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Music lover but no audiophile. Recently purchased Nautilus 802s (closeout), SoundAnchor stands (on order), Classe CA-300 (used), and ARC SP-9 Mk III (used), and am now in reasonable listening nirvana (it was an easy system act to follow). Currently have 10 and 20 gauge copper for bi-wired speakers, and even more crappola interconnects. Looking to buy bi-wired speaker cables and RCA interconnects, and don't mind spending another wad of cash .... BUT, want to spend it wisely. For example, are $1,200 cables $700 better than $500 cables, and same for the interconnects??? I am not a system tinkerer, and whatever I buy I plan to own for a long time. So ... for my system, what are the best VALUES in cables and interconnects?
Follow Ups:
While the best wires are ultimately based on what my ears tell me, I knew that there are decent performing wires out there that aren't going to cost me several thousand clams. Thanks for stearing my ears and wallet toward them.
nt
Money-back guarantee, and you can go DIY with their full support for even greater savings, if you're up to it. I'm not sure they do "bi-wire", but you can ask about double runs vs. single and jumpers, such as I used with my big Fultons. And don't fall into the trap of equating wire gauge directly with performance. There is absolutely no advantage is using more than enough wire. One listen should do it.I am in no way affiliated, etc, just an overjoyed user with many years experience/beaucoup comparisons at ANY price.
I no longer use them in the big-rig (Valhalla & Omega Mikro) but those tiny little ICs were my first copper cables that gave you the air and detail of silver while still throwing that warmth in the mids of copper. I can always hear silver and frankly it can be inticing at first but it fatigues faster than copper and I have had some GREAT silver wire (the best so far is Audio Magic Clairvoyant 4-D)the Omega Mikro is copper and the ValhALLA is copper and silver so that explians a lot to me. Do try the Chimera and at the price point I would opt for the Vampire RCA ends. Mine are stock basic version and I thought about getting the copper Vampire plugs but ended up moving on b/4 that occured. It really is an honest cable and that is hard to find at any price but at his prices it is a real steal.
How about an IC with solderless non-metal connectors that sells for less than $100 but sounds surprisingly great! I am in dis-belief about this cable and furthermore it beats a $1000 interconnect which is now in the Audiogon bin waiting to be sold.For more check this site: www.jemsaudio.com
Are 2k speakers really $1800 better than aiwas? There's no way to tell someone else whether they are. You have to use your own ears to determine what you value sonic changes at. Kimber offers several budget-oriented cables - 4VS and tonik are pretty cheap and offer good performance.
They made a huge diff in my system. Look up my review here in the archives.Previously had very good silver ICs and homemade magnet wire ICs, both of which had done the job admirably. But these Encores for between $99-199 are really fantastic!
Look up Auricle Audio on Audiogon, or email Joe Mazzaglia directly at: auricleaudiodesign@hotmail.com
Personally I landed on VH Audio Cryo Pulsars with Eichmann plugs as the best value for my system. I can endorse Chris VH's engineering and customer service as being first rate. FOR MY SYSTEM (!!!) these are just wonderful wires. I had CArdas, DH Labs, Blue Jean cables, LAT--a bunch more. VH Audio really did the trick.Another way to go is Element Cable's Twisted pair interconnects which work off a lauded design by Jon Risch. I haven't tried this design, but more people swear by them than swear at them. This is a good sign.
I would recommend that you stick with one manufacturer for you interconnects. You begin to hear the differences otherwise. Every system has its own voice.Wires do help tune that voice and open or close the window it speaks out of.
As to Power cables, I use and recommend Chris VH's Flavor 4, especially for your amp. I have Moon Audio's Green hooked to my CDP and Tuner with very good results. My Preamp has a DH Labs power cable until I get another Flavor 4. The DH works quite well, however.
Speaker wires--I use Mapleshade double helix now after trying a slough of others. I like them, but again, your system will like or not like something that works on my system almost by definition.
oofer, here's a tip... I see on your Inmate Systems page that you don't use a power line conditioner but, if you do aquire one someday, your DH Labs power cord is excellent for connecting a power line conditioner to an AC wall outlet, IMHO. It's not as great when used on other gear (again, IMHO) so, I think you will like the Flavor 4 upgrade for your preamp. Cheers
Duster,
I think you are correct. When I got the first Flavor 4 from Chris, I replaced the DH Labs cord with it at my amp. Very large difference. I mean REALLY large difference. It is okay at the preamp, but I have a few more pulsar sets to get and then the pre gets a boost.I have tried several power line conditioners including Ron Wellbourne's latest, but they seem to have a negative effect on dynamics. Anyway, my power is pretty clean up here in rural, coastal Oregon. I do have some issues I am working on, however.
I have a satellite TV receiver from DishTV hooked into the system which puts out a DC charge to power the LNB's. I have recently isolated and damped it down pretty good by changing from balanced to single ended connections between my pre and amp. Then I used the ground lift on the amp. For some reason, this did the trick. I may star ground the equipment soon, too.
My speakers are really efficient so every damn stray bit of electrical muck pops out. Right now I am 98% of he way to dead quiet. All in all I would prefer to use balanced connections. The specs I have seen on my equipment show a flatter, wider response curve with the balanced. But the RCA connections' 6 db drop in efficiency has really helped quiet the whole system.
I also had a problem with hum, so I had my CATV guy install this in the main CATV coaxial input feed to the CATV juction box and it keeps DC out of my whole-house in-wall CATV coaxial cables. It's is an excellent product, without degradation, and very inexpensive...Cable Isolator w/ Spike Protection (CISP) $11.58 + free shipping
see link below:
BTW, what type of AC outlet arraignment to you use for your system? Are all of your components plugged directly into a wall outlet or do you use a multi-outlet power strip?
Well, Hi Duster! Thanks for the suggestions and help.I have heard that cable isolators don't work on Satellite TV set ups. I suppose for the price I could try it. I just didn't because of what I have heard from others. The 75 ohm coax comes directly from the antenna to the decoder from whence it receives its DC.
My AC comprises two #10 romex, dedicated circuits. One for Analog equipment, one for digital. They use the same leg at the panel. Plugs are high quality with copper/brass grounding legs and very tight interior connections.
I have tried hooking up a separate #10 wire from chassis to chassis between the amp and the sat box. There is a slight improvement, but I fear either an outside static charge or lightning grounding itself to the amp with its ground lifted might do real harm for slight improvement.
Frankly I have been thinking of pulling the TV system away from the the two channel system entirely. I really like the hookup for movies and the Sirius music channels, though. Compromise, I hate it.
The cable isolator would be useless then (oh, well).Have you seen these? (see link below):
Perhaps you could try the Auricap Tweak on your AC outlets. It has no compression of dynamics that I can detect.
RF is everywhere...
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