What New Stuff Have You Bought? If You Care To Share Thead! :)

lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Can you huck it?
It is possible but not generally my style/skillset. A little air now and then but I wouldn't call it hucking :) Possibilities of breaking bones at my age in order to learn isn't too enticing :). There's plenty of guys sending these pretty big on youtube, tho (but best to make some mods first).
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I am really surprised how heavy the box is on this 2-channel Integrated! Marantz Model 40N Will be unpacking shortly.

Done unpacking lol. Build quality looks to be rock solid, like the binding posts and the remote has some heft to it. I am spoiled with Class D, This 2 Channel Class A/B weighs a lot.

40n.jpg

40nF.jpeg
40n1.jpeg
 
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KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
Bought a pair of Cardas balanced (XLR) M-F 1.5m long interconnect cables to run between my Gustard DAC X16 and the inputs on my Luxman L-505uX II integrated amp. I bought them off eBay for just under $35 shipped. I only needed them because the 1m long ones I had were too short to tie up and hide.

When I called my dealer to ask what were the cheapest 1.5m XLR cables he had in stock, it was Audioquest Golden Gate cables @ $324. a pair!! These will do fine.

Here's the weird thing: They were sold to me from China and shipped from there, yet the cabling itself has markings stating that it's Made In USA! Nice.
 

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John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
Bought a pair of Cardas balanced (XLR) M-F 1.5m long interconnect cables to run between my Gustard DAC X16 and the inputs on my Luxman L-505uX II integrated amp. I bought them off eBay for just under $35 shipped. I only needed them because the 1m long ones I had were too short to tie up and hide.

When I called my dealer to ask what were the cheapest 1.5m XLR cables he had in stock, it was Audioquest Golden Gate cables @ $324. a pair!! These will do fine.

Here's the weird thing: They were sold to me from China and shipped from there, yet the cabling itself has markings stating that it's Made In USA! Nice.
Nice vid about Cardas…
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Here's the weird thing: They were sold to me from China and shipped from there, yet the cabling itself has markings stating that it's Made In USA! Nice.
BJC does that with HDMI cables. They ship the raw wire there to make the terminations and ship them back to sell as the labor costs provide a savings. Weird is right.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Bought a pair of Cardas balanced (XLR) M-F 1.5m long interconnect cables to run between my Gustard DAC X16 and the inputs on my Luxman L-505uX II integrated amp. I bought them off eBay for just under $35 shipped. I only needed them because the 1m long ones I had were too short to tie up and hide.

When I called my dealer to ask what were the cheapest 1.5m XLR cables he had in stock, it was Audioquest Golden Gate cables @ $324. a pair!! These will do fine.

Here's the weird thing: They were sold to me from China and shipped from there, yet the cabling itself has markings stating that it's Made In USA! Nice.
That's simply illegal but Customs doesn't enforce this like they did in the old days, corporate crap tends to overcome....
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
That's simply illegal but Customs doesn't enforce this like they did in the old days, corporate crap tends to overcome....
What about that transaction is illegal??

BTW, the eBay ad made NO claims to being "Made in USA." All it said was that they used genuine Cardas interconnect cable and never mentioned that *it* is made in USA.
 
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afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
☕Oh got this last week like new Technics SL-DD33 Fully Auto with Repeat functions.:)
download (26).jpeg

:pCame with a like new Shure Elliptical cartridge for less than $30! ;););)Nice and clean now.:cool:
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What about that transaction is illegal??

BTW, the eBay ad made NO claims to being "Made in USA." All it said was that they used genuine Cardas interconnect cable and never mentioned that *it* is made in USA.
How could it be "made in USA"?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
See the video posted above. The cable stock itself is made in USA, that's all I'm saying. The finished cable with terminations added, is not completed here.
A Darko video I generally would avoid, does this one actually employ facts? Even if components and labor were made in US (do we know that as far as component materials go?), how does the shipment to China, additional labor for assembly and return to US still qualify as being able to import it marked Made in USA?
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
A Darko video I generally would avoid, does this one actually employ facts? Even if components and labor were made in US (do we know that as far as component materials go?), how does the shipment to China, additional labor for assembly and return to US still qualify as being able to import it marked Made in USA?
Geez, you don't seem to get it at all. It's only the cable STOCK that's marked made in USA. Nothing about the delivered product is claimed as being that.

The video shows the OWNERS of Cardas and the manufacturers they use which are all here in the US, and I'm simply emphasizing the quality of the Cardas stock
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Geez, you don't seem to get it at all. It's only the cable STOCK that's marked made in USA. Nothing about the delivered product is claimed as being that.

The video shows the OWNERS of Cardas and the manufacturers they use which are all here in the US, and I'm simply emphasizing the quality of the Cardas stock
If a product arrives in the US marked that way, it's not proper and in the old days would engender a marking violation pretty quick (they don't want imported items arriving as marked Made in USA). Might depend on the import declaration, if they filed as country of origin as China it might sail thru (especially if sent small parcel style, very few of those get high scrutiny). So they mill their own copper and just need assembly elsewhere? I wouldn't put it past a cable charlatan like Cardas to cheat in any case.
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
If a product arrives in the US marked that way, it's not proper and in the old days would engender a marking violation pretty quick (they don't want imported items arriving as marked Made in USA). Might depend on the import declaration, if they filed as country of origin as China it might sail thru (especially if sent small parcel style, very few of those get high scrutiny). So they mill their own copper and just need assembly elsewhere? I wouldn't put it past a cable charlatan like Cardas to cheat in any case.
Beat the dead horse a little more: The package was clearly marked "Made In China". The tracking clearly showed "released from customs." I bought knowing it is made in China using an American-made cable stock.

I do not consider Cardas to be a "cable charlatan", if you watched the video the owner was quite clear in saying something to the effect of 'if you hear a difference and like it buy it. If not, don't buy it'.

All I'm saying in this case is that it's quality cable and for $36 it's as good as the cheapest cable my dealer had which was $324.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Beat the dead horse a little more: The package was clearly marked "Made In China". The tracking clearly showed "released from customs." I bought knowing it is made in China using an American-made cable stock.

I do not consider Cardas to be a "cable charlatan", if you watched the video the owner was quite clear in saying something to the effect of 'if you hear a difference and like it buy it. If not, don't buy it'.

All I'm saying in this case is that it's quality cable and for $36 it's as good as the cheapest cable my dealer had which was $324.
Missed your saying the packaging was marked Made in China, you said Made in USA....Cardas is a charlatan wire company, tho. They all say JUST LISTEN hoping you'll hear something that isn't there. If your dealer only had $324 cable, then he's just a charlatan himself.

BJC does that with HDMI cables. They ship the raw wire there to make the terminations and ship them back to sell as the labor costs provide a savings. Weird is right.
How are those marked for country of origin?
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
Missed your saying the packaging was marked Made in China, you said Made in USA....Cardas is a charlatan wire company, tho. They all say JUST LISTEN hoping you'll hear something that isn't there. If your dealer only had $324 cable, then he's just a charlatan himself.



How are those marked for country of origin?
You don't know anything about my dealer. They are the furthest thing from what you think. If you re-read my post, all I said was that the cable stock itself was made in USA, but the cables are terminated and shipped from China. Cardas is NOT what you say either. They simply strive to assure customers that their cable is of premium oxygen free copper, and they pay two other extrusion vendors good money to wrap that pure copper wire of theirs in proper insulating jackets for each job. Just about anyone replacing the 33ga twisted tonearm wires knows Cardas.

Some of us (me) like wire that is at least minimally assured to be of good quality and looks attractive with expensive components and speakers. If you don't care about those things and simple wire is a good enough connection for you, fine...use it. I have plenty of Monoprice 12ga and 14ga wire around here, plenty of $3.60 interconnects with plastic coated RCA plugs. I'm well aware of what works, and also willing to spend 10x that ($36!) to get something nicer.

When you get to using XLR cables, the differences in the connectors can be vast. These showed good ones, and they are. I have 1m and a cheaper pair of 1.5m XLR cables. The shorter ones cost $12 off Amazon and have nice connectors, the longer ones from a different Amazon seller are total crap and are going back. Can I just be happy about getting reasonably good quality, nice-looking, inexpensive cables without negative commentary?
 
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