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Although I’ve been into audio since the mid-seventies I didn’t start to change out stock cabling until about 10 years ago. Many times I couldn’t tell a difference, yet with others it ranged from a little to a somewhat substantial change, and not always for the better. So I tried different brands, different cable construction, different connection types, varying price points, pre-made and custom made, etc. as time progressed. I’ve also used the same brand for all cabling and a mix of brands. As someone who believes that cables can and do make a difference this has been an interesting journey.
There are a couple things I’ve learned. I prefer the sound of copper or copper/silver over silver only. Quality connections are super important, but price not so much. The latter is significant to me as I’m now retired and on a limited income. But even if one isn’t restricted by finances, it’s nice to know there are many good quality cabling options out there at reasonable price points.
My cabling needs are very minimal as I only have a Turntable and CD/SACD player connected to an Integrated amp and then a pair of speakers.
Turntable: Oracle Paris Mk V
Morrow Audio PH5 Phono Cable
Custom Silver Litz ground wire
Oracle Wall-wart power supply.
Digital: Harman Kardon H/K57 CD/SACD player
Emotiva Interconnects
Hard-wired standard power cable
Amplification: Marantz Reference PM-KI-Pearl Integrated Amplifier
Valab/King copper/silver power cable
Speakers: Genesis Advanced Technologies G7.1f full-range loudspeakers
Valab/King copper/silver speaker cables (spades & banana on opposite ends)
Standard power cables to drive 180w built-in amps.(Manufacturer does NOT recommend changing cables)
NOTE: I have no particulars on exact cable construction.
What I want to do is bring all cabling back to more standard stock (either original cables or basic RCA connectors, of which I have plenty about from years past. For speaker wire I’ll be using standard 12awg. Since the suspension on my Dynavector DV20x2L crapped out I’ll have a basic Ortofon 2M Blue mounted as well. I’m going to live with this for one month and then start making some changes, one cable at a time.
Here is where I need some suggestions or opinions. Where do I start with changes and do I go back to stock/standard cabling for the next change? I was thinking of starting with the PC of my IA and live with that for the next month. I could then make note of whatever differences I heard (if any), both positively and negatively. I would then bring back the standard PC and make the next change my phono cable and ground wire. Essentially I’m thinking to work with one cable change from stock at a time. My logic behind this approach is to more accurately detect a cable change without influence from other changes. Would this approach give me a more accurate reading of each newly introduced cable?
There are many other questions I can think of, but let’s start from here.
There are a couple things I’ve learned. I prefer the sound of copper or copper/silver over silver only. Quality connections are super important, but price not so much. The latter is significant to me as I’m now retired and on a limited income. But even if one isn’t restricted by finances, it’s nice to know there are many good quality cabling options out there at reasonable price points.
My cabling needs are very minimal as I only have a Turntable and CD/SACD player connected to an Integrated amp and then a pair of speakers.
Turntable: Oracle Paris Mk V
Morrow Audio PH5 Phono Cable
Custom Silver Litz ground wire
Oracle Wall-wart power supply.
Digital: Harman Kardon H/K57 CD/SACD player
Emotiva Interconnects
Hard-wired standard power cable
Amplification: Marantz Reference PM-KI-Pearl Integrated Amplifier
Valab/King copper/silver power cable
Speakers: Genesis Advanced Technologies G7.1f full-range loudspeakers
Valab/King copper/silver speaker cables (spades & banana on opposite ends)
Standard power cables to drive 180w built-in amps.(Manufacturer does NOT recommend changing cables)
NOTE: I have no particulars on exact cable construction.
What I want to do is bring all cabling back to more standard stock (either original cables or basic RCA connectors, of which I have plenty about from years past. For speaker wire I’ll be using standard 12awg. Since the suspension on my Dynavector DV20x2L crapped out I’ll have a basic Ortofon 2M Blue mounted as well. I’m going to live with this for one month and then start making some changes, one cable at a time.
Here is where I need some suggestions or opinions. Where do I start with changes and do I go back to stock/standard cabling for the next change? I was thinking of starting with the PC of my IA and live with that for the next month. I could then make note of whatever differences I heard (if any), both positively and negatively. I would then bring back the standard PC and make the next change my phono cable and ground wire. Essentially I’m thinking to work with one cable change from stock at a time. My logic behind this approach is to more accurately detect a cable change without influence from other changes. Would this approach give me a more accurate reading of each newly introduced cable?
There are many other questions I can think of, but let’s start from here.
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