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Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Belden 8402

The Belden 8402 is a terrific bargain, no question about that. But in my opinion it is not the world beater cable that some people have claimed.

I made up a set using KLE Absolute RCA plugs, used it for several hundred hours, and experimented with different connections of the mesh shield. I then replaced the KLE plugs with WBT 0102-Ag plugs and ran it in for another couple hundred hours. The bottom line for me is the Belden/WBT is sitting in my unused parts box because my old Wireworld Eclipse II is more satisfying. The Eclipse has better inner detail and microdynamics as well as a more neutral tonal balance. I bought the WW Eclipse II back in the mid 1990s and I don't believe there is anything terribly special about it. It just happens to be a very good design that, to my ears, has stood the test of time.

I am not saying that the Belden is a bad sounding cable. With good quality RCA plugs, it has decent detail and dynamics and it has a fairly neutral tonal balance. It may indeed be better sounding than someone's previous DIY cable or the latest internet cable sensation, but I doubt it will win out against a really good sounding commercial cable. Jeff Day says it is similar in quality to his Sablon Panatela interconnects although he says it is quite different sounding (not too sure what to make of that). I tried a Panatela interconnect a couple years ago and ended up returning it because again I preferred the Wireworld. I say that because maybe it's just me and a strange attraction to the sound of the older Wireworld Eclipse cables. However, if anyone wants to buy an already broken in set of Belden/WBT cables, mine may soon be for sale.


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