Another cable vs cable but a serious question that needs a serious answer..

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by apesfan, Apr 26, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. apesfan

    apesfan "Going Ape" Thread Starter

    I have an Esoteric sa50 and a Pioneer elite 79avi for all other discs which really only spin my King Crimson remasters on DVD-Audio.
    The Esoteric has the better Audioquest Columbia RCA cable interconnect and the Pioneer uses the less than half the cost Cardas Microwtwin 300b interconnect.
    The other day I decided to switch the cables and well you know what Im about to say, the Cardas on the Esoteric sounds sublime and great for the money especially. The Pioneer with the Comumbia sounds great also and the Crimson DVDA sounds awesome, to quote my grandaughter. This is not just "Boy it sounds different and I like it" Like most of us we memorize our music on purpose or accidentily and know every nuance- and a subjective opinion can be honestly made through the constant repitition of playing music that becomes ingrained in our ear memories.
    The best way to get what you need in cables is to get on loan 100 cables and after a couple of months make an informed descision. The only way that anything like this can happen is to have a great rapport with a brick and mortar store. I had one but as years and finances change it all becomes a moot point and real audio stores are almost extinct if you live no where near a major metropolitian city.

    How do you know what to purchase and reviewers are really no help or at best a general guide but this shows me that throwing money at cables is no answer at quality but maybe construction, quality of parts and experience on the listeners part and this is still no help. Just throw a dart at a board with all the cable companies and go for it.
    Cables and wire really are a mystical and misunderstood component in audio lore.

    How do you guys buy cables and has this ever happened to you where a much lesser priced wire goes better with your equipment.
    I realize this must of been covered but what are your stories, Take care, John M.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2015
  2. mds

    mds Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    The cable company will lend out cables for a deposit that is then applied to your purchase or lost if you choose not to purchase. They have a web site, you browse, identify what you want to listen to and they send it or a few to you. Pretty simple.

    http://www.thecableco.com/
     
    timztunz likes this.
  3. timztunz

    timztunz Audioista

    Location:
    Texas
    Great people too!
     
  4. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Always worth experimenting.
     
  5. Hipper

    Hipper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Herts., England
    Is it possible that the 'cleaning' of the connections could have given you these new sounds? Have you swapped them back to see if the sound deteriorates. I realise you don't want to because you are enjoying the sound but do it for the science - and for us!

    In addition to the problems you discuss there is also the question of burn in (if of course it exists). How can we try a cable for one or two hundred hours before deciding it is or is not what we want?

    I have £4,000 worth of Shunyata stuff - Hydra 8 Conditioner and some power cables - bought when I probably had more money then sense and on the basis of what I heard at one location. Recently I took the whole lot out of my system and replaced them with just an ordinary block of sockets and ordinary power cables. There was little in it quite frankly. Without Shunyata gear the sound was a bit more edgy, less smooth perhaps. Detail seemed pretty much the same. A slightly smoother sound for £4,000! I've got it so I'll use it but if I had my time again I'd do things differently.
     
    Rolltide likes this.
  6. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    I work on the idea that similar design and materials sound most similar. I think experimentation requires first identifying the different types of designs and establishing a norm for that style of cable. Solid single wire, multi-strand, multi-strand Litz—get an opinion about how those three different designs sound in your particular application and then work within that category.
     
  7. adamdube

    adamdube Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elyria, OH USA
    I just last week removed the cheap lamp cord speaker wire in my office system (Fisher X-100-3 & BG Z1 speakers) and replaced them with some Neotech wire I picked up from @hvbias. It was easy to hear the difference....that veil was removed.....as we've heard time and time again. While I didn't really hear it in the low end, it was easy to spot. Cymbals especially were better. A week in I put one of the lamp cord wires back in. It was like my balance was off. Within an hour I went back to the Neotech.

    To me, it's the material making the difference for sure. I bet I couldn't tell one silver wire from another, but I can hear the difference between silver, copper, solid core, etc.
     
  8. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Personally, I think the gross differences one hears between cables in audio installations have to do with the interaction between the source and load impedances of the devices you're connecting and the capactiance, inductance, resistance and impedance of the cable.

    I buy cable based on the cable's specs (L, C, R, etc) and its suitability for the specific job at hand -- do I need very low capacitance for a long run or for a high source Z? How flexible does the cable need to be for the installation? Does this application call for really strong shielding or can unshielded work? etc. I prefer to buy cables from big companies that manufacture wire -- Belden, General Cable and its affiliates, etc -- than from audiophile companies who rejacket wire or assemble wire purchase from those companies. I like shielded twisted pair even in unbalanced connections, but I've used double shielded coax and even unshielded pseudo-litz as interconnects with success in certain circumstances -- with audio cables I'm bascially just looking for sufficiently low capacitance, low resistance and low inductance, at a reasonable price, understanding that there's always a balance between lower C and higher L and vice versa. I haven't done enough experimentation between cables where only one variable differs -- such as identitcal dielectric, connectors, copper and total gauge, but stranded vs. solid core; or identical construction except for six-nines copper vs. four-nines copper or whatever -- to be able to point to some of those differences having specific audible effects, I mostly just worry about the big known electrical factors.
     
    BluTom, apesfan and norman_frappe like this.
  9. apesfan

    apesfan "Going Ape" Thread Starter

    True about unplugging and such but before I exchanged the cables I did a cleaning with Caig cleaner and such so thats not an issue I dont think.You hit it on the head that I dont want to switch back because all is sounding great, audiophile nuttyness.
    As to burn in, the Cardas had less time on it but sounds better? on the Esoteric at this moment. Maybe its not showing all the defects of the digital machine-silly I know. The Pioneer sounds better with the Audioquest so any reason for these subjective improvements might just be inductance, compactance and impedance and all the tech dealings more than taste.

    I have a bunch of Shunyata Venoms and they were used on all equipment but out of a whim I put two old PS audio statement power cables to use and the sound seemed to inprove or atleast sound on par with the Shunyata. It might be all imaginary as the objectionist like to spew out.

    But it seems that time makes the heart grow fonder especially with audiotweeks. Thanks, Take care, John M.
     
  10. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.


    Russ Andrews now has an office in the States, and all their cables, interconnects and speaker wire are available with a 60-day money back guarantee.
     
    apesfan likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine