Interconnect cables, Speaker cables & Power Cords. - Page 2 - Blu-ray Forum

Halcro 1 · 05-11-2009, 03:14 PM

I had Cardas Cross speaker cable and replaced it with Acoustic Zen Satori ,, and the biggest difference is that the Cardas were warmer the highs not as defined a bit smeary ..... For my speakers the Acoustic Zens were the ticket but if you have a slightly bright speaker I dont know how good they would be....And I replaced all my Apature XLRs with Audience AU24 and the difference was night and day.... The Audiences have tighter bass about 2 to 3 HZ deeper ( I have a RTA) more 3D easier to pinpoint instruments ....My .02 Some people use cables for a kind of tone control

billt928 · 05-12-2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John72953

The single biggest improvement I have noticed is the expanded level of detail. Imaging has improved somewhat, but then I'm limited to what I own. There is no doubt that as my system grows into better componants, the benefits of higher quality cables will become much more evident.

For those with entry-level systems, DO NOT discount the additional sonic/aural benefits your rig can attain by upgrading your interconnects and/or speaker cabling.

John

I could have not said it better

SammyG · 05-14-2009, 12:20 AM

This is a great thread, I agree with everything on here. Cable build quality is very important to me, I used to make high quality coax cables right out of college for a place locally. When I would go home I'd find myself taking cables apart and seeing how mediocre they were!

D · 05-14-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcro 1

I had Cardas Cross speaker cable and replaced it with Acoustic Zen Satori ,, and the biggest difference is that the Cardas were warmer the highs not as defined a bit smeary ..... For my speakers the Acoustic Zens were the ticket but if you have a slightly bright speaker I dont know how good they would be....And I replaced all my Apature XLRs with Audience AU24 and the difference was night and day.... The Audiences have tighter bass about 2 to 3 HZ deeper ( I have a RTA) more 3D easier to pinpoint instruments ....My .02 Some people use cables for a kind of tone control

audience Au24 is the best cable I have dealt with. Great product, and company! Definately recommend a listen.

solarrdadd · 05-14-2009, 12:43 AM

As i bought an amp (an Emotiva XPA-5 @ 250wpc) to beef up and get more from my speakers, the need for interconnect cables came into play. I decided to go with the interconnects from Blue Jeans Cable. I was using some old (real old) monster cables i had from an old SACD player I used to have. the moster cables were not working out too well and I had ground loop hum from those cables. I decided to try the blue jeans cable interconnects. got them and connected them and my hum went away! the cables are very well made and i'm very happy with them. my Oppo blu-ray player will be here Friday. Next week I am going to buy another set of interconnects from blue jeans so i can have both options, analog and hdmi for my listening pleasure.
as for speakers, for my front 5 they are all bi-wired and for my front 3 of those 5 I purchased bi-wire cables from Calabrine.com 10/4 cables for those main 3 of my soundstage, the most important too, i wanted well made professional cables and that is what i got from them. the sound opened up with them as soon as i hooked them up. this was before i got the amp! now with the amp, the interconnects and the bi-wire everything sounds incredible! as for the remaining 2 out of my front 5, they are also bi-wired 14/4 cable, but, i built those myself. and they turned out nice too. I do have a 7.1 and the 2 surround back channels will stay 2 wire.
i would say that peoples desire to buy really cheap interconnects and speaker cables IMO is a mistake. we spend lots of money on our components but, the things that send the information to and from our components, and out to our expensive speakers we won't spend on them and i don't see why not! I think every cable I have put into my system has helped it to give me the best entertainment it can, thus far. I don't regret spending a dime!

Johnny Vinyl · 05-14-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

we spend lots of money on our components but, the things that send the information to and from our components, and out to our expensive speakers we won't spend on them and i don't see why not! I think every cable I have put into my system has helped it to give me the best entertainment it can, thus far. I don't regret spending a dime!

Very well said solarrdadd! If only people would realize that for a relatively small investment (about 15% +/- of your system's total value), upgrading all of your connection and wiring needs will bring your system to another level....a much better one!

John

rded · 05-14-2009, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John72953

Very well said solarrdadd! If only people would realize that for a relatively small investment (about 15% +/- of your system's total value), upgrading all of your connection and wiring needs will bring your system to another level....a much better one!

John

Sheesh! John by your calculations I gotta step up my budget when it comes to speaker cables and ICs as they are not even 10% of my system's value

Johnny Vinyl · 05-14-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rded

Sheesh! John by your calculations I gotta step up my budget when it comes to speaker cables and ICs as they are not even 10% of my system's value

Hi Rhett,

That figure is a generally accepted level of expenditure, but one certainly does not need to go that high, especially if one is good at spotting a deal on places like Audiogon or even manufacturer clearouts and audio shop demo cables.

For the record, my current very entry-level system is not in the 15% +/- range just yet, but I'm slowly working on it.

John

rded · 05-14-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John72953

Hi Rhett,

That figure is a generally accepted level of expenditure, but one certainly does not need to go that high, especially if one is good at spotting a deal on places like Audiogon or even manufacturer clearouts and audio shop demo cables.

For the record, my current very entry-level system is not in the 15% +/- range just yet, but I'm slowly working on it.

John

John,

Thanks for the input. I was actually going to upgrade my cables to Heimdalls when I got the new receiver and cdp but my dealer was so honest about the diminished returns of the heimdalls. He adviced that I'm better off with a new sub or power cords vs new speaker wires and ICs.

u

richteer · 05-14-2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rded

Sheesh! John by your calculations I gotta step up my budget when it comes to speaker cables and ICs as they are not even 10% of my system's value

Time to get rid of those Red Dawn junkers and upgrade to some Odin or, at a pinch, Valhalla!

rded · 05-14-2009, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richteer

Time to get rid of those Red Dawn junkers and upgrade to some Odin or, at a pinch, Valhalla!

I'll take the valhallas! The Odins are uber revealing that they 'll expose the weakest link of my system! And for the Odins my entire system is bad

richteer · 05-14-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rded

I'll take the valhallas! The Odins are uber revealing that they 'll expose the weakest link of my system! And for the Odins my entire system is bad

That's OK. It gives you the perfect excuse for the next round of upgrades (I hope my wife doesn't read this!). :-)

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to come up with the cash for two pairs for Frey interconnects (one 6m and one 1m), and a pair of Frey speaker cables (bi-wired with spades).

rded · 05-14-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richteer

That's OK. It gives you the perfect excuse for the next round of upgrades (I hope my wife doesn't read this!). :-)

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to come up with the cash for two pairs for Frey interconnects (one 6m and one 1m), and a pair of Frey speaker cables (bi-wired with spades).

Ouch! I have to check pricing but I think you're looking at around 3k USD for all of them.

richteer · 05-14-2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rded

Ouch! I have to check pricing but I think you're looking at around 3k USD for all of them.

And the rest! New (I do intend to buy new) 1m of Frey interconnect is about $1200 USD; 6m will be quite a bit more. 2m Frey speaker cable is about 3k, give or take. Fortunately, my local dealer is quite generous with his discounts. :-)

Johnny Vinyl · 05-15-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richteer

And the rest! New (I do intend to buy new) 1m of Frey interconnect is about $1200 USD; 6m will be quite a bit more. 2m Frey speaker cable is about 3k, give or take. Fortunately, my local dealer is quite generous with his discounts. :-)

Given your setup Rich, that kind of investment is not unreasonable. But holy sh*t.....$3 G's? I can't ever imagine having that kind of money to invest.

John

richteer · 05-15-2009, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John72953

Given your setup Rich, that kind of investment is not unreasonable. But holy sh*t.....$3 G's? I can't ever imagine having that kind of money to invest.

John

It is a lot of cash (which is why they're on my wish list rather than in my listening room)! One justification though is the vinyl mag I'm still considering: if I'm going to review gear, I need a system that's better than 95% of the stuff I'll be reviewing. But such necessary toys will have to get past the budgetary committee, and she is not easily persuaded... :-)

rded · 05-15-2009, 01:59 AM

And my buddies say I'm crazy spending 1.3K on my ICs and front 3 speakers wires alone

...Rich, I dunno how taxes are done in Canada but maybe you can write them off @ the end of the year

Edit: BTW Rich, I checked prices and you're right the 2M Frey speaker wires are 3k and the ICs are $995@ 0.6M. With kinda money, I'll have enough to upgrade to the Dynaudio C2s

Johnny Vinyl · 05-15-2009, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richteer

It is a lot of cash (which is why they're on my wish list rather than in my listening room)! One justification though is the vinyl mag I'm still considering: if I'm going to review gear, I need a system that's better than 95% of the stuff I'll be reviewing. But such necessary toys will have to get past the budgetary committee, and she is not easily persuaded... :-)

I agree completely. There has to be a reference and "your" reference system needs to be seamlessly integrated into the standard you set for yourself.

John

PS: Glad to hear the e-zine is not just a fleeting thought.

naturephoto1 · 05-15-2009, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rded

And my buddies say I'm crazy spending 1.3K on my ICs and front 3 speakers wires alone

...Rich, I dunno how are done in Canada but maybe you can write them off @ the end of the year

Hi Rhett,

It may be worth looking at and trying some of Kevin's products in Taiwan off of eBay. Below are some examples that are quite good at reasonable cost:

http://tinyurl.com/r773lf

http://tinyurl.com/on4yhb

http://tinyurl.com/rbngq9

http://tinyurl.com/qht4dn

http://tinyurl.com/qcvcbk

Rich

rded · 05-15-2009, 02:58 AM

Cool! Rich! I'm currently set with wiring for my primary system. I may look into them for my secondary system-whenever that'll happen. Thanks!

05-15-2009, 01:59 AM	#37
rded Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2008 Location:555 Naim Street Blu-ray collection:254 Trading Score:1	And my buddies say I'm crazy spending 1.3K on my ICs and front 3 speakers wires alone...Rich, I dunno how taxes are done in Canada but maybe you can write them off @ the end of the year Edit: BTW Rich, I checked prices and you're right the 2M Frey speaker wires are 3k and the ICs are $995@ 0.6M. With kinda money, I'll have enough to upgrade to the Dynaudio C2s Last edited by rded; 05-15-2009 at 02:12 AM.

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05-11-2009, 03:14 PM	#21
Halcro 1 Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Everywhere Home Theater Gallery:12	I had Cardas Cross speaker cable and replaced it with Acoustic Zen Satori ,, and the biggest difference is that the Cardas were warmer the highs not as defined a bit smeary ..... For my speakers the Acoustic Zens were the ticket but if you have a slightly bright speaker I dont know how good they would be....And I replaced all my Apature XLRs with Audience AU24 and the difference was night and day.... The Audiences have tighter bass about 2 to 3 HZ deeper ( I have a RTA) more 3D easier to pinpoint instruments ....My .02 Some people use cables for a kind of tone control

05-14-2009, 12:20 AM	#23
SammyG Special Member Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Douglassville, PA Blu-ray collection:1034 Trading Score:7	This is a great thread, I agree with everything on here. Cable build quality is very important to me, I used to make high quality coax cables right out of college for a place locally. When I would go home I'd find myself taking cables apart and seeing how mediocre they were!

05-14-2009, 12:43 AM	#25
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	As i bought an amp (an Emotiva XPA-5 @ 250wpc) to beef up and get more from my speakers, the need for interconnect cables came into play. I decided to go with the interconnects from Blue Jeans Cable. I was using some old (real old) monster cables i had from an old SACD player I used to have. the moster cables were not working out too well and I had ground loop hum from those cables. I decided to try the blue jeans cable interconnects. got them and connected them and my hum went away! the cables are very well made and i'm very happy with them. my Oppo blu-ray player will be here Friday. Next week I am going to buy another set of interconnects from blue jeans so i can have both options, analog and hdmi for my listening pleasure. as for speakers, for my front 5 they are all bi-wired and for my front 3 of those 5 I purchased bi-wire cables from Calabrine.com 10/4 cables for those main 3 of my soundstage, the most important too, i wanted well made professional cables and that is what i got from them. the sound opened up with them as soon as i hooked them up. this was before i got the amp! now with the amp, the interconnects and the bi-wire everything sounds incredible! as for the remaining 2 out of my front 5, they are also bi-wired 14/4 cable, but, i built those myself. and they turned out nice too. I do have a 7.1 and the 2 surround back channels will stay 2 wire. i would say that peoples desire to buy really cheap interconnects and speaker cables IMO is a mistake. we spend lots of money on our components but, the things that send the information to and from our components, and out to our expensive speakers we won't spend on them and i don't see why not! I think every cable I have put into my system has helped it to give me the best entertainment it can, thus far. I don't regret spending a dime!

05-15-2009, 02:58 AM	#40
rded Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2008 Location:555 Naim Street Blu-ray collection:254 Trading Score:1	Cool! Rich! I'm currently set with wiring for my primary system. I may look into them for my secondary system-whenever that'll happen. Thanks!

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