best cost no object, cables

[PeterA]

One of the things I've noticed about these cable discussions is that posters frequently talk about "audiophile brands" they've tried without specifying the brand and model - something they wouldn't do when posting about an amp, player, turntable, etc. Posters claiming that cables don't matter (and variations thereof) are particularly prone to doing this. Again, cable performance is system dependent, and the brands and models of cables you have tried therefore make a big difference. There is little to be learned from your experiences if you are not telling us specifically what cables you have tried.

I agree. And I went into all of this in my system threads. I had cables from harmonic technology in my system for quite a while before I switched to transparent audio MM2 REF XL level. I tried MIT, Siltech and friends brought various other brands that they owned to try in my system including Kabala Sosna And others I can’t remember right now. Most recently I did power cord comparisons between harmonic technology Transparent, Zenwave, and MIT. I preferred my stock Pass Labs power cords to any of those and even more Ching Cheng. I sold off my transparent audio at quite a loss but it didn’t matter because we’re now use is basically free and sounded much better to me.

I am not making any claims except for my own preference in my own system with my music. I never wrote that cables and power cords don’t make a difference. Indeed, I think they make a huge difference and should be listened to and auditioned over time critically ,carefully and deliberately. Eventhough I heard the differences very quickly, I gave it a lot of time and did a lot of back-and-forth.

Cables and power cords are very important to the sound of a system. I don’t think there’s any disputing that. I’m only commenting that right now have cables and power cords that cost very little and to me they sound better than everything else I have tried. Other people will surely disagreed.

 

[Cellcbern]

Sure you re right .

But what is the answer to the question " what are the best cost no object cables " then ?
I ve read nothing but vague claims based on this sounds good with this , this sounds good with that .
Where are the straight answers

 

[PeterA]

Sure you re right .

But what is the answer to the question " what are the best cost no object cables " then ?
I ve read nothing but vague claims based on this sounds good with this , this sounds good with that .
Where are the straight answers ??

It all depends. Ever thing is system dependent and based on the owners preference. There is no answer to the question. There is no best only what is best in a particular context to the listener given the choices that can be heard in that context.

but surely the experience of those who do not have recognized brands or current designs are discounted. So it goes. What does it really matter?

 

[andromedaaudio]

Personally I would put the money towards a better source and electronics.

 

[microstrip]

I agree. And I went into all of this in my system threads. I had cables from harmonic technology in my system for quite a while before I switched to transparent audio MM2 REF XL level. I tried MIT, Siltech and friends brought various other brands that they owned to try in my system including Kabala Sosna And others I can’t remember right now. Most recently I did power cord comparisons between harmonic technology Transparent, Zenwave, and MIT. I preferred my stock Pass Labs power cords to any of those and even more Ching Cheng. I sold off my transparent audio at quite a loss but it didn’t matter because we’re now use is basically free and sounded much better to me.

I am not making any claims except for my own preference in my own system with my music. I never wrote that cables and power cords don’t make a difference. Indeed, I think they make a huge difference and should be listened to and auditioned over time critically ,carefully and deliberately. Eventhough I heard the differences very quickly, I gave it a lot of time and did a lot of back-and-forth.

Cables and power cords are very important to the sound of a system. I don’t think there’s any disputing that. I’m only commenting that right now have cables and power cords that cost very little and to me they sound better than everything else I have tried. Other people will surely disagreed.

The important thing is not only the cable type, but the system. For example, I have great success with the Transparent Opus with ARC/VTL but IMHO they are not adequate to the Lamm ML3. Different systems and preferences need different cables.

Although people often discuss them together IMHO we should separate power and signal cables - they work with very different functions and different bandwidths in a very different way.

Just to end, I consider your current cable experience is intrinsically limited - you were comparing your cables that cost very little with previous cables, optimized for other type of systems, not with the typical cables used with SET and horns. Just to please my curiosity I would have liked to listen to the Lamm's with Nordost or Wireworld - but unfortunately time and resources are limited.

 

[Cellcbern]

You've lost me. Are you suggesting that there is one best cost no object cable for all systems, and that there is some objective way to determine what that cable is? Are you further suggesting that posters who describe their experiences with/impressions of different cables in their systems are providing vague claims as opposed to straight answers?

 

[Cellcbern]

I agree. And I went into all of this in my system threads. I had cables from harmonic technology in my system for quite a while before I switched to transparent audio MM2 REF XL level. I tried MIT, Siltech and friends brought various other brands that they owned to try in my system including Kabala Sosna And others I can’t remember right now. Most recently I did power cord comparisons between harmonic technology Transparent, Zenwave, and MIT. I preferred my stock Pass Labs power cords to any of those and even more Ching Cheng. I sold off my transparent audio at quite a loss but it didn’t matter because we’re now use is basically free and sounded much better to me.

I am not making any claims except for my own preference in my own system with my music. I never wrote that cables and power cords don’t make a difference. Indeed, I think they make a huge difference and should be listened to and auditioned over time critically ,carefully and deliberately. Eventhough I heard the differences very quickly, I gave it a lot of time and did a lot of back-and-forth.

Cables and power cords are very important to the sound of a system. I don’t think there’s any disputing that. I’m only commenting that right now have cables and power cords that cost very little and to me they sound better than everything else I have tried. Other people will surely disagreed.

Its fine if you've tried different cables and your stock Pass Labs cables sound best in your system. Its also fine if you don't experiment further with cables. Each of us decides when and for how long to "get off of the merry-go-round". That doesn't mean however that if you kept trying different cable brands/models you wouldn't come across something better.

 

[Al M.]

The important thing is not only the cable type, but the system. For example, I have great success with the Transparent Opus with ARC/VTL but IMHO they are not adequate to the Lamm ML3. Different systems and preferences need different cables.

Although people often discuss them together IMHO we should separate power and signal cables - they work with very different functions and different bandwidths in a very different way.

Indeed. Even if we try to build a system with all neutral components, the supposed neutrality of each link in the chain inevitably cannot be objectively assessed (and no, simple steady state frequency balance doesn’t cut it), but is based in part on assumptions that are also system dependent.

So it is unavoidable, even if to a much smaller extent than when we are careless and try to mask problems rather than solving them, that we compensate to some degree with one component for another. This will make the success of each component system dependent -- including cables.

 

[PeterA]

The important thing is not only the cable type, but the system. For example, I have great success with the Transparent Opus with ARC/VTL but IMHO they are not adequate to the Lamm ML3. Different systems and preferences need different cables.

Although people often discuss them together IMHO we should separate power and signal cables - they work with very different functions and different bandwidths in a very different way.

Just to end, I consider your current cable experience is intrinsically limited - you were comparing your cables that cost very little with previous cables, optimized for other type of systems, not with the typical cables used with SET and horns. Just to please my curiosity I would have liked to listen to the Lamm's with Nordost or Wireworld - but unfortunately time and resources are limited.

that’s just not accurate Fransisco. My previous cable experiments we’re carried out with my former system on my sublime sound thread. The only cables I use in my new system that are from the old system are the Ching Chang power cords and the SME stock phono cable. I never tried my current signal cables in my old system and I never tried my old signal cables in my new system. I never compared the signal cables to each other in the same system.

I have not made generic comments about my cables being appropriate universally with other systems. I’ve been very specific in describing the cables I’ve tried in my system in my context with my music to my ears.

I never made the comparison that you are stating that I made. That is I never compared my current cables to my former cables. I don’t know where he got that idea from. The best cables in my former system were DIY cables made by an electrical engineer. They sounded more natural and more neutral than all of the audio file cables I tried in my former system. The cables I have in my new system are NOS that are no longer available and I have one pair of interconnects that I bought recently and are currently available but never tried in my old system. They are very inexpensive and sound excellent.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Are you suggesting that there is one best cost no object cable for all systems,

If one is aiming for a neutral system yes , then there should be .
Many state CH precision for example is the most neutral amplification there is .
I have not read such claims about cables to be honest , only on a few occasions .
So where does the neutral component claim which is valid for a lot of audio components bring us in cable land ??
Instead of searching for a speaker" that doesnt add or detract anything" or an amp "that doesnt add or detract anything" , suddenly in cable land mixing matching and putting a little flavour here there is pertfectly fine.

Are you further suggesting that posters who describe their experiences with/impressions of different cables in their systems are providing vague claims as opposed to straight answers?

I can not come to another conclusion .

 

[flez007]

I see this is rather old post, and have not read it all. Saying that, I have found that both the Echole and Zenith cables are spectacular at the cost-no-object part of the question.

As for the second posted question in the original post, one can't go wrong with Kimber or Cardas cables for the good-sound-for-the-money inquiery.

 

[Dario60]

tra i cavi non costa nulla, quali sono i migliori? Siltech, Crystal Cables, Tara Labs, Transparent, MIT?

ciao, nella mia recente esperienza di un sistema cablato Skogrand, li ho trovati fantastici!!
Skogrand Tchaikovsky

Dario

 

[Thieliste]

Anyone tried Tellurium Q Statement series ?

 

[Jack Pot]

As the title says, among the cost no object cables, which are the best? Siltech, Crystal Cables, Tara Labs, Transparent, MIT?

Is there a manufacturer that delivers cables with similar performance, but with not exorbitant prices?

Trial and error, very system AND taste dependent! In my experience it is best to stick to cable looms by one manufacturer. First priority are power cords. But even more important is the "foundation". See my post in the Tweaks forum.

Enjoy your search, it is fun.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Guys i saw a miracle today , i was stunned completely mesmerized .

I saw a video of Jay s audio Lab , the video stated " Are cheaper cables better then expensive ones " ??
Seriously , off course i didnt bother to watch the vid because i knew the answer already

But this is a historical day for all cable sceptics , i had literally tears in my eyes as i have been fighting for this cause for so long , and finally here it is recognition

 

[highstream]

@andromedaaudio, To keep the thread notification process going, WTB forums require viewing each new post. I resent having to waste my time with trolls, people that don't accept the premise of the thread. After taking a look at a number of your posts, it appears that you don't.

Btw, the video that you didn't bother to watch compares a $7K cable with a $50K one, to which Jay describes precisely the differences he heard.

 

[DaveC]

Guys i saw a miracle today , i was stunned completely mesmerized ...

...i had literally tears in my eyes as i have been fighting for this cause for so long , and finally here it is recognition

Said with a fervor usually reserved for religious extremists.

Also, your post violates forum rules, you should know better but I suppose said fervor overrides any reason you may have had. Just like a religious extremist. We all thank you for your sacrifice and I'm sure one day a statue will be erected in your honor, surely it will resemble a cross between a white knight and Don Quixote.

 

[bonzo75]

@andromedaaudio, To keep the thread notification process going, WTB forums require viewing each new post. I resent having to waste my time with trolls, people that don't accept the premise of the thread. After taking a look at a number of your posts, it appears that you don't.

Btw, the video that you didn't bother to watch compares a $7K cable with a $50K one, to which Jay describes precisely the differences he heard.

Andro derails most threads with pointless posts, take the studer thread for example, or the one where everyone was posting scheherazade videos and discussing it.

 

[infinitely baffled]

I've had precisely the same trouble with ddk. Adding nothing useful, trolling those who do, chasing away those i really want to hear from.

 

[highstream]

There’s a Report button. If a number of people used it, with explanation, maybe the power(s) that be would take action. On some forums that happens (e.g., head-fi), while on others (e.g., Audiogon), the owners seem afraid of their shadows.