Question RCA interconnect

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i tried both ways with all formats there is a diffrence in many ways !
Fair play to you.

I tried bi-wiring with my old Arcam and MA RSs, by the time you add in the extra cost of the cables it really isn't worth it.

I watched a YouTube video of Lee Taylor, one of the founder members of Leema Acoustics, and he said Dali are the second biggest producer of speaker cabinets. Dali only allow single wire.

That's quite a claim as Leema first started out in 1998 as only producing speakers.
 

TrevC

Well-known member
Hi All I am looking to upgrade my interconnects as they are about 10 years old my question is how much should i spend without going over board and how much difference will these make ?
my system is all Marantz 6005 CD Amp and streamer the speakers are Wharfedale 12.3 these are my most recent upgrade and wow they are brilliant.
my first post BTW . I listen too all genres of music . Thanks all.

Don't bother. Interconnects don't wear out or sound different to one another.
 
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TrevC

Well-known member
At the risk of opening another can of worms, you might try upgrading the mains cable to your amplifier and see if that makes a tangible difference to the dynamics...

This can be done DIY, as suggested for interconnects, depending on how confident you feel with electronics, but it's not rocket science.

All the best HB.

Another pointless exercise. Of course the power cable doesn't affect 'dynamics', whatever that is. How could it?
 
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abacus

Well-known member
So you'd happily run your expensive Marantz gear with £2 freebie interconnects would you? After all there's no difference in between interconnects!

That is correct, there is no difference between a quality cable that costs £5 and one that cost £1000, however longevity with regular use (Unplugging/plugging in) is worth paying a bit more for.
Of course if you can provide verifiable evidence that there is a difference in sound between them (Which no one anywhere in the world has yet been able to do) then please post, as that's how things move forward. (Placebo is very powerful)


Bill
 
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podknocker

Well-known member
I think there is a distinction between poor quality cables, with very thin bits of copper in them, with poor screening and then good quality cables, with a decent amount of copper and good screening and a design where these cables are flexible enough to be moved frequently without splitting and allow enough movement to be practical. I've had very good quality cables and connectors, but they were very rigid and tricky to route etc. Good quality is all you need and many people think this magical world of super expensive cables will give you a better sound. Cheap, good and expensive cables will all give the same sound. The difference is build quality, bendability and lifespan. When you have good quality cables, you don't need to spend more. £10 is enough for a pair of phono leads, just make sure they can be routed through TV/video cabinet holes, without being snagged, or splitting etc. People are fixated with expensive cables and I don't know where this comes from. Being a bit nerdy and wanting the last bit of quality is great, but the physics of the materials used, will ultimately determine how far this can go. The electricity in a £10 phono lead is the same electricity in a £10000 phono lead. It really is.
 

WayneKerr

Well-known member
So you'd happily run your expensive Marantz gear with £2 freebie interconnects would you? After all there's no difference in between interconnects!
I would happily run my gear with the bundled freebie interconnects included with the CDP. I firmly believe that manufacturers know exactly what they are doing when it comes to cables and they would never purposely include a cable which wasn't up to spec, or was sonically inferior, to an aftermarket cable, resulting in a detrimental effect on the performance of their kit... they'd be shooting themselves in the foot.

My turntable has no separate interconnects, it is one continuous cable from the headshell to the RCA plugs. Cable believers would infer that Clearaudio have no experience of cables and they have knowingly installed an inferior product to connect the turntable to the amp... I think not.

Refined OFC copper cable is refined OFC copper cable. If constructed and terminated correctly then there is no verifiable reason why a bundled cable of sufficient gauge will sound any different to any aftermarket cable of the same gauge and construction. Same applies to power leads.

It may surprise you but I do run aftermarket cables in my system: Atlas interconnects, QED speaker cable, the only reason for this is I prefer the sleeve colour on both and I am happy that they are professionally terminated with connectors of my personal choice.

I adore my current system, it is major improvement from the system it replaced. I would like to believe that if I were blindfolded I would be able to tell the two systems apart on a quick listen, however, I'm not certain of this. With sighted tests one can be fooled all too easily... and I'm talking about kit here, not a simple copper cable :)
 
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Gray

Well-known member
People are fixated with expensive cables and I don't know where this comes from.
It comes from marketing.
The claims and explanations regarding benefits can look extremely convincing (It's just possible that some believe their own claims).
That and the reassuringly high prices lead otherwise rational people to believe.

The understandable question for many then becomes "How could such cables not be better?"
 

WayneKerr

Well-known member
This topic, along with famous £4200 fuse, will haunt this forum forever! Physics says no, but the power of the mind cannot be underestimated. Psychoacoustics is a fascinating subject.
The power of the mind can never be underestimated! Simple research of the senses define that 75% of our knowledge/understanding is visual, 13% through our auditory senses. How many times have we heard that even the merest inference can change our perception of something, and placebo's affecting people in the same way as full medication in trials? Nowt as queer as folk! And marketing can work wonders!

When it comes to hi-fi the only true test is a double-blind one, everything else is rhetoric and hearsay.

Cable believers would say non-believers don't have the kit or the ears to tell the difference, non-believers would say in the absence of empirical evidence the believers are gullible creatures :)

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter... whatever floats your boat. The only issue I have as a non-believer is when believers spout night and day differences from a cable and don't expect their beliefs to be challenged.
 

hifi

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Feb 8, 2023
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The power of the mind can never be underestimated! Simple research of the senses define that 75% of our knowledge/understanding is visual, 13% through our auditory senses. How many times have we heard that even the merest inference can change our perception of something, and placebo's affecting people in the same way as full medication in trials? Nowt as queer as folk! And marketing can work wonders!

When it comes to hi-fi the only true test is a double-blind one, everything else is rhetoric and hearsay.

Cable believers would say non-believers don't have the kit or the ears to tell the difference, non-believers would say in the absence of empirical evidence the believers are gullible creatures :)

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter... whatever floats your boat. The only issue I have as a non-believer is when believers spout night and day differences from a cable and don't expect their beliefs to be challenged.
I agree i think the marketing plays a big role also the people that sell them .
 
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D

Deleted member 201267

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Got these coming today got them at a good price ! see what happens.

So you decided not to try the Chord Company C-line then ?
 

Gray

Well-known member
Marketing i guess 🙈
That's right.
A range of differently priced products makes sense - when people compare the price of mid with top of range.....they think they must be getting 'trickle down' benefits at a bargain price.

But the idea that, with cables and (God forbid) fuses, performance jumps inline with price...is absolutely ludicrous.
 

hifi

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Feb 8, 2023
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That's right.
A range of differently priced products makes sense - when people compare the price of mid with top of range.....they think they must be getting 'trickle down' benefits at a bargain price.

But the idea that, with cables and (God forbid) fuses, performance jumps inline with price...is absolutely ludicrous.
indeed i agree !
 
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