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Cable Costs Relative to System

Since making a spread sheet with my audio system prices, I have been thinking(shocked) about my total investment in cables. My total system retails at $67,000 (Digital and analog front ends included). I purchased all of it here on Audiogon so my investment is about 50%. Of that I have about 10% invested in interconnects and cables and another 10% in Power Cables (Shunyata Hydra included). That's $13,000 worth of wire. I'm starting to question whether it might be more effective to put some of this budget into acitve components. It would take forever to listen to all possible combinations, but would like to hear others experiences with relatively high end systems and cable selection. It would seem to me that the point of diminishing returns would be reached sooner with cables than with speakers and amps. Do most of you follow the 10% "rule" for cabling? How do PCs fit into this rule? Are there any super bargain cables capable of keeping up with highly resolving electronics?
metaphysics
no_money
565 posts
 
The best "budget" cable I have heard is Transparent Reference XL.
479058's avatar
479058
105 posts
 
People who are willing and able to assemble audio systems worth five digits can spend whatever they want on wires. What always worries me is that there's some young guy lurking out there who reads that he should be devoting 20% of his budget to wire, and his budget is only $1500. Nobody like that should be spending $300 on wire. $30 is more like it.
jm88439
40 posts
 
We are lucky to have a few new companies popping up that offer outstanding cables, both signal and ac, at fair prices. Yes, we all lust after Valhalla and G5, but it's possible to come close, real close, without the second mortgage type of expenditure. With this in mind, I believe no more than 10% of system value is about right for cable investment. I have heard cables make the difference between good sound and outstanding sound, so I think them very important, but I do feel many cables are ridiculously priced. My system value at retail prices is about 60K. My cable investment including powercords comes in at just under 5K. Sonically, IMO, sound quality is exceptional.
the_kid's avatar
the_kid
465 posts
 
I am guilty in this thread but I will say this once again, "a cables performance is system centric". Some cables sound better in different set ups. I recently auditioned about everything under the sun in my 2 channel system and settled on AudioQuest Anaconda for my interconnects and AudioQuest Volcano for my speaker wires. I also am a huge believer in the Shunyata Power Cords as I have witnessed a huge difference in sonic performance. (in my system) Anyway, my system is in the $12K range and I have about $4K on top of that in cables. Not too nuts but still a decent investment. Crazy, but that's how it goes..

KiD
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
I'm with Cornfed, Ckuipers, and other experienced audio enthusiasts who know value when they hear it. I don't know how many systems I have listened to that were terrible but had "great cables." _Kid, I looked at your system pic, great room! Good amp, OK speakers, bright and shallow front end. Get my drift? There are areas due for major improvement. With the money you spent on the power chord alone, you could have bought devastating speakers and a much more pleasing front end. The time to start putting big money into cable rolling is after you've maximized playback of your favorite music styles by choosing speakers, amp and front end wisely. I just had a good fellow who has a system much like yours, only he went all the way to the breaker box with super wire. Our two systems are similarly priced. Instantly, he knew there was a whole new level of listening satisfaction, much higher than he had ever dreamed of.
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