How much difference does cables make in your system?

[deepak]

I don't have enough experience to answer, but I'm curious to see what others think.

Let's keep this friendly...who am I kidding

(I will be setting up a double blind cable test to see how I do, right now I'm trying to find a Nordost Blue Heaven RCA cable to pit against a cheap Monster IC)

[909]

In general, if all components are kept the same and you are just swapping RCA cables or using an A/B switch box I think most would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Most cables often slight differences in flavoring the presentation though. In my experience, cables with less mass usually offer more details whereas thick cables can seem slower and bloated at times, but it does depend. Silver can have a bright tendency, but not always. Copper has a warm and fuller tendency, but again not always. Also, the connectors and the soldering can?t be underestimated since it impacts the sound quality for better or worse.

I?ve had a few cables in my system that I just couldn?t handled because they were either bright or reached higher in the upper frequencies. And I?ve had other cables that made my system seem bloated and fuzzy. Yet it depends on your components and what you like. I like a cable that does a lot of things right to my ear such as but not limited to being extremely detailed, balanced, smooth, offering great separation and imaging, focus, clarity, etc...

and right now that cable is the Grover Huffman S (tweaked).

[deepak]

Not an AB switchbox. I'm putting together a reference track list roughly 60 minutes long that I intend to listen to all the way through (more if I want to), my friend will be swapping cables based off coin flips. I plan on doing 25 trials which will probably take me about a year to finish.

[909]

You are going to make yourself cable crazy.

Are you serious 1-year? 25? which cables?

What is the purpose...

to find a cable you like;

see if you can tell the difference between different cables;

or if you can blindly pick what type of cable it is, be it by name brand or the particular internal metal used?

[deepak]

Don't worry about my health

Up until this point I haven't cared much for cables, I had a couple of boutique cables but sold them to fund other upgrades. Mostly they were used on lesser dynamic systems, and I never really tried to discern a difference since I was so busy.

This is really something that I plan on doing once a week or every other week just for the fun of it. And I'd like to post it on HydrogenAudio since their DBX forum doesn't have a cable test that has been passed yet. And hey if I pass it will either shut a lot of people up, or piss off a lot of zealots over there.

A/B testing to see if I can choose which cable is which. The cables I'm going to use were stated in the first post.

I'm switching my system to single ended next week, taking out my balanced Mogami cables and replacing it with the Monster IC. Hopefully I won't be waiting too long for a good deal on a Blue Heaven, one just slipped through my fingers a few hours ago.

[PFKMan23]

To address the original question, I think it makes enough of a difference in my system resulting in the fact that I do use some boutique cables (EA Oenomels).

[Dusty Chalk]

Cables make about as much difference as subtle EQ. I pretty much agree with 909's response, except I think it's too safe, I'd go just a bit further -- the response applies to most cables, but if one were to compare, for example, the most extremely bright cables with the darkest, I think the differences would be audibly different. For example, my Pure Silver Sound Quartets are audibly superior in the upper frequency band to most every other interconnect I've tried...in my system. I need to track down a pair of balanced silver interconnects for cheap. It doesn't have the midrange to die for that my Cardas Neutral Refs do, but it's got more air and detail than anything else I have by far.

Still my favourite response:

Of course cables are important -- try listening to your system without them!

[deepak]

Cables make about as much difference as subtle EQ. I pretty much agree with 909's response, except I think it's too safe, I'd go just a bit further -- the response applies to most cables, but if one were to compare, for example, the most extremely bright cables with the darkest, I think the differences would be audibly different. For example, my Pure Silver Sound Quartets are audibly superior in the upper frequency band to most every other interconnect I've tried...in my system. I need to track down a pair of balanced silver interconnects for cheap. It doesn't have the midrange to die for that my Cardas Neutral Refs do, but it's got more air and detail than anything else I have by far.

Still my favourite response:

Thats one of the reasons I want to try the Nordost. I spoke to a dealer when I was in NYC who sold Nordost cables. He told me not to bother with the Valhalla, Frey, etc and recommended the Blue Heaven. He said it would get me 90% of their top end sound since they all use the same basic design.

And most reports of the Nordost cables in general were that they're very detailed, almost like pure silver cables. It should be the easiest to see a difference between it and a pure copper IC.

[PFKMan23]

And most reports of the Nordost cables in general were that they're very detailed, almost like pure silver cables. It should be the easiest to see a difference between it and a pure copper IC.

The Blue Heaven (and Valhalla) are silver plated copper

[granodemostasa]

i just did a test between the UR8 and the wavyern silver cables. the silver were better in just about every respect except that they greatly hurt the tone of trumpets and brass insturments to the point where it was just unacceptable. nevertheless, however clear and lean the UR8 can be described at, it was no where near as clear as these silver cables.

overall, it doesn't mean i'm changing anything in a system, but cables to improve the performance of the various components within my system, and can help to clean out the little things i don't like in the sound. i guess the best example of this is the improvements made to the HD650 by various after market cables.

[909]

How can the wavyern silver cables greatly hurt just the tone of trumpets and brass instruments, but absolutely nothing else?

I could understand if it was hitting a higher frequency with the brass instruments, yet if it?s specific to brass tones that's something I've never heard and seems odd.

[deepak]

The Blue Heaven (and Valhalla) are silver plated copper

Yup

[aerius]

In my system it barely matters, if I had to take a guess it's like the last 1-2% or so, chances are I wouldn't notice it 95% of the time. Why? I don't know, maybe my gear just doesn't care about cables. Strangely enough power cord changes are pretty darn obvious, but that's getting off topic.