram II speaker cables.

Power cable for my T+A integrated is Voodoo Infinity.

Sounds like you have some nice gear!

Everything is listed in my virtual system.

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