What interconnects should I use?

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dpowell
dpowell Posts: 3,081
edited April 2008 in Electronics
I have finally made the jump into separates and will be adding an Adcom GFA-7500 5-channel amp into my system at the end of the week. 150W/channel X5!:D

I'll be using my Sony ES amp as the pre-amp. I'd like to use good RCA interconnects between my Denon 5910 and the Sony (need 6 there) as well as between the Sony and the Adcom (need another 5 there). I currently have 1 pair of MAC AgQ's and the rest of my cables are Monster brand.

I'm interested in all opintions and particularly opinions from anyone who has paired an Adcom with the Polk RT series since it's my understanding from reading other threads that the whole synergy thing is important. I might consider upgrading my speaker cable from Monster brand to something else like Blue Jeans.

I've got about $300 left to spend on cables at this point as I've spent the rest on the new Denon 5910, PSW1000 and Adcom amp.
____________________________________________________________

polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • john22614
    john22614 Posts: 214
    edited April 2008
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    Can't go wrong with Blue Jeans.....excellent quality and service and pricing.
    B&W 804s mains
    B&W HTM4 center
    Polk PSW 1000 sub
    Outlaw 990 Pre Amp
    Anthem MCA 30 Amp
    Monitor Radius 180 surrounds
    Audiosource Stereo Amp for surrounds
    Denon 2910 Universal DVD/SACD Player
    Comcast DVR
    Pioneer Elite 42" Plasma 940 HD
    Harmony Universal Remote
    Blue Jeans interconnects and biwires
    Itunes Air Express
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,634
    edited April 2008
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    Signal also an option; great cables for the money, you get 5% discount for being a polkie, and Frank can make custom lenghts.

    http://signalcable.com/analoght.html
    _________________________________________________
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited April 2008
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    Get Blue Jeans Cables or Signal Cable IC's and worry about other things.
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • MKZ
    MKZ Posts: 1,068
    edited April 2008
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    I personally prefer Kimber PBJ over Signal or BJC with my Adcom 5500/5400. You could get those used for around $45 on Audiogon.
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    MKZ wrote: »
    I personally prefer Kimber PBJ over Signal or BJC with my Adcom 5500/5400. You could get those used for around $45 on Audiogon.

    What differences do you notice between the Kimbers and the Signals/BJC's?
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • MKZ
    MKZ Posts: 1,068
    edited April 2008
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    dpowell wrote: »
    What differences do you notice between the Kimbers and the Signals/BJC's?

    When I tried signal/bjc I got lack of details. After suggestion from Ben, I started using MAC and PBJ I like it better. For MAC Silver braided I don't like the build quality.
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited April 2008
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    What about making your own? With that kind of budget you could have some sweet cables.
    Jake
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  • Gaara
    Gaara Posts: 2,415
    edited April 2008
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    dkg999 wrote: »
    Get Blue Jeans Cables or Signal Cable IC's and worry about other things.

    I concur. Get some nicer stuff like Belden 89259 for the fronts and go cheaper on the surrounds. I personally tried PBJs and didn't like them as much as my 89259...and it was cheaper.
    The Basement HT
    PC Rig
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited April 2008
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    I refuse to suggest any brand of cables.. get the ones you like and be done with it. :)
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    danger boy wrote: »
    I refuse to suggest any brand of cables.. get the ones you like and be done with it. :)

    Kind of hard to know what I like since I haven't auditioned anything. :confused::)

    The Signal and Blue Jeans brands seem to be more within my budget for now so I'll most-likely settle on one of those.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,077
    edited April 2008
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    Any minute now,the resident anti hi-fi insurgent,John K,will be by to tell you it doesn't matter and any cheap rat shack cable will do.:rolleyes:
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited April 2008
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    tonyb wrote: »
    Any minute now,the resident anti hi-fi insurgent,John K,will be by to tell you it doesn't matter and any cheap rat shack cable will do.:rolleyes:
    No, it's too early in the day.



    You can't go wrong with SignalCable.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited April 2008
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    dpowell wrote: »
    I currently have 1 pair of MAC AgQ's and the rest of my cables are Monster brand.

    Ok. call me stupid, but you haven't auditioned any cables yet?.. but yet you own two different brands. or are they not plugged into anything? :confused::p
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • nikolas812
    nikolas812 Posts: 2,915
    edited April 2008
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    I have not had the same combo you have. But I have had many different RT speakers in here from 800's, 800i's, and RT600's. I had a B&K ST-140 2 - channel amp running them(one pair at a time of course). I found BJC's to work best compared to Rat Shack cables and Monster Cables. I found the other cables to be harsh and flat. The BJC's aren't very detailed. They are very full in sound though. I preferred them not being so detailed because I find the trilaminate tweeter to be very harsh to my ears and hard to tame. So the Blue Jeans were the best choice for my situation. Not to mention the price was right!

    Edit: Its too bad you don't have a 2 channel setup. I have a pair you could audition.
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    danger boy wrote: »
    Ok. call me stupid, but you haven't auditioned any cables yet?.. but yet you own two different brands. or are they not plugged into anything? :confused::p

    Let me clarify. I bought a bunch of monster cables open box at Good Guys for $8 each when they went out of business. The only problem is that there is no consistency in the model numbers so I have a mess of different 'qualities' if you will which makes it very difficult to get a clean baseline from which to compare. I honestly don't hear any difference yet in 2-channel between the MAC silvers and the Monster coppers. That could be due to the cables, the amp or, as someone else already stated that cables readlly don't make a difference.;) Other than those two brands (which I technically HAVE auditioned - I stand corrected) I haven't had anything else to work with.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    tonyb wrote: »
    Any minute now,the resident anti hi-fi insurgent,John K,will be by to tell you it doesn't matter and any cheap rat shack cable will do.:rolleyes:

    I've been waiting for those comments to start flying.:D I've read some of the other threads and am kind of leaning towards there being at least some difference in sound quality when higher-quality connections are used. I'm willing to invest a few bucks to find out....
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    nikolas812 wrote: »
    ........I preferred them not being so detailed because I find the trilaminate tweeter to be very harsh to my ears and hard to tame. So the Blue Jeans were the best choice for my situation. Not to mention the price was right!

    Edit: Its too bad you don't have a 2 channel setup. I have a pair you could audition.

    Thanks, this was helpful. I like the tri-laminate tweeter in some cases but in others (like violins and other tweeter-intensive instruments) I also find it harsh and fatiguing to listen to, hence my quest to find out where in the mix of components I can tame the tweeter....and of course have some real power driving them.

    If this doesn't help, maybe a set of the LSI's are in my future. I'd have the amp to drive them now.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • nikolas812
    nikolas812 Posts: 2,915
    edited April 2008
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    dpowell wrote: »
    Thanks, this was helpful. I like the tri-laminate tweeter in some cases but in others (like violins and other tweeter-intensive instruments) I also find it harsh and fatiguing to listen to, hence my quest to find out where in the mix of components I can tame the tweeter....and of course have some real power driving them.

    If this doesn't help, maybe a set of the LSI's are in my future. I'd have the amp to drive them now.

    I fought the Trilams's for ever!! Almost two years I think.. I just never thought it could be my great polk speakers. I was wrong. It was those damn trilams. They were extremely fatiguing no matter what the gear. At the end it finally started to come around.

    But not until I sold them and got some vintage polks with the peerless tweeters did I fully see how much I hated the trilam tweeter. Either way the BJC's played a big part in helping tame them.

    What is your setup exactly?

    What are going from and to?

    I know when I went from a Yamaha HTR 5560 receiver to a B&K ST-140 2 channel amp. 105 wpc with a pair of RT800s..... It was almost a religious experience.:D



    Edit: You know... The more I think about it.... I am kind of comparing apples to oranges. You're actually using the RT's for what they were intened for.... Home Theater... I assume anyway. I think because I was using them for critical 2 channel listening is the reason the fell short. In a Home Theater aplication I would imagine they would shine. Not to mention you have the powered RT's and a good sub. Either way I hope got something usefull out of my rants.:o
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    nikolas812 wrote: »
    I fought the Trilams's for ever!! Almost two years I think.. I just never thought it could be my great polk speakers. I was wrong. It was those damn trilams. They were extremely fatiguing no matter what the gear. At the end it finally started to come around.

    But not until I sold them and got some vintage polks with the peerless tweeters did I fully see how much I hated the trilam tweeter. Either way the BJC's played a big part in helping tame them.

    What is your setup exactly?

    What are going from and to?

    I know when I went from a Yamaha HTR 5560 receiver to a B&K ST-140 2 channel amp. 105 wpc with a pair of RT800s..... It was almost a religious experience.:D

    I am currently using:
    Denon 5910 through a Sony DA333ES AVR @ 80 wpc connected to the RT5000 speakers. RT3000 amps are connected to the pre-outs.

    I am going to:
    Denon 5910 through the Sony DA333ES as a preamp using the pre-outs to an ADCOM GFA-7500 @ 150 wpc connected to the RT5000 speakers.

    I'll probably use a 'Y' cable and still run the pre-out signal to the RT3000 amps. It always seemed to me like the bass was clearer with the pre-out signal than with an already amplified signal.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • nikolas812
    nikolas812 Posts: 2,915
    edited April 2008
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    WOW!!

    Not to derail your thread.

    But I just clicked on your home theater link.

    That is a very impressive setup. That entertainment center is amazing!

    Just out of curiosity. Where did you think you previous setup was falling short?

    What made you go for the Adcom?
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    nikolas812 wrote: »
    WOW!!

    Not to derail your thread.

    But I just clicked on your home theater link.

    That is a very impressive setup. That entertainment center is amazing!

    Just out of curiosity. Where did you think you previous setup was falling short?

    What made you go for the Adcom?


    Thanks! I sure enjoyed desiging it. It was an anniversary gift from my wife on our 10-year anniversary.

    There were two things that convinced me to make the jump into a separate pro amp. The first is that I noticed in movies that my Sony seemed to run out of steam. On the movies that I like to watch with the volume turned up, a satisfying level was past half way and the audio seemed to get muddy and sometimes harsh at that level.

    The second thing that convinced me was reading all of the threads on this forum where members rave about the noticeable difference going from an AVR to a separate amp.

    I spent quite a bit of time reading reviews on Rotel, B&K, Outlaw and Adcom and they all seem like great amp manufacturers which meant to me that I wouldn't really know which way to go until I auditioned each of them. I decided that wanted more than 100wpc. I found this yesterday and it fit in my price range. I paid $597 on Ebay. Seemed like a decent price given the specs of the amp and I figured that I could easily resell if I didn't like it.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • nikolas812
    nikolas812 Posts: 2,915
    edited April 2008
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    Sounds good.;)

    Can't wait to hear response in regards to your new amp.

    Have fun!

    Nick
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited April 2008
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    I'll definitely post my thoughts once I get everything hooked up and run a few good movies through the system. :D
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • MKZ
    MKZ Posts: 1,068
    edited April 2008
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    nikolas812 wrote: »
    I have not had the same combo you have. But I have had many different RT speakers in here from 800's, 800i's, and RT600's. I had a B&K ST-140 2 - channel amp running them(one pair at a time of course). I found BJC's to work best compared to Rat Shack cables and Monster Cables. I found the other cables to be harsh and flat. The BJC's aren't very detailed. They are very full in sound though. I preferred them not being so detailed because I find the trilaminate tweeter to be very harsh to my ears and hard to tame. So the Blue Jeans were the best choice for my situation. Not to mention the price was right!

    Edit: Its too bad you don't have a 2 channel setup. I have a pair you could audition.

    That's true. They were better with my RTi4, tighter stronger bass response not with LSi7.
    I still have a pair of each if you would like to try. Sorry that I don't have all 5 channel for the same cable. I was doing try and error on those cheap cables. It's all depends on your speaker, amp and cables.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited April 2008
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    dpowell wrote: »
    That could be due to the cables, the amp or, as someone else already stated that cables readlly don't make a difference.;)

    Then wait for the amp to come in, and if you still don't hear a difference, save your money.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited April 2008
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    Sami wrote: »
    Then wait for the amp to come in, and if you still don't hear a difference, save your money.

    A amp will make less of a difference than cables.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited April 2008
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    Face wrote: »
    A amp will make less of a difference than cables.

    LOL. You actually believe so?

    Anyways, he already said he can't hear a difference the cables he has right now, I was just stating that he should wait until the new equipment arrives and then listen again if he can hear a difference. If he can't, not much point in putting money on new cables.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited April 2008
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    Sami wrote: »
    LOL. You actually believe so?

    Anyways, he already said he can't hear a difference the cables he has right now, I was just stating that he should wait until the new equipment arrives and then listen again if he can hear a difference. If he can't, not much point in putting money on new cables.

    I've tried a few amps in my system.

    All have made subtle differences. I found that interconnects can make more drastic changes in the sound of a rig. Followed by speaker cables.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited April 2008
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    Well, if that's your experience then it is. Doesn't apply to everyone, that's for sure, so I wouldn't say an amp won't make as much difference.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited April 2008
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    Don't get me wrong, I'm all for external amplification, headroom and being able to control a speaker sufficiently are beautiful things. But, tonally, don't expect a dramatic difference.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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