Is it REALLY worth it?

vc69

halo71 wrote: »

Not really. Cheap cable versus expensive cable. How does that not relate to this discussion?

A guitar cable is used to transmit a very narrow set of frequencies. Would you run your HI-Fi speakers via wireless?

halo71

I am not gonna argue that fact! I realize the frequency difference! THat has nothing to do with the fact that a $25 cable sounds just as good as a $250 cable. No matter what frequencies its transferring. Remember, nothing was ever said about which cable(s) can transmit a certain signal or frequency the best.

Again I am speaking in experience with cheap and expensive guitar cables. NOT speaker cables.

KrazyMofo24

halo71 wrote: »

I am not gonna argue that fact! I realize the frequency difference! THat has nothing to do with the fact that a $25 cable sounds just as good as a $250 cable. No matter what frequencies its transferring.

Again I am speaking in experience with cheap and expensive guitar cables. NOT speaker cables.

And that is somehow going to prove that speaker wires can't make a difference? You have to consider the difference between guitar cables, and speaker cables if you want to use your arguement.

vc69

halo71 wrote: »

Again I am speaking in experience with cheap and expensive guitar cables. NOT speaker cables.

I think you made my point for me.

inspiredsports

halo71 wrote: »

I to play guitar. Been playing for over 20 years. I have tried Analysis Plus cables, $250 each, before. Playing through a Mesa Triple Rec. And I couldn't tell a bit of difference between it and a $25 Fender cable.

Yep, there's not much stereo image focus, depth and bread of soundstage or bass being reproduced from those guitar cables.

Price for that cable might be based more on durability when unplugging different guitars between sets, or doing somersaults off of the big Marshall's. :eek:

. . . by the way, I have a 100' run of very expensive industrial zip line cable for the kids strung up in the back yard and my Polk's sound horrible when I hook them up to it.

obieone

And now, for something, completely different:p






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hearingimpared

That is my ALL time favorite Monty Python skit!!! LOL!!!

heiney9

vc69 wrote: »

A guitar cable is used to transmit a very narrow set of frequencies. Would you run your HI-Fi speakers via wireless?

You are correct on the first part, but not on the second. I use a Wireless router to transmit my music from my PC to the Squeezebox which is then hardwired to my rig. So yes, you can transmit full spectrum music wirelessly.

H9

inspiredsports

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Excellent !!!

Face

KrazyMofo24

I just don't understand why this topic is always neverending. Why can't this be solved by just getting a few recommendations, and try a pair out to see if you notice a difference or not, and if it's enough to justify the price? It appears that the performance/price ratio is going to differ from person to person.

I think it would be a good idea to create a sticky of a guideline on what to look for in speaker wires. I hear all the time that you need an appopriate setup to be able to notice the difference in cables. So maybe a recommendation of cables for a few common budgets, and a few details on what to expect in this price range would be very helpful.

halo71

KrazyMofo24 wrote: »

And that is somehow going to prove that speaker wires can't make a difference? You have to consider the difference between guitar cables, and speaker cables if you want to use your arguement.

Maybe you should read the rest of the thread. :rolleyes: Your statement holds no value without reading what was said about 10 posts up. I nor anyone else here compared guitar cables to speaker cables.

I was merely pointing out the fact that, in my experience, a $25 dollar GUITAR cable sounded just as good as a $250 GUITAR cable. Didn't say a damn thing about home stereo speaker cables.

SO....it kinda relates to expense of cable. And no, don't worry about what frequencies the two different cables transmit. Has nothing more to do with the two different cables other than their respective cost and quality of manufacturing.

hearingimpared

xcapri79 wrote: »

No it wasn't. It was this.

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Do you have any science to back up the fact that "The Arguement Clinic" isn't my favorite?:p:D

inspiredsports

hearingimpared wrote: »

Do you have any science to back up the fact that "The Arguement Clinic" isn't my favorite?:p:D

I think it depends upon whether you watch it using a PC or a Mac

KrazyMofo24

halo71 wrote: »

Maybe you should read the rest of the thread. :rolleyes: Your statement holds no value without reading what was said about 10 posts up. I nor anyone else here compared guitar cables to speaker cables.

I was merely pointing out the fact that, in my experience, a $25 dollar GUITAR cable sounded just as good as a $250 GUITAR cable.

SO....it kinda relates to expense of cable. And no, don't worry about what frequencies the two different cables transmit. Has nothing more to do with the two different cables other than their respective cost and quality of manufacturing.

And saying a more expensive guitar cable didn't sound better than a cheaper one holds value in this topic how? So yes your statement doesn't hold any value to this topic unless you consider the differences. I didn't notice a difference between a $10 HDMI cable versus a $100 one so that must apply to ANY type of cable right?

hearingimpared

halo71 wrote: »

I was merely pointing out the fact that, in my experience, a $25 dollar GUITAR cable sounded just as good as a $250 GUITAR cable.

I'm just curious are guitar cable prices based due to durability issues or sonic issues?

Also don't you know by now on this forum that expressing your experience is invalid and only an opinion if you don't back it up with a thread relating to some type of science behind said experience?:D;)

halo71

KrazyMofo24 wrote: »

And saying a more expensive guitar cable didn't sound better than a cheaper one holds value in this topic how? So yes your statement doesn't hold any value to this topic unless you consider the differences. I didn't notice a difference between a $10 HDMI cable versus a $100 one so that must apply to ANY type of cable right?

lol....I give up. Forget speaker or guitar cable. Speaking in terms of ANY type cable that is used to conduct a signal. Cost of said cable may or may not make a difference to certain people. In my case, as another poster said something about guitar cables, it didn't make a difference. Somehow you think I am comparing speaker and guitar cables now. :rolleyes:

Again, its not that hard to understand. Maybe I should have titled this thread "Is ANY $3000 cable better than ANY $300 cable".

halo71

KrazyMofo24 wrote: »

I didn't notice a difference between a $10 HDMI cable versus a $100 one so that must apply to ANY type of cable right?

EXACTLY what I was saying. Only with guitar cables.

What you said would be like me asking you....how can you compare an HDMI to a speaker cable. LOL!

hearingimpared

xcapri79 wrote: »

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1228832&postcount=211

Apples & Oranges.

halo71

hearingimpared wrote: »

I'm just curious are guitar cable prices based due to durability issues or sonic issues?

Not sure really. To me it was a reliability/durability issue back when I was giggin out.

Also don't you know by now on this forum that expressing your experience is invalid and only an opinion if you don't back it up with a thread relating to some type of science behind said experience?:D;)

I am quickly seeing that here! Thanks!

hearingimpared

inspiredsports wrote: »

I think it depends upon whether you watch it using a PC or a Mac

May I ask where your scientific reference thread to that statement is? Or is that just your experience (opinion)?:p;):D

halo71

I think it's time to call Myth Buster's! lol

heiney9

halo71 wrote: »

I think it's time to call Myth Buster's! lol

I think it's time for people to get off there asses and try some different cables and see for themselves. :cool:

H9

halo71

Yeah me too! Wish I had the equipment to warrant a $3k set of cables.

snow

DarqueKnight wrote: »

You talk like one of them cable people. Are you one of them cable people? If you are, what type of cable person are you? ('Cause they ain't all alike.)

Hmmm.... Yes you could say I am one of those cable people, I believe that speaker cables can make a difference in the sound that is reproduced, like any other link in the chain they will represent the final proudct. I dont think that just because speaker cable A is more expensive than speaker cable B it will beyond any doubt sound better to my ears on my system but I think the odds increase as the price goes up like with most products that it will.

Jstas wrote: »

BZZT! Wrong.

I have tried the expensive cables. Audioquest, MIT, a few others as well. I never owned any of them but a friend of mine who frequents another audio forum and owns a pile of AV123 gear. He has brought cables over to try on my systems as well as his. Namely because he doesn't have a 2 channel system. He doesn't seem to hear a discernible difference either.

I have tried them. I find them to be the very definition of extortion. My system is powered by Carver amps and the wires are 10 gauge PowerKing speaker wires with Dayton banana plugs on the ends. All of it came from PartsExpress and it cost me a grand total of $66 shipped to my door. My interconnects are old, leftover RCA cables from my car audio days. They are made by a company called StreetWires and they are old 6.0 wires. Their top of the line. They cost me about $70 a piece 7 or 8 years ago now for 16 foot lengths I think it was. They sure do look pretty and most people ask what they are. They think they are special until I tell them. Then they say that I don't know. Yeah, sure, boss. Whatever you say.


People will spend their money on what ever they want. If you want to drop 3 large on a set of copper cables barely worth $50 in scrap then, be my guest! But don't sit there and tell me that your $3000 cables assembled from wire made by the same Chinese company that made my $30 cables can somehow defy the laws of physics. You will never change my mind until you can find me someone with an independent, unbiased view to do testing with actual scientific instruments and can show me repeatable results that show I am incorrect.

Well first off your experience is but one of a few that have actually listened to more expensive cables as mentioned earlier most of the naysayers havent gave them a chance. Secondly I am not nor have I ever tried to convince you $3000.00 cables are better or worse then what you currently use. You hear what you hear John for better or worse. It would be paramount to me telling you that blondes are far more attractive than brunettes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in the case of speaker cables the ears.

I also dont believe that the cables posted earlier were made by the same as you say Chinese company that may have produced the cables that you own and it is highly unlikely that the materials are of the same quality wire connectors etc. Are your speaker cables Silver plated? these are.

What irratates me about some people is that they try to convince me because they dont hear a difference that I cant possibly hear one either and because it isnt scientifically proven in a double blind test it cant be so.

That is just plain stupid period. Here is a thought for you, I have a brother that has exceptional eyesight he has proven over and over again just how superior his eyesight is compared to mine. Why cant the same be true of that other sense hearing? It is widely accepted that some people have a superior sense of smell or taste also.

Jstas wrote: »

And honestly, it doesn't bother me that someone wants to drop that kind of dough on copper. What bothers me is that those same someones try to tell me that their opinion is true and they want to ignore the science behind it because it doesn't jive with what they think.

Why should it bother you its not your money being spent? And who are these people? And for the believers its not an oppinion it is an true experience for them, the same as for you the non believer. I believe you when you said you didnt hear a difference why wouldndt you believe me if I said I did?

DarqueKnight wrote: »

It is true that some cable manufacturers make wild claims about the performance of their products. Such hucksterism and hype can be found in every field of merchandise from medicine to diamond jewelry.

I think it's ironic that a lot of the same people who are "too smart" to fall for the cable company's snake oil scams go right ahead and spend "two month's salary" on a diamond ring, when the fact is, diamonds are so common that they are practically worthless.

Since cable naysayers are so offended by "**** science" why don't they focus their considerable reasoning and investigative abilities on something socially beneficial like fake weight loss scams, the worldwide hoax perpetrated by the DeBeers diamond consortium, and proving that one ice cream manufacturer's claims to absolute superior taste are false?

Absolutley true, Diamonds are not rare in fact they are far more common than many other gemstones, the only reason they are as expensive as they are is due to an artifically inflated market by a monopoly.

treitz3 wrote: »

Empirical data can speak volumes though.

How would someone get hard data out of what my ears and brain perceive anyway? That technology does not exist as far as I know.

Agreed. Science is not advanced enough to interpet everything the ears hear and how the brain translates that information.

Also Just because it may not be Scientifically proved that a certain speaker cable sounds better and the reasons why than another doesnt make it any less true, there are a lot of things out there that science hasnt proved, that doesnt make it not exist.

I think that if for example you have bought the best sounding speakers to your ears at any price and the best preamp and the best SACD player Turntable etc and the only way you could improve on the quality of sound was to buy expensive speaker cables to get that extra 1% to 5% you would be willing to do so and it would be worth it to you if you could hear the difference .

Value is subjective.To some it may not be worth it, to others no cost may be too much.



REGARDS SNOW

inspiredsports

hearingimpared wrote: »

May I ask where your scientific reference thread to that statement is? Or is that just your experience (opinion)?:p;):D

I scientifically experienced my own opinion and referenced my own statement in a thread where I asked myself if my opinion was really my own. :eek:

Face

xcapri79, how do you measure differences in soundstage and imaging?

inspiredsports

xcapri79 wrote: »

Wow with all the I's you sound like the President. So it must be true!

Yes it is, sometimes, or maybe not, but usually so. I may be be running for office in 2010.

snow

Actually I think this disscussion would be far more interesting if were arguing the merits of ****, little ****, big ****, round ****, pear shaped ****, firm ****, saggy ****, puffy ****, Fake **** etc.

Perhaps I should start a thread and even take a poll on the many variations of **** and why we all love and or hate them :eek::D:p



REGARDS SNOW

Ricardo

Iz diz a kavle dixcucion?

I jave zomesing to zay.

Fools.