Musings on a pleasant afternoon.

[icehockeyboy]

Just musing to myself about some of the dearer kit I've replaced and been happy with its much cheaper replacement, and can't honestly say I've noticed any drop in sound quality.

I say kit, it's cabling actually, a few years ago my main ic was a Black Rhodium Oratorio, with a £600 RRP.

Currently in its place is a set of AOS favourites, the Klotz and MS Audio plugs, with, to my ears absolutely no degradation in sound.

The other cabling that has been replaced is the TQ Black speaker cable at around £50 a metre, and in its place?

Cable Talk 3.1 at less than £5 a metre, with again, no degradation in SQ!

The replacements came about from suggestions of AOS members, so thank you guys!

Anyone else done similar?

[wee tee cee]

My experience mirrors your own. I now have a USB cable made up by Brian which replaced a Furatech.

My speaker cable went from doubled up tq black/tq ultra black to a 12m length of 6mm copper cable that looks like 79 strand recommended by one of the troops, all in I think I paid about £30 including the plugs.

ICs again the MC5000 with a different plug Brian was using just sounded right.

Cant say I have any urge to change anything or spend more....

[petrat]

For quite a few years I used Audio Note silver interconnects, which were pretty much flawless ime. But, I eventually concluded that any differences I could detect when I substituted in some Klotz MC5000 ones I built myself, were at best trivial, and actually probably non-existent. So, I sold the silver jobbies and bought a whole second system secondhand with the proceeds ... a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs and stands, a lovely analogueworks turntable with Jelco arm, a Rega Brio R amp and Apollo R cdp. Ridiculous really, all that lot for eight bits of wire

[Puffin]

I have posted in another thread/threads that You hear what you want to hear. If it costs serious money it has to be good. The Emperors New Clothes syndrome. If I need another interconnect and the only thing to hand is one of those freebie"dental floss" types that's fine with me, I just want to hear music.

[Floyddroid]

With regards to cables i honestly believe like many that cable manufacturer's and the retailers of their wares well and truly butt f....d enthusiasts with expensive Hi-Fi jewellery. it has taken the advent of on line forums and a little more free speech to unearth this phenomena. I have recently had the same type of epiphany with high end cartridges. The whole concept of high end cartridges has me at a loss. I own and have owned high end cartridges in the past which to be honest with you leaves me scratching my head. My Lyra Delos is ok as was my Dynavector 2XX before it but my bog standard Denon DL103 is much more pleasing on the ear as are some of my ageing Sure cartridges. Synergy is everything and not mega bucks. I can't remember how many times i have listened to friends systems costing a fraction of the price of my own and sounding a lot better. A hard lesson which lead me to actually shed a lot of my uba high end kit in the past.

I have posted in another thread/threads that You hear what you want to hear. If it costs serious money it has to be good. The Emperors New Clothes syndrome. If I need another interconnect and the only thing to hand is one of those freebie"dental floss" types that's fine with me, I just want to hear music.

[doodoos]

I have had expensive and cheapish wires in my system and concluded that price has little relevance to system synergy in this regard.

[petrat]

Yes, good kit is good kit, regardless of the price.

[CageyH]

I have never bought really expensive cables, but the sale of my "Branded" cables has allowed me to upgrade the bits that count.

It has cost me a bit in time, cables and plugs to discover the MC5000 though!