Cables.... is the price justified for the difference

[dan001]

wasn't sure if this was worth replying to, with advice like "buy the best you can afford", seeing as the "best" can be interpreted in many ways, but I wanted to add my counter point

hhmmm..do i even want to hazard a guess as to why that would confuse u??..o boy..let me spell it out for u..if u can AFFORD 200 dollar cables...buy them...dont buy into the hype of buying 50 dollar ones that other pple say will do the same thing...cuz..they wont..u will just tell yourself they will....

as a side note..i bought audio quest cables at 150 dollars..a lot of money..yes..when i turned my system on...the difference was incredible..so much so..i am going to buy another set..il keep the bluejeans as part of the wardrobe..where they belong

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
hhmmm..do i even want to hazard a guess as to why that would confuse u??..o boy..let me spell it out for u..if u can AFFORD 200 dollar cables...buy them...dont buy into the hype of buying 50 dollar ones that other pple say will do the same thing...cuz..they wont..u will just tell yourself they will....

as a side note..i bought audio quest cables at 150 dollars..a lot of money..yes..when i turned my system on...the difference was incredible..so much so..i am going to buy another set..il keep the bluejeans as part of the wardrobe..where they belong

What differences will they make?
How do you know? Maybe it is just illusions, not reality? Bias is strong and easy to be fooled. That is reality.

 

[fmw]

hhmmm..do i even want to hazard a guess as to why that would confuse u??..o boy..let me spell it out for u..if u can AFFORD 200 dollar cables...buy them...dont buy into the hype of buying 50 dollar ones that other pple say will do the same thing...cuz..they wont..u will just tell yourself they will....

Actually it is the other way around. Only rarely has bias controlled testing shown any interconnect cable to alter the audio signal. These few are cables made with excessive inductance or capacitance - designed to be tone controls in effect. They normally have little boxes attached to them and cost 4 figures per pair. Almost every other interconnect cable will produce exactly the same results as every other one regardless of price or brand.

Those who "hear" cables are influenced by their biases which take over when audible differences do not exist. They believe they hear what they hear but what they hear disappears completely with bias controlled testing. Been there. Done that.

You can believe the beliefs or you can believe the test results. That's up to you.

 

[Soundman]

i went with everyones advice about bluejean cables..to say the least..not impressed..bought the best ones they had..picture was noticeably darker..then..i turned my av receiver sideways a bit to hook something up...i have a monster and a bluejean cable ..both same length..both plugged into receiver.....the housing came apart on the bluejean cable ..talk about poor build quality..monster cable was fine..dont let the emotiva /bluejean money that sponsers this site fool u..u get what u pay for..always buy the absolute best of what u can afford...cuz as we all know..if it sounds too good to be true...hello..it is..

Hey Dan,
I can assure you that the advertisers on this site are kept in check. Audioholics are strait up on their reviews so if an advertiser releases a poor product, the truth will come out here regardless. Fortunately, the advertisers here make quality products. As for your comments on Emotiva, keep in mind this thread is about speaker cables, interconnects, etc. Emotiva makes amps and processors, and recently started making speakers, so It's kinda off topic. But as long as your going down that path, you might want to research Emotiva before throwing them into the mix. They have been making amps for over 30 years and (as far as raw power goes) offer the best bang for the buck hands down. The built quality is top notch as well.

 

[Sheep]

It's not really worth the argument because there are many low cost alternatives to high end cables. My choice would be www.signalcable.com but the aforementioned examples are all low cost alternatives to high end.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

If I were you I'd stop recommend these cables...

"This reference Power Cord is based on a 3 x 10AWG twisted design terminated with ultra high quality Marinco HG connectors. Unmatched frequency extension and detail retrieval as well as an improved soundstage and blacker background. Starting at less than $60, this is a tremendous value in high end audio!"

Found this on their website. They may be cheap, but they still push BS.

SheepStar

 

[Sheep]

I bet every once in a while even Toyota and Honda has a lemon?

Toyota, not Honda.

SheepStar

 

[Brett A]

Cables.... is the price justified for the difference

That is a completely personal decision.

I found my point of diminishing returns to be a pair of Siltech New York interconnects. They list for $375, I bought a used pair for $150. I don't think I'll ever need to upgrade. I found them to be a better sounding cable than the Siltech London's I had for several months prior. Were the NYs $25 better than the London? For me, they were. Are the $150 cables $120 better than all the $30 cables that proceeded them? You betcha'. I think though that my old system (NAD amp and AR speakers) would not have revealed a difference.

There are a lot of folks in this forum that will say that you cannot hear a difference in interconnects. Truth is, no one can say what you or I can hear with any credibility. They can say whatthey can or can't hear with credibility, but cannot be experts on my experience or yours.

The best and arguably only way to decide if you want to spend money an any component (including cables) is to do some comparative listening for yourself.

If you have a dealer near you who can give you loaner cables, take advantage. You cannot know how something will sound unless you listen to it with your own ears.

If this isn't part of the fun for you, pick a price point and look around for the most recommend cable in that price range. (BJC, Kimber, Siltech AQ come to mind) But without trying lots of stuff, you may never know if your system is truly achieving its potential.

 

[Midcow2]

cognitive dissonance - $2 million dollar cables.

What differences will they make?
How do you know? Maybe it is just illusions, not reality? Bias is strong and easy to be fooled. That is reality.

Purely a physcological of cognitive dissonance. Did you know more people watch car commercial about the car they bought after they buy the car than before. They just want to assure themsleves that they didn't make the wrong purchase. pretty much the same with people that buy expensive cables.

I have a set of $2 million dollar cables and they make everything sound perfect, even better than the original recordings. They have zero impedance and correct any speaker distortion or imperfections.


Cheers (Mic Ultra),

 

[timetohunt]

This is an old thread but I was searching around the site and thought I'd give it a bump.

I have done some home testing with speaker wire. Very long runs. I have a non-typical listening area. Even at long runs over 50 ft I could not tell the difference between 16 gauge speaker wire bought at Lowes and some recently aquired 12 gauge brand name wire. I got the new wire for a bargain and wanted a fatter wire since I do have long runs. Just for peace of mind. No noticeable improvement though.

As far as RCA interconnects, I do believe I did actually hear an improvement with mid hi-end brand connects. Keep in mind though, this was an upgrade from the absolute cheapest connects available. The ones that are often supplied with new audio gear. I know....that might faulter in a double blind test. But I heard what I heard and thats all that matters.

Now there is one thing that you usually don't read about when the battle of High dollar vs. Plain low dollar interconnects engauges. Just like good, well known audio gear, interconnects hold their value incredibly well, actually much better than amps, players etc. So if you do want to spend mega bucks on cables and get names that are highly sought in the hi-fi community, you can get most of your money back if they don't meet your expectations. Hi end cables will likely maintain a resale value that seldom goes under 70% of what you paid. Look at ebay and audiogon. That being said, I personnaly can't bring myself to paying many hundreds or thousands of dollars for them.

Oh, and ofcourse there is Monster Cable. I, like many others try to avoid buying anything from them do to their bullyish business practices, but I have to admit a couple things. The banana connectors (monster tip quicklock) are simply the best I have handled. I love them, sorry. Also the XPCI speaker wire in high or ultra grade is very well priced and does look better than some of the more expensive companies wire.