Have cables become somewhat of a snake-oil topic.


I've invested many tens of thousands in high end 2-channel home audio gear and cables. I'm also a musician who has recorded and created mixes in many of the top recording studios in LA, NY and Nashville. These studios most often use the highest quality power treatment, tube condenser microphones, pre-amps, EQ modules, AD/DA converters, compressors, monitors, etc. Obviously, the goal in a recording studio is to capture the realism of the live studio performance for both vocals and instruments, and create a final mix-down that highlights the natural subtle nuances of the performances of each musician.

With that said, my 20 years of informal research inside these studios says that virtually NONE invest in high priced specially stranded balanced interconnects or speaker cables. Instead, various models of a particular Japanese cable is considered the studio "gold standard" and is WIDELY used in the top studios across the country. Now any good mixing engineer is at least AS interested as any audiophile, in all the audio characteristics and variables we discuss ad nauseum in these A-gon threads. So if recording pros are willing to spend hundreds of thousands on electronics and speakers, to capture the natural and neutral sound of a musician's studio performance, why is it that expensive cabling is seen as the snake oil equivalent in the recording industry. (Moreover, I could go one step further and ask why some home audio D/A converters far exceed the cost of the most sought after professional studio D/A converters?.......we'll leave that for another discussion.)

I DO NOT disagree that substituting a Nordost, Siltech, Cardas or various other high end brands into my personal studio rig do not make a difference. There are indeed audible differences between the brands in terms of bass extension, smoothness, imaging, graininess, etc. However, these DIFFERENCES are not necessarily equivalent to an IMPROVEMENT in capturing the natural/neutral details of a given performance.

(I intentionally will not address the mastering process since that has everything to do with radio and marketing execs commercial sales expectations, rather than a true to life presentation of the musical performances.)
jymc
Brownsfan,

Well said! I nominate your last reply as the "Reference Standard explanation":o). I think it is what a lot of people try to convey when making replies, but it is hard to put into words. I agree with it 100%.

Again, very well said.
Brownsfan, in a sense I understand completely what you're saying, but at the same time you're not making much sense. You put together a very high quality system that according to you sounds fine, but after switching power cords in and out the system now has all the life drained from the sound and you're appalled? If for some reason after auditioning the new cables you were not able to purchase them, what would you do? Would you stop listening to music? Would you be forever dissatisfied every time you cue up an album? I cannot imagine that you would respond "yes" to either question. I suggest that you take more time to do your comparison. I realize that as a practical matter this is not always possible. Swapping components in and out without long term listening can be very misleading.

You're very happy with your new power cord, but I'm reminded of the character Don Draper's comment about happiness -- "it's the moment before you need more happiness."
Onhwy61. You are correct in pointing out a seeming dichotomy. I recognized the dichotomy at the time I experienced it. I thought it was important for that dichotomy to be described as a part of my experience.

In answer to your questions, when I returned the borrowed power cords, I actually did reduce the frequency and length of listening sessions until the new cords came. I described the change in the amps without the AirSines as being like someone doing the nails on the chalkboard thing, but at a very low level. The dynamics and fidelity of the amps were clearly at different levels. Once you heard it, it was very distracting and irritating going back to the old cords. It was not going to make me loose my love for music. I will listen on a boom box if that is what I can afford. I could afford these cords, so the decision was easy. I had budgeted for replacing my modwright sony 5400 with a new ModWright Oppo 105 for later this year, and decided the money would be better spent on the power cords.

For the most part, I attempt to avoid auditioning gear I can't afford. What is the point of test driving a Ferrari? I'm going to drive away in my Accord.

You should understand that not long ago in a thread I commented that I didn't put much money into power cords because I had previously purchased a fairly high end cord and it made relatively little difference with the exception of one component. I was in no way prepared for the difference these cords made in my system. I was pretty much in the power cords are snake oil camp. No more. I share my experience here to encourage others in the snake oil camp to reconsider.

If one is dealing with subtle differences, a long audition is excellent advice. In general, I am at the point where purchases are normally made after long study, careful thought, and many times correspond with AG members who own the prospective component. That approach works well, except that it is not likely to allow one to overcome one's prejudices. I can assure you that in this case, there was a clear substantial improvement that anyone on this forum would have immediately recognized. It is unlikely that I would have gone down this road had my friend not said, "I'm going on vacation. Why don't you give these a try in your system."
Finally, I sincerely hope that this is not the last change I make in my system, and I hope that others will continue to challenge my prejudices, which may actually represent larger limitations than the question of affordability.
I have had Mogami Gold in my system as well as high end cables from Cardas, Synergistic Research, Bybee, HiDiamond and others. The Mogamis do not even shine a dim light in comparison to the others.
Brownsfan, thanks for the thoughtful reply. Please don't take what I say as criticism, I'm just always a little surprised when people with what I consider to be really good systems comment that they've achieved a dramatic sonic improvement.