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In Reply to: RE: Amusingly enough (ha, ha), your Inmate System listing ... posted by TheBrewmaster on March 21, 2014 at 15:06:13
Oh, I'd say you haven't thought the subject through. And it's a much broader and more complex subject than you're prepared to admit. But rather than recognize that, you can just dismiss it out of hand, which would make more sense if you were using any old wire to connect your quite fine system. But you aren't.
Well, you asked.
Follow Ups:
Actually I was caught in a particularly "realistic" moment and was just making light of something that, when you stop and think about it, step outside of our little world here, is a little on the silly side. I enjoy good equipment and want it to sound its best, so now that I can afford it, I buy decent cables (but not exotic ones). But do I audition them? No I don't. I don't have the patience nor the time to obsess over something like cables. I buy cables only when they are on sale, because, to charge several hundred dollars for copper cables with a little silver plating on the connectors... it's a ripoff no matter how you slice it. It simply does not cost that much to manufacture cables! It's snake oil, actually. I try to do a little research before I buy in order to make an informed decision, (so as not to sabotage my expensive equipment investment with a bad choice -- I think of it more as insurance as much as anything) and then I go with it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a lot more room within my mind to produce imaginary differences about different cables than there is room within the physics of copper wire to sound differently. Again, I guess I could be wrong about that. But "physics is physics" I suppose. It's all good.
"But do I audition them? No I don't."
Well, that saves a lot of time and, except for speakers (which have a lot of environment and taste issues), has a certain amount of merit applied to the whole system. Most things sound pretty good these days.
On the other hand, for a variety of boring reasons, cables may matter more to your satisfaction than you think. If you're happy and contented, all is well. If you find yourself not listening a lot or tending to thrash through gear then consider considering cables. It took my dealer practically tying them in a noose about my neck before I gave in and actually paid any attention to them. But he was right and I've hardly touched my system since tinkering with the cables... it now satisfies.
I know, it doesn't seem likely, but they really can be the last significant issue and being an electronics guy I built most of mine from stuff laying around for pennys. It isn't magic. I do think it's unfortunate that many cable manufacturers now seem intent on pricing themselves out of the high-value market but based on posts here that's the right thing to do since price is the only metric most folks seem to comprehend.
Blow a rainy weekend sometime and borrow a variety of cables and just try them to see what the deltas are like and if they matter to you. If nothing else you will probably have some fun and gain some insights. It's not onerous to do especially if you have ready access to the back of your gear...
Rick
I hear you. Good post. I've actually compared some cables (I have a few laying around here) and I have to say that I just didn't hear as much of a difference as some people seem to mention. Can different windings of similarly high quality copper sound different? Probably. But to magnify the minute differences into something so huge is misplaced, in my opinion. Just my opinion, which you'll agree I am allowed to have.One last little thing. Your quote "If you find yourself not listening a lot or tending to thrash through gear..."
I call that OCD. I try to avoid it. As much as possible, anyway. But admittedly that's not so easy in this hobby.... happy listening to all.
Edits: 03/22/14
I have a hypothesis (somewhat in line with my experience) that better equipment, which typically costs more, drives the cables better and therefore the sonic differences among cables diminish. Many of us cannot afford equipment which is oblivious to cables, so we get the best sonic value by combining appropriate cables with the other hardware.
But I figure it's rather more like links in a chain. The weakest link is still where the chain breaks down, even if the other links are unbreakable on their own. The question is to what extent high quality copper wire varies in "link strength" i.e. are there truly "weak" cables versus are there truly "strong" sounding cables. Obviously a polarizing topic with varying opinions. For one side, however, they can offer very little measurable proof to support their opinions. So here we are. Lest this trigger another round of arguments, let me re-state my personal opinion: Yes, cables impact the sound and can sound differently. But no, the difference is not huge, it's rather exaggerated by many.
I must disagree with the premise that sonic differences among cables diminish as one climbs the high-end audio ladder.
On the contrary, the high performance potential of hi-end cables diminish when placed on mid-fi gear (casting pearls before swine is too strong a term so I won't use it here...).
I was trying to hypothesize why some people do not hear differences which seem large to me. But I can say that I have had components which are less sensitive to cables than others.
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