Cable recommendations for Conrad Johnson gear ...

joeinid

joeinid

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I'm looking for RCA interconnect and speaker cable recommendations for my CJ gear. I think it's about time I give serious consideration. I think the eventual speaker pairings will be Harbeth and/or Sonus Faber Strads. I don't want garden hose size interconnects but something manageable. Obviously sound and compatibility are paramount. Any ideas as to what I should be considering?


ping: Myles? any ideas?
 
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joeinid said:
I'm looking for RCA interconnect and speaker cable recommendations for my CJ gear. I think it's about time I give serious consideration. I think the eventual speaker pairings will be Harbeth and/or Sonus Faber Strads. I don't want garden hose size interconnects but something manageable. Obviously sound and compatibility are paramount. Any ideas as to what I should be considering?


ping: Myles? any ideas?
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whatever you decide i say buy some inexpensive ones off mikech to use also, you might be surprised at the quality you get for the money. and im super impressed with his power cords as well.
but i have heard the acoustic zen absolute copper speaker cables which can be had used for around $1200-$1500 and they are outstanding for the money. no idea what they are new. cause for the most part new cables are crazy priced when you can find used for usually 70% off the retail. i really like my zen silver ref2 rca ic that i bought used for $350 1m
i have heard a great value is the nordost frey sc as well. but never heard a pair.
 
Alan Shaw would say that cables don't matter and just go to some place like Home Depot for lamp cord. :)



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Ha! I've read that and don't subscribe to that notion.

dlb2 said:
Alan Shaw would say that cables don't matter and just go to some place like Home Depot for lamp cord. :)



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I have Nordost TYR2 and need to hook them up again, at least with the 30.1's and see what that gets me.

dlb2 said:
Joe, don't you have Nordost Frey cables?



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joeinid said:
I have Nordost TYR2 and need to hook them up again, at least with the 30.1's and see what that gets me.
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That's right. Well that should give you a good indication of the Nordost sound. Shunyata seems to get a lot of good press around here as well.



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Compleste looms of Cardas Clear/Beyond and Silent Source here. I'm far from a cable connoisseur, frankly hate cables, lol.
 
Joe...I think Nordost will be a great combo with Harbeth and CJ. It won't add anything (no cables do) but it will let through the transient speed, resolution/clarity/neutrality, and 3-dimensionality that your system is capable of delivering. As we all know, the best cable is the one that does the least amount of damage sonically to your system. I find Nordost to be extremely neutral and revealing but in a natural way and I think it will meld nicely with CJ and Harbeth. Personally I think Tyr in the upper end and Heimdall in the lower end are the sweet spot in the Nordost range so your Tyr 2 IC is a great place to evaluate what a full Nordost Tyr loom could do for you. Hopefully you can find demo/used Tyr 2 so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for the full shebang.
 
Hi Joe, I set up an ET250 with a TEA2se phono and an ET3se preamp a few years back. We found Nordost Brahma ( Dealer disclaimer ) power cords had the most noticeable improvement, went thru an entire Nordost loom and when we swapped the PC's the energy and sound stage shinned the best. I'm sure there are plenty of cables that will sound great with CJ, my experience with this particular setup was that the power cords made a bigger difference than the interconnects or speaker cables.
 
dlb2 said:
Another option is seeing if Bob will let you borrow some Ansuz cables.



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Might be too rich for my blood. :(

annapolis Raider said:
Compleste looms of Cardas Clear/Beyond and Silent Source here. I'm far from a cable connoisseur, frankly hate cables, lol.
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I've ALWAYS loved Cardas cables and still think about some new ones. Thanks.

cmalak said:
Joe...I think Nordost will be a great combo with Harbeth and CJ. It won't add anything (no cables do) but it will let through the transient speed, resolution/clarity/neutrality, and 3-dimensionality that your system is capable of delivering. As we all know, the best cable is the one that does the least amount of damage sonically to your system. I find Nordost to be extremely neutral and revealing but in a natural way and I think it will meld nicely with CJ and Harbeth. Personally I think Tyr in the upper end and Heimdall in the lower end are the sweet spot in the Nordost range so your Tyr 2 IC is a great place to evaluate what a full Nordost Tyr loom could do for you. Hopefully you can find demo/used Tyr 2 so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for the full shebang.
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Thanks Cyril. I don't dislike my TYR2 speaker cables and should match them with with the same or better level RCA's.

AudioSalon said:
Hi Joe, I set up an ET250 with a TEA2se phono and an ET3se preamp a few years back. We found Nordost Brahma ( Dealer disclaimer ) power cords had the most noticeable improvement, went thru an entire Nordost loom and when we swapped the PC's the energy and sound stage shinned the best. I'm sure there are plenty of cables that will sound great with CJ, my experience with this particular setup was that the power cords made a bigger difference than the interconnects or speaker cables.
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Hi John,

Thank you for the advice. I do need to try some higher end power cords. I've heard from others too that we should take care of power first and the rest will follow.
 
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