Cables - Interconnects & Speaker lead - Is it worth it?

[Zedmeister]

I know what you're thinking "Ah cables, the eternal fire starter!" But I want to hear (No pun intended) opinions. Now I've got a good midrange A/V set-up and spent a little on cables (Mainly QED stuff and can give details if needs be) What I would like to know is: Is it worth it spending any money on cables at all? Do they make any difference?

I must admit I am a bit sceptical on the issue of cables and other so called Audiophile reference products (Read: Snake oil stuff - ever seen the Van-Den-Hul the First Ultimate? - £250 squids for an interconnect!) but I do try to go in for good quality interconnects and speaker lead and not just stick with the cheap out of the box thin bell wire...

So what do you reckon? Is it worth spending money on cables, how much would you spend and are there any reputable cable companies out there?

[Rave]

Have a read of this thread and some of the links therein. There really isn't any point paying more than a tenner or so for interconnects. As long as the cable has a low capacitance and is reasonably robust, and has gold plated connectors to resist corrosion, it'll do the job fine. You can make a perfectly decent pair yourself for a couple of quid using coaxial cable and some decent gold plated plugs from Maplin.

Rich :¬)

[Zak33]

Rave is a pretty smart cookie.....hes worth listening too

However...its quite easy to buy good cable for sensible money anyway....

and I am a saddo wh uses Cat 5 cable

[Zedmeister]

Originally Posted by Rave

Have a read of this thread and some of the links therein.

Cheers man, I did read that thread and the links, which is what prompted me to write this post. Very amused at what some people spend their money on - 500 quid finials anyone ? Was just curious as to what people think on the topic (I believe someone mentioned something about creating a poll in that post but could never find said poll)

[Stoo]

I think the only reason i'd change my cable is because it's the wrong colour for the room lol

[Alistair]

I bought some nice cables from Cable Universe - they weren't the most expensive available but I did think they made some difference.

[Howard]

I use Cat5 speaker cable. No point in using uber expensive stuff. More so with interconnects though, because of interference

[Barry]

If you have a 'decent' setup its worth every penny for cables ect

[Rave]

Originally Posted by Howard

I use Cat5 speaker cable. No point in using uber expensive stuff. More so with interconnects though, because of interference

Nah- any cable with decent shielding will cut out most interference just fine. If a coaxial cable can stop interference messing up a TV signal, it'll do just fine for audio too. It still pays to keep interconnects away from mains cables as much as possible though.

Rich :¬)

[Rave]

Originally Posted by Barry

If you have a 'decent' setup its worth every penny for cables ect

Like I said, read the other thread, read the links- especially the Dunlavy one. Retailers want you to believe that cables make a difference because they're a very profitable item; magazines want you to believe that partly because they're gullible temselves and partly because they rely on the hi-fi industry for their own existence. Your brain wants to make you believe that cables make a difference because it's hard to admit that you've just bought an expensive cable which makes no difference at all to the sound. I've done it myself before a friend forced me to admit I couldn't tell the difference in a blind test.

Rich :¬)

[Flibb]

I paid about £10-£20 for my interconnectors and got some OFC bi-wired cable for my hifi speakers, think it was around £1.50/m. For my 5.1 setup I purchased a 100m bulk spool of OFC cable. That worked out around 30p/m.

[Barry]

Originally Posted by Rave

Like I said, read the other thread, read the links- especially the Dunlavy one. Retailers want you to believe that cables make a difference because they're a very profitable item; magazines want you to believe that partly because they're gullible temselves and partly because they rely on the hi-fi industry for their own existence. Your brain wants to make you believe that cables make a difference because it's hard to admit that you've just bought an expensive cable which makes no difference at all to the sound. I've done it myself before a friend forced me to admit I couldn't tell the difference in a blind test.

Rich :¬)

Makes a mayor difference imo, I have used cheap cables ect and the quality is nowere as good on a decent setup unless I just have naff hearing

[Stoo]

do a double blind test, then come back and tell us

[Rave]

Exactly. Get a friend to swap the cables in and out while you sit there with a blindfold on. If you can tell the difference, you've got better ears than me. I've done this on an Arcam 290 amp and some very high end kit speakers belonging to a friend, it was a real eye opener for me.

Seriously, you should do this. If you honestly can tell the difference, then fair enough. If you can't you're going to save a lot of money in the future by not buying expensive cables.

Rich :¬)

[Barry]

I have tested it before...

NAD C541-I CD AND NAD C320B Amp with a set of cheap £5 Interconnects and 99p a meter cable and some better £20 Interconnects and £3 a meter cable, I could tell the difference

[Rave]

What, completely blind? You could tell the difference accurately over, say, 8 changes? Hats off to you then.

Rich :¬)