Such a fascinating debate. Engineers that need a visual representation, a test, to determine a difference, and "audiophiles" who supposedly can hear things that can't be tested by manufactured equipment. I guess that last sentence sounds a bit tilted and maybe that gives away my perspective.
To stick my neck out, I'll share my story. I purchased a pair of ATC SCM 100 ASLT speakers and took the recommendation of a recording engineer friend that basic balanced interconnect cables were all that I needed given that the speakers are active. I purchased some Whirlwind and Monster xlr cable because they were readily available at a local store. After complaining to other recording engineer friends, it was suggested that I try Belden 1800f cable. I thought balanced interconnects are just balanced interconnects, but sure, I'll try it. To my ear it was a huge improvement. Perhaps this was moving up from inferior cable to acceptable cable or good to great. It probably depends on who you ask. Eventually I purchased an Ayre C5xe cd player and had an audio engineer friend accept receipt of it for me as he and the seller were in the same state on the East Coast. The seller mentioned a high priced pair of interconnects that he was willing to sell me for half price. I had my friend, who after thirty years in the audio engineering business, did not believe in expensive cables and felt they were snake oil compare them to his standard Belden 1800f. To my surprise and his, he preferred the expensive cable. What is even more surprising is that while I like the expensive cable between the cd player and the preamp, I prefer the Belden cable between the preamp and the speakers. So did my friend. Both cable runs are interconnects and the length to the speakers is twenty-five feet compared to three. If anything, I would think that the expensive cable should make a difference in the longer run. In addition, I eventually received a different type of Belden interconnect directly from ATC. It may be solid core as it is so stiff, or it may just be a plenum style of shielding. I can't tell and can't find it on Belden's website. To my ear it sounds different than the 1800f cable. The soundstage is slightly wider but not as tall. There is less high frequency emphasis which I believe is why it sounds shorter for lack of a better term. However, it has a weightier mid-bass that sometimes I prefer to the 1800f. On other tracks, the 1800f seems more natural. I have tried to use piano recordings as a comparison as I grew up playing on a Steinway and have some idea of what I think a piano should sound like. Then again, with all of the different microphone techniques and microphones, not to mention piano timbres and room interactions, I don't know how I could ever tell how perfect a piano reproduction is unless I had access to the recorded piano. Regardless, it is different. I spent quite a bit of time researching cable before I purchased the speakers and came to the conclusion that with so many intelligent, sophisticated, engineering types dismissing the effect of expensive cable, that it must not make any difference. I came up with my own term for snake oil, describing it to friends as audiophile pixie dust and imagined a salesperson sprinkling something over speakers and proclaiming it to make the sound better, while an unsuspecting, gullible, rich enough to not care buyer would struggle to hear a difference and in the end fall victim to the scam for whatever psychological reason. I now fall into a new category. The I have to hear it myself category. This is frustrating because it means that I can't rely on the experience of others in the way that I would like. If someone else can't tell the difference between cables, is it because there is no difference or because the resolution of their system, ears, or ability to critically listen does not allow them to hear the difference. There's no way to know. I do not mean this as an insult to anyone who has auditioned two cables and reports that they are the same. And I certainly do not mean to imply that my capability to critically listen is better than that of anyone else. Furthermore, I have never heard a $7k speaker cable. It better be amazing at that price-point. I really don't see how it is possible. But then again, with an extremely precise system and room, I can't rule out the possibility that it might make a difference. I'd have to hear it myself to make that determination. The reason I have shared my story is to help anyone out there who is struggling to determine whether there is a difference between cables. I hope that you will at least try a comparison yourself, on an accurate system, in a somewhat acoustically sound room. Listen to how many instruments you can hear on a track, how lifelike they each are, what happens to the soundstage, if anything. And I think you have to listen at louder levels, at least 85db so that you can hear the detail of the recording and experience any distortion or coloration that might mask detail. Sometimes just hitting a higher volume level will reveal a cable's harshness on transients. And for anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, you are welcome to make the tests at my home. I do hope to have an audio showroom open one of these days and I may even sell one brand of high end cables. Then again, I've never tested them against any other high end cables. Might there be a better cable at a lesser pricepoint? ...another headache in my quest to create a business based on my passion, music. I hope I haven't branded myself negatively on this forum forever... Will _________________________________________________ Transporter -> ATC SCA2 -> ATC SCM 100 ASLT Ayre C5xe -> ATC SCA2 -> ATC SCM 100 ASLT -- musiklov3r ------------------------------------------------------------------------ musiklov3r's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=13166 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=38902
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