Blue Jeans vs Signal

Maurice

Ok you audio gurus, which do you recommend for bi-wires, Blue jeans or Signal shotguns?

RuSsMaN

Signal.

Lots of members are happy with it's performance, and Frank supports Club Polk with a discount for members, and has donated cables to the demo progam and for raffles at Polk gatherings.

Maurice

Since Frank supports us, I'll support him and buy from Signal.

ND13

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
Signal.

Lots of members are happy with it's performance, and Frank supports Club Polk with a discount for members, and has donated cables to the demo progam and for raffles at Polk gatherings.

Russ, how do we obtain the discount pricing?

RuSsMaN

Simply mention you are a Club Polk member for a 5% discount. I think for some, it worked out for free shipping.

It's not huge, but neither are Frank's profit margains either.

Cheers,
Russ

aaharvel

hey russ- what's the main difference you will get between an average interconnect and a good one- whichever brand name?

I have RadioSHack Fusions on everything and due to limited funds I can't upgrade. DO wires really make that big of a difference is it psychological? For my mid-fi system I don't see how it's possible to notice the improvement. Am I simply wrong?


H/K 235
Adcom 5300, 7300

rti4's
csi3
fxi3's
fx300i's
velo cht10

shack

Originally posted by aaharvel
hey russ- what's the main difference you will get between an average interconnect and a good one- whichever brand name?

I have RadioSHack Fusions on everything and due to limited funds I can't upgrade. DO wires really make that big of a difference is it psychological? For my mid-fi system I don't see how it's possible to notice the improvement. Am I simply wrong?


H/K 235
Adcom 5300, 7300

rti4's
csi3
fxi3's
fx300i's
velo cht10

Go back and read all of the posts (reviews) associated with the cable swap program or better yet get involved with the swap for yourself. Everything else is just hearsay.

marker

Here's my take, if you have a budget of say $1050 for example for a pair of speakers and the wire, instead of getting $700 speakers and $350 wire, you'd be better off to get $1000 speakers and $50 wire. Same thing with components too and cables.

I know some may disagree with that, but I think wire and cable does nothing to "improve" the sound at all, rather that the goal is simply not to take away from it any.

For those about to spend high dollars on speaker wire for RTi speakers, you might want to read this that I stumbled upon while searching for reviews of the RT2000i first:

Polk Audio RT 2000i -
Hello,
After being through a long period of buying a new set of loudspeakers for my system I finally settled for the Polk rt2000i. This decision was based primarily on my own listening tests of their little brother, the rt1000i but also on your excellent review.
I have had them for only a short time, and so far I'm satisfied with the sound. The problem is that I am of a very curious nature and have a strong urge to find out how everything works. So I decided to open up my speakers to find out what they looked like on the inside.
The first thing I did was to have a look at the amplifier. Here I discovered cheap quality wiring and a physically very small amplifier. ...snipped...
But I still have to say that the sound quality of these speakers is very good.
I hope you can share this information with the audio community.
Keep up the excellent work!
Tom Nikolaisen

LC
Dear Tom,
first of all, let me say I'm glad you're satisfied with the sound of your pair of RT 2000i, this means my review wasn't purely subjective. As I always say, accurate and extensive listening tests perfomed by experienced listeners CAN partially avoid subjectivity and get closer to the real thing (i.e. how a component sounds like).
Secondly, let me point out that you will be surprised to know how many "hi-end" designs (be it a loudspeaker, an amplifier, a CD player etc.) even those costing thousand of dollars, make use of ridiculously poor internal cabling, not to mention cheap and confuse layout and so on.
The real point is: does this stuff sound good? If yes, forget the rest. A loudspeaker is a very complex design, with several aspects (and compromises) that concour to the final result. Actually, fine sounding speakers may even NOT benefit from tweaking (such as rewiring) since you could easily BREAK their equilibrium in an unpredictable way.
Finally, with respect to the fake ARC port: I normally do not disassemble a component under test. First of all, I do not want to risk of breaking something and secondly I do not want to know how the component has been made as I want to be objective as possible when judging its sound.
Perhaps I should have done this AFTER the review...but I was in a hurry for returning the speakers (4 large floorstanders into the same listening room are not always welcomed by my relevant second other :-)).
Anyway, here's the official reply from Paul DiComo at Polk Audio Inc. I think it clarifies everything.
Enjoy the Music!
Lucio Cadeddu


Dear Mr. Nikolaisen,
...snipped...

As for the wire we use - our goal is to offer the best possible sound for the money. To meet that goal we have to make choices as to where to spend money to get the greatest "bang for the buck".
While we believe that audiophile internal wire can make a performance difference, the difference is small in comparison to the difference made by using a better quality driver or tweeter. If we practiced cost-no-object design and engineering our products would cost more and be accessible to fewer people. People who want (and can afford) cost-no-object products, have many fine brands to choose from.
We are very proud of the performance of Polk speakers and feel they offer superior sound quality for a fair and reasonable price. Reviewers around the world such as Lucio Cadeddu and Richard George of TNT, Robert Reina of Stereophile and dozens of others have attested to the performance and value of Polk speakers despite our use of generic wire. They focused on the result, not the means.

I am happy to hear that you are enjoying the sound of your RT2000i's. As they break in with use I think you will become even more pleased with their sound. And if you want to experiment and take on a little tweak project - by all means go ahead and upgrade the internal wiring of the speakers. If you need any technical advice or if I can serve you in any way, please contact me directly -

Regards,
Paul DiComo
Polk Audio, Inc.
______________________________________________

It doesn't make sense to me to put a lot of money in speaker wire from the amp or the receiver to the speakers just for the final link to be the cheapest wire possible inside of the speaker.

aaharvel

great post marker. I think I'll keep my fusion interconnects and 14 guage megacable.

SDA SRS 1.2

Another vote for Signal - Frank takes great care of us with great customer service and quality products.

Robbie

RuSsMaN

Cables can make a difference, that's all I have to say about that.

Cheers,
Forrest Gump

McLoki

As a lone voice, I really like the cables (speaker and interconnects) that I have gotten from blue jeans cable. I cannot say they are better or worse than signal (have not tried them) but the bang for the buck that you get from Blue Jeans Cable is great.

Mark me down as a happy customer.

Michael

RuSsMaN

You aren't alone, BJ has some good cables, at good prices. I've had a few come through here, and there are a lot of Polkies using them in their rigs.

Cheers,
Russ

shack

Originally posted by aaharvel
great post marker. I think I'll keep my fusion interconnects and 14 guage megacable.

Then you will never if really know if they make a difference or not..

Try the Cable Swap...It's almost free...

I've used what you have (on a very modest system) and having heard the difference myself (not hearsay), I will never go back to that level of wire. JMO

Not going to post any more on the subject since it has been debated ad nauseum...but like I said...try other stuff via the cable swap and if you don't hear a difference then you at least have experience to back up your opinion.

unc2701

For some of their IC's Blue jeans uses the exact same wire as signal- belden 8something... But if all it comes down to was the wire, i think more of us would be doing DIY IC's. I've had success w/ both, but I'll vote for signal since frank's a cool guy.

cfrizz

I am quite happy with my IC's from BJC's, they get the job done & I didn't go into the poor house getting them.

aaharvel

that's cool, SHack. I'm just posting based on my own listening experiences with various kinds of cables- although I'm sure none of them are as nice/expensive as bluejean or cobalt, etc.

Yeah- I think i'll try that forum sometime: ya' never know...