2. cables
  3. 982181749

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

Showing 2 responses by tbg

tbg
5,263 posts
 
I really think this is an obsolete thread. I well remember giving little or no consideration to cabling, isolation, ac filtering, racks, or how clean the records were. I also remember having about $2000 in my entire system, including my expensive ($150) London Decca cartridge. Last night I was thrilled listening to my $1790 USB dac with a $13,575 power cord and a $10,900 ics to my $31,000 line state to my $4500 amp and $40,300 speakers with everything on $450 @ platforms.

I think there now are no rules of thumb to guide buyers of audio gear. I think also that my sound today makes that in the past unlistenable.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ps, what you describe is life in capitalism. Everyday, people face this issue on every product they need at the grocery store restaurant, filling station, etc.
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