2. cables
  3. 1008122439

How much money do you want to waste?

From everything I have read there is no proof that spending mega$$$$$ on cables does anything. A good place to start is WWW.sound.au.com. Go to the audio articles and read the cable article. From there pick up something(anything) by Lynn Olson and then do some digging. Ask your dealer for any study done by any manufacturer on how cables improve sound - good luck. The most hype and the most wasted money in audio is in cables these days. It's the bubble of the day in audio and , by the way, one of the big money makers for the industry. You might as well invest in tulip bulbs. Spend your audio buck where it counts.

I have a couple friends who make there own tube amps and they get better sound out of power systems that cost less then a lot of people blow on cables.


Craig
craigklomparens

Showing 6 responses by sugarbrie

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Craig, I assume you drive a used Yugo and wear clothes from KMart. Functionally they are no different then a Mercedes and clothes from Macys. The car gets you to where you want to go at legal speeds and the clothes cover your bod. Anymore spent and you are wasting your money.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
My most expensive cable in my main system is the preamp to power amp link (Nordost Quattro Fil). In that position it affects and greatly improves the sound of every component running through my system. Now divide the cost of that cable among all my components in front of it: CD, Phono, Tape, Tuner, Preamp. I did buy it used for $800. So that is $160 per component. I could not have spent $160 more (each) for a better CD, Tuner, etc, etc and gotten such a large improvement. From this perspective it was an incredible bargain. The same would be true if I had paid the $1600 list price ($320 per component).
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Paulwp: I don't think I am giving comfort to the enemy. I assumed Craig does not shop at KMart for all his clothes, so using his logic (not mine) he is wasting his money. I did not buy my system to show off to the neighbors. I do not own an expensive car and probably never will. It does not matter to me. I get no buzz out of driving. But if someone gets a lot of enjoyment out of an expensive Hi-Tech sports car, then they have spent their money fine by me. Go for it!!
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Paulwp (and others) you are on to something. There are many kinds of people. Some drive a sports car because they love to drive; some just to look cool. I know people who buy expensive audio equipment to look cool. The sound is secondary.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I will admit one of my favorite brand cables is home made (not my home). If anyone remembers MAS (Music and Sound) which was once pushed by Wadia, sold by The Cable Company and recommended by Soundstage. The designer Stu Wein now makes them out of his home in Florida and sells them direct for the same price he use to charge dealers which is about 1/3 retail. His various interconnects, speaker cable and power cables are a great value at that price. He sells them on eBay also. Stu can be contacted at Audioparts@aol.com
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I guess I agree with you Paul. While that Quattro Fil would have been worth it for me even at $1600, I would not have paid that for a new one. The rest of my interconnects are all under $350 at new prices (Siltech, MAS and Van Den Hul).
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