Should I Spend That Much on Exotic Audio Cables!?

[gene]

We seem to get more emails about cables than virtually any other topic in audio. A particular email caught our attention when one of our readers was concerned about spending as much money on interconnects as their AV processor. These type of situations may sound absurd to the uninitiated but sales and marketing are very powerful tools often used to dupe consumers into parting with their hard earned cash for some promised miracle fix to allegedly improve the sonics of your hi-fi system.

See how we advise the concerned reader on buying expensive exotic cables.

Read: Should I Spend That Much on Exotic Audio Cables!?

How much do you think audiophiles should spend on cables? Let us know...

 

[charmerci]

For years, I believed the "cables don't make any difference in sound". So I used to use those crappy cables that came with receivers and that you can find in thrift stores in the baskets. Then I tried Monoprice - and surprise - a big difference!

I don't have much of a budget for cables but I managed to get used some Grover Huffman cables which smooth things out a bit (reducing digital high frequency harshness at loud levels) over my relatively, inexpensive Straightwire cables.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
I don't have much of a budget for cables but I managed to get used some Grover Huffman cables which smooth things out a bit (reducing digital high frequency harshness at loud levels) over my relatively, inexpensive Straightwire cables.

Hardly possible on both accounts, especially that harshness you are talking about.

 

[bobbassplayer]

It depends entirely on the type of interconnections, their quantity, and their lengths. Recommending cable purchases as a percentage of the system cost is foolish and tends to lead to gullible overspending.

 

[grimreaper46]

My speaker cables are from Blue Jeans, my interconnects are also from Blue Jeans (following on from articles on Audioholics). They are excellent value for money and are excellent quality. My speaker cables have locking banana plugs with ultrasonically-welded terminations. Very reasonable price.

I really am fed up with reading forums (never mind manufacturers web sites) extolling the virtues of some fantastically expensive cables. People are still being persuaded that they will make an "incredible" difference. Of course, rather like the Kings Suit of clothes, once bought they have to perpetuate the myth or look silly for spending that amount of money for nothing.

Don't get me started on HDMI and Ethernet cables.

 

[dlorde]

I've got some Bluejeans interconnects - very nice cable, well made and well terminated.

 

[fitzcaraldo215]

Gene - hats off to you for telling the truth and thereby declining the ad revenues from the unscrupulous cable bandits, who pollute the audiophile press and web. I admire your honesty and integrity.

I came to similar conclusions myself years ago from my own listening, and it taught me a lot. Today, I have a totally different attitude about all high end claims, not just for cables. Yes, some things are excellently and uniquely engineered so as to be worth the "high end" premium. Unfortunately, that does not apply to cables and many other audio "sacred cows".

 

[shadyJ]

+1 to all the Blue Jeans cable recommends. Here is why Blue Jeans has my business.

 

[jinjuku]

For years, I believed the "cables don't make any difference in sound". So I used to use those crappy cables that came with receivers and that you can find in thrift stores in the baskets. Then I tried Monoprice - and surprise - a big difference!

I don't have much of a budget for cables but I managed to get used some Grover Huffman cables which smooth things out a bit (reducing digital high frequency harshness at loud levels) over my relatively, inexpensive Straightwire cables.

No one is saying get the cheapest cables possible. But you should get cables from reputable sources that have solid engineering behind them. BlueJeans Cable gives you a lot of technical information, and so does Mogami and Belden. You know exactly what the performance characteristics are. Now the thing to ask is why aren't there the same types of quantifiable information available from the boutique cable outfits?

Using Belden as an example. They have an engineering bench that is most likely bigger then the entire staff at many of these small outfits. That means they have a deeper knowledge across a broader spectrum of different cabling standards and signalling needs.

As an example of a cable measuring worse from a boutique outfit you need to look no further than AudioQuest. When their 3 foot $350 Vodka Ethernet cable went in for analysis on a $10,000 Fluke analyzer it was in the margin of error for NeXT (Near end Cross Talk) for the 6A standard. My 12 foot, $12 Blue Jeans Ethernet cable was over 200% above the minimum threshold for NeXT for the the 6a standard.

The other issue is the false advertising by AudioQuest on their Ethernet lineup and stating they are CAT7. It's 100% a lie.

 

[lovinthehd]

For years, I believed the "cables don't make any difference in sound". So I used to use those crappy cables that came with receivers and that you can find in thrift stores in the baskets. Then I tried Monoprice - and surprise - a big difference!

I don't have much of a budget for cables but I managed to get used some Grover Huffman cables which smooth things out a bit (reducing digital high frequency harshness at loud levels) over my relatively, inexpensive Straightwire cables.

I threw up a little reading the Straightwire page. What a bunch of marketing nonsense. Same for ol' Grover's nonsense.

 

[jeff henning]

Hi.

After corresponding with John Siau (brilliant head engineer of Benchmark Media and the designer of the best amp in the world) as well as a friend who's a physics professor that enjoys rehabbing vintage amps and receivers, the magic cable myth for me is dead. The biggest things to look for are the best construction, shielding and lowest impedance you can afford. None of this requires a ton of money to achieve.

While Pangea does make some rather needlessly expensive power cords, their least expensive cables are ridiculously good. And, if you want to roll your own, Madisound sells Supra plugs and LoRad cable. Yeah, a bit more than the Pangea entry stuff, but it's designed using science. Also, Supra makes some fantastic speaker cable that's worth every cent of the $3.80/ft (or so) that Madisound charges.

I just rebuilt my audio system and spent the dough on Pangea's power cables because they can be ordered as short as 0.6m. The shorter the cable the less EMI you are radiating into the room and that's a big thing in keeping your system noise-free.

For the speakers, I used Supra PLY3.4 Speaker Wire and rhodium spade connectors. I got a great deal on HDMI cables from Accessories4Less and ordered custom XLR cables from Blue Jeans for the connections to my power amp and subs.

I whole-heartedly concur that wasting money on magic cables is buying into a load of marketing hype that has no basis in fact or science.

The clowns at other sites and publications that push this BS about magic cables really need to get a reality check... or a severe ass beating... or both. It's even more idiotic than holding onto vinyl as a delivery system for music. Which is made even more imbecilic when you consider that almost nothing is recorded analog anymore. The stupidity of a good slice of the audiophile community is amazing.

Cheers,
jeff

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Should I Spend That Much on Exotic Audio Cables!?

TL;DR; - No.

 

[Alfred Balitzer]

Cables make a difference in my experience. I have B&W N802 mains, Oppo 105 DVD player, ATI 3000 amp, Yamaha's cx a5100 processor and Sony XBR65x930 television. I've tried one of the cables recommended in the article to which I am responding. It fell flat in a number of ways. I switched sometime back to Wireworld and the difference is clear in terms of clarity, soundstage and other parameters. Cables should be treated as a component part of any good a/v system and given equal attention in the selection of components.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... Cables should be treated as a component part of any good a/v system and given equal attention in the selection of components.

Well, you certainly may think this. Reality and facts differs though.
And, unless you properly compared, the outcome is unreliable at best.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Cables make a difference in my experience. I have B&W N802 mains, Oppo 105 DVD player, ATI 3000 amp, Yamaha's cx a5100 processor and Sony XBR65x930 television. I've tried one of the cables recommended in the article to which I am responding. It fell flat in a number of ways. I switched sometime back to Wireworld and the difference is clear in terms of clarity, soundstage and other parameters. Cables should be treated as a component part of any good a/v system and given equal attention in the selection of components.

Was the cable lengths and thickness same? You give little information out there that is actually worth anything on subject.

 

[iansmithedi]

Hi Jeff

Interesting comment about using short power cords to avoid radiating EMI into the room.

Are the power cables in the wall in metal trunking?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hi Jeff

Interesting comment about using short power cords to avoid radiating EMI into the room.

Are the power cables in the wall in metal trunking?

Thanks,
Ian

Usually not, not in my area.

 

[lovinthehd]

Cables make a difference in my experience. I have B&W N802 mains, Oppo 105 DVD player, ATI 3000 amp, Yamaha's cx a5100 processor and Sony XBR65x930 television. I've tried one of the cables recommended in the article to which I am responding. It fell flat in a number of ways. I switched sometime back to Wireworld and the difference is clear in terms of clarity, soundstage and other parameters. Cables should be treated as a component part of any good a/v system and given equal attention in the selection of components.

No way, especially with that charlatan David Salz at Wireworld....

 

[Alain Singapore]

When I purchased my first system the salesman pushed me to buy Monster Cables to connect the speakers after trying with twisted pairs of regular electric wires. It made a lot of difference. It was pretty expensive but still reasonable in % of the total system price. I am still using them today (15 years later), only replaced the original pin connectors with expandable banana plugs and have no intention to change. I believe the main contributor was the much lower gauge.

I expended my system and got Belden cables, much cheaper and equally good.

I got also HDMI cables from Blue Jean Cable in long length buried in the floor. Perfect picture and sound. Only need to be careful not to damage the plugs.

Recently I bought custom made XLR cables with Mogami wire and Amphenol connectors at a pro audio shop. Cheap and very good. And build for audio professionals!

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Only place I have noticed a difference is subwoofer cable, not a difference in sound how ever but a difference. With a cheap cable there have been a small hum from my subwoofer but with better build quality cable there is no hum at all. So paying little extra for better shielding in cable is worth it instead of getting the cheapest one.