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The Cost of Cables

We all know that there have been countless posts with endless debates about cables on every audio forum available. The reason I start this post is to garner thoughts from others on the cost of cables, not necessarily whether they make a difference or not. I find the prices for cables staggering and I (me personally) do not understand where the cost comes from. Some will say R&D, ok, I can go for that to a point, but can the manufacturing of wire really cost much? (In thinking about this, the discussion could be applied to audio as a whole.)

Obviously cable companies survive because we purchase their products, I include myself. But if we quit paying these large prices, would prices fall dramatically or would they just quit making cables such as we know it and/or close their doors?
brianmgrarcom
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Will knowing the reason for the cost of uber-expensive cables shame the fabricators into lowering their prices, or make spending the money more justifiable, or help anyone sleep better tonight?

Will anyone be happier if they know the REAL reason?

Just wondering...
brianmgrarcom OP
1,317 posts
 
LOL John,

Tvad, doubtful, but nothing wrong with a friendly discussion is there? Obviously it'd be great if discussions like this grew into something that made a difference.

I believe we already know the REAL reason.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Nothing wrong with chit chat. I'm never certain whichthreads are intended to provide answers or just provide opportunity for discussion.
brianmgrarcom OP
1,317 posts
 
Sometimes both. :)
chrisla's avatar
chrisla
116 posts
 
I really like this post, kudos to all for not letting this degenerate as so many posts have! I think it is really telling, as jcmorgan notes, that none of the people truly in the know are talking....with all the mfrs and dealers who are members of audiogon who generally chirp in missing, I think that says everything we need to know about justification of cables, there truly is no real, definitive reason except that they charge absolutely what the market will bear.

The crux of the matter for me is, and I suspect the originator of this post, the frustration of hearing differences in cables, wanting the better cables, but knowing deep down we are not getting relative value to the other things in our system, or for that matter, the other things in life. One can buy a brand new Civic for what many of have just in cables in our systems. I bet speakers, turntables, amps all follow a 4 or 5 to 1 rule, in other words that the cost of actual manufacture per piece is one fourth to one fifth the actual retail list, whereas cables are probably around 1/20th or less than the retail sale price.

So obviously a few of us with various sytems should get together and start a cable business, write off our systems as R&D, as well as our music, and start a cable companies. WE would have no additional "r&d" costs as we already have the test beds!!! Our cables then should be much less expensive than our competitors, and we can clean up. Who's with me????

Cheers!!
Chris
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