Are those $10K cables worth the money?

Sumerian

Untill i became a member here and started reading the forums i never knew there are cables priced at 10K
did any of you did a A/B comparision are they really worth that much in terms of SQ.

Do we have any speakers in Polk which can really make use of such a cable?

Mystery

Not for me.

treitz3

Beauty is always in the ear of the beholder.

For some folks, 10K is what is budgeted for an entire stereo or HT system. For others, it only begins the budget for an amplifier, vinyl rig or CPD. I do happen to have some [undisclosed dollar amount] cables that are considered high end and it is those cables that have catapulted my listening pleasure to an extreme. Without them, I feel that I would have an average system that is only capable of "so much". With them, they complete the sound staging and reproductive qualities of the rig to what I would consider a stellar playing field that stands out from the crowd. I have personally done many A/B tests and the results vary as much as the equipment that audio manufacturers carry. Not one cable I have or have had sounds just like any other I have, not one.

The differences abound and can range from but are not limited to; sound stage, micro and macro detail, imaging, frequencies, visceral impact, roll off, reproductive accuracy, voicing, texture and a plethora of other aspects that can bring a system together or on the flip side, destroy it.

As far as Polk speakers being worthy of these types of cables? Of course. SDA's and the new LSiM series top the list but I'm sure many here would add some more to the list.

Tom

nguyendot

Hell no. But that's just me. If I had more money than sense maybe... but I'd feel better feeding a homeless dude than owning 10k cables.

BlueFox

I wouldn't know since I have never tried a $10K cable of any type; power, interconnect, or speaker. However, between my two channel and HT I have invested (at list price) approximately $36K in Shunyata power conditioners and cables, and that has been worth every penny.

treitz3

Hello, BlueFox. I feel as if you hinted toward a good point. Retail versus what was actually paid for said cables. While I would love to be at the point to where I could blow retail for said cables and give equal amounts to the homeless or other worthy cause, this is not the case.

With that said, if we were to all spend retail on ALL of the cables we have collectively purchased throughout the years?...............

So, if the question were revised as...would I spend 10K on some cables at full retail? Hell no. Would I spend a discounted "x" amount on a pair of 10K cables? Eh, it depends. Questions that come to mind are; Are they still serviceable? Is the company that sold them still in business? Can they be traded in for a newer version? Can I try them in my system prior to purchase? Could I possibly sell said cable(s) on the used market for about what I paid for them? Can I afford them? Would they make a positive, lateral or negative change within my system [synergy]? Are they compatible for my system?

Tom

treitz3

Sorry guys and girls. I was distracted for a moment. The biggest question would be....

Do they make a positive change in my system and is that change worth it to me?

Tom

treitz3

Do you happen to recall what those 5 panes were, DSkip?

Tom

ViperZ

treitz3 wrote: »

Sorry guys and girls. I was distracted for a moment. The biggest question would be....

Do they make a positive change in my system and is that change worth it to me?

Tom

I can think of a lot of great ways to change my life by spending $10K, and that wouldn't be on cables... but that's just me.

Easy answer to OP: if you have $100K+ system and can spare $10K on cables, then go for it and prove it to yourself. If you have $10K system and want to spend $10K on cables, I would get banned for my opinion on such purchase.

Devlon

Call the engineering department at Belden Cable (606) 348-8433. They are friendly folks there. They are one of the world's largest designers/manufacturers of speaker and data cables. They make cables for many, many companies. I think you will find what they have to say about cable design, and how it affects sound very interesting.

steveinaz

There are people who spend $250k on a car.....because they can.

Sumerian

Lets only talk about about SQ if some one has listened to these cables ... lets not got deviated.

No i don't have that much dough to spend but would like to know how much of difference it makes.
Its just a discussion ....Vusaah ... Vusaah guys

Mystery

People have spent more but me no got that kind of dough so no good for me...

This setup is $57k speakers + $40k cables + $25k for interconnects.
That's $132k without pre-/amplifiers and source gears. :eek:

Here is a post for Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009.
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/rmaf09/1.html

The distributor On a Higher Note showed the highly stylized $57,000/pr Vivid Audio Giya G1 speakers with Luxman Anniversary mono amps, Synergistic Research Galileo cables with active shielding—a whopping $40,000 for the speaker cables and $25,000 for the interconnects!—Acoustic Art resonator room treatments and the magnetic direct-drive/magnetic-bearing Brinkman Oasis turntable. While the speakers might have looked like overgrown elves, there was nothing comical about their sound. The system filled the large room with a sound that was enveloping and warm yet had good focus and detail. Quite a feat! Halfway through one song, certain Acoustic Arts resonators were removed from their wall mounts (one is visible above on the post behind equipment rack) to have the listeners decide on their effect. I have to say that I heard a loss of harmonics, air around the instruments and soundstage bloom when they were removed. Whether I could detect this in a blind test I don’t know. My listening notes said “superb… total ease with delicacy and coherence.” A very impressive room indeed!

treitz3

Sumerian wrote: »

Lets only talk about about SQ if some one has listened to these cables ... lets not got deviated.

.....from the original poster of the thread itself.

Mr. Sumerian. Please allow me to ask you this, if you will. Do you have a distributor or possibly a store near you that will allow you to purchase said product(s) and offer you a 30 day trial? If so, you can find out for yourself if they make a positive change within your system or not. Whether folks chime in to say that a system [or your system] is not worthy....or even if it is....the choice is yours. Your ears are yours, not ours. You can be the only judge. While I and others may state or observe that they make a positive change within our systems, it doesn't make a hill of beans to you if it doesn't make positive changes in yours. That's what matters, not drivel from folks that have no idea what you do or do not have for a system.

What do you have for a system, BTW? That may help us to help you finding an answer.

Tom

BlueFox

It is always nice to save a few dollars on a big purchase, and The Cable Company does give discounts, which is fine by me. In regard to sound quality, of course they do, otherwise why buy them. If you want to know how much, well then the burden is on you to buy some and find out.

leroyjr1

Nope

polkfarmboy

Yes !!

steveinaz

Even IF I had a 50k system, it wouldn't be running $10k cables. I might have been born at night, but not last night.

I'd like to see a cost break-out of a $10k cable, and the accompanying "cable theory" to support such an expense; ie, materials used, topology, connectors, labor intensity, etc.

bikezappa

If the cables looked pretty, maybe.

falconcry72

Sumerian wrote: »

Lets only talk about about SQ if some one has listened to these cables ... lets not got deviated.

No i don't have that much dough to spend but would like to know how much of difference it makes.
Its just a discussion ....Vusaah ... Vusaah guys

I think if you searched the forum you'd find that this has been discussed many times.

F1nut

We used the MIT Oracle Matrix Super HD 120 bi-wire speaker cables with the LSiM 707's and 703's at CAF. I think they run about $36,000. Sounded fantastic! If I had that kind of coin, hell yeah I'd buy them.

CoolJazz

Devlon wrote: »

Call the engineering department at Belden Cable (606) 348-8433. They are friendly folks there. They are one of the world's largest designers/manufacturers of speaker and data cables. They make cables for many, many companies. I think you will find what they have to say about cable design, and how it affects sound very interesting.

I've personally installed at least a semi truckload of Belden cable over time. And I've sat through their "cable is cable" education session (for education credits).

I've also compared some Belden cable (that I've installed thousand upon thousands of feet of), comparing it as interconnects where they came out LAST of the cable listened to. All in attendance felt the same way too, that the Belden was gritty and nasty sounding! The thoughts of each was arrived at seperately and we compared notes and each had come seperately to the same order we thought of the quality of the different cables. A fairly high line Belden was clearly and far and away the worst of the session!

So I completely reject Belden's whole thing, that all you have to do is look at the spec's for the cable and that their can be no other differences. And I'm actually kind of offended by their attitude and doubt that they'd ever take any offer to do the same sort of actual listening to know what the result of using their cable is.

And BTW, I've started to try to use other companies products professionally as the result of that comparison.

So my personal opinion, FWIW, is that Belden knows it's stuff as far as materials, durability, distribution and marketing. But for high quality audio, look elsewhere! I don't care how much more cable they sell than anybody else! It isn't going in my personal system, no how, no way! I want music, not specs.

CJ

Monster Jam

Never seen this thread before. :rolleyes:

newbie308

I regards to speaker cables, I can not comment. However, in regards to interconnects, I have witnessed first hand (err ear) what a difference they make! I was completely blown away at how much more detail came through when I tried my first pair of quality interconnects. I immediately noticed that I could hear when the pick touched an acoustic guitar string and when a singer inhaled before a sustained note. I was a skeptic, but not any more. Based on that, I have no doubt that speaker cables can make a difference. Right now I can not justify the investment due to this suck a$$ economy, but when I can, I will definitely make the investment. All be it not $10k but maybe $1k for my system.

leftwinger57

Still w/ my World Famous 14 gu clear..........

pretzelfisch

I look around at my speakers and can only think 10k of wire into a binding post that at most cost the manufacture $5. Panes of glass, that is the best analogy.

treitz3

Thing is, not all binding posts cost $5.00 and not all wall outlets cost $2.00. There are some that have spent thousands just on these two bottlenecks alone. There are many different levels that folks in this hobby are on. If you had told me when I first started in this hobby that I would pay over 3 digits for a CD, I would have laughed. If you had told me that I would pay 1K just for a stand for the gear to sit on, I would have told you that you were crazy. If you had told me that I could have purchased a truck PIF in cash with the amount of money I have spent over the years on cables? I would have plum told you that you had lost your mind.

I know of guys that have spent more on multiple acousticians [and NOTHING else] than it would take to purchase a very nice 4 bedroom house on a golf course. Then again, I know of guys that think that spending anything over $300.00 on an amplifier or $500.00 on a total system is a complete waste of money. There are some folks out there that have speakers that are worth more on the used market than my entire house cost brand new.

The levels of where your rig is and whether or not a 10K cable is worth it to you, mainly depends on where one is at within their own audio journey......and how much one can afford. For some, 10K for a cable is a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost of their room, electrical service, room treatment, isolation devices, sound proofing, etc. ad nauseum. Their only concern is whether or not that cable has synergy within their system and provides not just a lateral change or detriment to their rig but a positive change that justifies the cost of such a cable to them.

Tom

tonyb

Spot on Tom, nice post.

Copy it, you'll have to paste it again in about....oh, 2 hours or so when the next question is asked again about the same thing.

Sumerian

treitz3,

Nicely said...

George Grand

treitz3 wrote: »

Thing is, not all binding posts cost $5.00 and not all wall outlets cost $2.00. There are some that have spent thousands just on these two bottlenecks alone. Tom

And to be fair, there are plenty of people (learned people) who don't feel these are bottlenecks. So if you perceive them as bottlenecks, that is when you want to go out and do something about it.

bikezappa

treitz3 wrote: »

Thing is, not all binding posts cost $5.00 and not all wall outlets cost $2.00. There are some that have spent thousands just on these two bottlenecks alone. There are many different levels that folks in this hobby are on. If you had told me when I first started in this hobby that I would pay over 3 digits for a CD, I would have laughed. If you had told me that I would pay 1K just for a stand for the gear to sit on, I would have told you that you were crazy. If you had told me that I could have purchased a truck PIF in cash with the amount of money I have spent over the years on cables? I would have plum told you that you had lost your mind.

I know of guys that have spent more on multiple acousticians [and NOTHING else] than it would take to purchase a very nice 4 bedroom house on a golf course. Then again, I know of guys that think that spending anything over $300.00 on an amplifier or $500.00 on a total system is a complete waste of money. There are some folks out there that have speakers that are worth more on the used market than my entire house cost brand new.

The levels of where your rig is and whether or not a 10K cable is worth it to you, mainly depends on where one is at within their own audio journey......and how much one can afford. For some, 10K for a cable is a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost of their room, electrical service, room treatment, isolation devices, sound proofing, etc. ad nauseum. Their only concern is whether or not that cable has synergy within their system and provides not just a lateral change or detriment to their rig but a positive change that justifies the cost of such a cable to them.

Tom

Maybe your are crazy?