Cable Heresy ?

deafinoneear

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Jul 4, 2008
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My system is probably classed as mid-price being based around Arcam, Audiolab CD and a Rega p3 with separate phono stage.
I recently added some Dali Oberon speakers and took the opportunity to upgrade my speaker cable to the QED XT40.
Dali have always been a good match for my amp and they sounded great in-store.
That was three months ago and although my system sounded ok, it dawned on me I was spending less and less time listening to it.
I spent a few days tinkering with speaker positioning. I even tried using the old silver anniversary cable I had replaced.
No joy.
Today, just as an experiment I hooked up some 79 strand cable and sat down to listen.
My astonishment was only matched by the smile on my face. OK there was probably less detail but my system had started to sing.
What's going on ?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
you have discovered that different (design) cables can...sound different !
oh and that cheaper cables can often sound better than pricier ones !
 
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D

Deleted member 188516

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I think you may have hit on something with the psychological comment.
I think I may have opened a can of worms ...
There is an A&R Cambridge A60 "Crying out to me" in my loft. It's still in the box I bought it in as my first ever amp.
Hmmm .... DIN sockets.

here is an interesting "review" video where
fluteboy describes a similar experience to what you have had regarding a cable change to qed 79 strand :-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBazP-fXQD0
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
I use 79-strand between my PowerNode 2i and Dali Spektor 2s in my upstairs system, and it works so well that I can't be bothered to worry about changing the speaker cable.

In my main system I use Chord Rumour X, though I'm not convinced it's worth the extra money.

the chord rumour x looks like qed 79 strand albeit in a thicker / fancier jacket. try swapping them around if your particularly bored !
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
the chord rumour x looks like qed 79 strand albeit in a thicker / fancier jacket. try swapping them around if your particularly bored !

I honestly can't be bothered. I never get bored, and cables are one of the most hugely over-rated elements of hi-fi.
 
My system is probably classed as mid-price being based around Arcam, Audiolab CD and a Rega p3 with separate phono stage.
I recently added some Dali Oberon speakers and took the opportunity to upgrade my speaker cable to the QED XT40.
Dali have always been a good match for my amp and they sounded great in-store.
That was three months ago and although my system sounded ok, it dawned on me I was spending less and less time listening to it.
I spent a few days tinkering with speaker positioning. I even tried using the old silver anniversary cable I had replaced.
No joy.
Today, just as an experiment I hooked up some 79 strand cable and sat down to listen.
My astonishment was only matched by the smile on my face. OK there was probably less detail but my system had started to sing.
What's going on ?
Little story. Last year I experienced a similar thing where I became bored with my system and became less enthused about playing music.

I decided I was playing it too often -- OD'd on music. So I deliberately didn't switch it on for a few days, so instead of playing several hours each day I was using it for a couple of hours every tow or three days. Although my enthusiasm started to grow back still wasn't totally satisfied.

On one bored afternoon decided to clean all the terminals, inputs/outputs on every component with white spirit, cloths and cotton buds. Wow! What a difference. Okay it wasn't night and day different but certainly very audible. Sounded like a new system.

This is, I believe, why people can hear a difference in cables. Not the new cables are necessarily better but taking out the old ones removes some of the dust and crud that's collected over a said period of time. Replacing them with new ones - perfectly clean - and that helps to transmit a cleaner signal(s)
 

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