What do you think?

[heady 0]

Link send to me by a friend:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audioph...ster-cable-and/

Edited March 7, 2008 by heady

[phuque 0]

The complete article can be found here:

http://consumerist.com/362926/do-coat-hang...-monster-cables

 

Are expensive inter-connectors snake oils? I've tried "silver" connectors and heard no difference from a $5 connector.

[radioactive28 0]

Age-old question, isn't it?

 

Maybe the meter can pick up the differences.

Maybe the difference is in the subconscious.

Maybe my ears just aren't up to standard.

 

This should be mirrored under 'Portable Audio' for more exposure.

[Rameish 0]

Hey if you can't hear the difference lucky you :-)

Sadly I can even with my aging ears LOL

 

If you want to hear the difference try this:

 

On a reasonably good system use the freebie interconnects (the kind that you get with your DVD player/ TV etc) and some black and red electrical wire for amp to speakers.

 

Then connect some branded cables (try Kimber) - don't buy it just borrow from a friend some low end Kimber interconnects and speaker cables. You should be able to hear the difference.

 

Then just replace one set - either the RCA or speaker cables and again you'll hear a difference.

 

Caveat:

Expensive cables can actually make your system sound worse!

Why? Well it exposes the weaknesses inherent in a particular system.

Most folks don't have the time and patience to find the right cable/s for their system.

 

 

 

[heady 0]

Hi Rameish,

I have tried some very thick copper wires for speakers and they were bad compared to my Naim speaker cables. Apparently the thickness of each strand also affects the sound, not just the overall thickness.

 

I also found that stock interconnects and the better quality ones will sound different. Due to budget constraints, I do shy away from the expensive branded cables and just concentrate on the Beldens and Canares which I can build myself.

 

The strange thing is that I find I can enjoy music with stock cables but I do enjoy the music better with better cables. The question to me is the difference in enjoyment worth the cost?

 

But I do agree with you that ultimately, it is the entire setup which is more important.

 

 

[radioactive28 0]

Ah, the bliss of ignorance

Or the advantages of apathy

[kongee 0]

I paid $900 for my hi-fi cables from a friend who DIY them. Copper cables. Sorry, don't know the details. I had monster cables before the switch. The difference was obvious. Bass and overall noticeably more musical. Since then, I have been a believer.

 

I was told, not tried it myself, that silver can make a sound harsh because of too much detail. Well, I guess it makes sense because of the level of conductivity. Copper is warmer.

 

I compared Cresendo's silver, copper directs and stock cables on my D2 Boa with a pair of SR80 with WAV. Noticeable difference between stock and the others, but really couldn't hear much of a diff between silver and copper. With a prices difference of 100%, sorry man, I'm not going to go for silver.

 

I think I would also agree that it is dependent on the system. Mid to high range home hi-fi system is very different from a portable one.

 

 

[neutralzz 0]

I paid $900 for my hi-fi cables from a friend who DIY them. Copper cables. Sorry, don't know the details. I had monster cables before the switch. The difference was obvious. Bass and overall noticeably more musical. Since then, I have been a believer.

 

I was told, not tried it myself, that silver can make a sound harsh because of too much detail. Well, I guess it makes sense because of the level of conductivity. Copper is warmer.

 

I compared Cresendo's silver, copper directs and stock cables on my D2 Boa with a pair of SR80 with WAV. Noticeable difference between stock and the others, but really couldn't hear much of a diff between silver and copper. With a prices difference of 100%, sorry man, I'm not going to go for silver.

 

I think I would also agree that it is dependent on the system. Mid to high range home hi-fi system is very different from a portable one.

 

wow.. $900 for hifi cables.. occ copper? what speakers/amp are you using to justify this.. cable expenditure?

 

[sghound 0]

wow.. $900 for hifi cables.. occ copper? what speakers/amp are you using to justify this.. cable expenditure?

 

gotta be the world's most expensive DIY cables.

[rko 0]

seriously speaking, what does a hifi interconnect do? Recover lost frequency?

 

Studios uses the beldens/mogamis/canares. Why are we spending so much on interconnect when it all began with cheap stuffs.

 

Everyone agree that garbage in= garage out. And since at the beginning cheap cable are used, why are we spending so much on our hifi cables.

[ckng 0]

seriously speaking, what does a hifi interconnect do? Recover lost frequency?

 

Studios uses the beldens/mogamis/canares. Why are we spending so much on interconnect when it all began with cheap stuffs.

 

Everyone agree that garbage in= garage out. And since at the beginning cheap cable are used, why are we spending so much on our hifi cables.

 

Well, possibly to retrieve as much information (i.e. as close to these Belden/Canare/etc can give) as possible? If the studio uses cheap cables, and you use cheap cables too, you end up losing "twice"?

 

Regards

CK

[sghound 0]

seriously speaking, what does a hifi interconnect do? Recover lost frequency?

 

Studios uses the beldens/mogamis/canares. Why are we spending so much on interconnect when it all began with cheap stuffs.

 

Everyone agree that garbage in= garage out. And since at the beginning cheap cable are used, why are we spending so much on our hifi cables.

 

good point. most of the music recordings are patched together using belden/mogami/canare. only gullible audiophools get drawn into the marketing Bull that the industry so loves thrive on.

[iggyting 0]

good point. most of the music recordings are patched together using belden/mogami/canare. only gullible audiophools get drawn into the marketing Bull that the industry so loves thrive on.

 

Good point also. No system can reproduce with 100% fidelity what is recorded. However, it can add to(coloration) or more likely minus from(signal loss) from the recording. I think the improvement is not on the recording (the source material:garbage in-garbage out is true) but on the limitations of the HiFi system which is trying to reproduce as faithfully and as fully as possible on what has been recorded. I say even with the most expensive system (the source-amplification-transducer) the interconnects are a weak conduit. There again the cost spent on the interconnects should be in sensible proportion to the whole. Maybe we miss the point: part of audiophile is about 'what's the best there is' - the bug in our mental system! Hahaha! Enjoy it while still alive!

[kongee 0]

gotta be the world's most expensive DIY cables.

 

 

Oh dear, maybe I've been conned!!!

 

I have a pair of Castles and Arcam CD player, pre-amp and a power-amp.

 

There are quite a few cables needed. interconnects. 2 pairs running from each speaker...etc.

Edited July 11, 2008 by kongee

[sghound 0]

Oh dear, maybe I've been conned!!!

 

some friend u got there...