on to interconnects and cables

pmckeealaska
pmckeealaska Posts: 808
edited January 2005 in Electronics
OK........so I've completed my two channel rig and will be getting three more speakers next summer to make up an HT setup. But now, I would like to replace my monster interconnects and speaker cables with some better quality stuff. I know this is a sticky issue on this forum, but I would like some suggestions. Audioquest is a name I see a lot one here, so maybe that would be the company to go with? Any ideas?
Music and Movie Rig

Samsung 40" HDTV 1080p
LSi25 Front Speakers
LSiC Center Channel
LSiFX Surrounds
Rotel RB 1080 2-Channel Amp
NAD T763 Reciever
Denon DVD 2900 Universal Player
Audiosource 10 Band Digital Equalizer
Audioquest CV-8 speaker cables
Audioquest Sub-X subwoofer cables
Audioquest King Cobra Interconnects
Monster AVS 2000 Voltage Stabilizer
Playstation 3 120GB Slim
Post edited by pmckeealaska on
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,766
    edited December 2004
    MIT.......'nuff said!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited December 2004
    Weuns po foks likes PS Audio berry berry much. :p
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited December 2004
    AQ makes some nice products, sounds good to me.

    Keep the first investment simple, and cost effective.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited December 2004
    +1 on the Audioquest. I love them and they're relatively cheap, like me.
    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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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,204
    edited December 2004
    Depending on what you own will determine the correct brand or brands to look at.

    Audioquest is a very fine company.But there is so much wire to look at and listen to.

    Transparent and Kimber is what I perfer
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • 2+2
    2+2 Posts: 546
    edited December 2004
    relatively cheap and sounds good is silver coated copper wires from knukonceptz.com under their home theater products..sound way better than Monster REference and better than AR ProII .good luck.
    System 1: Martin Logan Vantage, Rotel RC 1070, B&K Reference 200.2, Music Hall DAC 15.2, Yamaha 2300

    System 2: LSi15 w/db840, Marantz SR8400, Rotel 1080, RM6800 (C&S), Sony X2020ES

    System 3: LSi7, Yamaha SW215, Music Hall Maven, Music Hall MMF CD25 w/627opamps

    System 4: RTi100, Harman Kardon AVR 230, Panasonic DVD
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited December 2004
    Go Audioquest.

    Get some AQ Corals. They're in sale at www.hcmaudio.com for $65/pair for 1 M.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited December 2004
    Signal Cable makes some nice IC's
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  • hamzahsh
    hamzahsh Posts: 439
    edited December 2004
    Go with Acoustic Research HT Pro Series or Monster THX Ultra cables.:D
    Panasonic TH-50PX80U Plasma HDTV
    Polk Audio RT800i (fronts)
    Polk Audio CS400i (center)
    Polk Audio F/X1000 (side surrounds)
    Polk Audio RTi6 (back surrrounds)
    Velodyne CHT-15 (subwoofer)
    Yamaha RX-V1400 (Pre/Pro)
    NAD C272 (2-ch Amp)
    Adcom GFA-7605 (5-ch Amp)
    Toshiba SD-3109 (DVD/CD player)
    Malata DVP-580 (Multi-region DVD player)
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,766
    edited December 2004
    F*CK Monster products!

    We don't use that garbage nor promote it's use here.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited December 2004
    Have any of you looked into Avic cable yet? They have a commercial on a few HD channels that I saw the other day and did a little looking into them. Looked damn nice IMO, but wasn't sure if anyone knew good or indifferent info about them.
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

    Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.

    Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener.
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  • jchas41
    jchas41 Posts: 84
    edited December 2004
    I get Monster cables at 60% off, so I like Monster just fine :D
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, their copyright policies are ridiculous, I agree on that. But c'mon 60%!
    My Set-Up:
    Sharp LC60E88UN- Display
    Yamaha RX-A2020- A/V Receiver
    Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD Bluray Player
    Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player
    Velodyne DPS-12 - Sub
    Polk RTi8's- Fronts
    Polk CSi5 - Center Channel
    Polk FXi A4's- rear surrounds
    Monster HTS2600 Line Conditioner
    PS4
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by Toxis
    Have any of you looked into Avic cable yet? They have a commercial on a few HD channels that I saw the other day and did a little looking into them. Looked damn nice IMO, but wasn't sure if anyone knew good or indifferent info about them.

    I saw it to but by the time I got over my astonishment it was over and I forgot the brand.:(

    I'm googling for a website now.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,766
    edited December 2004
    60% off of crap is still crap! :D
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited December 2004
    I've had real good luck with IXOS cables. yes.. a little hard to find at your local Hi Fi shop. but worth searching out. Heavy duty, and sound quite good.

    check out here if interested.

    I find them nice and flexible. unlike some other brands i've tried. and really what it all comes down to is flexiblity right? ha ha.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by F1nut
    60% off of crap is still crap! :D
    but for that price, give me another brand of quality cables that sound as good or better. I'm not hating on employee accomodations, that's for sure!
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

    Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.

    Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,766
    edited December 2004
    Well, maybe you missed my point. It doesn't matter what the price is if it's crap. Please join in the Cable Swap program here on the forum to try a bunch of different cables all of which are better than what you're using now.

    Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know. :)
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • LuSh
    LuSh Posts: 887
    edited December 2004
    The best interconnects I've come across thus far have been Harmonic Technology Prosilway MK II's. These cables are expensive I'm going to be upfront about that, and depending on how series you are about 2 channel music reproduction you might not go for these. You didn't give much info on what you were looking to spend.

    I'd strongly suggest buying them off of Audiogon. Buying new cables is crazy imho. You can find these used often on Audiogon.com for about $200. They are the only cable I've used so far where the differences were strong enough that you'd think a componant was changed. At first I hated these cables but I left them in for 1 week, and quickly realized what I thought was intially a tone control that tamed all high frequencies was actually a cable that offered a perfect blend of weight in notes, and separated instruments much much better for music.
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by F1nut
    Well, maybe you missed my point. It doesn't matter what the price is if it's crap. Please join in the Cable Swap program here on the forum to try a bunch of different cables all of which are better than what you're using now.

    Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know. :)

    I second that....
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  • hamzahsh
    hamzahsh Posts: 439
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by jchas41
    I get Monster cables at 60% off, so I like Monster just fine :D
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, their copyright policies are ridiculous, I agree on that. But c'mon 60%!

    Same thing with me, I get 60% off as well cause' I work at Best Buy in Canada. If I wasn't an employee it would be very hard to pay the high price.

    Love the sweet thick Monster THX Ultra man! Monster makes excellent cables and products. No problem if some people don't like it. Who cares!:rolleyes:
    Panasonic TH-50PX80U Plasma HDTV
    Polk Audio RT800i (fronts)
    Polk Audio CS400i (center)
    Polk Audio F/X1000 (side surrounds)
    Polk Audio RTi6 (back surrrounds)
    Velodyne CHT-15 (subwoofer)
    Yamaha RX-V1400 (Pre/Pro)
    NAD C272 (2-ch Amp)
    Adcom GFA-7605 (5-ch Amp)
    Toshiba SD-3109 (DVD/CD player)
    Malata DVP-580 (Multi-region DVD player)
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,766
    edited December 2004
    Obviously you care because if you didn't you wouldn't feel the need to justify the purchase of over priced, under performing cables.

    Have you ever tried anything else to compare just how good you think they are? I have and you couldn't give me Monster wires for free.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • dave shepard
    dave shepard Posts: 1,334
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by F1nut
    Please join in the Cable Swap program here on the forum to try a bunch of different cables all of which are better than what you're using now.

    Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know. :)

    That would be the cheepest way to do an in house direct comparison. There are some in there that can be had for the same or just slightly more then what Monster has but the sound could be more pleasing to the ear. If price is your coincern then just ask for those in a simular price range and post your thoughts.

    Dave
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited December 2004
    Originally posted by dave shepard
    That would be the cheepest way to do an in house direct comparison.

    Dave

    Dave I have not been following the cable swap thread lately but I hope you have shared your DH Labs product with the group.
    The DH-Labs are very competitive with AQ copperheads and ever so sightly edged by the diamondbacks IMHO.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • dave shepard
    dave shepard Posts: 1,334
    edited December 2004
    Thanks, I have put them in and I think Amulford has them but haven't seen or read anything good or bad yet. I can say that the monster 12ga speaker wire is in the works of being replaced with DH-Lab T-14 external bi-wire and the fronts have been done so far and the sound compaired to the monster has been improved with better detail all around. I for the hell of it tried to soilder the ends on the monster wire to keep them together because of changing things around and there seems to be some kind of coating on one of the wire strands (one side is lighter then the other) which soilders like sh**. Might only be the Monster wire I recieved but I would think that any coating would hamper the sound in someway.


    Dave
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  • dragon1952
    dragon1952 Posts: 4,907
    edited December 2004
    there seems to be some kind of coating on one of the wire strands (one side is lighter then the other) which soilders like sh**.

    You mean like oxidation maybe?
    2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Audioquest Diamond USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited December 2004
    Is there a big difference between the copperheads,
    diamond backs, and the king cobras ?

    Or is it just the price tag ?

    I have been trying to follow the I/C demo shootout ...

    Hats off to DORO for all his time and input !!

    I keep hearing how "bright" the diamondbacks are....

    I get the impression the copperheads are warmer , but no input on the cobras...

    Being somewhat new to the good stuff , I don`t want to have to deal with fast talkers that want to make a buck on me when I go to check it out next week...
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited December 2004
    I think AQ as a whole is "bright". In a way, it was essentially what started the whole demo program, as I didn't want to use them anymore....weird eh?
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited December 2004
    Any other opinions other than Monster sucks? I'm looking into Avic, Bettercables, Audioquest, Cobalt, Blue Jeans, etc. Thoughts? I want to go with one company and do them all the way through but has anyone actually done side by side comparisons to know what is better than the next?
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

    Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.

    Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener.
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited December 2004
    I have done comparisons with quite a few. I have personally found Signal Cable to be VERY good bang for the buck. FWIW.

    I also have a couple of BJC sub cables. But it was for price considerations...

    Monster cable can suck my dic......

    Just MY .02.
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  • LuSh
    LuSh Posts: 887
    edited December 2004
    Again, you have never told me how much you were looking to spend. If you try the Harmonic Technology Prosilways mk II you'll be very happy. The differences will be instant. You might not like what you hear initially, but keep em plugged in for awhle (a week say) then plug in your old ones and hear how much garbage was being sent down the line.

    Moray James is the digital interconnect I use now, again pricey ($350 US retail) but its the best Digital Coax I've ever used bar none. It bested Harmonic Technology's Platinum Cyberlink by a very wide margin. The differences were not subtle. Moray James also makes normal interconnects, at around $300 US. I have no personally heard these but they are suppose to be fantastic a step up from the Prosilways. The only problem is you can't buy them used. They are very very rare, and those that have his cables, usually keep them.
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