Audio cables

dudeinaroom

here is what I think <click

dudeinaroom

I agree with the wire routing. all of my power wires run up the side of my cabinet and cross signal wires at 90 degrees. the signal wires and speaker wires run along each other for about a 1/2 inch (it can not be avoided in my cabinet). The power wires exit the cabinet at the rear top left, and signal and speaker wires exit about 1/6 the way up the cabinet in the center

ben62670

Oh now you have done it Mr Dude.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180060873991

I have mixed feelings. Will I have to eat my words (again)? Maybe that would not be a bad thing (read good thing) if sound has a noticeable improvement. The 20 inch PBJs are on there way. Like I need to spend more money on something I can't afford in the first place!

dudeinaroom

I think you will like them. I've been told thee best place to use them is between the pre and amp. I have them hooked up between my sacd/cd/dvd player, and my pre and I like it a lot.:D Oh yeah, and I really hear the can not afford thing.

SLOCOOKN

I have an extra srtaightwire encore 2 that I am not currently using if you would like to try it also. 1m length.

dudeinaroom

sure, I'll pm you later. I'm at war (work) right now

SLOCOOKN

sounds great!

dudeinaroom

I received them ((straightwire)) this morning in good shape.
I am going to have to move my pre so I can a/b against the kimbers. Right now they are hooked between my pre and amp, and all I can say is WOW. the bass is much different, it has a lot more body(the kimbers are still in the loop between the cd\sacd and the pre). as far as sound stage goes it has a lot more depth, and my speakers have all but disappeared. When I get time I will do and a/b and do a write up on that as well as a write up on just the straightwire's. fist off I have to put the phillips and rca's back in and listen to them to get the feel for them back, then a/b against the phillips like I did the kimbers just to be fair

dudeinaroom

does anyone have any opinions on these?

Audioquest - G Snake
Audioquest - Alpha-Snake
Audioquest - Scarlet Viper
Tributaries - Delta Audio Interconnect

halo

dudeinaroom wrote:

does anyone have any opinions on these?

Audioquest - G Snake
Audioquest - Alpha-Snake
Audioquest - Scarlet Viper
Tributaries - Delta Audio Interconnect

I have (2) one meter pairs of audioquest Sidewinders that I feel are a decent entry level IC.

dudeinaroom

those are a little out of my price range. the site I was at had basically a grab bag of audioquest interconnects 5 pair for like 56 bucks, don't remember which ones

dudeinaroom

Alpha-Snake-Installer Pack

Libertyc

I think that is 5 cables not 5 pair??

dudeinaroom

i think you might be right, good eyes

venomclan

dudeinaroom wrote:

I received them ((straightwire)) this morning in good shape.
I am going to have to move my pre so I can a/b against the kimbers. Right now they are hooked between my pre and amp, and all I can say is WOW. the bass is much different, it has a lot more body(the kimbers are still in the loop between the cd\sacd and the pre). as far as sound stage goes it has a lot more depth, and my speakers have all but disappeared. When I get time I will do and a/b and do a write up on that as well as a write up on just the straightwire's. fist off I have to put the phillips and rca's back in and listen to them to get the feel for them back, then a/b against the phillips like I did the kimbers just to be fair

I would like to hear how the PBJ's stack up against the Straightwire's. I use the Encore 2's now between my Dac and my Pre and was looking at the PBJ's. Cool thread.
Venom

dudeinaroom

for those of you looking for Canare interconnects

steveinaz

venomclan wrote:

I would like to hear how the PBJ's stack up against the Straightwire's. I use the Encore 2's now between my Dac and my Pre and was looking at the PBJ's. Cool thread.
Venom

I realize its not an exact comparison, but I had Straightwire Chorus' and PBJ's. I did not like the Chorus; to me they sounded much like a typical entry-level multi-strand IC; harsh in the highs, overly sibilant; collapsed soundstage---just alot of confusion in the midrange. The Chorus' was in my system for about 3 days and gone....BUT, every system has different synergy, so YMMV.

reeltrouble1

I was quite suprised by a set of Tributaries I tried, nice build quality and worked well in the Woodshed Rig. Did not seem to add any unwanted coloration to the mix.

RT1

venomclan

steveinaz wrote:

I realize its not an exact comparison, but I had Straightwire Chorus' and PBJ's. I did not like the Chorus; to me they sounded much like a typical entry-level multi-strand IC; harsh in the highs, overly sibilant; collapsed soundstage---just alot of confusion in the midrange. The Chorus' was in my system for about 3 days and gone....BUT, every system has different synergy, so YMMV.

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the write up. I have never tried the Chorus, but it is a "level 2" wire. I do also have the Symphony II's which are on the same level. The Encore 2 is a level 3. To be honest, I do not know how much of a difference these levels make, if any. Wire construction is different, but sound better? Not sure. The Encores are about double the price of the Symphony but I have not a/b'd them against each other. I have heard good things about the SW level 4 interconnects. Wire demoing has to be the most tedious and difficult of all other audio demos. I guess the best way is to have 10 different types to test in your system right aftert he other.
Venom

mlhm5

"...experts are in agreement that most cables that claim to improve the sound of audio equipment don't. Even cables costing thousands of dollars per foot are often little more than sonic snake oil, experts say."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/...es/23down.html

"you may choose to pay outlandish prices to get something that looks amazing, and demonstrates to everyone how much money you have, but it will not make a magical difference to the sound, there will be few (if any) real differences in the electrical characteristics, and it will sound much the same as "lesser" cables, selling at perhaps 100th of the price."
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

"...all well designed interconnects sound identical."
http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

halo

mlhm5 wrote:

"...experts are in agreement that most cables that claim to improve the sound of audio equipment don't. Even cables costing thousands of dollars per foot are often little more than sonic snake oil, experts say."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/...es/23down.html

"you may choose to pay outlandish prices to get something that looks amazing, and demonstrates to everyone how much money you have, but it will not make a magical difference to the sound, there will be few (if any) real differences in the electrical characteristics, and it will sound much the same as "lesser" cables, selling at perhaps 100th of the price."
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

"...all well designed interconnects sound identical."
http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

dudeinaroom

your ears, you don't like it return it you like you keep it. nuff said.

tonyb

mlhm5 wrote:

"...experts are in agreement that most cables that claim to improve the sound of audio equipment don't. Even cables costing thousands of dollars per foot are often little more than sonic snake oil, experts say."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/...es/23down.html

"you may choose to pay outlandish prices to get something that looks amazing, and demonstrates to everyone how much money you have, but it will not make a magical difference to the sound, there will be few (if any) real differences in the electrical characteristics, and it will sound much the same as "lesser" cables, selling at perhaps 100th of the price."
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

"...all well designed interconnects sound identical."
http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

HMMMM......all farts sound the same too then...Yes??

dudeinaroom

mlhm5 wrote:

"...experts are in agreement that most cables that claim to improve the sound of audio equipment don't. Even cables costing thousands of dollars per foot are often little more than sonic snake oil, experts say."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/...es/23down.html

"you may choose to pay outlandish prices to get something that looks amazing, and demonstrates to everyone how much money you have, but it will not make a magical difference to the sound, there will be few (if any) real differences in the electrical characteristics, and it will sound much the same as "lesser" cables, selling at perhaps 100th of the price."
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

"...all well designed interconnects sound identical."
http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

sorry, not a new yorks times member(so I can't read it) and the other 2 links are broken, still a good way to back up your point that you have no idea what your talking about

Later,
dude

F1nut

Ouch, that's going to leave a mark!

SCompRacer

dudeinaroom wrote:

sorry, not a new yorks times member(so I can't read it)

http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html?_r=2&res=9D06E1D61739F930A15751C1A96F958260&oref=slogin&oref=login

You can use this user name and password if you want.

User: pasquali5
Password: pasquali

Polk Audio is mentioned in this article.

reeltrouble1

of course if you have a dead ear to music then you do and not much can do to change this, or crap recordings, or lo-fi equipment and so on, but you can still enjoy the hobby, just dont have to consider your wire. Although, I tend to trust my experience more than written words from strangers.

The real experts are right here, people who use this equipment everyday and know the sound of it, capable of hearing the slightest change and some can also jump off tall buildings in a single bound, of course they splat when they hit the ground but they can sure hear the difference in wire.

RT1

jm1

mlhm5 wrote:

"...experts are in agreement that most cables that claim to improve the sound of audio equipment don't. Even cables costing thousands of dollars per foot are often little more than sonic snake oil, experts say."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/...es/23down.html

"you may choose to pay outlandish prices to get something that looks amazing, and demonstrates to everyone how much money you have, but it will not make a magical difference to the sound, there will be few (if any) real differences in the electrical characteristics, and it will sound much the same as "lesser" cables, selling at perhaps 100th of the price."
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

"...all well designed interconnects sound identical."
http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

The day you recommend a bottle of wine based on chemical analysis will be the day I purchase an interconnect cable based on its electrical characteristics.

steveinaz

jm1 wrote:

The day you recommend a bottle of wine based on chemical analysis will be the day I purchase an interconnect cable based on its electrical characteristics.

Exactly, finally someone "gets it" well done.

dudeinaroom

Some scientists say it would be difficult to prove one way or another. Changing cables leaves a time lapse that makes comparison difficult. Putting several stereos side by side with the different wires would mean that the speakers would be different distances from the ear, which could have an effect. And while a switch could be made that would send a signal through each of several cables to a speaker from a single sound system, cable makers say the switch itself might spoil the advantages of their wires.

Part of the difficulty is that there are still unexplained acoustic phenomena. William Morris Hartmann, a professor of physics at Michigan State University in East Lansing, works on psycho-acoustic projects, which investigate the way sound is perceived, rather than the way it is produced.

There are examples, he said, of sounds that measure beyond the range of human hearing, and yet some people seem to perceive them. That means the market is left open to wild claims and psuedoscience. ''It's annoying, but it's hard to disprove,'' Professor Hartmann said.

Perhaps the closest thing to middle ground is the position taken by Russ Hamm, an electrical engineer whose New York company G Prime Ltd. installs digital processing equipment for studios.

Mr. Hamm said that indeed, wires do make a perceivable difference, but very little, and then only to professionals, like the engineers at BMG Music. He lent them new high-grade cables for use on roughly $250,000 of equipment. On his system, Mr. Hamm uses a specialty cable manufactured in Vienna that costs $2 a foot.

''We are talking subtle differences, but that is what the high end is all about,'' he said.

It is a subtlety he describes as a 2 percent difference on a high-end system. ''If you had a fine Bordeaux wine, how much does it matter if it's in a nice wineglass or a Riedel crystal glass?'

all I know is my wife tells me I have better ears than she does. So I asked her if she could hear a difference. I had the interconnect hooked up to two different inputs and switched from one to the other in the middle of a song some times I would switch back to the same one she was just listening to , and she could tell I was tiring to trick her. I also changed the input the cables were going to and she still preferred the pbj's over the phillips.

So I guess it's anybodys ball game. I'm not trying to debate just my experience