Are high price cables worth the investment???

[Danimal1969]

So I'm just wondering what kind of cables you guys use. Every one I have is bottom of the line. Rca cables that come with $20 Walmart cd players, rolls of 18 gauge "lamp cord" style speaker wire, etc.

I need to rewire my turntable and I'm temper to buy a set of the KAB Cardis litz wiring. That alone is $55. Then a set of nice speaker wire will cost me over $100, plus whatever I pick for cables between the pre and amp. I guess I need to know if it's really worth it? Is anybody but me gonna know?

Dan

 

[Northwinds]

I have Monsters for IC's and you saw the giant speaker cables I use. I think there is some benefit over generic cables

 

[Billboard]

I purchase my cable at http://www.monoprice.com



Great cables at a very cheap price. I use them for all of my home theater in wall cables, and 2 channel interconnects also.

 

[stuwee]

Big difference in speaker cables vs 12 gauge wire. interconnects are another ball game, many factors involved, amp to preamp/ source to preamp/ length of the run etc...

Turntable connects and especially armwire like the Cardis you mentioned are very important!! If you love your Lps, the best is worth the extra$$'s, what arm are you using? My SME was wired with Cardis back in the 1970's, still sweet.

I got some Tara Labs IC's from Larry and hear a difference from the Rat Shack stuff, this can become an endless discussion on what sounds better, the thing is to just listen, don't pay too much, up grade if you can.

 

[Lazarus Short]

Wire is wire, and pricey wire is 90% snake oil.

I use Phillips PXT1000 video cable with one stripped off. I use other interconnects as well, and fairly generic twelve gauge speaker wire. I avoid Monster IC's as they're difficult to pull off, and give them away when I sell gear.

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

I gotta add this, if you spend $500 on a killer set of speaker wires, and then you open up your gear whether it be the speakers, or a old 700B wired by big bird with a glass eye, and the wiring sux. What good is the expensive wire if the rest of the system is not up to snuff?

I open all kinds of preamps, amps, tuners etc.... and the wiring in these "boxes" looks like shit. So is the few feet we use of expensive "shielded with virgins panties" or whatever else they use to make these cables, really doing anything or do we have wild imaginations?????

I know there are guys with the golden ears who claim they can tell this from that and then there are the guys I fool every time in a beer blind taste test.... I really don't believe anybody is that good. But, I do have fun doing a beer blind taste test....

Just asking (again).

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Wire is wire, and pricey wire is 90% snake oil.

I use Phillips PXT1000 video cable with one stripped off. I use other interconnects as well, and fairly generic twelve gauge speaker wire. I avoid Monster IC's as they're difficult to pull off, and give them away when I sell gear.

Yup, yer an the same wave as me Laz

 

[JustMike]

Hard to beat the quality and price at Blue Jean Cable.
Real wire no bull

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/aboutus.htm

 

[bill7621]

I agree with Perry and Laz. You'd have to have excellent hearing to hear the difference, and even then it's your imagination telling you one is better than the other. Now the shielding on some interconnects will make a difference sometimes. But for speaker wire, I use 16 gauge lamp cords, or even 18 if it's not a long run. Now Perry, about that beer!

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

I bet you couldn't tell the diff between monster cable or that stuff...

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

I agree with Perry and Laz. You'd have to have excellent hearing to hear the difference, and even then it's your imagination telling you one is better than the other. Now the shielding on some interconnects will make a difference sometimes. But for speaker wire, I use 16 gauge lamp cords, or even 18 if it's not a long run. Now Perry, about that beer!

even if you lose during a blind beer taste test, YOU WIN!!!! All the while listening to my kenner close and play with frayed lamp cord for speaker wire.


BONUS

 

[orange]

It isn't the blinky blue lights and big meters, women don't tend to care about that...it's nothing but booze and Elvis and somebody else's favorite song...

I didn't realize back in 1977 at age 11 that Steely Dan were indeed the smartest band in the world...

 

[orange]

I gotta add this, if you spend $500 on a killer set of speaker wires, and then you open up your gear whether it be the speakers, or a old 700B wired by big bird with a glass eye, and the wiring sux. What good is the expensive wire if the rest of the system is not up to snuff?

I open all kinds of preamps, amps, tuners etc.... and the wiring in these "boxes" looks like shit. So is the few feet we use of expensive "shielded with virgins panties" or whatever else they use to make these cables, really doing anything or do we have wild imaginations?????

I know there are guys with the golden ears who claim they can tell this from that and then there are the guys I fool every time in a beer blind taste test.... I really don't believe anybody is that good. But, I do have fun doing a beer blind taste test....

Just asking (again).

If they are shielded with virgins panties it is probably safe to say they are NOT virgins anymore.

Oh yeah, that clear or yellowish see-through 'lamp cord' since day one (1981), even smaller.

 

[Danimal1969]

You guys are funny...and probably stopped me from spending too much on silly wiring. I'll probably buy some decent turntable cables (I do have to replace them), but not speaker wires. I'm reminded of when I recapped the crossovers in my KG4's, indeed the wiring inside was as cheap as possible. 18 or 20 gauge with little crimp connectors.

 

[Northwinds]

I avoid Monster IC's as they're difficult to pull off, and give them away when I sell gear.

There is a technique when using Monsters Laz, I get them on and off no problem

 

[Northwinds]

I gotta add this, if you spend $500 on a killer set of speaker wires, and then you open up your gear whether it be the speakers, or a old 700B wired by big bird with a glass eye, and the wiring sux. What good is the expensive wire if the rest of the system is not up to snuff?

I open all kinds of preamps, amps, tuners etc.... and the wiring in these "boxes" looks like shit. So is the few feet we use of expensive "shielded with virgins panties" or whatever else they use to make these cables, really doing anything or do we have wild imaginations?????

I know there are guys with the golden ears who claim they can tell this from that and then there are the guys I fool every time in a beer blind taste test.... I really don't believe anybody is that good. But, I do have fun doing a beer blind taste test....

Just asking (again).

I have been saying this for years, it does not go over well on AK though. If people want to spend $100s of dollars to thousands of dollars on IC's and speaker cables let them, its their money. I will just keep snickering in the background with my second hand $1 each Monsters. They beat the generics

As for my speaker cables, well I do notice a difference vs lamp cord albeit a small one. My runs are maybe 10ft each tops. I got these huge cables for free so I use them. I have no problem running the thick lamp cord though

 

[Northwinds]

Hard to beat the quality and price at Blue Jean Cable.
Real wire no bull

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/aboutus.htm

I would love to try the Blue Jeans LC-1 cables, just never seem to have enough extra money to get any. I only use 4 sets of cables with my system since there is no processing equipment involved in my rig

 

[stuwee]

Just for grins, here's what I'm up against with the Summits, very interesting read about Sanders cables for electrostatic speakers and amplifier interactions, https://www.audiogon.com/listings/s...s-2015-03-27-cables-33701-saint-petersburg-fl

Roger Sanders knows his stuff! As soon as I can afford a set of these, you can bet I'll pay for them!

 

[stuwee]

BTW, the SAE A1001 has 14 gauge wiring to the outputs, see paragraph 3 and pics here, http://www.thevintageknob.org/sae-A1001.html, just to gloat a bit!!

 

[R1200S]

Hard to beat the quality and price at Blue Jean Cable.
Real wire no bull

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/aboutus.htm

The Blue Jean site has great reading and some good hard common sense about cables. I especially liked their take on HDMI cables. As stated, there's LOTS of snake oil out there.