jwc Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I have expensive cables, .....I have the freebie cables that came with TV satellite boxes...and I have the in-between cables. I have discovered....you need to yank out the Acoustic Research Blue RCA cables that were popular and sold in the 2000 years. They are absolute junk. I have 3 pair.....that I used for "quick setups" in the day and stayed in my big audio cable trunk I have. I can say with confidence...if you have these in your system, you should yank them and replace with something else cheap. I've had Great experience with HOSA cables from Amazon. I have bought many and will walk all over the blue BS I just spoke of. The HOSA are little better than the cheap freebies you get with TV Boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I had multiple sets of these in my old Dodge van running from the EQ/subwoofer control unit to the amplifiers. Did not care for them either or remember where i purchased them, probably sitting in a box somewhere if my son did not grab them for himself. I always used cables available at Radio Shack, that store turned to crap along with no longer carrying decent cables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Slim Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Hi, I have a 'set' of these but they're not in use at the moment. They originally came as RGB component video cables which are supposed to be ultra low capacitance cables for video signals. The reason I bought them was to strip off one leg of the three and use the remaining pair for a low capacitance phono signal from turntable to phono pre. I have to admit these particular AR cables are a little stiff and the connectors do certainly grab on too tight for my taste but for the purpose that I purchased them for - they worked well. Like I say, they are not in use now and I don't think I would buy another pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 I would love for somebody to "humor" my findings. I am not a cable snob. BUT! This is a STAY AWAY cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 When you told me about those cables I looked and found that I have a bunch hanging around but only 1 pair in use on some subs. I replaced. But I cut one pair up to use as "shorting" plugs to test my VRDs. What I found actually surprised me. They have 2 independently insulated conductors with a wire ground shield twisted around them. Did not look cheap to me. However, when I tried to strip the wires..........they were actually so thin the smallest hole on my wire strippers was too big. They are very thin conductors. Anyhow, I replaced mine. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknoid Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 HMMM... I think I have several pairs of those AR interconnects in my big tub-o-cables (no kidding 50+ pounds in a storage tub) but I don't recall any of them looking like that. These days my very minor interconnect needs are being handled by DIY cables. I've discovered that in general I can build at least as good interconnects than I can buy commercially for a lot less $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I have a bunch of those AR cables and some are still in use. I usually use Monoprice cables now but will still use the old AR's in a pinch. I have only had two of the cables fail me and since they are like twenty years old it is not surprising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 5 hours ago, jason str said: I had multiple sets of these in my old Dodge van running from the EQ/subwoofer control unit to the amplifiers. Did not care for them either or remember where i purchased them, probably sitting in a box somewhere if my son did not grab them for himself. I always used cables available at Radio Shack, that store turned to crap along with no longer carrying decent cables. I have some I bought years ago and do remember where I bought mine. I believe the store's name is Best Buy. I bought mine in 2005 when I started getting back into audio. I too no longer use them. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Just curious, why are these junk? Do they sound bad, are they not durable, do they not stay connected, do they get stiff over time, or what? I don't own any, just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwc Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 Sound terrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 I have one run of component Blue Jeans cable from the DVD player to the TV, don't remember paying too much but they work well..........well.....less expensive than the Kimber Heroes in the rest of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.pee1 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 I have those now so I should go back to the thin RCA cables? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 1 hour ago, mr.pee1 said: I have those now so I should go back to the thin RCA cables? You can always try some different interconnects and see if you hear a difference. Easy to get caught up in the cable thing and before you know it you have hundreds if not thousands wrapped up in your interconnects. Don't ask me how I know this. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecornell Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Nice to find this forum as I was searching for some feedback on these AR cables. I have multiple lengths purchased from Best Buy when they were on sale as I thought they’d be an upgrade from the throw away cables you usually get. I recently reorganized my system and inserted the AR cables between my dac and preamp, my mixer and preamp as well as between a cassette deck and mixer. What a mistake! My system became really fatiguing and very harsh in the midrange. Almost unlistenable. As a temporary fix, I just ordered and inserted some Amazon Basics cables and the improvement was noticeable right away. Bass was stronger and the midrange had smoothed out. May look at some QED or Analysis Plus cables in the future but for now, these will do and the AR’s are headed for the dumpster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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