View Full Version : Do cables make a difference to your listening experience.
Stryder5
19-04-2017, 06:53
Let's take a sort of poll.
Does any of the cables you use whether IC's, speaker...whatever, make an audible difference.
Don't want to propagate any discussion or argument.
A simple.... maybe....yes....no.....answer please.
If this has been done before I apologise.
Could stick a poll in if your interested
Mine is a yes
Stryder5
19-04-2017, 07:17
Could stick a poll in if your interested
Mine is a yes
A poll would be good thanks
Stryder5
19-04-2017, 07:35
done
Thanks
Bigman80
19-04-2017, 07:44
Wheres the poll.
Yes btw
Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
Wheres the poll.
Yes btw
Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
At top :doh: :D
Bigman80
19-04-2017, 07:49
At top :doh: :D
Doesn't show it on crapatalk app. Hmmm
Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
If you press the 3 dots at top right and select web view it,ll show up oliver
Yorkshireman
19-04-2017, 08:31
Its a yes from me
walpurgis
19-04-2017, 08:37
A vote in the affirmative from me.
(title could do with a rethink though)
Dynamics
19-04-2017, 09:13
It's a resounding yes from me.
I don't want to get into a heated debate but I'd say I've heard some cables sap all dynamics and detail, whereas in other speakers the speaker cables are ok, with everything the same except the speakers. But I have used very basic 99p eBay cables and I'd say dedidicated hi fi cables of good quality (but not necessarily expense) make a good difference.
I'd share this too- there is a very big forum and review site at the moment (no names mentioned) whose owner and editorial team do not believe quality hi fi cables make a difference to the listening experience. I was dumbfounded as to this.
If you asked this question in a poll to a thousand people, to get a very good representative answer, aside from all the arguments about bias and double blind etc, I suspect the overwhelming majority would answer yes. Most sensible people I think know this to be the case already.
Sherwood
19-04-2017, 09:22
Definitely: to my bank account!
:rolleyes:
WESTLOWER
19-04-2017, 09:26
yes they do.. although my findings are, the more refined the equipment the easier it is to hear the difference with cables.
Dynamics
19-04-2017, 09:30
yes they do.. although my findings are, the more refined the equipment the easier it is to hear the difference with cables.
Absolutely
mad-moon
19-04-2017, 10:09
Cables make a huge difference for the better....the higher end the gear..the returns get less...but the improvements are still there...imho.
Of course cables make a difference to your listening experience. Without them you get silence, with them you get sounds.
Oooh, who got out of bed at top :D
Arkless Electronics
19-04-2017, 11:55
No definitely not. The answer you were waiting for from the person you were expecting it from :D
No definitely not. The answer you were waiting for from the person you were expecting it from :D
Have you ever tried an interconnect that wasn't one of the crappy white/red things you get for free with a midi system?
RobbieGong
19-04-2017, 12:16
No definitely not. The answer you were waiting for from the person you were expecting it from :D
Oatex or ear syringe fella :ner: :D
Bigman80
19-04-2017, 12:50
If you press the 3 dots at top right and select web view it,ll show up oliver
Ill try that, thank Grant.
Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
Arkless Electronics
19-04-2017, 13:12
Have you ever tried an interconnect that wasn't one of the crappy white/red things you get for free with a midi system?
As I'm "not allowed" to argue my POV with the same force as those who do believe cables make a difference it's a subject I won't discuss beyond making sweeping statements that they don't make a difference. If, as expected, 90% of people say they make a difference this will have zero effect on my standpoint and my response would be that 90% are wrong.... I will not be replying to any further comments in this thread.
As I'm "not allowed" to argue my POV with the same force as those who do believe cables make a difference it's a subject I won't discuss beyond making sweeping statements that they don't make a difference. If, as expected, 90% of people say they make a difference this will have zero effect on my standpoint and my response would be that 90% are wrong.... I will not be replying to any further comments in this thread.
I was just interested in whether you had done the subjective comparison or not, that's all.
jollyfix
19-04-2017, 14:02
(title could do with a rethink though)
With Geoff on this. Cables make a difference to my listening experience, no. Do cables make a difference in my systems, yes.
I will never forget the dire effect that Kimber 8TC had on my ESSs - an absolutely terrible loss of top and increased boomy bass - cannot fathom what went on.
Haselsh1
19-04-2017, 16:18
Cables have made a considerable difference in my system
Haselsh1
19-04-2017, 16:21
In response to others who have posted here and clearly do not know how to listen, when I change cables in my system, my partner Sue and I can hear a clear difference. The difference we hear is as clear as crystal and the equivalent to a cartridge change.
Some years ago now I did a back to back comparison with 8 different cables. My favourite was the one I use now NVA SSC. My least favourite was a studio cable, a white van damme effort. I rated this worse than the freebie cables which came in seventh.
A few months back when there was a cable discussion going on I swapped the van damme back in just to see how bad it was. It was still less preferable to the NVA but the difference that I had recalled as being substantial was now barely audible. It was still there but nothing like as much as I recalled. And there were 6 other cables in between those two! Made me think.
I'm mostly far too lazy to be arsed with cable comparisons. Several years ago, I replaced some freebie cables with the then AoS flavour of the month cables. The FOTM cables sounded much worse, a finding that was greeted with disbelief here on AoS. Earlier this year, however, I swapped in a spare set of VdH cables in place of the set of freebies connecting my headphone amp to the preamp in the upstairs system, and the difference was immediately noticeable, and represented a considerable improvement. So, yes cables can and do make a difference, but different doesn't always equal better.
In the downstairs system, by contrast, swapping around interconnects seems to make relatively little difference (but there's effectively only one swappable cable anyway, between the CDT and the amp/DAC, so not much scope for experimentation).
In response to others who have posted here and clearly do not know how to listen, when I change cables in my system, my partner Sue and I can hear a clear difference. The difference we hear is as clear as crystal and the equivalent to a cartridge change.
I don't listen to cables or anything else in my system. I simply make a substitution and if there is a change or a difference that is important to me I will hear it, whether I want to or not. After a week or two, I will reverse the substitution to see if the change was genuine or illusory. Then I have to decide if the change is an improvement or not, and thus make the substitution permanent.
I have tried a dozen or so cables over the years, and whilst I have at times heard differences, they have been so slight as to not be worth worrying about.
I stopped using cables years ago.
Pieoftheday
19-04-2017, 18:32
Didn't the op ask for a simple yes/no type answer?:cool:
walpurgis
19-04-2017, 18:46
Didn't the op ask for a simple yes/no type answer?:cool:
Maybe. :D
Clive197
20-04-2017, 13:14
Analogue: YES
Digital: NO
Mains: ?
Haselsh1
20-04-2017, 13:56
Ah but how does one determine whether the difference is better or not...? Sue and I can clearly hear a difference but how does one decide whether it is better or just different...? We now have a set of cables that we are happy with so to answer the original post 'yes' cables did make a difference to our experience.
Going from bell wire to heavy guage high strand count speaker wires did make a big difference but never fell for the £1000 interconnects being that much better than £50 interconnects nonsense.
The laws of physics just does not back it up, Audiophools and their money syndrome again. Once their money is spent people will hear all sorts of unproven improvements just to justify their spending to themselves,
I stopped using cables years ago.
Same here, I just glue all my kit together. Sounds great.
Marco.
Could do with a few more votes on this. It's interesting.
So far 12% say they never hear a difference. I mean I voted 'sometimes', but 'never'? Can't get my head round that.
Well, if you click on the number of votes, listed under each answer option, you can see who's voted for what... ;)
Marco.
Could do with a few more votes on this. It's interesting.
So far 12% say they never hear a difference. I mean I voted 'sometimes', but 'never'? Can't get my head round that.
Maybe they've just never bothered experimenting with cables. Just hooked the stuff together and left well alone, saving themselves £££s and a lot of grief in the process.
each to their own I guess. Interesting that 2/3 do almost always.only 14% dont ever. Proves we are mostly mad, or mostly sane eh?:eyebrows:
walpurgis
20-04-2017, 21:53
Proves we are mostly mad, or mostly sane eh?:eyebrows:
Well I'm totally sane.....apart from the bits when I go funny! :eek:
Spectral Morn
21-04-2017, 00:03
Yes - Nearly Always :sofa:
hifinutt
21-04-2017, 15:59
fascinating to see the poll . i see most think they do make a difference . if you did the same poll on some other forums it would be very different methinks ! . i do find they make a difference but not always
Yes, a subtle one, but still worthwhile for that extra 5% or whatever.
More of a snapshot of the inmates than anything else.
Sherwood
21-04-2017, 17:35
I find that cables make a significant difference to the sound of my system. Without them dynamics are severely curtailed and detail retrieval suffers badly!
:rolleyes:
Sherwood
21-04-2017, 17:39
Seriously though,
if your poll is to reveal anything you need to look at rephrasing the question.
You should be asking how much of a diference cables make rather than whether they make a difference per se. I would suggest you offer four categorical responses such as:
none
noticeable but not significant
significant and worthwhile
major
I would be interested in learning the responses to this poll!
Geoff
Maybe they've just never bothered experimenting with cables. Just hooked the stuff together and left well alone, saving themselves £££s and a lot of grief in the process.
I only bought my first 'proper' interconnect cables because I had read about them in magazines and because I was not happy with my system and thought they might be a solution. Ditto with speaker cables. If there had no been a problem I would not have bothered as money was tight way back then.
I think they were the Tandy 'gold' interconnects which were inexpensive but a flavour of the month at the time (1991-ish).
They did improve the sound but were not a fix for the problem which later turned out to be that the kit I was using was crap.
Still, you live and learn. The point was the Tandy leads did indeed sound both different and, to me, better than the freebie leads they replaced.
Blueflash
21-04-2017, 19:35
I must admit that I have put down never for the poll.
Because I run true balanced cables driven by ATC SCA2, I can use almost anything. There are slight differences between cables if you keep them in long enough to get to know their "flavour". I tried AudioNote ANVX silver cable instead of my usual Klotz/Mogami/VanDamm cable and I could not notice anything different that would make one better than the other.
You can't vote never and then admit there is a 'flavour'
Or maybe you can, the poll is a bit ambiguous I suppose.
Blueflash
21-04-2017, 19:49
You can't vote never and then admit there is a 'flavour'
Or maybe you can, the poll is a bit ambiguous I suppose.
As the poster was asking if different cables make a difference to the listening experience, I put down No because I do not worry what cables are there as I have the system sorted and enjoy it as it is.
Do you reckon that you could put freebie leads back in and it not be any issue? I tried that and it was.
Could be other factors I suppose, it wasn't night and day but they didn't stay in. Don't get me wrong I'd rather there was not a difference or at least not a discernible one, doesn't really matter to me if it did all turn out to be psychological: If I hear it, repeatedly and reversibly then its reality for me regardless of theory.
I need a "rarely" or "occasionally, but the change is not worth bothering about" 'box' for me to vote as I find. ;)
If I hear it, repeatedly and reversibly then its reality for me regardless of theory.
+1. It's called being a free-thinker, and thus having the gumption *ultimately* to apply your own judgement criteria to matters, regardless of what 'science says' is right.
Marco.
Blueflash, how do you find the SCA2, and do you think it is overpriced?
Have you by any chance compared it with an AVI S2000MP?
I use Van Damme BTW. If you are using the SPA2 do you find that speaker cables make a significant difference?
+1. It's called being a free-thinker, and thus having the gumption *ultimately* to apply your own judgement criteria to matters, regardless of what 'science says' is right.
Marco.
+2 (to Martin's comment, you highlighted). I may be AoS's resident cable sceptic, but I have heard differences which I could identify (but would find hard to decribe) that were distinct, unique and repeatable. The differences were however small, and questionable as to if it constituted an improvement or not (to my ears) and the cables in question cost a fortune.
And no, I can't explain the differences I heard, but simply because I can't provide any explanation, it would be hypocritical of me to say I didn't hear what I did.
I can't explain water divining either, but I saw a diviner successfully finding a buried water pipe (I knew the route of the pipe). So should I say what I saw didn't happen, because I can't explain the phenomenon scientifically? I think not.
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 22:29
In my system, I readily hear differences between speaker cables, analogue interconnects and even digital interconnects. I have demonstrated these changes in sound to others and they are plain to hear. Naturally, I use those cables that have the least detrimental effect on the sound (all cables are detrimental, but some are more benign to the reproduced sound than others in their effects).
I don't suffer from 'expectation bias' (a term that is often thrown in as a subtle slur by the way, just to deride other points of view). I rely on my ears and judgement, which is very good when it comes to sound quality.
I don't suffer from 'expectation bias' (a term that is often thrown in as a subtle slur by the way, just to deride other points of view). I rely on my ears and judgement, which is very good when it comes to sound quality.
Expectation bias is real but I think there are ways around it. if we live with the same system day after day you can get to a point where you can't hear the wood for the trees, to coin a phrase. if I am trying to get a handle on it I like to imagine that it is someone else's system:
Say you went with a friend to the house of a friend of his where you have never been before, he has what looks like a pretty decent system. They go off out to get food and booze and leave you alone to play whatever music you want on the system. It isn't your system and you don't even know the owner so there is no bias, you play stuff and make a judgement on it, if you don't have a dog in the race it is much easier to be objective in your assessment.
One thing I have found doing this exercise is that your system immediately does not sound as good as you thought it did. That is quite unsettling.
walpurgis
22-04-2017, 09:17
One thing I have found doing this exercise is that your system immediately does not sound as good as you thought it did. That is quite unsettling.
Strange. I have the opposite. My system always sounds as good as I thought it did. :)
Try the experiment I suggested. Hey, it may be you have cracked it and it still sounds awesome. All I am saying is that we disregard the impact of our human psychology at our peril. ;)
Blueflash
22-04-2017, 10:43
Blueflash, how do you find the SCA2, and do you think it is overpriced?
Have you by any chance compared it with an AVI S2000MP?
I use Van Damme BTW. If you are using the SPA2 do you find that speaker cables make a significant difference?
I have found the SCA2 to be one of the most transparent preamps available after it was running for about a month ... before that I had some 40`s driven by a Chord CPA3000 into a Chord 1200 amp.
I found a pair of 50A`s available and used them instead of the 40`s driven by the 1200.
I bought the SCA2 and found it awful, with painful vocals and guitars that would remove fillings. I honestly could not believe how bad it sounded. I ended up leaving it switched on permanently for a week or two and ignored it.
What a difference that made. It was like getting a new preamp. Smooth silky vocals, guitars reproduced in all their fuzzed up glory and percussion if recorded properly was explosive.
The 50A`s and SCA2 will be keepers now. I have not come across anything that I find lacking in my system bar the bass roll off that will happen with the size of woofer used.
So I would say the preamp is not overpriced, it is one heck of a good bit of kit, but it must be left on. If you get a chance to listen to one, make sure you do so in your own system and don`t be too much of a rush to send it back if it is a bit screechy at first, it will settle down.
I only need worry about interconnects to and from the preamp as I am active so I have no worries about speaker cables. I would go for Van Damme, Mogami or any pro cable manufactures to give you a baseline quality setting. After a few listening sessions you may want to try some different cables but you will have a very good starting point.
MikeMusic
22-04-2017, 11:55
I'm still surprised I'm surprised when I try out a new one.
Sounds great before I swap in the new one - then it sounds better
Blueflash, I already have one I bought from Audio Images as ex display, and with an SPA2, which I traded an SIA2 for.
I am pondering whether or not it is better than the AVI S200MP which I also have and used previously with the SIA2, and I also have actives, ADAM Gammas. I'm tending to think it's a keeper, though inside is a comparative rat's nest.
walpurgis
22-04-2017, 22:55
I am pondering whether or not it is better than the AVI S200MP which I also have
Do you like the AVI Dennis?
I had one for a while, but was not particularly struck with it. I felt the same about the Meridian 502 pre-amp I had about the same time too. I found both somewhat bland. The Michell Argo was more transparent than either, but a bit lacking in body. I didn't keep these very long
None was as good as the old Rappaport Pre-2 I also owned. It was a long time before I found something to surpass its abilties. And that was a Forte Model 2 from Nelson Pass. That too has since moved on.
Haselsh1
23-04-2017, 07:12
I actually use my interconnects as a stealth 'tone' control using their characteristics to tailor the digital and analogue sides of the system. That is why I use Atlas Hyper cables on the digital side and QED Reference on the analogue. The only one shared is between the pre and power.
Geoff, I quite like the AVI in a theory, 'objectivist' way, brilliant specs, good value etc., but it does sound a bit edgy, harsh maybe. Big price difference £900, to £5k for the SPA2.
I vacillate between objectivist (right wing, none of this nonsense, 'pull yourself together man') to subjectivist, (left wing sensitive plaintif; 'but I can hear something different maybe better') standpoints.
I have found one valuable thing which I think applies to all evaluations. When we are consciously intensely evaluating, we in some ways sabotage our attempts with tension and lack of ability to feel. This applies in job interviews, and maybe on first dates when we are aware of the implications of the scenario.
So with the Hi-Fi, I find that often the real breakthroughs in hearing can be when not paying attention in this way, but hearing in a relaxed way whilst doing something else, like washing up. On several occasions I have in this state, baulked at hearing something never heard before, then I go back and replay it with the intense analytical mind-frame to confirm or refute it.
Where is the option for always
Expectation bias is real but I think there are ways around it. if we live with the same system day after day you can get to a point where you can't hear the wood for the trees, to coin a phrase. if I am trying to get a handle on it I like to imagine that it is someone else's system:
Say you went with a friend to the house of a friend of his where you have never been before, he has what looks like a pretty decent system. They go off out to get food and booze and leave you alone to play whatever music you want on the system. It isn't your system and you don't even know the owner so there is no bias, you play stuff and make a judgement on it, if you don't have a dog in the race it is much easier to be objective in your assessment.
One thing I have found doing this exercise is that your system immediately does not sound as good as you thought it did. That is quite unsettling.
Agreed.. that's a reasonably common phenomena though. I've experienced it as well.
Curiously, others whose systems impressed Me when I was at their homes, find similar experiences at my place.
System envy? or maybe we simply adapt to what we live with.
Try the experiment I suggested. Hey, it may be you have cracked it and it still sounds awesome. All I am saying is that we disregard the impact of our human psychology at our peril...
Indeed, but let's not forget that with expectation bias, the 'expectation' works BOTH ways!
Therefore, it's just as easy to 'imagine' no difference with cables, as it is the opposite, if your objectivist/scientific mindset 'tells' you that none should exist, thus that's what you 'expect', and so hear - or rather, don't....
Therefore, it's not only the ears of subjectivists that can be 'fooled'! ;)
Marco.
Obviously. Just pointing out that it is harder to be unbiased if you have a dog in the race. Not just with cables but with anything. If it is someone else's system you are listening to it is much easier to hear what it is doing wrong because you are not familiar with it, you don't listen to it every day, and your brain has not 'papered over the cracks' like it has with your own set-up.
Hence if you can kid yourself that your system is someone else's system then it makes it easier to reach an objective assessment.
Indeed, I simply wanted to showcase that point, as so often it's only subjectivists who are credited with suffering from the effects of 'expectation bias'...!
I agree with your point, but I also think it works the other way too, when it's not your system, but rather one you know almost as well, belonging to a friend. That's why Ian often seeks my opinion (and I his) whenever either of us has made a change to our systems, with cables or whatever.
When you don't have a 'dog in the race', yet are intrinsically familiar with the system in question, it's also easy to identify real differences, or for that matter anything sonically amiss, for some other reason the owner may have subconsciously 'dialled out', due to the effects of familiarity :)
It's rather like not having seen an old friend for years, and then meeting up with them again: you're more likely to notice how much their appearance has changed, in the ensuing years, than someone, such as their partner, who looks at them everyday... Your knowledge of how they once looked is firmly embedded in your memory, so any changes to them since come sharply into focus.
Marco.
Yes that is what I am saying. Having a friend who is not afraid to say 'That sounds shit, mate' is really very useful, but you can't be dragging them round for a listen all the time which is why I find pretending it is not your own system to be a useful exercise..
Yes that is what I am saying. Having a friend who is not afraid to say 'That sounds shit, mate' is really very useful, but you can't be dragging them round for a listen all the time which is why I find pretending it is not your own system to be a useful exercise..
Indeed on both counts, and I've got more than one person to do that, who's ears I trust almost as much as my own. Their 'reality checks', in that respect, have been a major reason why I've made so few bad mistakes with hi-fi - and it's happened the other way round with them, too :)
Always useful to have good friends in this game ;)
Marco.
Obviously. Just pointing out that it is harder to be unbiased if you have a dog in the race. Not just with cables but with anything.
Yeah, it's like watching Man Utd play Arsenal. You don't care who wins (ideally you'd like both sides to lose) but you can judge the match purely on its merits.
Yeah, it's like watching Man Utd play Arsenal. You don't care who wins (ideally you'd like both sides to lose) but you can judge the match purely on its merits.
Matter of opinion ;)
Well, just substitute the names of two clubs you couldn't give a toss about, I dunno, Huddersfield Town versus Port Vale; Cowdenbeath versus Queen of the South; San Marino versus Belarus.
liverpool and celtic :lol:
Hahahaha - at least both resemble proper football teams, mate, unlike your lot! :ner::lol:
Marco.
Hahahaha - at least both resemble proper football teams, mate, unlike your lot! :ner::lol:
Marco.
indeed, Utd are not at their best yet :ner:
Gers are not anything yet but have some hopes
Yes
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...I have no bananas?
Marco.
Yes that is what I am saying. Having a friend who is not afraid to say 'That sounds shit, mate' is really very useful, but you can't be dragging them round for a listen all the time which is why I find pretending it is not your own system to be a useful exercise..
My ex wife was always quick to point out what sounded like shit!
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jollyfix
26-04-2017, 10:54
My ex wife was always quick to point out what sounded like shit!
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is that why she is an ex wife Russell?:lol:
Stryder5
26-04-2017, 11:34
My ex wife was always quick to point out what sounded like shit!
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Better photo Russell
Actually this wires thing is intriguing.
Simple engineering claims there are few variables in a low level Wires setup typical of Audio uses.
Yet there can be audible differences. I've heard them.
Although to be truthful the differences I've noticed was from replacing cheap Chinese interconnect wires..
(impulse buy from the local Ebay junk reseller. Hey! only a couple of $)
With middle of the road Kimber ones. Astounding differences actually. Beyond that? no differences noticed, before or after.
May be my ears .. or may not.
Does it matter if one can't hear it :scratch:
.
Does it matter if one can't hear it :scratch:
Well it does seem to for those who can't but insist everyone else can't too.
Problem is just because you can't hear it in isolation doesn't mean it is not having an audible effect on the whole sound. Isolating one area of the response in a review: 'This cable added a little bit more sparkle in the top end' compared to the previous cable', for example, isn't telling the whole story. The difference may be most noticeable in the top but it will be making a difference across the whole frequency response. Just because it is most obvious in one area does not mean that it is absent elsewhere in the frequency response.
So if you change the cable and despite straining, hear no obvious difference, after forgetting about it and listening to a couple of hours of music for pleasure, you may gradually become aware that the sound is different, maybe even better.
If you are just going to go with the 'Science says no!' approach you may well ignore this or consider it to be a psychological effect, you are more relaxed etc. Which it could be of course. Certainly this is a cheaper approach to system building, if nothing else.
Sadly for me having done the subjective testing myself I can't buy into it and so have to use cables that cost more than a few quid. I tested them using the intro from the ACDC song 'Live Wire' - just a guitar through an amp, amp miked up, no other instruments or vocal.
You need to use something sparse and recorded in a live acoustic like this IMV if you want to hear the differences between interconnects made obvious. Just bang on a full on rock track, or even an orchestra, then it will be much harder to spot, maybe even impossible. This I think is why there are a fair few people who say they have tried different cables and heard no difference, despite not giving a fig about the science.
I reckon I could dem to anyone the audible difference between cables to their satisfaction, using the method above. Not talking night and day differences, but enough that to pass it off as expectation bias or similar starts to seem a bit ridiculous. I mean you trust your sense enough to know when to pull out onto a busy roundabout, but when it comes to hi-fi you can't rely on them at all? That's silly.
Would also happily do an ABX, put money on it as well. And I'm deffo not a golden ears, I don't hear half the stuff some other people do, until they point it out to me.
Yes cables make a difference. I unplugged all mine and could'nt hear a thing. I'll get my coat. But before I do, can I ask a genuine question? These subjective versus objective judgement arguments are raging all over this forum at the moment and probably always will and with that in mind, has there been an example of a technology that was claimed to make a difference, laughed out of the house by electronic engineers, scientists etc as impossible, which was then at a later date proven to be correct and testable in a scientific setting. A result that had electronics engineers and scientists holding up their hands and apologising?
Apologies if I was ambiguous
I have NO horse in this race /argument. Simply don't care.. either way.
I do believe that there can be differences albeit subtle.
Also aware that there are massive physiological differences between individuals as well.
Likely WE should be subject to Testings.. Blind or whatever.
Anal Probes..comes to mind :eyebrows:
Anthony K
26-04-2017, 18:33
Most definitely
Stryder5
26-04-2017, 20:06
Same here, I just glue all my kit together. Sounds great.
Marco.
Do different brands or types of glue make an audible difference:D
Apologies if I was ambiguous
I have NO horse in this race /argument. Simply don't care.. either way.
I do believe that there can be differences albeit subtle.
Also aware that there are massive physiological differences between individuals as well.
Equally there are differences in the abilities of the other components in the Hi Fi chain to reveal differences in cables etc. Those that don't hear a difference should be looking carefully at the other components of their system.
sq225917
26-04-2017, 20:32
I've tried ofc, ohno, silver, 3 to 5 miles, wire, foils, copper, silver, solarium, platinum and rhodium plugs, chunky, wbt, eichmann and copies.
I run cheap studio balanced wire, plain USB certified pc cables and silver foil speaker wire, because I'd wedded to it by cost and lack of resale ability. I never give wire a second thought, but that's because I can build a psu or component that affects a change orders of magnitude greater.
is that why she is an ex wife Russell?:lol:
Not really, but I did take her with me to buy stereo while we were together, she had a very good ear. But every time we went to a party, once we were home she would say their music sounded like crap! Her ears spoiled I suppose.
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Years ago, I read everything I could get my hands on concerning stereo, and I was reading these articles in magazines like Stereophile, which was a very good magazine in those days, late 80's or so, and I heard these reviewers going on about how they heard differences in some of these new high end cables that were just then coming on the market. So, my ex wife and I went to my favorite local salon, and the salesman swapped out about 4 different cables, and on conference with my wife, we both heard the exact same differences. And we both preferred the same ones. That to me was proof that I was not hearing things, or fooling myself. And of course, once we were home and replaced the tiny Siamese wires they give away with new gear, the difference was more than slight. I went there with great skepticism, I really didn't know if I believed it was possible. And I know my ex was super frugal, she hated ever dime I spent on that stereo, (but loved the music). So I know she would never have let me buy those wires unless she was in full agreement.
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farflungstar
02-05-2017, 07:55
Yes
Cables can make a difference. I do believe it is a synergy thing with the system as a whole.
Compared to other component changes, the difference with a cable is generally quite subtle and should be regarded as icing on the cake.
I tend to make all of my own interconnects using the Klotz MC5000. It tried various cables before this one, but now I discovered what this cable does in my system, I have stopped looking. If it is used in studios where they create the music, why do you need more than this?
I don't think that good cables need to be expensive. I question the validity of cables that cost many thousands of dollars. What could they know or do that cables that are sound in their science can't do? I wrote an article about it for that Italian magazine. But I didn't come right out and say that expensive cables are a rip off. I just said that each person has a number in mind that they believe is too much for cables. On another forum a discussion arose from a speaker maker that charges $40,000 for wire upgrades within their speakers. And you'd be amazed by the number of people who defended their asking price for a few feet of wire. To each their own.
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If I had that sort of money it takes to be able to blow £40K on interconnects I'd be too worried about being kidnapped to listen to music.
However assuming I had recruited good bodyguards I suppose I would give them a listen, even if just out of interest.
If I had that sort of money it takes to be able to blow £40K on interconnects I'd be too worried about being kidnapped to listen to music.
However assuming I had recruited good bodyguards I suppose I would give them a listen, even if just out of interest.
As I was saying, at what price does it become ridiculous? It all depends on the individual, me personally, if I was a billionaire I don't think I would even consider it. But someone else might not be able to live without it. I firmly believe one could look around and find some wire that cost one or two thousand that could sound every bit as good, I fail to see what all that extra money is buying. But I guess I would give them a listen too, they may surprise me. I've been wrong before.
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Anthony K
08-05-2017, 21:51
Totally agree with Russell . its all about how much money you actually have to spend on hifi.
When I saw Nordost release Odin mk2 I thought ' good lord ' but if I won the lotto tomorrow you can bet your left testicle i would buy a full loom faster than you could say ' how f'''ing much '
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