Cables, cables, cables...any tips? In the market (maybe)

After watching a few episodes of Audioholics, I got Monoprice 14 AWG . Sound is great and my wallet still has $$$ in it.

 

Great choice, you can't go wrong with any of the ZenWave cables and they are great bang for the buck considering the metallurgy involved ... not to mention Dave is a great guy to deal with. I have his speaker cables (as noted in a previous post within this thread), a set of interconnects, and will soon be adding a second pair of his interconnects after the first of the year as well.

 

Excellent used speaker cables and interconnects, even NOS, are on eBay for 'dirt cheap', or at least at little cost. It's amazing really.

But you have to know 'exactly' what your looking for - of course.

That's the way I went, for both, and it worked out most excellent.

 

I've forgot: what is Litz cable/wire design ?

 

Wikipedia has a good primer on the subject

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litz_wire

 

Thank you!

 

Well any change in the signal chain is going to impact the sound. But there is no real correlation IMHO between what you spend on the cables and how well your system sounds. Silver cables cost more because the cost of making them is higher and they sound different to copper wire. Silver tends to be brighter than copper so if you like detailed treble, you may prefer that, but if your system is already right, you may want the warmth that copper wire provides.

One thing I am certain of, is that cables make a difference, but what is best is subjective.

 

I'd actually lean the other way and say if your system is balanced than silver cables give you the opportunity to retain much more detail vs copper cables. The warmth provided by copper is pleasant distortion, it adds the same tone to every recording and masks detail in the process. The issue with silver is lower quality silver will add some edge and harshness, and tends to overemphasize leading edges. The only silver worth investing in is UPOCC, IMO.

While results are certainly subjective there are a few things I look for that are not so subjective... one is the resolution of the cable (sins of omission), any added harshness or warmth added by the cable (sins of commission), and it's ability to convey timbre realistically so a trumpet actually sounds like a trumpet... in other words realistic reproduction of acoustic instrument's tone, timbre and body. Most cables are inadequate at one of those things.

 

Actually I made a typo I meant to say if your system is already bright, not right. But I agree on the quality of the silver needs to be high.

 

In my experience, the geometry used with silver is the main determinant of its neutrality or lack of brightness. Most modern silver-based designs don't have a brightness to them so you get both the detail and the musicality.

 

The conductor material and geometry cannot make up for one another, and both are important. You will never get a 4N silver cable to perform at the level of a UPOCC silver cable all other things being equal, it just won't happen.

 

I use Mapleshade speaker wires and interconnects. Pretty good value. I generally buy the theory that thinner is better, and that thicker creates sonic loss fields. I think it is better to go unshielded, if your system can handle it (often creates too much hum.)

 

Ah the phono cable !! One of the very few that eludes the myths surrounding exotic cables or ¨snake oil¨ of audio. I don't think exotic cables will improve your audio experience, but why run the risk of using crappy supermarket-grade cables when there are reasonably-priced entry-level brand cables that will eliminate the risk of any bad quality cable-induced extraneous noises ? More often than not it's your house AC current/instalation to blame ! I've even seen phono cartridges/phono grounding cables pick up radio signals FFS !!

I have a mix of entry level Vampire, Turquoise and Monster speaker w/Nakamichi gold-plated bananas I've acquaired over the years, the Turquoise being the phono one (OFC with gold-plated terminals). I also redid all of the internal soldering of my humble Pioneer PL 3000 turntable and man did that make a difference. So yes, go for it, but just at entry level, or knock yourself out if you have money to spare; the expensive ones are beautiful for a reason !!!

 

U The Man!

 

Without intending to make or follow theories about cable construction, I came to a similar conclusion. I have Kimber PBJ interconnects and Mapleshade speaker wire; both were good enough that I stopped there. As it turns out, both are twisted/braided thin wires with little insulation.

I will make the observation that when I auditioned speaker cables, I preferred bare ends to any sort of speaker connector.

 

I have never heard a big difference between bare ends and those with connectors. I tried to get by with bare ends, but just found it to be too big of a PITA. That said, I tend to move certain equipment in and out. If I was just going to put everything together once and forgetaboutit, I would probably go bare.