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The Big Boys vs. the Little Guys

Time for another cable thread. We all know who the big boys on the block are with cables: Nordost, Transparent, Monster *cough*, Cardas, Siltech, Kimber ... and others.

Then there are cables made by the "little guys" -- guys who design and hand-make their own cables ... like Randy Bear of Bear Labs, USA, and Jaap Gunter of Lieder Cables, in The Netherlands ... and I'm sure there are others ... like Granite Audio.

What do you think of the big boys vs. the little guys in terms of quality and VALUE? I know it's hard -- even a little stupid (hey, I can be like that!) to lump the large companies together and compare them against the small companies ... but I wonder if we can find a "golden thread" here and find some appropriate generalizations.

I'll weigh in with my own comments, based of course on my own experience, later ... first, I'd like to hear about your experiences. Thanks for your input!
paul_frumkin
inna
5,245 posts
 
I know this.I replaced Cardas(your big boy) with Purist Audio(little guy).Compared to the latter(even to the entry level Elementa)Cardas is such a junk:clogged,colored,unbalanced,bad instrument separation,poor soundstage and exagerated slow bass.That was about interconnects;Cardas speaker cables are for some reason better but still not good enough.
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
I used little guy(tekline) then went to big boy(cardas) now going back to little guy(jena labs) and am staying here for a very long time. If the Jena cables had a big name on them they would sell for 3-15 times what they do now, I am happy they are not that big........yet. ~Tim
bluenose
387 posts
 
Well, bigger isn't always better. And for me everthing comes down to system compatabilty. But IMO, prices have gone through the roof for the mega cables....I like to support the little guy who gives great customer support and makes good or even outstanding product for the money....companies like virtual dynamics-Rick Schultz. I use two of their power cords,and Acoustic Zen[Robert Lee], people like these deserve their share of the market. They may never be as big as the big boys and that's okay too,,,part of their appeal. Don't knock poor old monster, I had their old sigma"water hose" speaker cable..and a couple of their better ic's, there was less competition 10 yrs ago. ...everyone has favourites and for a reason....
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
I was using JPS Superconductor 2 speaker cables and also had one SC 2 interconnect and I decided to try the LAT International (little guy) cables. In my system, the LAT was clearly better.
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
I forgot to mention, the quality of the LAT is excellent.
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