Speaker cables

[Fergus]

I decided to replace my 1970s era cables with some new posh ones. I was preparing to convince myself that they were worth £70 and all I can say is WOW! They are amazing In every way apart from being very thick. An excellent investment which I thoroughly recommend. What are your experiences of this upgrade?

 

[camcroft]

Run quick the Wolves will be after you.

 

[Al ears]

May i ask what have you purchased ?

cables costing £70 obviously.....

 

[barcpc]

In my case I bought some cheap cables, and I'm still waiting on some reason to upgrade. If I spend more, will it sound better?

 

[Gray]

Run quick the Wolves will be after you.

It's OK, I think he's joking.
And if he's not, he should be a comedian 👍

 

[Al ears]

It's OK, I think he's joking.
And if he's not, he should be a comedian 👍

I don't think he is.
Newbies starting cable threads? Nothing new here, move along ......

 

[Gray]

I don't think he is.
Newbies starting cable threads? Nothing new here, move along ......

I know, but he's funnier than usual.

 

[nopiano]

I decided to replace my 1970s era cables with some new posh ones. I was preparing to convince myself that they were worth £70 and all I can say is WOW! They are amazing In every way apart from being very thick. An excellent investment which I thoroughly recommend. What are your experiences of this upgrade?

What’s the system, and what are the cables?

 

[abacus]

If they are the standard from the 70s then they are probably thin with poor connections, so a replacement will be beneficial.
If they were good quality cables and connectors then I am sorry to say but its purely the placebo effect.
Any good quality 2.5mm sq. OFC cable is all you need.

Bill

 

[Fergus]

cables costing £70 obviously.....

Chord c-screen

 

[Fergus]

What’s the system, and what are the cables?

Audiolab 8000s ditton66 speakers and dual 701 with a new jico stylus and new ifi zen preamp

 

[nopiano]

Audiolab 8000s ditton66 speakers and dual 701 with a new jac stylus and new ifi zen preamp

That’s definitely worth spending £70 on! I hope the speakers are holding up, and that Dual was a marvellous fully automatic direct drive. I could only afford the CS-601!

 

[Fergus]

It's OK, I think he's joking.
And if he's not, he should be a comedian 👍

It is an honest question and one of the upgrades I have been doing. Of course it’s a contentious topic but having seen such a genuine improvement in performance despite good connections at other ends I had to make the comment. I guess the cables were showing their 50 years of age..

 

[Gray]

It is an honest question and one of the upgrades I have been doing. Of course it’s a contentious topic but having seen such a genuine improvement in performance despite good connections at other ends I had to make the comment. I guess the cables were showing their 50 years of age..

I'm glad you're happy with your new cables Fergus.
I didn't really think you were joking, but the use of the 'WOW' is something a non- believer would do as part of the mockery 😉

Someone else recently thought it was time for a cable change - based entirely on the age of his cables. He thought that newer cables must have improved. Marketing would certainly lead you to believe so.
But (subject to a lack of abuse) age itself is irrelevant to cables.

If Fergus, you could consistently, audibly identify your new cables in a strict blind comparison with your originals, I would be impressed (to say the least) and agree that it was money well spent 👍

 

[robdmarsh]

In my case I bought some cheap cables, and I'm still waiting on some reason to upgrade. If I spend more, will it sound better?

Yes. That's the easy answer, but the more convoluted one is it depends on your system: quality of your source, amplification and speakers but in my experience you don't need high end to hear the difference. It surprises me when people say they don't hear the difference.

 

[robdmarsh]

I'm glad you're happy with your new cables Fergus.
I didn't really think you were joking, but the use of the 'WOW' is something a non- believer would do as part of the mockery 😉

Someone else recently thought it was time for a cable change - based entirely on the age of his cables. He thought that newer cables must have improved. Marketing would certainly lead you to believe so.
But (subject to a lack of abuse) age itself is irrelevant to cables.

If Fergus, you could consistently, audibly identify your new cables in a strict blind comparison with your originals, I would be impressed (to say the least) and agree that it was money well spent 👍

Have you people actually tried putting more expensive cables in your system and heard no difference or are you just against the whole idea and never tried it "because it doesn't make any scientific sense", so there's no point trying it?

 

[WayneKerr]

Have you people actually tried putting more expensive cables in your system and heard no difference or are you just against the whole idea and never tried it "because it doesn't make any scientific sense", so there's no point trying it?

Yes, I have, Rob. With my current system I went from VD Blue 1.25mm to QED XT40 speaker cables, difference in price around £100. I honestly could not detect any difference whatsoever!

Previous counter claims on here to this have been: my system is not resolving enough to detect the difference and/or the cables were too similar in construction for there to be a difference!

I dunno, you tell me... Do you think my system is of insufficient quality to detect a difference? Are the aforementioned cables too similar in construction for there to be a difference?

Either way what would you suggest I try in my system to hear this difference people refer to? How expensive do I need to go?

 

[SR-91]

Yes, I have, Rob. With my current system I went from VD Blue 1.25mm to QED XT40 speaker cables, difference in price around £100. I honestly could not detect any difference whatsoever!

Previous counter claims on here to this have been: my system is not resolving enough to detect the difference and/or the cables were too similar in construction for there to be a difference!

I dunno, you tell me... Do you think my system is of insufficient quality to detect a difference? Are the aforementioned cables too similar in construction for there to be a difference?

Either way what would you suggest I try in my system to hear this difference people refer to? How expensive do I need to go to detect this difference?

I was advised try Nordost...
When i saw the prices i said forget it !

 

[WayneKerr]

I was advised try Nordost...
When i saw the prices i said forget it !

I see what you mean... Odin speaker cables 2 x 3m lengths £120K, at least the burn-in option appears to be free

 

[Gray]

Have you people actually tried putting more expensive cables in your system and heard no difference or are you just against the whole idea and never tried it "because it doesn't make any scientific sense", so there's no point trying it?

I was using 1000+ strand OFC speaker cable, when I tried an experiment.
I made up the same length cables using a 0.5mm single strand, silver cable.
You couldn't get two more physically different cables. I heard no difference whatsoever.

I took five very different interconnect cables, including freebies and RA / Kimber cable (£76 for a half meter pair) and recorded the same music, via each onto a 5-track CDRW disc - perfectly level-matched.
Try as I might (and I tried, believe me I tried), I could hear no difference whatsoever.

Now here's the point. I won the £76 cable as a prize. Had I paid for it, I'm pretty sure there would have been an incentive to perceive a difference.

I too have heard the "you need a system that allows you to hear the difference" reasoning.
My systems have always allowed me to hear differences....between CD players, cartridges, tuners, amps, DACs, microphones....you name it.

As I always say Rob, if you or anyone else can consistently, blindly, tell cables apart, (especially if you can do it without struggling) then you have my admiration for a special skill.

In past employment, I was repeatedly told that I was "too honest", too much on the side of customers. It's because I really cannot stand BS....cable marketing is full of it.
As for those fuses, don't get me started.

Edit: Was a while ago now, but during my time at Monitor Audio, I don't think the internal wiring was anything 'special'.

 

[Gray]

In my case I bought some cheap cables, and I'm still waiting on some reason to upgrade. If I spend more, will it sound better?

There's every chance that you'll think so

 

[Fergus]

There's every chance that you'll think so

For me £70 was about my limit. Above that as others have said I suspect it becomes hard to see the benefit of the extra £ but from my start point with the equipment I have it certainly is worth it

 

[SR-91]

I see what you mean... Odin speaker cables 2 x 3m lengths £120K, at least the burn-in option appears to be free

No comment !

 

[robdmarsh]

I was using 1000+ strand OFC speaker cable, when I tried an experiment.
I made up the same length cables using a 0.5mm single strand, silver cable.
You couldn't get two more physically different cables. I heard no difference whatsoever.

I took five very different interconnect cables, including freebies and RA / Kimber cable (£76 for a half meter pair) and recorded the same music, via each onto a 5-track CDRW disc - perfectly level-matched.
Try as I might (and I tried, believe me I tried), I could hear no difference whatsoever.

Now here's the point. I won the £76 cable as a prize. Had I paid for it, I'm pretty sure there would have been an incentive to perceive a difference.

I too have heard the "you need a system that allows you to hear the difference" reasoning.
My systems have always allowed me to hear differences....between CD players, cartridges, tuners, amps, DACs, microphones....you name it.

As I always say Rob, if you or anyone else can consistently, blindly, tell cables apart, (especially if you can do it without struggling) then you have my admiration for a special skill.

In past employment, I was repeatedly told that I was "too honest", too much on the side of customers. It's because I really cannot stand BS....cable marketing is full of it.
As for those ***king fuses, don't get me started.

Edit: Was a while ago now, but during my time at Monitor Audio, I don't think the internal wiring was anything 'special'.

OK fair enough. Interesting that you actually made a recording using the different interconnects and there was still no difference. And I like your story of being "too much on the side of the customer". I can imagine in your position I'd probably want to do the same.

 

[robdmarsh]

No comment !

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Not wanting to reinforce stereotypes but just look at the woman in this picture! She's practically passing out with boredom Lol!