Glenn Richards wrote:

Andy Hewitt wrote:

You asked a question about speaker cables. In this group it's like
a red rag to a bull.
Actually, I didn't ask any questions!

My apologies - someone asked a question about speaker cables. The end
result is the same!

It's certainly difficult to unwrap this one for sure :-)

[Snipped Text]

Sadly so.

The bottom line with audio is if you think the difference is worth the
money then rape your credit card at will. If you can't hear a difference
(or don't think the difference is worth the extra) then don't spend the
money.

I think that's a very fair philosophy.

For the record: Arcam DV-79/AVR-250, Chord Cobra III interconnects,
Rumour 4 speaker cable. This should give a hint as to where I stand on
the subject.
Fairy enough. Personally I use ProPower speaker cable from CPC, and some
nice thick interconnects I got off eBay.

If it sounds good enough to you then that's the main thing.

As it that too.

[Snipped Text]

Just for a laugh I tried sticking an Arcam Black Box 50 between the CD
player and amp, and changing the cables from Cambridge Atlantic to Chord
Rumour III.

When I did this, on the kitchen speakers I heard...

...no difference whatsoever.

FWIW, I think the speakers are the biggest part of a system as far as
the sound you get goes.

Yet when I do the same test on the bedroom system (Yamaha DSP-AX620,
Eltax Symphony 6/Centre/Millennium Mini) I can hear a clear difference
when using the Arcam DAC.

Similarly a couple of years ago before I upgraded the system, just after
I'd got the BB50 I did some tests with interconnects.

Firstly using the analogue out from the Technics player. Tested using a
freebie cable, Cambridge Atlantic, Cambridge Pearl, Cambridge Pacific
and Chord Cobra II.

Whilst there was quite a significant difference between freebie and
Atlantic, I heard no difference whatsoever between the Atlantic and any
of the supposedly better cables.

I've never heard a difference at all myself. Although I do buy better
cables just for durability.

I then hooked the Technics player to the Arcam DAC using a Toslink cable
and repeated the tests using the analogue out from the DAC. This time I
could quite clearly hear an improvement.

Yes, you should there, although you might find (here we go again!) that
a standard digital co-ax might be better. As far as digital goes, it'll
either work, or not.

Similarly with speaker cables, on my old Technics amp anything more than
Audio Innovations Silver wouldn't have had any audible effect. With the
Arcam amp it's worth going to something better.

Just using something the right size will do it. However, and I'm not
being awkward here, but how much of it is 'better', or just 'different'?

I've even tried mains cable myself, and still been happy with the sound,
although there was a slight difference.

When the high and mighty brigade on this group start proclaiming that
they've never heard a difference it does make one wonder as to exactly
what kit they were using to test it with.

I've recently upgraded my kit a little. I've kept my Yamaha surround
amp, as that has plenty of oomph to drive anything, and it has a very
neutral sound. First thing was to upgrade the speakers, and I got a pair
of Castle Severns for a good price. These are fantastic sounding boxes,
and made a significant difference to my system over the old JPWs. I then
changed my turntable from an old Sony midi deck to a Technics SL1800
with Ortofon cartridge, again a massive improvement. I finally got a NAD
DVD player, and a separate NAD CD player (the DVD player doesn't do
CDR). There is also a noticeable difference between those two as well,
although they sound 'different', rather than 'better'.

There is no doubt that improving the sound of a system is better having
the money spent on the right equipment. Buy good cables by all means,
but keep it in context with your system.

--
Andy Hewitt
http://www.thehewitts.eclipse.co.uk/
http://web.mac.com/andrewhewitt1/