Lefisc
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Every once in a while, either on line or in person, I have been asked if wiring makes a difference and which wires are best. This is very bad because it assumes I know what I am talking about!!!
First off, I think cabling is the sales tax of stereos…it cost us money, but is never the reason we buy something.
But this subject has often turned into bitter arguments on line and, frankly, one of the reasons I had left posting. Recently, when I brought up the Cast/Transparent comparison it’s come up again. So let me give my point of view and all civil opinions are here are valid. And my real question is why is really good wire so expensive?
In the late 1980s two separate audio dealers told me why the new expensive wires were beginning to be pushed. In their previous life, dealers sold stereo system with record players and stylus and needles were often their biggest profit points. When CD overwhelmed the market, dealers looked for a profit point and that turned out to be wiring, mostly Monster Cable at that time. Dealers got nearly 50% of the msrp (and sometimes more) from the sale.
I learned my biggest lesson at that point: Stereos sounded better with ONE brand of wires on them, not several. You see, when you transfer energy from one kind to another, electrical to sound, there are rules of physics that cannot be discarded:
I am often alternately amused and then discouraged when someone has three or four brands on their system and tries one new brand, but still has three different types of wires and says he can’t hear the difference. Of course not.
For the next part, let’s pretend we have 11 sound rooms. In the first we have real music: Jazz, classical, rock whatever.
In the next room let’s pretend we have your parent’s stereo, the one you grew up with. And in every succeeding room we have another stereo system that’s better until we get to the tenth and final room where we have the best sounding system available today.
Many people who have systems in the 5- 6-7 rooms sometimes don’t get that if they exchanged wires with the people in room 10 that their system won’t sound better or very different. This is because their system is not capable of sounding different. The wiring they have may be perfectly suited and priced for that sound. That is, I don’t think my bedroom Marantz 8002 will sound better with the top of the line MIT wires.
However a stereo chain is as strong as its weakest link and it is probable that the person in room ten will NOT have as good a sound if he took the wires out of room 5. It’s funny, if I said that about a CD player being changed from rooms 5 and 10 no one would argue, but if you say that about wiring people have strong opinions.
The best way to determine wiring is to sample it. And you sample better and better wire for you system until you hear no difference. This is the Peter Principal of wiring. You top when it no longer improves. Peter Principle Definition | Investopedia
You could start off with the Acme Reference, the put on the Acme Deluxe Reference, than the Acme Super-Deluxe Reference, then the Acme Super Duper Opus Reference until the next step gives you nothing. Of course when you sample it you need two sets: one for the component to preamp and another pre-amp to amp. Since speaker wire is a slightly different animal, you have to sample which one goes best with your interconnects. I have usually used the same company for both.
You may try other brands. The sad truth today is that stereo stores are fewer and fewer and it’s really hard to sample these expensive components. For me, I did stop where I felt there was no difference, many years ago. But companies do improve their wiring and the sound, my sound can get better with more recent cables.
If you have done this and feel that the added time and money is not worth it, you’re right. And if you tried this and you discovered that better (higher priced?) wiring sounds better, you’re right too! It’s all up to you.
If you are not convinced by your own ears, don’t let anyone else convince you.
First off, I think cabling is the sales tax of stereos…it cost us money, but is never the reason we buy something.
But this subject has often turned into bitter arguments on line and, frankly, one of the reasons I had left posting. Recently, when I brought up the Cast/Transparent comparison it’s come up again. So let me give my point of view and all civil opinions are here are valid. And my real question is why is really good wire so expensive?
In the late 1980s two separate audio dealers told me why the new expensive wires were beginning to be pushed. In their previous life, dealers sold stereo system with record players and stylus and needles were often their biggest profit points. When CD overwhelmed the market, dealers looked for a profit point and that turned out to be wiring, mostly Monster Cable at that time. Dealers got nearly 50% of the msrp (and sometimes more) from the sale.
I learned my biggest lesson at that point: Stereos sounded better with ONE brand of wires on them, not several. You see, when you transfer energy from one kind to another, electrical to sound, there are rules of physics that cannot be discarded:
- You can’t win. You can never get more energy than what you started out with. So music will never sound “better” than the original source.
- You lose. Since you will always lose some energy, the sound will always be degraded at least a little.
- Every part of the equation, even the “catalyst” the wire effect the outcome. In my opinion, wiring will act as a filter for the electricity that will create sound. So when you have one brand of wire you, in effect, have one filter. When you use different brands use several filters and the sounds eclipsed in several areas
I am often alternately amused and then discouraged when someone has three or four brands on their system and tries one new brand, but still has three different types of wires and says he can’t hear the difference. Of course not.
For the next part, let’s pretend we have 11 sound rooms. In the first we have real music: Jazz, classical, rock whatever.
In the next room let’s pretend we have your parent’s stereo, the one you grew up with. And in every succeeding room we have another stereo system that’s better until we get to the tenth and final room where we have the best sounding system available today.
Many people who have systems in the 5- 6-7 rooms sometimes don’t get that if they exchanged wires with the people in room 10 that their system won’t sound better or very different. This is because their system is not capable of sounding different. The wiring they have may be perfectly suited and priced for that sound. That is, I don’t think my bedroom Marantz 8002 will sound better with the top of the line MIT wires.
However a stereo chain is as strong as its weakest link and it is probable that the person in room ten will NOT have as good a sound if he took the wires out of room 5. It’s funny, if I said that about a CD player being changed from rooms 5 and 10 no one would argue, but if you say that about wiring people have strong opinions.
The best way to determine wiring is to sample it. And you sample better and better wire for you system until you hear no difference. This is the Peter Principal of wiring. You top when it no longer improves. Peter Principle Definition | Investopedia
You could start off with the Acme Reference, the put on the Acme Deluxe Reference, than the Acme Super-Deluxe Reference, then the Acme Super Duper Opus Reference until the next step gives you nothing. Of course when you sample it you need two sets: one for the component to preamp and another pre-amp to amp. Since speaker wire is a slightly different animal, you have to sample which one goes best with your interconnects. I have usually used the same company for both.
You may try other brands. The sad truth today is that stereo stores are fewer and fewer and it’s really hard to sample these expensive components. For me, I did stop where I felt there was no difference, many years ago. But companies do improve their wiring and the sound, my sound can get better with more recent cables.
If you have done this and feel that the added time and money is not worth it, you’re right. And if you tried this and you discovered that better (higher priced?) wiring sounds better, you’re right too! It’s all up to you.
If you are not convinced by your own ears, don’t let anyone else convince you.
