New speaker cables!

[4-earredwonder]

I went to a guy's house last year that I befriended on another forum to hear his megabucks system. He had 150k in cables, yep you read that right. First thing that I asked was, "did all this eliminate noise?", so he told me to put my ear up against the midrange and tweeter, to which it was dead silent and he motioned to me showing me that the volume control was all the way up. It was one of the best sounding systems I have ever heard. He said his goal has always been about the music, and whatever it takes to get the best fidelity necessary to enjoy the music, then money is no concern. He had over 9,000 cd's of music and a 23K dollar cd player. I thought it was worth every penny of HIS money.

He probably has the Meridian 808.2 Reference RBCD player [$23,500], acknowledged to be the best in the business. I have the first incarnation of that player [808.0] which also plays DVD~A STEREO ONLY. And the Meridian SooLoos which have the guts of the 808.2.

And it just wasn't the speaker wires and interconnects which made that system special. He had separate components and I'm sure state of the art speakers.....and upgraded power supplies and each component had upgraded power cords, as well.

And I'm sure the system was professionally EQed in order for it to sound exceptional.

Yep, audio doesn't come cheap and one can spend over $1M without batting an eyelash [The Japanese manufactured speakers once that sold for $1.5M a pair...NO BS!]

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

...Do quality speaker cables and interconnects make a difference? ...... if you need to ask and are happy with plain vanilla zip cord then SHAME ON YOU! You have NO idea what you're missing...

Ralph, could you check that knob where you're literally shaming people here for not spending thousands of dollars on their gear like you do, and maybe turn it down a coupla notches? Also:

Sometimes Ignorance isn't bliss....it's just IGNORANCE! Never heard the Expression: Try it....[to paraphrase] YOU JUST MIGHT LIKE IT?

While you're at it, there's that toggle switch where you assume that some of us haven't actually tried some of this stuff, and proceed to call us ignorant for it? Do us a favor and just click that switch to the 'off' position, okay?

Thank you.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Ralph, could you check that knob where you're literally shaming people here for not spending thousands of dollars on their gear like you do, and maybe turn it down a coupla notches? Also:While you're at it, there's that toggle switch where you assume that some of us haven't actually tried some of this stuff, and proceed to call us ignorant for it? Do us a favor and just click that switch to the 'off' position, okay?

Thank you.

Really and truly, Jim, I'm not trying to shame anyone. There was a time when I didn't have the proverbial pot to piss in and purchased components with money I earned from my summer jobs. Yes, and all had ZIP cord and crappy dime store interconnects.

Which is why I relate my experiences of running the gamut from lowly components to high end. Everything I post is truly from the heart and it IS true that people spend thousands on recorded music and neglect upgrading [however so modestly] their systems which actually do play the music they so enjoy.

And the thousands I did spend back in the late 90's on speaker cable and interconnects can now be had for a fraction of those ridiculous prices and probably even sound better as technology HAS advanced.

And as good as my present main system is, the fly in the ointment is the sound room itself: Low 7'2" ceilings, oblong room and desperately in need of more shelving [read SPACE] TO STORE my thousands of music/movie acquisitions.

My point is.....I'm tired of posters who decry the use of better speaker cable, interconnects, power cords, power conditioners, etc....MOST especially IF THEY NEVER TRIED THEM.....because through trial and error I know ALL of THE ABOVE do work. And yes, there's snake oil aplenty out there and I'll be the first to cry foul when I do try a product which is JUST THAT.

My sage advice is: next time you contemplate an expensive music purchase .... just for the hell of it take advantage of Music Direct's 60 day NO RISK policy and try some of their BETTER speaker cables, interconnects when they go on sale {which they frequently do at Music Direct} and try swapping them out with your existing cables and JUST HEAR FOR YOURSELF WHETHER YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. If you can't....pack them up and ship them back and the only harm done is a few hours of your time to initiate the switch.

Is that really asking too much, JIM? IMO, there's nothing worse than a know it all ..... who knows NOTHING. And even at my age.....I'm still learning.

BTW, Jim, my switch is always in the ON position. Even when I sleep.

 

[Spock]

Don't forget your digital cables:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Discontinued-Manufacturer-Blue/dp/B000I1X6PM

Was around $500

Read the reviews

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Suffice it to say, you could've bought a Mercedes for what I did pay.

Don't worry... Mercedes didn't loose any sales... The guys selling the high end wire bought several.

And the thousands I did spend back in the late 90's on speaker cable and interconnects can now be had for a fraction of those ridiculous prices and probably even sound better as technology HAS advanced.

So there have been relatively recent breakthroughs in "wire technology" eh? Got any links?

 

[François]

 

[ar surround]

Raised on Robbery if you're not fussy. I won't even post what I paid for my 35' runs of balanced XLR garden hose sized Transparent Speaker cables and interconnects back in the late 90's and I could've had then upgraded since Transparent would've done it for FREE [huh!] but digging them out of my ceiling was way too much trouble. Suffice it to say, you could've bought a Mercedes for what I did pay. How do they sound in 2018 ....... extraordinary!

Do quality speaker cables and interconnects make a difference? ...... if you need to ask and are happy with plain vanilla zip cord then SHAME ON YOU! You have NO idea what you're missing.

BTW, you could probably get the same bang for the buck that I did in the late 90's for a fraction of MY cost as technological advances have reduced the cost of these cables/interconnects CONSIDERABLY.

OK, I'll admit it...I do use a $300 pair of cables for my front stereo speakers that were given to me as hand-me-downs from a colleague. Do they make a difference? Yes. Am I willing to spend more for marginal improvements in sound quality? No. Why? 1) Diminishing returns; 2) 99% of the material that I listen to is rock/pop that doesn't warrant the expenditure, especially given that only a small fraction has made it's way onto carefully remixed and remastered high-resolution formats. 3) Lastly, while of importance to me, this audio thing is not my primary hobby although lately I've been spending a lot of time with it (too much time.)

Would I be able to hear and appreciate how much better your system is than mine? Absolutely!

 

[The Bushmaster]

Francois...No speaker cables for Classical music?

 

[karlkastner]

Really and truly, Jim, I'm not trying to shame anyone. There was a time when I didn't have the proverbial pot to piss in and purchased components with money I earned from my summer jobs. Yes, and all had ZIP cord and crappy dime store interconnects.

Which is why I relate my experiences of running the gamut from lowly components to high end. Everything I post is truly from the heart and it IS true that people spend thousands on recorded music and neglect upgrading [however so modestly] their systems which actually do play the music they so enjoy.

And the thousands I did spend back in the late 90's on speaker cable and interconnects can now be had for a fraction of those ridiculous prices and probably even sound better as technology HAS advanced.

And as good as my present main system is, the fly in the ointment is the sound room itself: Low 7'2" ceilings, oblong room and desperately in need of more shelving [read SPACE] TO STORE my thousands of music/movie acquisitions.

My point is.....I'm tired of posters who decry the use of better speaker cable, interconnects, power cords, power conditioners, etc....MOST especially IF THEY NEVER TRIED THEM.....because through trial and error I know ALL of THE ABOVE do work. And yes, there's snake oil aplenty out there and I'll be the first to cry foul when I do try a product which is JUST THAT.

My sage advice is: next time you contemplate an expensive music purchase .... just for the hell of it take advantage of Music Direct's 60 day NO RISK policy and try some of their BETTER speaker cables, interconnects when they go on sale {which they frequently do at Music Direct} and try swapping them out with your existing cables and JUST HEAR FOR YOURSELF WHETHER YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. If you can't....pack them up and ship them back and the only harm done is a few hours of your time to initiate the switch.

Is that really asking too much, JIM? IMO, there's nothing worse than a know it all ..... who knows NOTHING. And even at my age.....I'm still learning.

BTW, Jim, my switch is always in the ON position. Even when I sleep.

I've done a lot of mid-fi upgrades on my mid-fi system and enjoyed evaluating the differences each step of the way. My receivers, Oppo, one of two subs, 4 speakers, wires, interconnects...are all pre-owned. Upgrades post depreciation have been well worth it to me.

Next up, foam bass traps and some wall panels.

Sonic improvements and learning the cause and effect of each component is rewarding.

Load a DVD-A or a SACD and it's even better.

 

[sfactor23]

"If you had better fidelity I'd be able to hear you."

 

[roundhousequad]

I always liked the adds for digital ready speakers.

 

[hobie1dog]

We all should have the same goal of trying to achieve the best reproduction of our music as possible. Tweaks as silly as they sometimes seem, are done in the true spirit of producing pleasure. We would all want to walk in the door of our audio room and get an immediate smile on our faces just looking at our equipment.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Not a problem hobie1dog. Every time I enter my "wife aloted" man cave I have to smile. On one side is my loading bench and on the other side is my quad setup. It's not as "magnificent" as some, but it does the job and pleases me.