Cable upgrade advice

[insider9]

I've been meaning to start a thread for a while. I understand how divided the opinion is on this subject.

I'm conisdering an upgrade to my cables. Happy with all other aspects of my system and not planning an upgrade until MQA is more accessible. I'm looking for both interconnects (2 of 0.5m RCA) and speaker cables (pair of 2.5-3m lengths terminated). I've never knowingly heard a higher quality (cost) cables. I'm currently using rather cheap Cambridge Audio Ultra 100 (2.5mm2 silver plated copper) speaker cable and Cambridge Audio Studio Reference and Atlas Basic interconnects.

I don't expect massive differences although I have heard differences (some being siginificant) to other interconnects and speaker cables I've used in the past and still own.

The first question would be... Which upgrade would be more important - speaker cables or interconnects?

Second, how much would I be expected to spend to hear a difference? Would a £40 interconnect make a difference or would I need to spend much more? Same with speaker cables? At which point would I start seeing big diminishing returns?

I've not set a budget for that reason but would like to think I wouldn't need to spend more than £30 per meter on speaker cables and under £150 for two pairs of RCA interconnects. I know I could just order them from somewhere like Futureshop and send back if I don't like them but would rather ask all of you first. Might save messing about.

Thanks in advance and hope for a peaceful debate

 

[Superaintit]

Hmm I would say I noticed a difference when I changed interconnects to ones costing 120-150. The difference was more like an equaliser at work, rather different than better. If you want better a balanced cable can work better than rca if your equipment is built for it. (If it has balanced inputs I would assume it does)

On speaker cables I feel than sufficient thickness and once a year checking the ends or cable does not rust, is the best your speakers can get.

Imo if you want to tune your system its better to do in in the digital part. By all means, try some out and share your findings.

 

[Superaintit]

I now use Vandamme.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I've noticed a difference buying audioquest rocket 33 solid core speaker cable

but cables are not meant to change the sound just improve on the signal and less distortion which means better sound i find .

i did try using XLRs from audioquest but found they made the sound worse

i have spent around the £100 mark on RCAs in the past but no more then that . You could try richer sounds sometimes they have demo RCAs cheaper then the normal price .

 

[Gazzip]

I would advise choosing some good copper cables of sufficient girth vs length and sticking with them for life. I have wasted tens of thousands of pounds on cables (not an over exaggerated statement I am ashamed to admit), and although you can change the sound by changing cables you are probably not improving it and you have no control. If you have £30/m for speaker cable and £150 for two interconnects then put your money together and buy a DSP unit or some acoustic treatment for your room.

 

[ellisdj]

At that price point Graham Slee Cables are the best I tried - these are available for home loan as well details are on their website

 

[insider9]

Will have a look at suggestions.

Gazzip, I'm looking out for Umik-1 irrespective of possible cables upgrade. I've seen them sell second hand for £60 which is much more appealing than rrp so worth waiting for one second hand.

 

[seemorebtts]

You need to start with you power cables first then interconnect then speaker wire in this order.you will get a better balance and a better sound.try clearer audio as you get 60day money back guarantee.its a no brainier for me.if I had the choice I would start with a clearer audio chopper line power cable.£175. Chord shawline interconnect £185.

 

[insider9]

You need to start with you power cables first then interconnect then speaker wire in this order.you will get a better balance and a better sound.try clearer audio as you get 60day money back guarantee.its a no brainier for me.if I had the choice I would start with a clearer audio chopper line power cable.£175. Chord shawline interconnect £185.

I didn't expect to change power cables Will have to do some research. I'm not going to lie I'm a bit sceptical about impact of power cables on sound quality but until I try it I won't have an opinion so it will be somewhere on the agenda.

Chord Shawline would be just more than I'm prepared to spend at the minute but thanks for suggestion.

 

[Gazzip]

Will have a look at suggestions.

Gazzip, I'm looking out for Umik-1 irrespective of possible cables upgrade. I've seen them sell second hand for £60 which is much more appealing than rrp so worth waiting for one second hand.

Good move, although make sure the Umik-1 microphone you buy has the serial No. with it. You will need that to download its calibration file...

When it comes to cables my only reason for saying what I did is that IMHO you need to have a constant in your system. If you want to change the sound then change it in a controlled, electronic manner. Why rely on the fixed resistive/inductive (scientifically questionable) properties of a cable when you can do the same thing with a measurable equalisation device? Makes no sense to me but each to their own...

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Do not blame you of being skeptical I would

all you need is a good speaker cable and a good set of RCAs *smile*

 

[seemorebtts]

For me a power cable is the best and first upgrade to get.please just give it a go. Remember 60 day money back guarantee there's nothing to stop you

 

[ChrisIRL]

Wireworld Luna 7 interconnect does great things for bass. Literally the only item I have that has survived several complete system changes. Could never part with it.

 

[abacus]

Unless their damaged, stick with what you have got, as the differences with others will be negligible, whether you spend £20 or £1000, (As a simple blind test will prove)

If you still wish to change your cables, then avoid anything made by Hi-Fi cable manufactures, and be wary of dealers that recommend cables that have magic fairy dust, instead go to a professional music store (Or online store) and get the cables used in studios, as studio equipment makes even high end Hi-Fi sound like a wind-up gramophone, so if the cables are top notch for them, they will be top notch with your equipment. (As to mains cables, then as my Gran used to say, there is one born every minute)

BTW. If anybody says that cables do make a difference (And the cables are of good quality) ask them to provide verifiable evidence, as no Hi-Fi cable manufacture has yet been able to.

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[muljao]

I'm on the non believers side when it comes to cables, but my knowledge is very limited and if others hear a difference then who am I to say.

Indeed what hi-fis latest review of the Dali Zensor 5 ax make a big point of calming down the speakers treble with a different cable than the ones supplied

 

[insider9]

I'm on the non believers side when it comes to cables, but my knowledge is very limited and if others hear a difference then who am I to say.

Indeed what hi-fis latest review of the Dali Zensor 5 ax make a big point of calming down the speakers treble with a different cable than the ones supplied

I'm nowhere near an expert myself I have heard differences in cables already so I know they can affect the sound. In fact the first time I've noticed a rather big difference was with Dali Zensor 3. When used with Silver Plated Copper cables they were really bright and an hour of listening would tire me out. It may of course be that was used to warmer sound so anything bright would do that. I'm confident I could point out what to listen for and you would also hear the difference using the cables I have.

No doubt that many believers exaggerate the positive effects as well as that the non-believers simply dismiss even small differences.

I don't expect a night and day difference but gaining an extra 10% would be worth it as long as the cost would be reasonable. Of course there are easier ways of improving sound quality but except for room treatment I've done just about everything. Room treatment is on the agenda also but not as easy to do.

Wireworld Luna 7 interconnect does great things for bass. Literally the only item I have that has survived several complete system changes. Could never part with it.

Looks really well priced, added to shortlist. Thanks!

If you still wish to change your cables, then avoid anything made by Hi-Fi cable manufactures, and be wary of dealers that recommend cables that have magic fairy dust, instead go to a professional music store (Or online store) and get the cables used in studios, as studio equipment makes even high end Hi-Fi sound like a wind-up gramophone, so if the cables are top notch for them, they will be top notch with your equipment.

Interesting point, thanks. I do want to change them so I can have an opinion of my own

I am hoping they will give me a boost in sound quality but if not then quite happy to admit it. At least nowadays with many money back guarantees there is a safe way to experiment.

 

[Gazzip]

The subject of cables is a hornet's nest in this hobby and most speaker and amplifier companies have sadly stopped providing any advice because of this. PMC used to recommend £3 per metre Van Damme Tour Grade Classic Black speaker cables I believe, but they stopped doing this a few years ago.

Bryston still do recommend this cable and will even terminate and suply a pair for you on request. Purchased direct from Bryston a pair of 1m VD Tour Grade Classic XLR's interconnects will rob you of £200-ish for a cable set which retails elsewhere for £20. Bryston are really, really open about the cable and connectors they use so I cannot help thinking that this is almost a two fingered salute at "exotic" cable manufacturers. Something along the lines of "...if you can sell ordinary cables for £100's then so can we, only we are going to be very open about what we are doing...".

 

[Oldphrt]

I've been meaning to start a thread for a while. I understand how divided the opinion is on this subject.

I'm conisdering an upgrade to my cables. Happy with all other aspects of my system and not planning an upgrade until MQA is more accessible. I'm looking for both interconnects (2 of 0.5m RCA) and speaker cables (pair of 2.5-3m lengths terminated). I've never knowingly heard a higher quality (cost) cables. I'm currently using rather cheap Cambridge Audio Ultra 100 (2.5mm2 silver plated copper) speaker cable and Cambridge Audio Studio Reference and Atlas Basic interconnects.

I don't expect massive differences although I have heard differences (some being siginificant) to other interconnects and speaker cables I've used in the past and still own.

The first question would be... Which upgrade would be more important - speaker cables or interconnects?

Second, how much would I be expected to spend to hear a difference? Would a £40 interconnect make a difference or would I need to spend much more? Same with speaker cables? At which point would I start seeing big diminishing returns?

I've not set a budget for that reason but would like to think I wouldn't need to spend more than £30 per meter on speaker cables and under £150 for two pairs of RCA interconnects. I know I could just order them from somewhere like Futureshop and send back if I don't like them but would rather ask all of you first. Might save messing about.

Thanks in advance and hope for a peaceful debate

If you are rich and stupid buy expensive wanky wire. If not, get ordinary thick copper multistrand speaker cable and keep your existing interconnects, because they sure as hell won't sound any different to even the most expensive wanky ones.

 

[seemorebtts]

It's a bit weird for me to hear people are sceptical about power cables.this is one of the most important upgrades on your system.the amount of dirty electric that goes down those rubbish power cables you get with your new kit.i used to make transformers years ago for Arcam.i made one for their fmj power amplifier once and it was so big I couldn't lift it.electric is very important part of your hifi and should be your first upgrade.i admit some people are very happy with what they have and that's great but if someone asks me they want to make an upgrade on there systems I always say start with a power cable.my power cable is the same price of my amp but I think it's justified.if someone had £2000 to spend on a amp and power cable I would advise them to spend it all on an amp as you will get more for your money with electronics but make an upgrade later

 

[Gazzip]

I've been meaning to start a thread for a while. I understand how divided the opinion is on this subject.

I'm conisdering an upgrade to my cables. Happy with all other aspects of my system and not planning an upgrade until MQA is more accessible. I'm looking for both interconnects (2 of 0.5m RCA) and speaker cables (pair of 2.5-3m lengths terminated). I've never knowingly heard a higher quality (cost) cables. I'm currently using rather cheap Cambridge Audio Ultra 100 (2.5mm2 silver plated copper) speaker cable and Cambridge Audio Studio Reference and Atlas Basic interconnects.

I don't expect massive differences although I have heard differences (some being siginificant) to other interconnects and speaker cables I've used in the past and still own.

The first question would be... Which upgrade would be more important - speaker cables or interconnects?

Second, how much would I be expected to spend to hear a difference? Would a £40 interconnect make a difference or would I need to spend much more? Same with speaker cables? At which point would I start seeing big diminishing returns?

I've not set a budget for that reason but would like to think I wouldn't need to spend more than £30 per meter on speaker cables and under £150 for two pairs of RCA interconnects. I know I could just order them from somewhere like Futureshop and send back if I don't like them but would rather ask all of you first. Might save messing about.

Thanks in advance and hope for a peaceful debate

If you are rich and stupid buy expensive wanky wire. If not, get ordinary thick copper multistrand speaker cable and keep your existing interconnects, because they sure as hell won't sound any different to even the most expensive wanky ones.

Swanky oldphrt, swanky. You forgot to press your S!

 

[Oldphrt]

It's a bit weird for me to hear people are sceptical about power cables.this is one of the most important upgrades on your system.the amount of dirty electric that goes down those rubbish power cables you get with your new kit.

Total bollocks. Power cables make no difference at all to performance.

 

[ifor]

Graham Slee cables. You can get hold of some of these on a no obligation two week home loan if you head over the Graham Slee website and join the forum.

 

[seemorebtts]

It's a bit weird for me to hear people are sceptical about power cables.this is one of the most important upgrades on your system.the amount of dirty electric that goes down those rubbish power cables you get with your new kit.

Total bollocks.  Power cables make no difference at all to performance.

and that's fine.you don't need fancy cables.your perfectly happy with what you have.but some want more and I'm saying try some power cables.you have a 60 day money back guarantee so if you find no difference then that's fine. send it back get your money back.but please try

 

[Blacksabbath25]

everyone on here is allowed there opinion !

what works for one person may not work for someone else's *smile*

 

[Oldphrt]

It's a bit weird for me to hear people are sceptical about power cables.this is one of the most important upgrades on your system.the amount of dirty electric that goes down those rubbish power cables you get with your new kit.

Total bollocks. Power cables make no difference at all to performance.

and that's fine.you don't need fancy cables.your perfectly happy with what you have.but some want more and I'm saying try some power cables.you have a 60 day money back guarantee so if you find no difference then that's fine. send it back get your money back.but please try

Try getting a clue. Mains cables don't affect performance because, guess what, they only carry the mains.