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MIT cables and Klipsch La Scala?


taviran

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I was wondering if anybody here has a good experience with expensive MIT cables and Klipsch La Scala (or Klipsch Horn). I am thinking MH-770 CVT or the Shotgun Series (like s3), or even the new Matrix series. 

 

I would also appreciate suggestions for other high level cables.

 

Thanks.  

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There are some here that like fancy wires.  There are some here that use rudimentary wires.  (I am with the rudimentary crowd)

 

I've tried a wire that was supposed to be "world class".  I WANTED to hear a difference.....  to my tin ears, it wasn't any better (nor worse) than the 12g stranded underground low voltage wire that I use (bought at Home Depot).

 

Some will say 'try it and let your ears decide' (which is about the only way for anyone to convince themselves)

 

I personally would say move on and buy your wife a nice dinner.

 

Others may (and will) disagree.

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I am also of the camp of inexpensive wires... I use Monoprice wires for all my wiring now. Years ago I used to use the exotic cables but I am over that now, and I buy equipment that sounds like i want it to rather than trying to EQ it with wiring or spikes, etc. The only adjustments i do for sound now are room treatments which IMO will make much bigger changes in the sound (for the better)... Once the room is tuned I am done with it. :)

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As I recall, several years back at one of the Hope gatherings, a "taste test" was set up to see if folks could tell the difference in the types of wiring. My recollection is that their was no evidence that the fancy wiring made any audible difference. Someone may correct me, but that is what I recall.

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back at University we had that question - are the super quality cables any better than your run of the mill average stock OEM wires -  

 

 

-Yes , but not by much -

 

 

the tests were all done and surprisingly a bit deceiving to the ones who had spent so much money on cables - now again , there are the ones who can tell the difference between a 10$ cable and a 200$ cable - but we could not , no matter how many tests we made -

 

the difference in sound improvement was however noticable by the quality of the connectors rather than the cables  - a good cable using cheap connectors will sound just as bad as a cheap cable and a cheap connector -

 

the other difference was that a hand built technician tested cable using industry standard audio connectors and cables achieved the best audio cable -

Edited by Randyh
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I had MIT Terminator 4 Cables.  It's a good thing I got them along with a used speaker purchase.  BIG waste of money.  No discernable difference. I make my own with ofc copper wire and Mitsubuishi banana plugs.  Save your cash and buy more equipment!!!

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Thanks for all those who replied. I perhaps should say that I have no doubt that cables can make a difference to an audio system. I am in the audio hobby more than 30 years and I have had my share of experimentation. The first time I witnesses a marked improvement in sound was many years ago (20?) when I connected XLO 5.1 to my quads 57. It was as if I suddenly changed into an amplifier 10 times more expensive than what I had. So I am not very much convinced by all those who say cables don't make a difference, although I'm sure it also depends on which cables you use.  

 

Right now I have both the Quads in one system and the La Scalas (with Crites tweeters) in another, using DIY speakers cable on the latter. But I believe I can do better than that. About the MIT, I know about their interface boxes, which are some kind of impedance matching network between the amp/cable and the speakers. The idea being, I believe, is that cables have differential impedance characteristics with respect to the signal's frequency range, and that the network is supposed to compensate for that (like a kind of equalizer, albeit with properties like capacitance, inductance etc.). This sounds logical to me to an extent but I can appreciate the point of view which says that this introduces a further stage into the signal's pass and that 'simpler is better'. (Not in my experience, though: I, for example, detest passive pre-amplifiers).  

 

Anyhow, I did have occasion to hear a few expensive MIT cables at a dealer's place, and I always found the sound to be very relaxing, wide, and detailed, characteristics which the Klipsch, I believe, might benefit from. But it is true that they (MIT cables) were mostly used in SS systems (Krell, Madrigal), with big speakers. Hence my question. But perhaps the fact that very few people do try them in Klipsch shows something too. Thanks.      

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Yes, but that is not what MIT are saying about their network, do they? It is just what some people guess is going on there.   

 

taviran,

 

mdeneen is someone who often infuriates me. That having been said, Mark started, owned and sold his company that manufactured amplifiers and pre amps. If that is what he says is going on, I would not wave your 30 year audio experience flag and argue with him because mt magic 8 ball days you are wrong.... Sorry, but it helps to have a little knowledge base before you argue...

 

Roger

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$300 and they are all yours.

 

I made wire like that using cat5 wire. (Ethernet cable wire)

Scored a couple boxes of wire, roughly 24 AWG?

 

You can make it with a hand drill, and a bench vise. One makes a jig for the hand drill...which is a square piece of wood, 5" X 5" or such, at around 1/2" thick. You adapt a drill chuck rod to the piece of wood, so it can be mounted in the chuck of the hand drill. Four smaller holes are drilled onto the corners of the square piece of wood, so four wires of cat5 can be attached.

 

You then attach and tighten the other four pieces of wire in the vice. Then you use the drill to twist up the wire...a reversible hand drill is best to use, but a non-reversible drill will work.

When you get twisted wire of four strands going, you can make more and then twist the four strand wires into eight strand wires and so on...this is how to get a lower AWG wire.

 

Once twisted to one's needed size of AWG, you carefully check the continuity and resistance of the wire. To make sure that insulation hasn't nicked or worn through, shorting against other wires.

I made some of these cables quite some time ago, so my description may not be that accurate.

But I was only into it for the price of the heat-shrink and spade terminals.

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You can build a set of Zobel networks for probably $10, if that, and maybe fifteen minutes work. See if you like them, and then decide if it's worth laying out another $350 for the MIT's or keep what you built and put the money saved towards music, or an upgrade elsewhere in your system.

 

I'm sure someone here could do the math and give you the proper values for the 10 watt resistor and film cap relative to the LaScala's woofer.

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I had MIT Terminator 4 Cables.  It's a good thing I got them along with a used speaker purchase.  BIG waste of money.  No discernable difference. I make my own with ofc copper wire and Mitsubuishi banana plugs.  Save your cash and buy more equipment!!!

 

And more music!

 

keep what you built and put the money saved towards music

 

Thebes and I agree, so it's settled. We listen to music, not wires

Edited by Don Richard
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I was cleaning my computer and just deleted this pic a few days ago.  Dug it back up.  Bet it can be duplicated for $25.

 

 

Years ago a friend lent me $10,000 in MIT cables (a big box full).  I tried them with B&W 800's and some very nice equipment.  They did not sound good in my system.  Another friend tried them and he liked them in his system and bought some of the cheaper models. 

 

It is a shot in the dark, an expensive shot in the dark. 

post-8757-0-08990000-1421727189_thumb.jp

Edited by tigerwoodKhorns
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Pretty shoddy work too!

 

That inductor isn't even soldered, and if that is not standard 16  or 18 gauge coated power cord wire, I'll eat my hat.

 

Hell, if there is $10 worth of materials total, I'll eat my hat.

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Pretty shoddy work too!

 

That inductor isn't even soldered, and if that is not standard 16  or 18 gauge coated power cord wire, I'll eat my hat.

 

Hell, if there is $10 worth of materials total, I'll eat my hat.

I'm with Thebes on this one. If I paid big money for that mess I'd be upset.

As we all know 'A cable is a potential source of trouble connecting two other potential sources of trouble'.

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In any of these trials, listen for quite a while, give them a chance to "settle" or "break" in, and make sure that superficially glittery characteristics aren't misleading you.  Several years ago, I tried MIT cables for a week or two, was dissatisfied == and then a respected preamp maker pointed out they tended to have an irritating "tinkle" sound.  Well, he was right, and I finally sent them back.  It might have taken longer for me to spot the problem by myself. 

 

Over time, my Siltech silver interconnects and Basis copper speaker cables have worn well and always sounded good.

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