What is everybodies take on Colbolt cables???

[jc1carter829@ho]

I've been looking at these cables for speaker wires and multi-channel connects for my DVD player (SACD/DVD Audio). Is it worth the money to shell out for these interconnects?? It's not that you buy cables all the time and I just want the best possible sound from my system....Yammy, Paradigm Studio 20's. Thanks in advance.

 

[nibhaz]

Pretty Cables!

Will you hear a difference between Cobalt Cables and something cheaper like Acoustic Research? Highly unlikely. Will the Cobalt Cables measure better on a test bench? Probably. Are the Cobalt Cables dressed up to be more impressive looking? Defiantly. Are Cobalt Cables constructed better? Perhaps. Is your ROI ratio lower with Cobalt Cables than with cheaper options? Most likely. If you purchase Cobalt Cables do you need to worry or think about the cables you’re using? Nope, install and forget.

In short, Cobalt Cables are transparent, well constructed cables that will probably last you a life time. However, since they are dressed up you need to realize that a good portion of their price is in the looks not the raw performance. They measure great on a test bench, but that does not mean that they are audibly better. If you have the cash and want a cable that has performance to match the looks you cant go wrong by going Cobalt. If you’re on a budget and care only about performance I would take a hard look at Blue Jeans cables. If you’re on tight budget I would look at offerings from Acoustic Research or Radio Shack’s Gold Series and still not lose any sleep over it.

 

[jc1carter829@ho]

Nibhaz
Do you have DVD interconnect cables for 5.1 sound???? Do you use optical cables at the same time ???

 

[nibhaz]

Nibhaz
Do you have DVD interconnect cables for 5.1 sound???? Do you use optical cables at the same time ???

Yes, I use 5.1 interconnects from Cobalt, and let me say stiff. If you're asking whether or not I have an optical cable attached at the same time the answer is yes.

For PCM signals I use the optical connection, for SACD and DVD-A I use the 5.1 connection. Sometimes I use the analog connection for stereo, but I can’t hear a difference. At least, not enough to claim that I would be able to pick between the two connections in a DBX test.

 

[Nick250]

I've been looking at these cables for speaker wires and multi-channel connects for my DVD player (SACD/DVD Audio). Is it worth the money to shell out for these interconnects?? It's not that you buy cables all the time and I just want the best possible sound from my system....Yammy, Paradigm Studio 20's. Thanks in advance.

Sonically the Cobalt Cables would be indistinguishable from any 12 gauge mass merchant cables and interconnects such as Radio Shack Gold, AR , Home Depot Bluejean etc etc. yadda yadda. Unless Cobalt has in some way inferior. Personally I would choose Radio Shack, Bluejean, AR over the Cobalt even it they were the same price.

 

[nibhaz]

Sonically the Cobalt Cables would be indistinguishable from any 12 gauge mass merchant cables and interconnects such as Radio Shack Gold, AR , Home Depot Bluejean etc etc. yadda yadda. Unless Cobalt has in some way inferior. Personally I would choose Radio Shack, Bluejean, AR over the Cobalt even it they were the same price.

You obvioiusly haven't read all of the cable face off articles nor the DIY faceoff by Mudcat. Same price...maybe blue jeans...the rest...no way.

 

[mtrycrafts]

You obvioiusly haven't read all of the cable face off articles nor the DIY faceoff by Mudcat. Same price...maybe blue jeans...the rest...no way.

I am sure Nick has. But you said it yourself:

They measure great on a test bench, but that does not mean that they are audibly better.

So, the only reason to buy them is looks, no?

 

[Nick250]

You obvioiusly haven't read all of the cable face off articles nor the DIY faceoff by Mudcat. Same price...maybe blue jeans...the rest...no way.

I have read many, many cable face offs (not Mudcat's though) and none of them showed to me any credible evidence that the boutique cables provided any sonic improvement over the brands I mentioned above.

 

[Devin79]

I have been very impressed with Cobalt cables.

I purchased the new Cobalt Component video cable and have been very impressed. I was using a Monster Video 3 cable, and I notice better picture quality, color saturation, and definition at least in terms of this particular cable vs the Monster one. A home installer who helped set up my 5.1 speaker system and Denon Reciever, mentioned that his three favorite brands were Ultralink, Impact Accoustics, and Cobalt.

 

[nibhaz]

I am sure Nick has. But you said it yourself:

They measure great on a test bench, but that does not mean that they are audibly better.

So, the only reason to buy them is looks, no?

Yes, that's what I’ve been saying from the start. However, if the Radio Shack Gold Series or the AR stuff’s asking price was as much as the Cobalt’s I would defiantly pick the Cobalts for their build quality, replacement plan, and the fact that they do measure better on the bench, even though this has no real effect on the audible range. What can I say I like overkill

 

[nibhaz]

I have read many, many cable face offs (not Mudcat's though) and none of them showed to me any credible evidence that the boutique cables provided any sonic improvement over the brands I mentioned above.

I was not trying to suggest that your assertion that there would be no audible difference was wrong. I’m in agreement with that view as well. I just figured that if you had read the cable face of articles on this site you would be familiar with Cobalt and know that it’s not one of those companies charging outrageous prices for products that measure poorly. That’s all I meant.

 

[Nick250]

I was not trying to suggest that your assertion that there would be no audible difference was wrong. I’m in agreement with that view as well. I just figured that if you had read the cable face of articles on this site you would be familiar with Cobalt and know that it’s not one of those companies charging outrageous prices for products that measure poorly. That’s all I meant.

Thanks for the clarification. I checked out Cobalts web site. Their prices are only moderately high perhaps similar to Monster's. The $99.99 1 meter power cord that took them "months to design" puts them on my sh*t list though. Blue Jean is where I would spend my money if I was buying online.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Yes, that's what I’ve been saying from the start. However, if the Radio Shack Gold Series or the AR stuff’s asking price was as much as the Cobalt’s I would defiantly pick the Cobalts for their build quality, replacement plan, and the fact that they do measure better on the bench, even though this has no real effect on the audible range. What can I say I like overkill

Yes, of course, if the cost is the same. I would too.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Their prices are only moderately high perhaps similar to Monster's. The $99.99 1 meter power cord that took them "months to design" puts them on my sh*t list though. Blue Jean is where I would spend my money if I was buying online.

Well, I guess Cobolt is not in the same price range as RS and the lesser cost brands. $100 for a power cable? LOL.

 

[corysmith01]

Personally, I think if Cobalt would come down a little a little with their prices, they'd be significantly more attractive. I do own one of their products; at y-splitter. Why? Well, it was $22.50 with free priority shipping (priority is free on all their orders which is kinda nice). I compared that with Blue Jeans. BlueJeans was $15, but I had to add a standard $5.75 for shipping, which brought the cost to $20.75. So, for $1.75, I felt it worth it to see what Cobalt was all about since they don't get a lot of pub around here. Also, at $22.50, that's one of, if not, their least pricey item...in fact, it seems incongruous with the rest of their pricing structure.

Anyhow, I was most impressed with everything. The order was processed quickly, the item arrived quickly. Upon opening, it was apparent that it was well made. Very, very nice looking cable. Hooking it up, I found the female RCA to hold a tight connection, and the male ends were also of high quality. From a quality standpoint, I have no qualms with this product. Also, and I guess this is them being in the Northwest, but they're packing was all post-consumer recycled as well as they paper that the order was printed on. Would I pay for that? No, but it was a nice bonus.

Like I said, if the rest of their products were priced as farily as the y-splitter, I'd have Cobalt running throughout. I certainly don't think they're the priciest by far. I'd say they're only moderately high. But they do deliver a quality product and if aesthetics are your thing, I think you could do a lot worse. Just my 02 cents.

 

[skrivis]

I tend to use generic ICs from Parts Express and just replace them every couple of years or whatever. I just bought a handful of them and the shipping was more than the cables were.

Speaker wire is currently some brown 16 Ga. lamp cord that I've been using for a couple of decades. However, I just splurged on some 14 Ga. zip cord from Parts Express also. Why? Just because.

It's here: http://www.************.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-145

I didn't choose 12 Ga. because I only need a run of 10 feet or so and the 12 Ga. would be stiffer, more visually intrusive, and harder to terminate.

Connectors are clones of Pomona 'nana plugs, also from Parts Express. I didn't go with the big honking metal plugs because I don't think it's clever to use uninsulated plugs or binding posts.

I also do have 1 cable from Blue Jeans. It's a "digital" RCA-RCA cable. It probably doesn't help, but it can't hurt either.

If I just wanted really nice cables and didn't care how much I spent, I'd buy all my cables from Blue Jeans. They're extremely high quality, priced reasonably, and they even look good. Their service is great too. Oh, and don't forget that they don't make any BS claims for their products. That's a big selling point for me.

 

[skrivis]

Hmmm.... now I have to figure out why that vendor's name as it's normally written and their domain name are illegal....

 

[skrivis]

Hmmm.... now I have to figure out why that vendor's name as it's normally written and their domain name are illegal....

Hmmmm.... you can write RadioShack. You can write Parts Express. But you can't write ************. It isn't the sex either. hehe


I've had better experiences with PE than ShadioRack, so I'd rather see RadioShack bleeped out.