Think of this not just in terms of the quality of the cable itself, but also
(and probably more importantly) in terms of the number of mechanical
connections (crimps/solder joints) that your cartridge's puny signal has to
endure on it's way to your preamp.
Your tonearm's thin internal wires are inevitably soldered to the captive IC
at some point inside it's base via one (probably two) sets of solder joints. If
you can access the point at which those thin wires "become"
the IC, and then solder a new higher quality IC directly to them, assuming
that you dress everything properly you will make gains. If you plan on
simply cutting the captive IC just outside the turntable base and then
soldering the stubs to a new set of female RCA's with the necessary
additional solder joints, sending the signal to an additional set of male
RCA's and solder joints on the new IC, then IMO you will be making
things worse. Even if you hardwire the new IC directly to the stubs of the
original captive IC you are adding one more set of solder joints to the
signal path. IMO, what you gain by the higher quality cable will be offset
by the additional solder joint. That cheap looking captive cable is probably
decent to begin with, and those thin and cheap looking jacks sometimes
sound better than the big beefy ones that have all that extra material that
the signal has to travel through.
If sonics are your only concern, you have not experienced serious
problems with RFI, and don't mind the look, I would encourage you to
contact the outfit that regularly advertises here as Cardas Tonearm
Rewiring Service (or something like that), and order a set of Cardas
tonearm wires terminated with cartridge clips at one end and RCA's at the
other. Order it long enough to run from your cartridge clips directly to your
preamp, allowing an extra six inches or so to create a "loop"
over the pillar/pivot of your tonearm. You attach it along the bottom of the
tonearm tube with a couple of very thin strips of blue painter's tape (easily
removed), you then carefully dress it to create a loop over the pillar/pivot
and tape the bottom of the loop to the table somewhere very close to the
arm's base/pillar making sure that the arm can move unimpeded by the
wire loop, and on to your preamp. You will be eliminating several solder
joints for unimpeded signal travel through much higher quality wire.
It really is easier than it sounds, your table/tonearm will remain in stock
form, and the improvement in sound will amaze you.
(and probably more importantly) in terms of the number of mechanical
connections (crimps/solder joints) that your cartridge's puny signal has to
endure on it's way to your preamp.
Your tonearm's thin internal wires are inevitably soldered to the captive IC
at some point inside it's base via one (probably two) sets of solder joints. If
you can access the point at which those thin wires "become"
the IC, and then solder a new higher quality IC directly to them, assuming
that you dress everything properly you will make gains. If you plan on
simply cutting the captive IC just outside the turntable base and then
soldering the stubs to a new set of female RCA's with the necessary
additional solder joints, sending the signal to an additional set of male
RCA's and solder joints on the new IC, then IMO you will be making
things worse. Even if you hardwire the new IC directly to the stubs of the
original captive IC you are adding one more set of solder joints to the
signal path. IMO, what you gain by the higher quality cable will be offset
by the additional solder joint. That cheap looking captive cable is probably
decent to begin with, and those thin and cheap looking jacks sometimes
sound better than the big beefy ones that have all that extra material that
the signal has to travel through.
If sonics are your only concern, you have not experienced serious
problems with RFI, and don't mind the look, I would encourage you to
contact the outfit that regularly advertises here as Cardas Tonearm
Rewiring Service (or something like that), and order a set of Cardas
tonearm wires terminated with cartridge clips at one end and RCA's at the
other. Order it long enough to run from your cartridge clips directly to your
preamp, allowing an extra six inches or so to create a "loop"
over the pillar/pivot of your tonearm. You attach it along the bottom of the
tonearm tube with a couple of very thin strips of blue painter's tape (easily
removed), you then carefully dress it to create a loop over the pillar/pivot
and tape the bottom of the loop to the table somewhere very close to the
arm's base/pillar making sure that the arm can move unimpeded by the
wire loop, and on to your preamp. You will be eliminating several solder
joints for unimpeded signal travel through much higher quality wire.
It really is easier than it sounds, your table/tonearm will remain in stock
form, and the improvement in sound will amaze you.