CapZark Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Out of curiosity I went ahead and purchased a pair of high end interconnects to see if they were any better than the Wal-mart red and white specials I've been using. I won't mention the brand, but will tell you they retail for around $250 or so for the pair. Well the verdict is in and I can't hear any difference at all. I may be tone death, but for my purposes expensive interconnects are a waste of money. With all the hype I started thinking about the wires and solder points found in a typical piece of electronic gear. There are no fancy wires in there and the solder is just solder. So why would I think a fancy set of interconnects would improve the sound of my equiment? It won't. At least that's my conculsion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HudsonValleyNoah Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Interconnects are more of a religion than a science; you can't bust faith with "facts"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 LMAO Only $250? No wonder you couldn't hear any difference. You need to spend a lot more than that to hear the difference!!! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Many cables do sound different from one another. It will depend on the system synergy and quality of the equipment. The most I have spent on a single set of ic was $180. It that system, it made a specific change in the sound that worked with the system. I no longer use those cables as I have changed my whole system out. Those cables no longer work with the system as a whole and needed to be swapped out. Again, cables can sound different and whether that difference is good or not is a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 LMAO Only $250? No wonder you couldn't hear any difference. You need to spend a lot more than that to hear the difference!!! Yes, sir. I agree. When you get to about 500.00 your hear something in your ear saying "More, More." When you get to 1kbuck, it's "Almost, almost." When you get to 2k, it's "IDIOT." I've always made a point to insist on 100% copper. I know, it's extravagant, but well worth it. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 LMAO Only $250? No wonder you couldn't hear any difference. You need to spend a lot more than that to hear the difference!!! Yes, sir. I agree. When you get to about 500.00 your hear something in your ear saying "More, More." When you get to 1kbuck, it's "Almost, almost." When you get to 2k, it's "IDIOT." I've always made a point to insist on 100% copper. I know, it's extravagant, but well worth it. Dave A different twist to "...the law of diminishing return." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 This has been proven in blind listening tests more than a few times. Cable devotees do not like these blind tests as they tell me "It puts them under such stress, that they cannot hear the 'obvious differences' " I go "All out" like Dave ----- 100% copper for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I may be tone death, I've heard that's a terrible way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnatnoop Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I may be tone death, I've heard that's a terrible way to go. how'd he die...stabbed repeatedly with an f sharp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 11, 2010 Moderators Share Posted July 11, 2010 I've always made a point to insist on 100% copper. I know, it's extravagant, but well worth it. Dave I almost fell off the chair laughing, very true ! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapZark Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 how'd he die...stabbed repeatedly with an f sharp LOL - sometimes I get a little ahead of myself. I'm not ready to die just yet, but spending money on those phoney cables is a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnatnoop Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 [] I agree with you on interconnects. If your $1.99 cables are defective, by all means get a good $10 pair, after that... i don't know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 improve no change maybe but like someone said last week...tone controls are cheaper a few years ago hang a napkin on tweeters was the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Cable devotees do not like these blind tests as they tell me "It puts them under such stress, that they cannot hear the 'obvious differences' " [Y] [Y] [Y] No argument, discussion, rendition for torture, blind testing, double blind testing, or anything else will ever convince someone who spent a bazillion bucks on esoteric interconnects is ever going to convince them that their "investment" is otherwise. Quality does count however, and that applies to anything. Really crappy cables, with crappy, cheap thin brittle strands of so-called "copper", that actually has about 30% aluminum nad god knows what else in it (usually the cheap imports), crappy soldering, crappy termination ends, etc. will usually be.... crappy... That does not imply however that you need to spend a bazillion bucks on some high end interconnects with flashy writing on the coverigs, little finger pointed out drinking expensive wine advertising, high end fake sounding scandinavian or esoteric european names. Good solid interconnect cables made from good quality 101 or 110 copper alloy (as in certified 99.95% pure), well assesmbled and made in the USA are available. And at a reasonable cost of less than the national debt.... A note on "oxygen free"... It's not the oxygen that cause the problems... it's the impurities from other metals that have a different molecular structure that usually becomes the problem. When copper is "brittle", flexing will cause the strands to break, and that leads to crappy connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Out of curiosity I went ahead and purchased a pair of high end interconnects to see if they were any better than the Wal-mart red and white specials I've been using. I won't mention the brand, but will tell you they retail for around $250 or so for the pair. You actually blew away $250 just to satisfy your curiosity....Hmmm.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Out of curiosity I went ahead and purchased a pair of high end interconnects to see if they were any better than the Wal-mart red and white specials I've been using. I won't mention the brand, but will tell you they retail for around $250 or so for the pair. You actually blew away $250 just to satisfy your curiosity....Hmmm. I'm guessing he returned them. Either that, or he's nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 The purpose of an IC is to pass the signal untouched and shield it from outside noise. There is absolute measurable science to support how one interconnect can sound different then another... The IC can act just like inserting a cap/resistor (filter) in the signal path between the two components.... the technically best IC have very little cap/resistor properties built in them. Some cables have some pretty huge caps/resistor properties built into them and they absolutely will change the sound of your system. How much depends on the cap/resistor properties of the IC it replaced. Many an Audiophile has spent many $ tuning there system with cables....then change one piece of gear and have to start all over again. I'd rather keep my cables having the absolute least sonic effect so I can hear what the rest of my system sounds like.....then fix what is truly wrong not band-aid it with technically poor quality cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 The purpose of an IC is to pass the signal untouched and shield it from outside noise. There is absolute measurable science to support how one interconnect can sound different then another... The IC can act just like inserting a cap/resistor (filter) in the signal path between the two components.... the technically best IC have very little cap/resistor properties built in them. Some cables have some pretty huge caps/resistor properties built into them and they absolutely will change the sound of your system. How much depends on the cap/resistor properties of the IC it replaced. Many an Audiophile has spent many $ tuning there system with cables....then change one piece of gear and have to start all over again. I'd rather keep my cables having the absolute least sonic effect so I can hear what the rest of my system sounds like.....then fix what is truly wrong not band-aid it with technically poor quality cables. Yes, it's a band-aid or tone control but in the scheme of things it's a cheap band aid. A few hundred bucks is a lot cheaper than any piece of equipment I own. YMMV. Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Some cables have some pretty huge caps/resistor properties built into them and they absolutely will change the sound of your system. Why would this happen? 100% copper should be 100% copper. One would expect them to measure the same, saving some difference for length and gauge. Seems like any variances would be due to very poor quality or messing around on purpose. I've been able to track down and identify every issue in my systems related to accuracy, and it's never been the copper wire unless it was faulty. I don't know if there is anything "standard" about line level now, but it was originally pegged in radio days at 600 ohms and specifically set to provide for significant cable length with minimum impact. No question you are a 900 lb gorrilla here when it comes to quality and technical issues, so I am asking, not challenging. I am just yer basic music monkey. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I've always made a point to insist on 100% copper. I know, it's extravagant, but well worth it. Well, aren't you the super-educated one! I personally prefer the wires with 80% oxygen in them as they sound a lot more 'airy' to me! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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