Recommend cables for monitor audio rs1?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys.

Just bought the monitor audio rs1 and a yamaha amp. But im not a hifi expert, so can anyone of u recommend some really good affordable cables.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Welcome to the forum Cdorn.

With the RS1's tendency towards brightness, I would steer clear of silver coated copper cables, and just stick with pure copper ones. Have a look at the QED Original or Chord Carnival Silver Screen - the silver prefers to the screening, not the cable itself 🙂

 

[CnoEvil]

Chord Carnival Silverscreen or Van Damme UP LC-OFC or Atlas Equator Mk 11

Edit: agree with David's comment below, which is why my recommendations are copper only.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys.

Monitor audio recommends pure flow cables. What do you think about that? 🙂

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks guys.

Monitor audio recommends pure flow cables. What do you think about that? 🙂

Looks like it's Silver coated, so I'd be cautious. David sells it, so may be be able to shed more light. I suspect you can get better performance for your money.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi guys.

Just bought the monitor audio rs1 and a yamaha amp. But im not a hifi expert, so can anyone of u recommend some really good affordable cables.

Another flag waving in the SilverScreen camp. I wouldn't say all silver coated cables are wrong for the RS1s - Chord Carnival Silver Plus sounded awesome for the money. Avoid QED though.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Nice to hear from someone who has gone into a comparison open minded, not really expecting much of a difference, and being blown away by what they're hearing. Thanks Gazzip.

 

[Gazzip]

No worries David. I can't begin to explain how excited I am about what the new cables have done. I'm supposed to be at the inlaws this weekend but have told the wife that I "have to work" and have stayed at home instead. Two whole days to spend rediscovering my CD collection..... and trying to figure out how to explain the £274 hole in our bank account care of Hificables.co.uk..... That could be difficult.....

 

[Gazzip]

Perfect timing! I have just upgraded the cables for my RS1's this week. I was using QED Silver Anniversary XT, but I found the sound a bit too "in my face". I took the plunge, dug deep in to my less than bottomless pockets, and invested in some Chord Odyssey 2. Not cheap at just shy of £20 p/m, (terminated), but I am using the RS1's with kit that is not really considered "budget" so I figured in for a penny, in for a pound as the long term plan is to upgrade the speakers as well.

Now, I have read a lot, (and by that I mean a lot), about the difference that cables do or don't make to a system. I consider myself to be a pragmatist who is prepared to listen to both sides of an argument before coming to my own conclusion, so it was with some trepidation that I unpacked my shiny, and for some reason slightly sticky?, new cables. The view I took was that if they made no difference to my system I could recoup most of my cash on eBay so what did I have to lose?

I connected them up, in went my favourite Muse CD on repeat, and out to work I went to give them a good day's worth of burn-in. The naysayers will also tell you that burn in is not possible. So, how did it sound? Did it make a difference? Yes sir it did! My RS1's have completely disappeared and have been replaced by a balanced, sweet and extraordinarily vast sound stage. Bass is tight and attacking and vocals simply float around in front of me. Without a doubt the Odyssey 2 is the most cost affective upgrade that I have ever purchased.

Prepare yourself for those who will tell you that the above description of audio alchemy is complete codswallop and that I am suffering from "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome. Well if this is that then long live the king and his flashy wardrobe, 'cos this chap is convinced! If you can afford it then go for the Odyssey 2 mate. Don't take my word for it though, pop down to your local Hifi emporium and ask the nice men and women there to lend you a pair and see for yourself!

 

[Big Chris]

Like Gazzip, I've recently moved to copper cables from a pair of QEDs Silver Anniversary (bi-wire, but non-XT), and like Gazzip I've been impressed by the differences. Punchier, smoother (but not too smooth) and detailed.

I was lucky, I managed to spend £100 on mine by trawling eBay and not being in too much of a rush to buy something.

 

[Anonymous]

No worries David. I can't begin to explain how excited I am about what the new cables have done. I'm supposed to be at the inlaws this weekend but have told the wife that I "have to work" and have stayed at home instead. Two whole days to spend rediscovering my CD collection..... and trying to figure out how to explain the £274 hole in our bank account care of Hificables.co.uk..... That could be difficult.....

In what way do you think new cables are going to improve your system again

 

[Anonymous]

Cables don't have performance, they're wires coated in plastic :?

 

[Anonymous]

From experience, the cable lovers AND the cable dismissers are generally both wrong.

Cables do make a difference. There I've said it.

However... £274 is too much, and I believe sincerely that you can get the same sound with a tenth of that. It's all to do with electrical properties. So choosing the cable that suits your amp and speakers is most important. Usually I've found that a decent AWG12 to 14 OFC will give you 99% of the performance you can possibly get. And you can get that, well insulated for under a pound a metre. I used some NVA LS3 recently and I *think* there was a performance increase from my standard copper cables, but it was at most, subtle.

But undoubtably, having spent the best part of £300, there will definitely be a perceived improvement. Buyer justification, Expectation bias, placebo, and maybe 1% actual improvement.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Typical - you wait all weekend for a cable naysayer and then three of them arrive all at once 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Typical - you wait all weekend for a cable naysayer and then three of them arrive all at once 🙂

I'm not a naysayer, I simply think the claimed affect is erm, well, over the top... I have heard differences, but it's slight, subtle at best, and £300 is best spent on better speakers, or a more powerful amp. Once you have a system in place, and feel you have a hole burning in your pocket, then maybe, just maybe, trying some new cables will improve it, but not always, and often the more expensive cable makes things worse... Personally, I'd pocket that type of money and put it toward my next real upgrade.

 

[Clare Newsome]

A lot of sense in your statement above - more of that kind of balance, please, rather than belittling the personal experiences of other members. Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

A lot of sense in your statement above - more of that kind of balance, please, rather than belittling the personal experiences of other members. Thanks!

Yes Maam... 🙂 :type: ... :cheers:

 

[plastic penguin]

A lot of sense in your statement above - more of that kind of balance, please, rather than belittling the personal experiences of other members. Thanks!

Yes Maam... 🙂 :type: ... :cheers:

+1 for Clare's response. We all know that hi-fi is subjective (and we all hear something different), and all one can do is pass on your own experience and let the OP decide for him/herself.

PS: It took months for any of my posts to be acknowledged...😀 😛ray:

 

[Anonymous]

Typical - you wait all weekend for a cable naysayer and then three of them arrive all at once 🙂

Just like buses then

 

[Gazzip]

From experience, the cable lovers AND the cable dismissers are generally both wrong.

Cables do make a difference. There I've said it.

However... £274 is too much, and I believe sincerely that you can get the same sound with a tenth of that. It's all to do with electrical properties. So choosing the cable that suits your amp and speakers is most important. Usually I've found that a decent AWG12 to 14 OFC will give you 99% of the performance you can possibly get. And you can get that, well insulated for under a pound a metre. I used some NVA LS3 recently and I *think* there was a performance increase from my standard copper cables, but it was at most, subtle.

But undoubtably, having spent the best part of £300, there will definitely be a perceived improvement. Buyer justification, Expectation bias, placebo, and maybe 1% actual improvement.

Thanks trousertrumpet. However, don't you think that Hifi equipment is all about perceived improvement, buyer justification and expectation bias? At the end of the day it's down to personal taste. I've been subjected to plenty of crooning by fellow enthusiasts about their system component "upgrades" costing multiple thousands of pounds but which actually, to my ear, sound mediocre at best. However, I would never openly poopoo their "wasted" money as you do. The bottom line is tha a given Hifi's or cables qualities are in the ear of the beholder. To me my new cables sound vastly better than my old ones, ergo they are.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I've never really understood people who try and convert the converted. If someone has heard a difference between some cables in their own system (whether that's through normal use, or blind testing), i don't really know why people try and tell them that they didn't hear a difference, and that it was all in their head.

It's like telling a Christian there's no God. You're not going to change their mind!

 

[plastic penguin]

I've never really understood people who try and convert the converted. If someone has heard a difference between some cables in their own system (whether that's through normal use, or blind testing), i don't really know why people try and tell them that they didn't hear a difference, and that it was all in their head.

It's like telling a Christian there's no God. You're not going to change their mind!

Oh no - I feel a Monty Python quote coming...

 

[Frank Harvey]

:rofl:

 

[plastic penguin]

:rofl:

Business a bit slack at the mo, David?

 

[Anonymous]

It's like telling a Christian there's no God. You're not going to change their mind!

I'd say it's similar, but not exactly alike. There's definitely a tiny difference between cables and it's scientifically measurable (the only question is whether it is audible or not)...unlike your example which has zero scientific basis and relies 100% on faith.