How much are you willing to pay for interconnect cable?

DaveC

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Nov 16, 2014
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About $5. That gets you totl monoprice!
 

the sound of Tao

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Jul 18, 2014
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I’d suggest you should only spend as much on cables as your system allows you to appreciate... and this may be something of a moving target, much like anyone who actually posts in a thread on the value in cables. It’s just whatever makes you happy really.
 

thomask

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Dec 9, 2018
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I’d suggest you should only spend as much on cables as your system allows you to appreciate... and this may be something of a moving target, much like anyone who actually posts in a thread on the value in cables. It’s whatever makes you happy really.
I will use 10-20% of the value of the equipment to connect on the cables.

So if I have 200,000$ amplifiers then I may buy this interconnect cable if I like the synergy with amp.
 
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BlueFox

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Nov 8, 2013
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Power and cables are the foundation for your system. So you should get the best you can afford, and then add the gear. If you have good power and cables then you can upgrade the gear, but stay with the same cables. Otherwise you will be constantly upgrading everything. Of course, this all applies to how much discretionary income you have to spend on stereo gear.
 

Al M.

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I will use 10-20% of the value of the equipment to connect on the cables.

So if I have 200,000$ amplifiers then I may buy this interconnect cable if I like the synergy with amp.

Does sound quality have such a tight correlation with price?
 

thomask

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Does sound quality have such a tight correlation with price?
Not proportional to the price.

I had been happy with Audio note interconnects and speaker cables which are silver plated.

They were pretty expensive about 2k$ for IC and 3K$ for SC 18 years ago.

I compared them with Purist Audio Design cables which cost little bit more at that time.

Purist Audio Design made sound euphonic but I found them somewhat artificial.

But Audio note cables excel in overall balance, details and speed.

Thus it was hard to replace them.

So I had kept them for more than 18 years.


On the other hand power cables and digital cables keep improving as times go by.

So I had changed power cables and digital cables 4 times for the last 20 years.
 

Folsom

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ZenWave is what I consider the top of budget currently. I haven’t seen anything over that has any technical advantages, and many that are just weird sounding.

BJC is garbage for IC’s that are single ended. I wish that they were as legit as their following, but they sound bad, ruin your jacks, and fail often. I’ve had enough to know.
 
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thomask

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ZenWave is what I consider the top of budget currently. I haven’t seen anything over that has any technical advantages, and many that are just weird sounding.

BJC is garbage for IC’s that are single ended. I wish that they were as legit as their following, but they sound bad, ruin your jacks, and fail often. I’ve had enough to know.
New #12
Hi Folsom

What does BJC mean?

I had never heard Zenwave but it's name is somewhat mystic.
 

Speedskater

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Blue Jeans Cables. They sell really nice stuff except the single ended IC's. You can get any length of lots of things. Respectful business, 1 bad product...........................................
The Blue Jeans Cable single ended, unbalanced RCA coax cable, the LC-1 is the best cable available!
 

Bruce B

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There is such a markup on cables. I've paid as low as 18% of the MSRP of these cables. It's ridiculous!!
 
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Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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There is such a markup on cables. I've paid as low as 18% of the MSRP of these cables. It's ridiculous!!

Yes that is quite believable. Cables are a highly competitive segment and some manufacturers include as much as a 75% dealer sales margin to incentivise dealers into pushing their product line ahead of competing brands. Even with 50% discount, both dealer and customer feel like they have had a good deal.

At 18% of list, the dealer likely obtained a further discount for demo goods. That said, it is pretty much implicit that the original list price was at a BS level and you didn’t exactly handover loose change.
 
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DaveC

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There is such a markup on cables. I've paid as low as 18% of the MSRP of these cables. It's ridiculous!!

Yup.

However, the correlation people make with MSRP being related to quality is unassailable. Even if people agree that higher price doesn't always mean better performance there is no doubt that their ingrained belief system still clings to this axiom. It may be unconscious and/or purely emotional but it's the truth for a huge majority of people regardless of intelligence or how adamantly they may claim otherwise.

And as far as sales via dealers, they are all used to cables being the "gravy train". It's like car dealers and their add-on accessories. Those $150 wheel locks cost $25 at the local auto parts store.

My cables cost about 1/3rd to 1/5th vs other companies who sell cables using wire and plugs from the exact same companies I do, yet it's very difficult to convince people to even give them a try with a 30 day free demo. Even with excellent reviews and many, many claims that they are even better vs my "competition"... even after 6 years of being in business without a bad word being said anywhere, and AFAIK every single one of my customers being happy. Maybe it's the lack of fancy packaging, glossy color brochures and 6-figure ad placements in stereophile?

IME, people lament the "unfair" markups but then they buy those same products anyways, even given an alternative with fair markups. ;) Given this very interesting phenomenon, I wouldn't expect to see a change anytime soon! It make me want to shift to a dealer-sale model to be honest, or at least start another brand that sells via distributors and dealers.
 

dbeau

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Apr 20, 2018
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Yup.

However, the correlation people make with MSRP being related to quality is unassailable. Even if people agree that higher price doesn't always mean better performance there is no doubt that their ingrained belief system still clings to this axiom. It may be unconscious and/or purely emotional but it's the truth for a huge majority of people regardless of intelligence or how adamantly they may claim otherwise.

And as far as sales via dealers, they are all used to cables being the "gravy train". It's like car dealers and their add-on accessories. Those $150 wheel locks cost $25 at the local auto parts store.

My cables cost about 1/3rd to 1/5th vs other companies who sell cables using wire and plugs from the exact same companies I do, yet it's very difficult to convince people to even give them a try with a 30 day free demo. Even with excellent reviews and many, many claims that they are even better vs my "competition"... even after 6 years of being in business without a bad word being said anywhere, and AFAIK every single one of my customers being happy. Maybe it's the lack of fancy packaging, glossy color brochures and 6-figure ad placements in stereophile?

IME, people lament the "unfair" markups but then they buy those same products anyways, even given an alternative with fair markups. ;) Given this very interesting phenomenon, I wouldn't expect to see a change anytime soon! It make me want to shift to a dealer-sale model to be honest, or at least start another brand that sells via distributors and dealers.

DAVE C, If you're successful from your current marketing please don't join the 'dealer' route as it will impact your whole paradigm. Sadly a quote I believe is "Perception is Reality" to many. BTW, I am wanting to buy a set of D4 ICs from you after recovering from the holiday spending.
 
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ack

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Wise words DaveC
 
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