Cables more hype than value?

I just sold a set of Nordost Heimdalls and a set of Blue Heaven IC's. They sounded great in my system, and I was going to upgrade to Tyr, Valhallas, or Odins. Instead, I am waiting on Linn IC's since I've always had good luck with them. I have to use Monster cables while waiting for the Linns to arrive. Guess what...my system still sounds fantastic. I would have kicked myself paying the kind of money to get the Nordosts, however their powercords and QB4 distribution box did make a difference for the better, so I guess it really matters what type of system one has.

Waxwaves, some folks just enjoy a good argument.

There are people out there who simply enjoy taking a contrary view in life. I've found folks out there like that. No matter what you say, they will take the opposite stance.

This one guy I'll never forget, he used to track me down and try to befriend me. Everything we talked about turned into an argument. His named was Richard, but he enjoyed being called "Dick", which he was, and revealed in the glow. I did my best to avoid him, but I also noticed he was like this with everyone else he met too, it wasn't just me.

Then I realized that some folks just enjoy being agitators in life, it's how they have their *fun*. It's a crazy world we live in.

03-07-13: Knghifi
These forums are a great place to learn but one needs an OPEN mind. It's possible rok2id upgraded from his Yugo with a new perspective?

A friend of mine sent me an email, saying I should peek back in here, and see what turmoil I've helped to wrought. I'm glad I did, because I didn't see Bander's reply before I left. It is seldom I am called intelligent and an ass in one reply. I enjoyed that.

As for Knghifi, Waxwaves, and Audiolabyrinth, all of you are waiting for some sort of entertaining debate so you can sit around and pat each other on the back for hearing what no one else can, while accusing those more interested in science and fact of being close-minded - you guys are seriously deluding yourselves. As I said before, being open-minded does not mean being open to silliness.

Let's ignore science for a moment, let's stick just to logic, something even you flat earthers can understand. I don't care what the cable is for, whether it's an interconnect, a speaker cable, or a power cable, the case for any one of these fails a basic test, which is why a cable that is only a single segment of a much longer signal path affects sound quality as much as you guys claim it does. In the case of an interconnect, once you get inside of almost any modern component the signal is going to trace on a circuit board. Even if it isn't trace, it's probably some cheap hook-up wire. Why are the trace and solder joints so much less important? Or speaker cables, where most speakers are wired, again, with simple hook-up wire. And if not the cabling inside of speakers, the wire on voice coils, which is often aluminum, or the trace on some crossover boards, not to mention all of the simple bare copper wire in massive air-core inductors? I fail to understand why speaker cables are so much more important than these wires, which are in the same signal path. There is no logic to this.

Of course, the most massive failure of logic has to be in power cables and outlets, what with tens of feet of Romex in your house. And power cables aren't even in the signal path.

So while you guys are figuratively sitting here, all smug in your pathetic delusions, telling yourselves in posts how the rest of us are just close-minded and half-deaf because we can't hear the differences you all claim are so critical to a great system, think about these questions. Why does a speaker cable make so much difference when there's just plain-old copper wire in that inductor? Or some nice trace on fiberglass in the way?

I'm sure everybody has some old monster cables in the basement. I forgot the reason and also tried them/SC several years ago. My experience is very different than Polks, they had NO bass, highs but just a congested mid sound ... horrible!

These are the ones with clear shrink wrap and all copper conductor. I believe 1st generation ...

One thing I've noted is the amount of hubris some here display when making a point. POVs are made with a modicum of bile. Discourse is peppered with denunciations. Positions are stated as fact allowing nothing but acquiescence as an answer.

Open minded?

When the maps in ones head don't correspond to the actual territory in the real world, things go awry. People get angry quickly. Knee jerk defensive reactions take the place of discourse. Smarmy snark becomes the norm.

Fiberglass traces, miles of Nomex, and internal wiring are all red herrings. They seem to the casual reader to be of import but they are specious arguments, at best. They don't fit into the argument but are used to deflect attention.

One thing traces, internal wiring and Nomex have in common is that they are all set.

Let that sink in for a minute.

The amp is already voiced the way it's been built. To change anything internally will change the sound. Ask any designer. Internal wiring, traces and layout all affect the sound.

The same goes for speakers. All designers fuss over internal wiring, crossover design, etc. Laymen and DIYers can use product of lesser value and be happy with the result but they are on a learning curve and not to be confused with the better efforts out there.

The wall receptacle is fixed as well. Nothing can be done to it unless you, say, run a dedicated line or go all battery: off the grid.

What is being discussed is what can be done between the wall and the amp and the speaker (there's the logic). What is (and should by now) be discussed is the differences we hear (which we can). Some differences more easily than others, hence the discussion.

Note: I said discussion. Naysayers and flat earthers need better arguments than "you can't hear it".

All the best,
Nonoise