High-End Audio Cables

[sword_fish]

Spending money on cables to improve sound...I just don't get it. Get decent cables (Monoprice) and put your money where it matters most: speakers and amps, in that order.

exactly, i just cannot understand why there are people still who rides with that hype. mad with their money? for brags?

[ir_cow]

Monoprice cables are crap. I bought a bunch thinking the same thing but all the monoprice ones i've used the video quality is noticeably lower. I plug in Media Bridge ($10 cable) and all the artifacts and audio problems go away. They are junky cables and i don't suggest anyone waste money on it. You don't need monster cables or anything expensive. just a good $10 cable.

[Waco]

Monoprice cables are crap. I bought a bunch thinking the same thing but all the monoprice ones i've used the video quality is noticeably lower. I plug in Media Bridge ($10 cable) and all the artifacts and audio problems go away. They are junky cables and i don't suggest anyone waste money on it. You don't need monster cables or anything expensive. just a good $10 cable.

You are the ONLY person I've ever seen complain about them. I have tons of them without a single issue.

[ir_cow]

maybe i had a bad batch...

[Vasto]

Monoprice makes really good cables in my experience. Granted I've only used their HDMI and USB cables, but they are thick and feel solid.

 

As for speaker wires, just use a metal clothes hanger. http://consumerist.com/2008/03/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables/

 

Guage is one of the most important parts of audio quality.

[Tjj226_Angel]

Good cables are actually pretty important. While I think spending 100+ on an RCA cable is kind of........silly, you can still get decent cable ranging from straight OCC cryo treated copper all the way up to pure silver with a little bit of gold to prevent oxidation for fairly cheap. You can get some neutrik/switchcraft connectors for fairly cheap and you can also get some Cardas Trielectric solder for dirt cheap. 

 

If you are going to make short runs that won't move much, you can also buy solid core silver wire on ebay for fairly cheap as well. 

 

@waco: The only time you should invest in cables is when it is the only thing you can do to improve audio. 

 

Once you have spent thousands of dollars into your amp, dac, and speakers, what else do you do? 

 

I will partially agree though. The only time I have ever heard wire make a big difference was with audio note and western electric setups. Audio note uses silver wire throughout their amps, and their speakers. The ONLY thing I can figure is that maybe if the electrical signal consistently flows through silver that the system becomes more efficient???? That is a total guess, but one thing is for certain. There was a big difference going from copper speaker wire to silver speaker wire. The silver made the speakers sound more airy. It was almost like the speaker's weren't even there. 

 

With western electric it is the same effect, but I do not know why silver would make such a profound impact. 

[WhenKittensATK]

Quality audio cables have been known to improve sound quality. I'm not so convinced with video cables though.

[ir_cow]

Quality audio cables have been known to improve sound quality. I'm not so convinced with video cables though.

Video cables not so much because it's digital. You do however have data loss and that can be corrected with good cables. I explained it last page.