Interconnect Cables- Eating my Words

Never thought I would say this but a simple experiment last night convinced me that interconnects can affect sound quality- BUT you do not need to pay a lot for great results.

I had been noticing some occasional harshness coming from my CD player and tuner and just thought on a whim to change the interconnects and see if it might help. Had zero confidence but tried it anyway.

I replaced the Best Buy "Rocketfish" cable at my CD player's output (the Rocketfish looked like quality cables).
I had some JL Audio mobile audio interconnects laying around. ( I used them in my car and their quality among the mobile audiophile competition community is highly regarded). These are well shielded against electrical noise and low loss because of the long runs between head unit and remote amplifiers in car systems.

http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-co...-audio-interconnects-core-audio-interconnects
I must say I was floored. All traces of harshness were gone, dynamics and imaging improved- it was as if I had upgraded my CD player.
I did the same thing on my B&K FM tuner- that one was just using wal-mart RCA cables and the same thing happened. Smoother sound, much better. Truly amazing.

 

It's all true, except for the part about not paying a lot for great results. Sometimes you have to, but it depends on what you mean by a lot?

 

You are correct, cables don't matter!

Until you find the right ones...

 

Next will be AC cables.

People don't have to spend thousands on cable to hear good improvements to the sound and you just proved it, avanti. I believe that cheap/free cable should be avoided.

 

I think the biggest gain you get is going from the lowest common denominator like monoprice/rocketfish to something "normal" for lack of a better word. From there, its more different (and what's a good fit for your gear) vs. objectively better.

 

"Electrically neutral".
Meaning the cable presents next to no resistance, capacitance and inductance.

From there, everyone will choose his own quantity of those variables to better match their equipment and taste.

 

I was inspired by some here whose opinions I respect and I replaced a pair of monoprice interconnects with Kimber PBJs (1/2 meter) for around $100. Those seemed to be the cheapest "audiophile" interconnects I could find.

Is there a difference in sound quality? Yes. Would I be as enthusiastic about spending $1000 for a pair of interconnects as opposed to $100? No way. A Grand buys a LOT of music!

 

I've just upgraded all my cables, ICs/ bi-wire speaker/power, and it was quite a learning experience. There seems to be so many variables. Even just buying a cable that has great reviews doesn't mean it will have synergy with your gear. I hope I won't be doing this again for awhile.

 

BJC

 

Absolutely! Something designed to do the job properly. Not a company who rely on the marketing people for their 'science'

Interestingly, the biggest 'cheap' upgrade I experienced was replacing all my 'audiophile' cables with those from companies who make the stuff, like Van Damme or Mogami etc. A lot of 'audiophile' cables can introduce impedance & performance anomalies that (because of the price tags & designer looks) some perceive as improvements. These have to then be balanced out with other cables 'by ear' to get a neutral response, whereas if one had gone with a complete set of normal properly designed cables in the first place any defects would then sorely rest with your equipment or the speakers, or speaker positioning. Cables really should be the least of any audiophile's worries. The specs for properly performing audio cables were done & dusted decades back...

But each to his/her own, and it keeps the capitalist machinery working

 

I fully admit that if I had a Shindo preamp and amp, I'd cringe as I did it, but I'd inevitably buy the Shindo $1000 interconnects to go between them. This is presumably how Shindo-san voiced the gear, and it's designed to be complementary I suppose.

But is this to say that said cable would be the "best" interconnect I owned based on its price? To the contrary, with some combinations of gear it could end up being the worst. Our host has said as much himself, even a megabuck cable can do more harm then good if it's not the right tool for a particular job.

 

I see that Abbey Road studios are rigged with Van Damme cables. Just saying.

 

Ahhhh... The Great Cable Debate

My ears can certainly tell a difference. And, I'm okay with being considered a nut by others because I testify to that.

I carefully chose the wire for my tri-braided DIY interconnects (solid core copper in some kind of teflon). Holy cow, very little cash outlay for such a huge return. Can't wait to try silver. Further up the $$ spectrum, I'd like to try Grover Huffman IC's.

 

I use Van Damme cables.They do what they say on the tin.

 

I agree that even low cost specialty interconnects will outperform the freebies included with most equipment, provided that the specialty interconnect matches the particular equipment and taste of the system owner. The increment of improvement can be quite substantial. But, that does not mean that megabuck interconnects make no sense at all. In a high end system where the owner is willing to pay for relatively small increments of improvement, it might well be the case that a megabuck interconnect is the addition to the system that improves the sound the most for the investment. In these situations, the "best" interconnect is particularly system dependent and a matter of personal taste. Of course, any particular megabuck interconnects can be horribly wrong for that system. For example, if one is looking for a warmer, fuller sounding interconnect, it is highly unlikely that Nordost Odin would fit the bill, but that interconnect might be perfect for another system. I don't see anything wrong with someone spending megabucks for the "right" interconnect, just as I don't see anything wrong with spending for a better speaker or any other component. To me, it does not really matters that the cost of materials and manufacturing does not justify the price--it is a matter of how much improvement any component delivers.

 

I also use the PBJs and think they sound better than the BJCs and Canare they replaced. Mine are between Rega DAC R and Brio R.

 

Agreed! And people get too caught up in the amount of improvement. Let's say changing out your interconnects results in a 2% overall improvement. Skeptics would lambast you for spending X dollars for a 2% improvement. But what if that two percent was focused in one of the few weak areas of your system? That improvement could totally open up your system and result in an improvement that was perceived as 10%.

When I upgraded my system's cables (with modest cables: I can't afford "megabuck" models) and added vibration control, that was the effect I heard. The result of the numerous tiny improvements in a few areas was large in the context of the overall sound.

 

I agree, provided everybody is honest about what cables do and don't do. I think the only reason there's a "cable debate" in the first place is because people claim jaw dropping, night-and-day improvements. I think if everybody was on the same page as to the kind of differences cables make, these arguments wouldn't exist.

 

I prefer to not use a cable as a "tone control".

 

FWIW, I just had a 'night and day' experience upgrading my cables.

 

All that tells me is we have different interpretations of what "night and day" constitutes, another problem in this space.

 

I was a skeptic until I tried different cables and had a very positive result.

First I tried different interconnects and liked the differences (not as a tone control but for me they gave more of everything that I like). After a years I tried power cables out and they also really surprised me with how positive the change was.

I want to believe that it is just electrical current traveling across wires so there is no difference in sound between cables but somehow, someway, it makes a difference

 

Are you saying I didn't have one?

 

Not at all, only that I doubt I would describe it as such myself. There's no objective qualifier to "night and day" unless you're literally talking about the position of the sun in the sky .

 

Here is the problem. Cables are passive. They can only attenuate, reduce, roll off. They cannot boost or increase anything.

So, changing cables reduced the 'harshness' .. that could happen. Your CD Player is 'harsh' .. or has a brittle high end. Your old cable accurately transferred that. The new cable is rolling off some of that hi-end .. hence the 'smoothness'. The new cable is actually less 'accurate' .. but it sounds better.