Where do you put your best cables--- Front or Back???

FlexibleAudio

FlexibleAudio

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I have Nordost Valhalla 1's connecting my pre amp to monos and monos to speakers. I chose them because I think they represent the leanest cable amongst the Nordost and Ansuz stuff which makes them the best match with my D3's.

My next step is phono cable and phono pre to pre amp (XLR). I was planning to put more dollars into these two cables than the Valhallas in the front end because of my belief that babying the itty-bitty signals at the earliest stages of amplification will yield the best SQ results. I was thinking maybe V2 or maybe even Odin for phono and V2 for XLR between phono pre and pre.

I am curious if anyone has a view on the merits of this approach versus more dollars in speaker cables etc. I know some feel interconnect have the least impact; some feel speaker cables have the most; and some believe the opposite for both.

I would like to leave power and my choice to go Nordost out of the discussion and focus on the best place to make investments in the cable chain as kind of a philosophical matter regardless of brand. (The Power and Nordost decisions could easily make up their own threads but for me that ship has sailed.) Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
I use the same cables for the whole chain. If i had a super cable I would use it at the front end. For the same reasons as above. I have always tried to stay with the same cable front to back.
 
Once the quality of signal is lost, its gone forever. Source to preamp is the most crucial if one most choose. Personally, I like a little more "detailed" cable from source to preamp, preamp to amps and then tame it down a little with speaker cables.

So Paul, V2 from Source to Preamp, V1 from Preamp to Amp is a good way to go.
 
Given that a phono cable is unbalanced, this should be the best possible cable you can afford.
If the rest of your system is balanced, then provided the XLRs are short from the source to pre-amp, you can get away with a less expensive cable. I would then step it up from pre-amp to mono amps as I have found that to be the next most influential cable, especially if that run is longer. It is more important than the loudspeaker cable IMO.

Paul...I would do it your way too but if you can buy V2s that are the same length as your V1s, you could swap them around and hear it for yourself. (From Odin phono, I would move the V1 to phono to pre, and put the new V2 in its place from pre to monos.)
 
Steve said:
Given that a phono cable is unbalanced, this should be the best possible cable you can afford.
If the rest of your system is balanced, then provided the XLRs are short from the source to pre-amp, you can get away with a less expensive cable. I would then step it up from pre-amp to mono amps as I have found that to be the next most influential cable, especially if that run is longer. It is more important than the loudspeaker cable IMO.

Paul...I would do it your way too but if you can buy V2s that are the same length as your V1s, you could swap them around and hear it for yourself. (From Odin phono, I would move the V1 to phono to pre, and put the new V2 in its place from pre to monos.)
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They are the same length. Good idea.
 
Steve said:
Given that a phono cable is unbalanced
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Most are, this is true, but some phono cables are balanced. Nonetheless, i still agree with the suggestion to put most attention to this link (source to pre).
 
FlexibleAudio said:
Well thanks for all of your help. That settles it, I will use a lamp shade cord for the phono cable just to avoid forum unanimity.
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Don't laugh, that's what I used in the 70's! But we just called it "lamp cord". Not sure about the shade part.

At least back then we all agreed - cables don't matter. [emoji14]
 
Mike said:
Don't laugh, that's what I used in the 70's! But we just called it "lamp cord". Not sure about the shade part.

At least back then we all agreed - cables don't matter. [emoji14]
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I bought a pair of Infinity QLS in the 70s still have them, the dealer told me not to use his speaker wire he said go to a electrical supply store and buy the best heavy wire like for toaster or electrical heater they had he said it would sound better. Bi amped them with a pair of Mc2205s
 
My choice would be fool loom too but on a budget I would (and did) put the best cables up front closest to the sources.
 
Mike said:
Don't laugh, that's what I used in the 70's! But we just called it "lamp cord". Not sure about the shade part.

At least back then we all agreed - cables don't matter. [emoji14]
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Hmmm....I can't explain the shade part either. Not sure where that came from.....it was late in the evening.:lol:
 
In the 70's I had my ESS Towers running of wires too thin to even be considered lamp cords but man did they rock.
 
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