Which Interconnects do you use? (involves a caveat)

[The Black Adder]

Okay... Simple enough question. Or is it?

Which type are your absolute finals (insert caveat here)... that you have spent the least on.

Looking for some AOS recommendations for the least outlay.

I know about the Klotz MC5000 and Brian's silver/gold hybrid types and can easily live with them.

Great cables but I wouldn't mind trying something different.

Not interested in bonkers money cables, reason... I'd rather buy music... Lol

Not only that but there are oodles of cables on the market which are reasonably priced, such as Van Damme.

Thanks

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[CageyH]

Klotz AC110 based cables. RG56 would also work.
Personally I buy whatever cable I fancy, and solder a couple of plugs on the end.

[walpurgis]

Hard to say. I have several I'm very happy with. Possibly the best sounding are my Ixos 100.X03 Studio cables which were not particularly cheap at around £200 for 0.8m pair. Mind you my Audio Note AN-C at about half the price are probably as good. I think that is about £80 for a metre pair unterminated. Well worth trying.

[Sherwood]

For main speaker system, these- https://markgrant.co.uk/stereo-cables/332-van-damme-stereo-audio-cable-with-neutrik-rean-rca-connectors.html

S.

I bought a 2m pair of these to use with my monoblocks! Very happy with them

Geoff

[southall-1998]

Van Damme do make some decent cable!

S.

[Gazjam]

Tandy gold patch cables.

Used to swear by them back in the day (talking 20 yrs ago) and recently found a set unloved in my Dads old system...Autosol’d and Deoxited them and ferk me they are bloody good. :eek:

Unfortunately not available anymore (as is anything Tandy!) but they better the Klotz by a noticable margin (though my current Morrow MA5 pees on ‘em from a great height)

[Bigman80]

I use my new Spotfire OCC cables. Lovely stuff.

[Scooby]

Another vote for Klotz AC110

But then I haven't tried Oliver's cable.

[STD305M]

I have a couple of Brians Klotz and they are great but if you can get a set of Audioquest Diamond back you shouldn't be disappointed
Got mine from fleebay £85

Regards Steve...

[Jimbo]

Tandy gold patch cables.

Used to swear by them back in the day (talking 20 yrs ago) and recently found a set unloved in my Dads old system...Autosol’d and Deoxited them and ferk me they are bloody good. :eek:

Unfortunately not available anymore (as is anything Tandy!) but they better the Klotz by a noticable margin (though my current Morrow MA5 pees on ‘em from a great height)

Morrow are nice.:)

[The Black Adder]

Thanks guys.

Yes, the Klotz keep coming up as a favorite and indeed a favorite of mine too and would use again for sure. :)

In my old system I had 0.5m cables but now I need something longer, around 0,75m - 1m.

Geoff... the Audionote cable sounds interesting as I believe the plugs are just as important as the cable. The Ixos ones are a bit pricey though.

The others suggested so far are interesting, some I've tried them in the past.

After chatting to a sound technician earlier last week he suggested Van Damme to which I already use. He said that input and output to 'most' desks are Van Damme as they colour code them so no mistakes are made hooking up. Interesting.

I'm not a cable fanatic as IMO some can be used as a tone changing devices. And Klotz MC5000 are probably as neutral as I've had, a close contender with Van Damme. Higher priced cables can (not always) IMO often change things too much for the sake of resolution.

Any more suggestions would be welcome.

[Gazjam]

@Josie

Speak to Brian about the Morow cables, he’s tried the MA1 and MA3, he loves em.
The MA1 is very affordable, but has a lot of what the bigger cables have.

[wee tee cee]

I use Mark Grant wbt silver-had them for years and always go back to them.

[karma67]

i used the klotz but found a step up in sonics by using Sommer Carbokab 225 screened cable with the ms starline rca's.
i really surprised other klotz users havn't done the same to be honest.

[willbewill]

Sommercable Onyx for interconnects and Sinus Control for phono duty.

[Jimbo]

What's your spend limit Jo?

[doodoos]

The reference fidelity range of cables are good and use Furutech wires.

[Primalsea]

I mostly use Thor RCA cables. These are not available anymore but I bought a bunch cheap on a closeout deal. If I remember correctly a high end cable company bought the rights and the cable went from being around £30 to over £200 with just a few cosmetic changes.

[Pieoftheday]

Currently using van Damme starquad balanced cables with neutrik gold xlrs .less than £14 a meter, can't fault em:)

[Getgaff]

I use Mark Grant wbt silver-had them for years and always go back to them.

Same here, bit of Mark Grant fanboi if I’m honest. Used his cables for over a decade now; in fact all my cables (stereo, digital, optical, speaker, mains) are MGs.

[The Black Adder]

Does anyone use the Van Damme Low Cap cables? - They look interesting.

[The Black Adder]

I can't fault MG cables... and if I can't find anything to suit I'll be getting some more... Agreed, MG cables are very fine indeed.

[chris@panteg]

I use a Mark Grant GHD1000 and also highly recommend The Classique sounds Leicester Translucent silver interconnect which I've used for nearly 20 years now, cost £65, currently around £90 or £120 with better plugs.

[alphaGT]

Long ago I read something on Harmonic Technologies. Their research seems to be based in reality and they showed figures of decreases in inductance, capacitance. Etc. tiny numbers, but at least they were showing their work.

So by coincidence I ran across a pair online used, about 25% of the new price! So I got a pair of Harmonic Technologies Truthlinks for under $100. They really seemed to work well with my gear and I bought a few more, moved up to their Precision Link cable, again I paid $135 for those, $650 cables when new. So my whole rig is wired up with this stuff, and they have some super nice locking RCA’s. They have a very open and airy top end, and effortless bottom end extension. Very easy to listen to.

Ive tried cables from Monster, and I had some nice Van Den Hul cables from long ago. I did audition some Kimber, and many of the well known brands. I’ve got some Klotz 5000 cables I made from recommendations from folks on this forum! They do sound damn better than they have a right to. I’m using one for my tuner.

Shopping for cables can be a long and time consuming task. If you are really wanting to find something that works very well with your gear, you’ve got to try as many as you can. In reality, this can be just a few, but, in the end you’ll find something you’re happy with. That’s me, I’m sure there are cables out there that are better than my Harmonic Tech’s, but I am very happy with them, and can live without wondering what I’m missing.

Russell

[LittleTone]

I have several pairs of cables including the Morrow MA1, but keep going back to the Mark Grant G2000HDs. Something so realistic about them

Anthony

[Jimbo]

Josie, I strongly suggest you take a listen to Oilvers Spotfire cable.

[wee tee cee]

I have several pairs of cables including the Morrow MA1, but keep going back to the Mark Grant G2000HDs. Something so realistic about them

Anthony

Same here...yet to hear anything better in my system.

[LittleTone]

Same here...yet to hear anything better in my system.

I’ve have to give Paul at Reference Fidelity Components an honourable mention - his Neptune 2 is very good too.
Anthony


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[Barry]

Since my system uses an unholy menagerie of connectors: RCA phono, balanced and unbalanced XLR, DIN, 1/4" GPO jack, Tuchel and CAMAC, I am obliged to make up my own interconnects.

For those I will use any sensible cable employed in broadcasting and recording studios, as well as in the aerospace industry. Thus the cables can be (in no particular order):

Klotz AC104
Klotz AC110
Van Damme XKE
Belden 9907
Huber and Shuner RG58C/U-01
Huber and Suhner RG223
Neumann microphone cable
Chord balanced-pair microphone cable
Proel balanced-pair microphone cable
Mark Levinson
Times Wire RG174
Sommer 'Carbocable' balanced-pair
Gotham GAC-1
Gotham GAC-2
Gotham 211 (EMT211)
Chord 75Ohm cable
BICC URM70
Trompeter 75Ohm triaxial cable
Huber and Suhner 50Ohm triaxial cable

and, no doubt, others that have not come to mind.

[Blueflash]

I have balanced interconnects and after quite a bit of playing around with Klotz5000, The Missing Link Ultimate, Furutech balanced and even a flat Nordost, I have stayed with VanDamme XKE quad cables and Neutrik silver plated XLR`s.

It seems to be a nice "balanced sounding" competent cable. I use it as my reference or "control" cable. It seems to have the best of both worlds by using silver plated copper strands with high purity copper.

It does not favour bass or treble and being an avid diyer, it has no problem showing up my successes or mistakes.

It is also around £2.50 per M length.

[MikeMusic]

Yannis Tome.
Backbeat.
Circa £200 and perform like £1000

[oceanobsession]

I have a pair of audio note an vx and also a pair of dh labs silver sonic revelation , both pure silver and not cheap , ive had them from my audionote
dac to pre amp , I have now replaced them both with neotech nemoi 5220 and ms audio plugs £13.99 a meter for the cable , the neotech cable sounds great in this position , both pure silver cables can sound precise but a bit hard sounding not so musical as the neotech stuff , I have tried the
neotech cable from pre to monoblocks and I prefer the klotz 5000 in this position , the silver cables can lack a bit of body and weight in all positions
phil.

[CageyH]

NEOTECH NEI-3004 or ELECAUDIO SC-221OCC also work very well, but they benefit from some decent plugs.

[magiccarpetride]

Okay... Simple enough question. Or is it?

Which type are your absolute finals (insert caveat here)... that you have spent the least on.

Looking for some AOS recommendations for the least outlay.

I know about the Klotz MC5000 and Brian's silver/gold hybrid types and can easily live with them.

Great cables but I wouldn't mind trying something different.

Not interested in bonkers money cables, reason... I'd rather buy music... Lol

Not only that but there are oodles of cables on the market which are reasonably priced, such as Van Damme.

Thanks

Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk

I've recently discovered AudioQuest interconnects. First bought Red River, to connect my phono stage to my preamp. That made a very audible improvement. Then went for Golden Gate to connect my preamp to power amp. Even more noticeable improvement!

[The Black Adder]

They look interesting, Alex.

I've never thought of those, they always seemed too 'mass produced' but looking at them, they do look really well made and since I last looked at them years ago they have certainly upped the game somewhat.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far... quite diverse.

But now I'm more confused than ever... lol

Hey-ho!

[Marco]

i used the klotz but found a step up in sonics by using Sommer Carbokab 225 screened cable with the ms starline rca's.
i really surprised other klotz users havn't done the same to be honest.

Indeed. Sonically, the Carbokab 225s, as you've just mentioned, are undoubtedly a step up from the (already excellent) Klotz, so more folks should try them.

Also, I popped a pair of Mark Grant's new HDX1s on my RPi/IQ Audio streamer, and was extremely surprised (and very pleased) at how good they were! The new plugs he's using seem to make all the difference, in comparison with the old cables:

https://markgrant.co.uk/stereo-cables/326-mark-grant-hdx1-pure-copper-audio-cables.html

These certainly don't perform like £60 interconnects, more like £600 ones!! :cool:

Marco.

[The Black Adder]

Indeed. Sonically, the Carbokab 225s, as you've just mentioned, are undoubtedly a step up from the (already excellent) Klotz, so more folks should try them.

Also, I popped a pair of Mark Grant's new HDX1s on my RPi/IQ Audio streamer, and was extremely surprised (and very pleased) at how good they were! The new plugs he's using seem to make all the difference, in comparison with the old cables:

https://markgrant.co.uk/stereo-cables/326-mark-grant-hdx1-pure-copper-audio-cables.html

These certainly don't perform like £60 interconnects, more like £600 ones!! :cool:

Marco.Couldn't agree more. As I said earlier, I would still be very happy with Marks cables... The new HDX1 interconnects are simply brilliant.

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[wee tee cee]

I will be trying Colin Wonfors latest EWA ic shortly.....MG 2000s in my set up for a few years having seen off all comers-we shall see(or hear)!!

[Tim]

Very happy with Mark Grant cables, had them for years now and never felt the need for change - money goes on music.

[wee tee cee]

Im very lucky that Brian quite often pops over to let me try his various creations.

I have quite a few in active service in both my main rig/av set up and my sons system.

They give MGs cables a good run for the money...

[Haselsh1]

Jesus, tried so many different ones and finally settled on Atlas Hyper cables. Around £190 per stereo pair, by far the best I have used.

[walpurgis]

Funny things cables. You have your system just where you want it, but then change a component, say speakers or an amp for instance and what you thought were your favourite interconnects, no longer 'gel' with the equipment, so the experimentation and comparisons start all over again. 'Catch 22' situation!!

[jandl100]

I've had a constant stream of different cables over the years.
I settle down with some and then an interesting ebay listing or classified ad comes along and I start to wonder.
Or, as Geoff says, a change in system component and the dang cables no longer quite gel.
I'm on Wireworld Oasis interconnects at the moment, with Ixos Ixotica playing a supporting role on occasion.

The Oasis just hit the spot with a combination of high rez and well focused imaging whilst avoiding being too stark. Previously I was using the Ixos but then the purchase of a Schiit Saga preamp rather exposed things a little too much with its neutrality. Oasis to the rescue!
But I'm sure that in a few months' time they will be gone. :)

I think of cables as delivering that final touch on a system configuration. I don't think there is a best cable, just one that suits your system at the time.

[walpurgis]

I don't think there is a best cable, just one that suits your system at the time.

Yup. Bang on!

[Jimbo]

I have had so many cables over the years and they are curious things. Their price does not always indicate how they will perform and indeed their composition and structure determines how they will integrate with your system. I have had some very expensive cables in my system that have sounded little better than cables at 10th of the price. I have had copper, silver, silver copper and a wide range of plugs all differing in composition and thought I knew what combination worked best in my system until I recently tried Oliver's Spotfire cable.

I have looked at the composition of this cable and plugs and now know why it sounds so good in my system although his construction is beyond my knowledge and there maybe aspects of this that certainly have an influence on the sound.

Nice that you can always improve on what you have with the right selection of cable even when you think you have nailed it!:) However this also goes for all pieces of equipment in your system.:rolleyes:

[icehockeyboy]

The Klotz combination was my last ever used ic.
Along the way I’ve had some silly money wire, eg, Black Rhodium Oratorios, Chord Signature, and the usual VD suspects.

If I were to buy ic’s again, I’d go straight for the Klotz

[alphaGT]

Yup. Bang on!

+1

Russell