I.C. choices : Audioquest -vs- Straitwire

[Hiend wannabe]

Now that my system is coming along does anyone have any helpful advice on some fairly inexpensive inter connects? I've found some Audioquest Coral on sale for $65.00 seems would be my best bet so far, just not sure. I've priced some cheaper Audioquest also and some Straightwire such as the Chorus a measly $40.00, I'm just looking to upgrade from stock crap that comes with my components, Any Suggestions?

Klipsch RB-5II

Cambridge Audio A-300

Cambridge Audio D-300SE

Radio Shack 14g. Magna.

Audioquest Coral?

[justin_tx_16]

This is just a warning that you have opened a HUGE bucket of worms. You will get people saying that silver is astoundingly better than copper. A few posts later some will say copper is the tried and true winner. Then we will get optical vs. coaxial. Then we will get shielding methods. Home made Cardas, Monstercable, Acoustic Research (my preference being a cheap guy, though they work very well for me) and about 2000 other options. Don't even get us (them) started on power cables because then we (they) will march onto spikes and cones and whatnot to reduce vibration... LoL! It just won't stop.

Bottom line, follow your heart and your wallet. I use Acoustic Research and have NO problems. I have monstercable and they work just as well, just mor expensive.

[T2K]

I'm not a big fan of expensive interconnects myself. However I do use AQ Sidewinders and Diamondbacks. They sound noticeably better than Monster Interlink 400 MK whatevers that I used before.

I've tried the Straightwire Chorus and didn't like them with my Klipsch Synergy Premiere speakers and Denon/Acurus receiver/amp. The Synergy speakers are not as forward sounding as many other Klipsch speakers. The AQ's gave better hi's and clarity with my equipment.

I did try the Chorus with my tube amp setup and preferred those over the AQ's. Go figure.

Hope this helps.

Keith

[Deang]

Cardas 300B

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=CAR300B%2E5M&product_name=300B%20Audio%20Interconnect%20Pair

[artto]

Try this DIY speaker cable project. Works great!

It is a DIY project that anyone can do provided you obtain precisely the correct materials. These cables will produce the most dramatic improvement in your system, more than any single thing will, guaranteed! I made these cables by stringing together southern north pole magnetically petrified hardwood balls of various sizes using tightly rolled up BLACK electrical tape. The entire cable structure is completely suspended in a Strawberry Banana Jello pudding (must be Jello brand) sprinkled with loose debris from #2 grade steel wool which also provides the shielding (I've found that soaking the steel wool in a coffee can filled with water for a week so that the iron oxides build up on the wool improves the shielding characteristic by a whole 0.0001%)(Beaver brand steel wool works best). I used common straight pins at both ends for grounding. The cables are terminated using invisible gas filled (methane) highly polished uranium rods. Maximum performance can be obtained from these cables by suspending them precisely 0.003 meters from the ceiling or wall surfaces (not the floor). For those of you not so inclined to take on a project of this magnitude I can make these for you in any length up to 17 for $1,000,000,000.00 each (US$). Additional lengths cost $1 per foot up to a maximun of 5,280 feet.

"There's always room for Jello."

[Dale W]

Kimber Kable makes an entry level inter-connect in your price range that fairly decent. maybe check out there web page .

It's all pretty much the same old stuff ( 90 to 130 strand OFC ) plus different shielding options. Other than copper theres blends of copper and silver plus pure silver. All of which reveal more of the good or flaws in your gear.

The wire game is more about BSing the consumer than the wire itself. coax is unbalance and can olny get you so far . Unless you live in a real RFI hell hole expensive exotic shielded cables will be a waste of your coin.

Just my opinion , believe what you want but let your ears be the real judge.

[JJT]

Stereophile Magazine has a good write up for Acoustic Research's HT 130 Pro Series audio interconnects, in its latest issue(April 2003). They cost around $20, for $20 their's nothin much too lose, might as well give them a try.

Joe T

[dougdrake]

It's worth looking at what www.accessories4less.com has to offer. I see AR Pro 131 2-meter for $22. Also, some Tributaries, MIT, and IXOS...

DD

[dbflash]

Artto,

I need 2 pair.

Can you have them ready next week?

Danny

[Deang]

I used Artto's recipe last night after I read his post. It took me until about 2 am to finish off one pair. I wish he would have went into more detail, because I had trouble getting the steel wool fragments to stick to Jello properly. I had to make four batches of Jello before it had the proper consistancy. Artto didn't mention it, but cooling the Jello in the fridge is critical to the process.

I did have to cheat somewhat, as I did not have any methane gas filled uranium rods. I ended up just using copper, but I did have the neighbor's dog fart on it a couple of times before I used it.

[dbflash]

Can I use ready mix jello or do I have to to make it from scratch?

I'm thinking Brillo may sound better than steel wool. I've read that steel wool is harsh sounding, and Brillo has smoother mid's.

I feed my dog burrito's last night, so I'm hoping when I get home she will be ready to do her part.

Danny

[jhawk92]

Hiend-

I have the AQ Coral throughout my system, except for the sub connection which is AQ Sidewinder. I have been very impressed with the Coral. I have also tried the AQ Viper, which is a step up. That was nice too, but it was only a loaner set of cables, so I didn't get a chance to do a real long comparison.

I could tell a difference between the two cables, but I didn't have them long enough to figure which I liked better. You won't be disappointed with the Corals, and that is a very good price.

[Randy Bey]

Years ago I bought my first "hifi" cable -- an AQ $9 job. Don't remember the model, didn't care at the time because I didn't believe in wire making a difference. All I cared about was that I had a nice new cable with good tight RCA plugs to replace the old crusty red and white jobs that came with the equipment all the time. I had a bucket full of those red and white cables, but they were all a little bit the worse for wear.

Didn't think about the cable AT ALL for months.

Then a "friend" (we shall see if he truly is a friend) brought over some Kimber Kable PBJs, some Wireworld Atlantis, and we had a sit down. I also had of course the AQs and the red/white guys.

I was shocked to hear a difference. I was also shocked to realise that the PBJs, highly regarded, sounded the worst of the lot, even worse than the red/white guys. The Atlantis was the winner at the time and I immediately went out and picked up a 1M pair for $50. Still have them, years later, in fact.

But I recommend DIY, no jello involved, but simple good quality parts. I went the UBYTE (Usually Beats Your Terrible Engineering) DIY route, which is simply a good quality coaxial cable with teflon dialectric, stripped down to just the teflon and the internal 18 gauge wire. Then wrap the telfon with copper tape available from any stained glass window supplier. Then put your favorite RCAs on (I have used everything from Rat Shack to Cardas to Shark) and seal the whole mess in shrink wrap (add TechFlex for a nicely finished look). Engineering objectives here being 1) no stranded wires, 2) teflon as dialectric, 3) good RCA mechanical connections.

Typical cost for a 1M cable DIY this way is around $5 or $10, or more if you go crazy on the RCAs.

Oh, then there's the cryo treatment, but here in Minnesota we call that "winter".

I don't even think about wire anymore. I've done what I consider due diligence and doubt that spending $15,000 on a $30,000 pair of speaker wires will make all that big an improvement.