Inteligent high end cableing


Good grief.....I thought mating my electronics, speakers and budget was tough, but getting any consistancy with cableing advice seems impossible. I have recently acquired Proceed HPA3 amp (250/Ch), Proceed AVP pre-amp, Proceed PMDT DVD transport and will be linking them to either Watt Puppies 5.1 or to Revel Salons (there's a conversation right there). However, my real issue is what speaker cableing will match this setup. I can rationalize spending $40,000 on my system, but cannot get past $895 per foot for Audioquest top of the line. There's got to be a better 'mousetrap'. Any intelligent advice will be appreciated.
johngalt
buy the cable used ( people already break-in for you ) at 1/3 of the original retail price. It is true that small cable companies might make good product but he who claims that the $299 wire is better than $1200 wire is all subjective to his listening preferences. Good to try out name brand because you'll get more feed back from the users. Take your time and find a good bargain.
I probabely will be alone in this recommendation and have not tried ultra-expensive cable. However I have tried a few costing up to 100.00 a foot. My favorite is very low in price compared to some of the Audioquest and Kimber cable wire that I have used. Try the Lat SS-1000-D speaker cables. 10 guage silver plated copper, shielded, with excellent locking bananas or heavy spade and a very smooth detailed sound but may be a little exaggerated in the bass for some systems but is just the ticket for my system. A 10 foot pair will cost you about 300.00. Lat offers a 45 day trial period. I suggest you try them last as if you buy them first you are bound to feel that there most be much better cables since Lat is so inexpensive. You will likely keep the Lat cables. No snob appeal but excellent sonics. I have used this cable with a Proceed AVP and Aragon amplifiers. Now have a California Audio Labs unit but cable works with this pre-amp as well.
I concur with two remarks above: 1. Buy used cable - it's a lot cheaper, is broken in, and if you don't like it you aren't out a lot of money (and it's pretty damned hard to damage cable, short of gross misuse). 2. Try Kimber Kable - I've used it for years and think it is virtually impossible to beat for mid-priced cables (both interconnects and speaker wire). I do not profess to be a "golden ear", but I have been an audiophile for more than 35 years, have been a high-end audio salesman several times, and have had the chance to play around with a reasonable selection of cabling. Personally, I think audio cabling is the best illustration in high-end audio of diminishing cost returns. I believe that ultra-expensive cable is justified ONLY if you have a mega-buck system ($25K and up). I am currently using Kimber 8TC speaker cable in a bi-wire configuration between my Bryston 4B-ST amp and Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, and have been very satisfied. The interconnects in my system are a combination of AudioQuest and Kimber Kable models, plus some digital and video interconnect made by a relatively new company, BetterCables. I tried several products from BetterCables and am very impressed with the build quality and performance. I suggest you look at their Web site at: www.bettercables.com. If you decide to try used cables (I have bought a lot of used cable and interconnect and never been disappointed), Audiogon has numereous listings, as does the web site called "Used Cables", which is a division of Fatwyre (Web address is www.usedcables.com). If none of the less expensive or used options appeal to you, then find a good dealer who will let you try several brands and models of cable and interconnect in your home. Get your wife and/or girl friend to listen to your system with the different cablings, because their hearing is usually a lot better than us guys. Then, make an objective decision and don't get caught up in the "audiophobe" or "hot product of the month" mentality. Bottom line: trust your ears. If you can't hear positive improvement as you move from medium-cost to high-cost cables, buy the less expensive stuff.
The fact that a 299.00 cable sounds better than a 1200.00 Wireworld Eclipse III is not subjective to ones taste.it flat sound outright better.I have a friend who has over 100K in a sytem and he put in the 299.00 Line level interconnect because it sounds better.If you need to brag on how much you spend that one thing i like to brag about how my sytem sounds.Alot of the big money cables are the same cable as the lower priced tear in a more expensive looking suit.Same sound different look.
First of all, I don't like wireworld wires. Second, I think cable are just tweaks and not your major problem in your system. However, if you don't know anything about mix and match your system with different speakers, amps, preamps and wires then it doesn't matter how much you spent on your system because it's going to sound like shit. High end cables just have better insulations ( NBS ) but it doesn't mean that they use better copper. Afterall, copper is copper. However, stranding pattern is another story. Timl2 is correct about expensive "suit" because that's the major difference in cost. Purist Audio use "fluid" as the insulator. Also, if you can't tell the difference between a high end cable versus the low end then you should stick with low end. Either your system is not sensitive enough to detect the difference or your ear is not sensitive enough to pickup the difference. I just think buying new wires are waste of money because you can save from someone else's mistake. Maybe you can find this $299 cable for $100 used.