Do i need better cable/interconnects ?

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Seasons greetings,

as per dealer's recommendation : at least 10% of the whole hifi budget should be spent on cable and interconnects.

having done a quick calculation i figured out that my cable and interconnects cost only about 3% of my whole system. I have cambridge audio 900 series ( which IMO are very good ) interconnects and coaxial lead and chord silverscreen speaker cable.

am i missing something? Do i really need to spend more on cables and interconnects?

 

[CnoEvil]

If you expect any sort of consenus with opinions, you will be badly dissappointed.

My advice is to persuade a friendly dealer to lend you some at a variety of prices and try for yourself.

Brands that I like are from Telurium Q, Vertere, Linn (Silver), Atlas and Audioquest. TQ Black is a good place to start.

 

[abacus]

Providing the cable is of good quality with quality connectors then No.

Cables are one of the biggest cons in the Hi Fi chain as the only differences you will hear between them is the placebo effect.

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[Vladimir]

Mine are 6.5%. I reckon anything above 5% is good.

 

[MeanandGreen]

There is divided opinion on these kind of subjects. You won't get a uniform answer to this.

My personal opinion going from my own experience as an enthusiast and also from my electrical background, I would say your current cables will be fine.

I have many different price bracket cables which I've collected over 20 odd years. To me a well made adequate interconnect cable sounds like any other well made adequate interconnect cable. Speaker cables can have more effect in my opinion, but even that is subtle.

If your dealer is recommending you spend on cables ask them for a home trial of a few different ones and ask them what they recommend. If you notice a significant improvement with any then you can draw your own conclusions, but I honestly wouldn't get sucked into this 10% malarkey at all.

As long as you use the right cable for the job and it's not substandard in material construction or mechanical termination and is of the correct electrical capacity you are good to go. All in my opinion.

 

[bigfish786]

There's no harm in trying a few different cables. There are plenty out there to chose from.

i have Graham slee cusat for cd playback.

the tone arm came with its own cable connected (clearaudio)

ive got atlas cables too, all have been excellent.

If you have friends with hifi, try some of theirs.

 

[matt49]

In some circumstances -- and you'll know if it applies to you, as you'll be able to hear interference -- having properly shielded interconnects can make a big difference. By "properly shielded" I mean (ideally) two layers of copper braiding. These don't need to be expensive. Brands like Canare do them for £20 or so.

 

[chebby]

AudioQuest Forest Toslink - 3.5mm mini-optical 0.75m = £25

Van Damme 4mm2 UP-LC-OFC speaker cables terminated all round with soldered banana plugs = £50

Chord C-Power 1.5m power cable = £40 (Discounted.)

A couple of MK 646CHA black and an MK 646WHI white 'Safety' plugs to replace originals on selected items (like the extension and AirPort Express leads) = £10 for the three.

Durpalug EXL135BLK 4-gang extension lead with 2m flex reduced to 1m = Free. (Old one i'd kept in cupboard for a long time and forgot about until recently.)

So that's £125 ish for a system that costs £1350 + £79 (AEX) + £151 (Speaker stands)

Oh yes, some Goddards metal polish, an old duster and a couple of alcohol wipes = negligible

 

[gasolin]

Mine is 12-14% i got the optical new,the coaxial not used it's also new but for the price of a use supra coaxial

Speaker cable was new and might be a bit more expensive since i have 2x4 meters

Have tried audioquest (flx slip 14/4) vdh (clearwater),supra classic (2.5 and 4.0) now Supra ply 3.4 very neutral cable, classic very bright

I use digital cable since then there isn't any sound effect going from my pc,cd to my amp(convertions to analog is done just a few inches before the speaker terminal so the signal can only change in the speaker cable/speakers), although digital cable can sound different also between coaxial and optical.

I not gonna get any other interconnect (the ones i have i just bought) but if i can find a better speaker cable i might do that, but for e now i have slightly warm sound that is more to the dark side then the bright side BUT it's still neutral changed to supra and got a little brighter sound (but never bright as cheap pa speakers or mabye cerwin vega)

(have not included what i payed for my power mains/cable)

Noticed a huge difference in the top going from supra classic to supra ply 3.4

The cambridge 900 looks a bit like Qed cables (does Qed make them,oem?)

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0653/5587/products/306962.jpg?v=1418417390 (Cambridge 900)

http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/images/detailed/1/performance2.jpg

http://cdn.audioaffair.co.uk/media/catalog/product/q/e/qed-performance-audio_1.jpg

 

[lindsayt]

Animesh, my cables cost me 0.25% of my total system budget.

By all means try other cables if that's what you want to do. My recommendation is to do it on a sale or return basis.

 

[Al ears]

There is divided opinion on these kind of subjects. You won't get a uniform answer to this.

My personal opinion going from my own experience as an enthusiast and also from my electrical background, I would say your current cables will be fine.

I have many different price bracket cables which I've collected over 20 odd years. To me a well made adequate interconnect cable sounds like any other well made adequate interconnect cable. Speaker cables can have more effect in my opinion, but even that is subtle.

If your dealer is recommending you spend on cables ask them for a home trial of a few different ones and ask them what they recommend. If you notice a significant improvement with any then you can draw your own conclusions, but I honestly wouldn't get sucked into this 10% malarkey at all.

As long as you use the right cable for the job and it's not substandard in material construction or mechanical termination and is of the correct electrical capacity you are good to go. All in my opinion.

Very good advice, I would agree, provided regular checks are made to check all connections are good and tight and cleaned then little else is likely to improve on what the OP has got already.

If he's happy with the sound then there's no point in this 10 percent malarkey.

I do believe systems can be subtly tweaked by using different speaker cables but that's about it.

I once had a dealer tell me I needed cables that cost 10% of what my speakers cost, needless to say I no longer frequent that dealer.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Seriously????

You just upgraded your amp from one well regarded amp to another.

In your opinion Animesh what's missing in the sound you're currently getting?

Where do you believe it can generally be improved at this moment in time.

Is the music you listen to well produced (you listen to Indian music don't you) have you tried other genres that have a rep of really good production standards to really assess your set up?

Seriously, you can't be buying a 2grand plus amp and be on a forum quibbling about interconnects...... *acute*

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Seriously????

You just upgraded your amp from one well regarded amp to another.

In your opinion Animesh what's missing in the sound you're currently getting?

Where do you believe it can generally be improved at this moment in time.

Is the music you listen to well produced (you listen to Indian music don't you) have you tried other genres that have a rep of really good production standards to really assess your set up?

Seriously, you can't be buying a 2grand plus amp and be on a forum quibbling about interconnects...... *acute*

too right!!

i listen to a lot of jazz too.Sound Quality of indian music has improve vastly in last 20years and it is still getting better.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the CA AUD900 series they look and feel proper hi-end.

just wondered, thats all

 

[Vladimir]

The dealer where I bought the Roksan K2BT also carries CA kit and for the first time I saw their cables. I must say I was quite impressed with the quality for the price. I didn't buy any since I already had the Audioquest Type 4 but I wouldn't mind buying their cables. Definitely a step up from your mediocre ValueLine stuff.

 

[plastic penguin]

I used to own Cambridge 'Studio' interconnects. They were very good for the price.

My current cables are as follows:

CDP to amp: Merlin Chopin

Sky Box to amp: Chord Crimson

Blu-Ray to amp: Chord Chrysalis (had these for donkeys).

Speaker wires: Chord SilverScreen.

I would advise Animesh to blag some cables from a local dealer and see if that gives his system a lift.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I would usually recommend spending as much of the budget as possible to get the electronics/speakers right in the first place, as no cables are going to make up for a system you're not happy with. Cables can be easily swapped out to audition at home once you've got the speakers placed just where you want them, the system has settled in, and you've gotten used to how it sounds in your room. Trying cables in a newly purchased system is a little pointless in my opinion.