For those unaware..... Cables Matter!

EndersShadow
EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
edited January 2012 in 2 Channel Audio
So I just tossed into my computer setup the "special" cable Pepster mailed me for free (he rocks like that). And for those of you unaware..... guess what.......


CABLES MATTER!!!! This cable made by company X, has just opened up my speakers like none other. The brand surprised me personally as I wasn't expecting this type of sound from a cable from company X. There is depth, sparkle and clarity just about everywhere. It replaces a Monoprice cable that honestly I might just toss into the garbage because I don't ever want to think about the fact that I was using it to start with :smile:.

I have goosebumps listening to Mike Oldfields Tubular bells (specifically "The Bell" and "Weightless"). If you haven't heard those two songs you really need to. "The Bell" has a massive range of different instruments from electric guitars, glockenspiels, flutes, etc coming and going, giving you a good feel for how the speaker sounds throughout its entire range. Weightless is all about high end sparkle IMHO. I can literally feel the decay of the different instruments which is a first up here.

I don't know how long I will be able to hold off on replacing my Signal Cables downstairs with the MIT's I got today lol..... I might just stay up here for a couple hours and rock out!

Now I just cant wait for my Audioquest CV-4 dbs speaker cables to come in Monday hopefully for the HT.......

Then maybe its time to just replace my Monoprice speaker wire up here in the office as well lol...
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited January 2012
    This is news?:razz:
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited January 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    Then maybe its time to just replace my Monoprice speaker wire up here in the office as well lol...
    Their speaker cables aren't too bad...but the termination they sell(nanners, etc..) is awful.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    Face wrote: »
    Their speaker cables aren't too bad...but the termination they sell(nanners, etc..) is awful.

    Is that what you meant to say?

    P.S. its Monoprice 14 gauge cable terminated in Monster Quick Connects lol...... (let the public stoning begin).

    I plan to possibly replace it with some Audioquest FLX 14/4 wires (bi-wired more than likely), or something like their X2 or G2 wire terminated with some GLS Audio Locking banana's. Thoughts?
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    Drenis wrote: »
    This is news?:razz:

    For some... :wink:

    I was aware, but its been a bit since I switched anything new into my rig and this improvement upstairs was quite large.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited January 2012
    Face wrote: »
    Their speaker cables are too bad...but the termination they sell(nanners, etc..) is awful.

    I have the screw type monoprice banana clips and I agree, I don't care for them. You have to spread the stray wires over the outer side of the threads and TIGHTLY screw the two pieces together to get a firm grip and contact. Seems you cant get all the wire to be connected.

    I can;t wait to replace them. (That and mine are ~12' each in length which is WAY more then I need... Hell 6' would work.)
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited January 2012
    THAT'S IT. I'm ripping the coat-hangers out of my amp terminals tonight!
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    steveinaz wrote: »
    THAT'S IT. I'm ripping the coat-hangers out of my amp terminals tonight!

    hehehe, I was waiting for one of those comments to show up :biggrin:

    Tell you what, I will see your coat-hangers and raise you my lamp cord wire :wink:
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2012
    Oh great another cable pissing thread, because you know this is now troll bait :rolleyes:

    So you're not revealing brand X? This thread is worthless then :lol:

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Oh great another cable pissing thread, because you know this is now troll bait :rolleyes:

    Yeah, I am aware its gonna get trolled shortly, but such is life

    Since your the first to ask, cable X is made by Phillips, which is a surprise to me.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited January 2012
    Actually I've found in my own listening tests that Wonder breads' silver coated twists to have ever-so-delicate treble response; so I ditched the Bar S ties I was using.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited January 2012
    I'm just bustin' your chops man. You never know what will bring the synergy....looks like you found it.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited January 2012
    Hahaha... Recently a speaker wire thread came up on my local forum here and when I took a stab and advised against lamp cord. I was slammed so hard I gave up. This was a link that was posted. How the hell do you compete arguing with people who have their own beliefs.

    http://gizmodo.com/363154/audiophile-deathmatch-monster-cables-vs-a-coat-hanger

    Edit - They also pulled out the Roger Russel article... I hate cable threads now too.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,447
    edited January 2012
    steveinaz wrote: »
    THAT'S IT. I'm ripping the coat-hangers out of my amp terminals tonight!

    if they're soild steel I'll take them that distortion just rocks my Jenson tri axials :eek::mrgreen::eek:


    so just who is Company X?
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  • brgman
    brgman Posts: 2,859
    edited January 2012
    What's a pepster? Sounds like a sore you get after some bad....... well you know.
    Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC

    Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords

    I’M OFFENDED!!!!
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    steveinaz wrote: »
    I'm just bustin' your chops man. You never know what will bring the synergy....looks like you found it.

    For now :smile: But one would say my system isn't exactly the most revealing (FLAC from Media Monkey via coaxial to HK3490 to Monitor 60's)

    Now to see what happens if I up the cables by a hair lol...
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    What kind of cable is it? Digital coax?


    FYI, the best digital coax cable I've heard to date is a custom, multiple run, solid-core silver cable the pep made.:wink:
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    So just who is Company X?
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    Cable X is made by Phillips, which is a surprise to me.
    brgman wrote: »
    What's a pepster? Sounds like a sore you get after some bad....... well you know.

    LOL no comment there....

    @falconcry: Its a 6 ft digital coaxial cable by Phillips terminated in locking rca's.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • Syndil
    Syndil Posts: 1,582
    edited January 2012
    Drenis wrote: »
    How the hell do you compete arguing with people who have their own beliefs.

    Good question, easy answer: Devise a testing process that eliminates beliefs from the results. Wonder what that could be...

    BTW, trolling achieved? ;)

    RT-12, CS350-LS, PSW-300, Infinity Overture 1, Monoprice RC-65i
    Adcom GFA-545II, GFA-6000, Outlaw Audio 990, Netgear NeoTV
    Denon DCM-460, DMD-1000, Sony BDP-360, Bravia KDL-40Z4100/S
    Monster AVL-300, HTS-2500 MKII
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    For now :smile: But one would say my system isn't exactly the most revealing (FLAC from Media Monkey via coaxial to HK3490 to Monitor 60's)

    Now to see what happens if I up the cables by a hair lol...

    How are you getting the audio out? Digital coax out of a sound card?

    Throw a MF V-Link in there, run it in ASIO, and be done with it.:biggrin:
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    How are you getting the audio out? Digital coax out of a sound card?

    You are correct, Digital coax out of the onboard soundcard. For now this works. A good Asynchronous USB to RCA DAC is what will be next like the Musiland Monitor 02 (or 03 since it just came out).

    For now the cost of my setup in the office cant justify going too overboard. Got to finish my HT setup downstairs first.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    You are correct, Digital coax out of the onboard soundcard. For now this works. A good Asynchronous USB to RCA DAC is what will be next like the Musiland Monitor 02 (or 03 since it just came out).

    For now the cost of my setup in the office cant justify going too overboard. Got to finish my HT setup downstairs first.

    Sounds like you and H9 are in the same boat!:biggrin:
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    Sounds like you and H9 are in the same boat!:biggrin:

    Yeah, I have been following most of the USB to RCA threads and for the cost the Musiland seems like a better deal than the HRT Media Streamer.

    Add to that the Monitor 03 is supposedly able to handle 32bit/384KHz sample rates :eek:

    http://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/musiland-monitor-03-us/
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    Sounds like you and H9 are in the same boat!:biggrin:

    My overboard is a lot more than his overboard :biggrin:

    But in reality I don't spend much time in there and I'm not going to assemble a multi-thousand $$$ system for a pair of monitors.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • codyc1ark
    codyc1ark Posts: 2,532
    edited January 2012
    brgman wrote: »
    What's a pepster? Sounds like a sore you get after some bad....... well you know.

    IT IS!!!

    To ES:

    *thread crap*

    *thread bash*

    *thread troll*

    There, that about clears it up for anyone! :cheesygrin:

    Sent from my iPad. With Apple love. Just for ES!
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    As a side note, I now understand just how low the Monitor 60's can go, because they literally are filling my room with bass in ways they never used to. My desk which is between them is vibrating from their bass (so I might need to isolate em a bit lol).

    I am rethinking my need for a sub right now :smile:

    Today was a good day, too bad I have places to be tonight :frown: I just dont want to leave :smile:
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    Yeah, I have been following most of the USB to RCA threads and for the cost the Musiland seems like a better deal than the HRT Media Streamer.

    Add to that the Monitor 03 is supposedly able to handle 32bit/384KHz sample rates :eek:

    http://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/musiland-monitor-03-us/

    The sound quality of the Musiland, and also the V-Link, rivals that of thousand dollar CD transports.

    HOWEVER:

    The Musliand Monitor 02 (maybe not 03, I don't know), has compatibility issues with PC's that are running a 64 bit operating system on an AMD chip. Don't know why, but I can attest that it's true. If you don't have a 64 bit operating system on an AMD chip, then you're in the clear, and it's a great sounding piece. It's DAC's aren't half bad either, especially given the price.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    The sound quality of the Musiland, and also the V-Link, rivals that of thousand dollar CD transports.

    I don't understand. The Musiland isn't a transport it's a dac. Unless you mean a computer using them rivals the transports, but that doesn't make sense either. My Musiland certainly is decent enough but I don't think it would "rival" a several thousand dollar cdp, in fact I know it wouldn't.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited January 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    The sound quality of the Musiland, and also the V-Link, rivals that of thousand dollar CD transports

    Agree, and since I am all FLAC at this point I am happy about that :smile:
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    HOWEVER:

    The Musliand Monitor 02 (maybe not 03, I don't know), has compatibility issues with PC's that are running a 64 bit operating system on an AMD chip. Don't know why, but I can attest that it's true.

    I am aware, running Windows 7 64 Ultimate on a Intel Q9650 overclocked to 4 Ghz with 8 Gigs of DDR2 1066 :smile:. I should be fine.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    heiney9 wrote: »
    I don't understand. The Musiland isn't a transport it's a dac. Unless you mean a computer using them rivals the transports, but that doesn't make sense either. My Musiland certainly is decent enough but I don't think it would "rival" a several thousand dollar cdp, in fact I know it wouldn't.

    H9

    I mean if you used the Musiland's SPDIF output, not its DAC.

    edit:

    I should add that if the Musiland, or V-Link, is properly implemented, it can rival expensive CD transports. Properly implemented means that you're playing accurately-ripped lossless files in a bit-perfect playback mode.

    I guess the "transport" would be the combination of the PC, media player, and the USB>SPDIF converter.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited January 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    I should be fine.

    Yep.:biggrin: That Musiland is a cool piece for sure. I like that it has its own DAC and analog outs as well as SPDIF outs.

    And as I said before, its DAC really is decent.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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