Speaker cable upgrade- advice appreciated

It will be different for every person I think, but of course there will a limit in how bad it can be.

 

It is all very interesting. I have noticed that sound that measures very similar in frequency response also sounds very different. Agree about harmonic distortion, but as you say—so many types. Maybe my comment was more focused on a lower noise floor.

 

Thanks. Yes, I'll provide impressions. I don't expect I'll have my fancy hi-end cables back for several weeks, so I'll be spending plenty of time with the zip cord. I haven't changed any gear for around 9 months. Prior to that, I was trying to "finish" my system, so each purchase was intended to be an upgrade. My expectations were high for those purchases yet I typically felt that I was setting myself up for disappointment. The disappointment never happened. Now then, I know I'm backing into a corner, but for me this is analogous to having high expectations for a new restaurant. I'm frequently very pleased, but I'm also let down sometimes. I'm wary of fooling myself into liking something just because some others do. That said, I'm human. I try though. I'm aware.

 

With cables, you may notice over time the same strengths and weaknesses are shared by similar designs. Seems that way to me.

 

I´m not saying that You are wrong, I think the answer is complex, and involves many factors. But just look at how many different e.g. TTs, arms and cartridges we prefer, it´s much more that effects what we like than just distortion. And what is objectively better plays a very small part IMO. The question is if there is any corrolation with distortion at all considering what people prefer?

 

I own the Analysis Plus Ovals and I think they sound good. I have also been wondering about this though...because it is the speaker cable I started with and I have never tried anything else. So really, I guess my insight here is a bit narrow.

 

To your latter question, and with no offence to our host, no. I don't. That's not to say that I wouldn't enjoy the time I spent with him, or Barry Diament, or Joe Gastwirt, etc, but enhance my listening experience? I'm not so embarrassed by my own listening preferences I need someone else to tell me what I need to do better when it's my ears doing the listening. I'll chew the fat about music and gear all day long though.

As for sophistication with food, etc...I think that's a matter of taste (pardon the pun). Can I appreciate fine food? Yes, sure, I've eaten in many a fine restaurant and paid many a fine bill for the pleasure. My next big treat will be at Le Gavroche, run by Michel Roux Jr. Haven't planned the date, but it'll be sometime in the next couple of years I'd guess. Too many other things to do and if I'm going to spend £400 for dinner, it'll need a bit of planning in.

However, I ate some years ago at a nice place in Fife. The Peat Inn (http://www.thepeatinn.co.uk/restaurant) is a Michelin starred restaurant with accommodation near St. Andrews. We went there on a recommendation. The food was very fine, the setting pleasant, but the atmosphere was dead. It killed the dining experience as "the whole" didn't meet my expectation.

Around the same time, I was up in the north-west of Scotland, near to the Summer Isles and stayed at the Summer Isles Hotel, another foodie establishment and, being in the location it is, local produce abounds, and excellent it is too. http://www.summerisleshotel.com/

On this occasion I was working in the area (it's up by Achiltibuie, just north of Ullapool) but staying at the hotel for a night. I booked in for dinner in their bar (I didn't want the formality of the restaurant) and picked a table towards the front, overlooking the Summer Isles themselves, which, at the time I was eating, looked a bit like this:-



So I sat down, a pint, dinner, that view, a paper for between courses and nothing else. It blew the other place away as a dining experience. The food was excellent and the setting perfect. No background music here either, but then, the windows were open, the midges, thankfully, not in attendance and the water lapped in the distance.

Now, I'm no chef, but I know what I like. I can imagine the degree of skill that either chef put in, but what does that tell me? Does that enhance my appreciation of food? Of dining? Of fine dining? Not a bit of it. Should I feel that I should like truffles if a chef tells me they're the ultimate? What if I don't like them? The analogy really doesn't stack up.

So for your cables. Fine, by all means, buy your expensive cables, get them cryo treated and then tell yourself that things are that much better. But did you need to know how the cable was made to be able to appreciate it? Could you question any aspect of the science involved given the cost involved or would you just take the maker's word for it? What are you going by? A glance at the menu, the Michelin star, or something else?

The thing really is, I've done all that - looked at the Michelin star, the menu, who the chef is....in the end, the fine dining left me underwhelmed. And like my stereo, I made my choices there too. Good ones at that. Which possibly explains why the Audioquest Type IV speaker cable (£14/m these days) is sitting in a cupboard and the Van Damme Blue OFC is rigged up to the Tannoys as we speak (about £4/m).

 

Me? Not angry at all Steve. A very content and happy soul here. I can get angry about some things in life, but that would be the real injustices, not whether I use this cable or that.

 

I have Ovals and think they rock.

 

Ah, gotcha, no worries!

 

It's been a productive thread, overall.

I'm curious about the topic of speaker wire science. Simply, is it the case that one must be in denial of basic EE principles in order to find that there is an audible difference between basic OFC zip cord and specialty cable (using same power amp, speakers, etc)? Hoping @kfringe or those with EE degrees could opine.

 

My takeaway from my experience auditioning speaker cables is that no connectors are better than any connector.

I discovered I preferred even cheap cable off the spool with bare ends than any cable with connectors. Not everyone can use wire with no connectors and a lot of speaker wire isn't available without connectors , but I would recommend auditioning such wire, if possible.

 

I was a cable skeptic...

Until I actually replaced my standard Mogami with Morrow SP3 and started using their MA3 interconnects. Really made a noticeable improvement. Just brought my system to a whole 'nother level.

I kinda feel sorry for those who can't hear the changes that audiophile quality cable can bring! I realize most of the "all cable are basically the same" crowd are probably too stubborn and married to their beliefs to actually try out "upgraded" wire. Oh well... I think they are really missing out on a relatively cheap "tweak" that might surprise them with extra sonic goodness. It also might challenge their beliefs a bit.

 

Why would you feel sorry for them, they're not unhappy? Several of us have tried all sorts of stuff from basic zip wire up to expensive Siltech cables and conducted the measurements and listening tests under controlled conditions. We've done the work and know the results. I was open minded about the whole thing and in the end chose what was best for me both financially and musically, trying to balance both. What others do is their own business and of little concern to me, I certainly am no authority on the matter and people can do their own investigating. But I hope no one feels sorry for me that's silly.

BTW best cheap tweak was an attenuator for my cd player. That was something that made a measurable and audible improvement for like $20.

 

As a hot-headed rage addict, I feel sorry for your calm and reasonable approach to the situation.

 

I feel sorry for many actually. But please don´t feel sorry for anyone in such a trivial matter, and I really wouldn´t anyone to feel sorry for me using what I want to use, that would be odd.

 

I kinda feel sorry for those who claim to hear the changes that audiophile quality cable can supposedly bring! I realize most of the "cables make a difference" crowd are probably too stubborn and married to their beliefs to actually make an unbiased and objective choice. Oh well... I think they are missing out on saving money they could put towards what actually matters: Music.
It also might challenge their beliefs a bit.

See? This particular door swings both ways.

 

In what way is what i wrote more insulting than the post I quoted?

The simple point I'm trying to make is that there are as many approaches to this hobby as there are hobbyists. I have nothing at all against the fact that other audiophiles don't have the same priorities as I do, and having someone "feel sorry" for me is pretty strange if you ask me. We're all music lovers here, and that's what should count, no?

 

I could go for a hot dog right about now.

 

Selling speaker cable?

 

It’s all in your head. All food tastes the same.