Xindak cables?

[ProAc_Fan]

Anybody had a chance to audition speaker cables from Xindak? They show up regularly on that auction site we all know and love. My real wish is for a set of Nordost blue ribbons but I can't justify the cost no matter how nice they sound in my rig. A fully terminated 8' set of pretty cool looking Xindaks is barely north of a c-note. That I can live with.


Mike

 

[trhee]

I use them and love'em. They're priced very reasonable because not many know about them but I'll go as far as to say I haven't heard anything better at the respective price points.

 

[grumpy]

Never heard of them. I do love my blue heavens. Older sets can be found on that auction site or audiogon way below retail. You just got to be quick on the trigger.

 

[colinhester]

Had a pair of ICs from Xindax. Would not take a pair for free. They are well constructed and look very nice; however, after about a year hooked up to my Yamamoto A-08, they would not come off. They are terminated with screw-down locking RCA connectors that "locked" closed.

With that said, a c-note for a pair of 8' cables would not be a bad bet from this company.......C

 

[trhee]

Here's a review of the FS-1 and the review is spot on IMO.

http://www.stereotimes.com/cables052603.shtml

I haven't tried Xindak interconnects yet, so I can't speak for them. However, I've tried various speaker cables from Xindak and can confidently recommend them.

 

[LinuxGuru]

Cables do not have sound for their own, you can buy any decent quality good-looking cables. As for cable "reviews", these are basically paid advertising material.

 

[demondog]

I can't help with the original question, but it brought to mind an amusing experience from last night. I do know everyone has their own beliefs about high priced cables, but...

I was at an event at a high end audio store, and one of the rooms featured cables & interconnects from Transparent Audio. They played various music selections on a very high end system, that were each meant to demonstrate how the cable products enhance different sound characteristics such as frequency response, separation, dynamics, etc...

I admit the music sounded fantastic on the megabucks electronics and speakers, but I was thinking, this is because of the cables? Now if they had gotten that same sound out of a mass market av receiver and speakers, by using the fancy cables, I would have been sold!

btw- I'm using QED, BlueJeans, VampireWire, and an Audioquest jumper.

 

[LinuxGuru]

I admit the music sounded fantastic on the megabucks electronics and speakers, but I was thinking, this is because of the cables?

None of the blind test performed so far have discovered any audible difference between cables for $2 and $2000. All the buzz about those high-end cables is about to extort money from those who did not learned laws of physics in secondary school.

Think about the whole business model. Those exotic cables cost around $5 (or even less) per meter of parts and labor in China. Then, they are sold for $500 - $5000 per meter. Dealer gets 40 - 70%. Almost nothing to do, nothing to loose (its not something complex that may someday reveal engineering flaws), just pure profit :thmbsp:

Now if they had gotten that same sound out of a mass market av receiver and speakers, by using the fancy cables, I would have been sold!

In the blind tests $200 Pioneer was almost indistinguishable from $12000 high-end amp. I can find a link if you wish.

 

[RichPA]

OK, we'll try this in Thinking Out Loud. Apparently some can't resist turning a specific question about a specific product into yet another general cable debate. Please read the TOL forum rules before posting.

 

[ehoove]

Cables do not have sound for their own, you can buy any decent quality good-looking cables. As for cable "reviews", these are basically paid advertising material.

Here We Go!
Jim

 

[Bigerik]

Cables do not have sound for their own, you can buy any decent quality good-looking cables. As for cable "reviews", these are basically paid advertising material.

I am curious to know what you base this on. There have been numerous cable reviews done in this forum, an I sure don't recall me or anyone else being paid.

 

[demondog]

I don't know about the others, but my post was a story about a goofy demonstration method I witnessed, not a judgement about the merits of high end cables.

I have my own opinions on pricey cables, but I realize they're meaningless to others.

 

[LinuxGuru]

I am curious to know what you base this on. There have been numerous cable reviews done in this forum, an I sure don't recall me or anyone else being paid.

I meant magazine reviews. If someone would describe his impression of stunning visual cable appearance, for example, I have nothing to object - I do not like how el-cheapo cables look like, too. But if I read "I installed $5000 cables XXX and my high-end YYY audio system have opened new dimension of sound reproduction" - sorry, its a marketing. There is nothing wrong or illegal after all, but that cannot be considered as statement of scientific research or engineering data.

 

[Bigerik]

I meant magazine reviews. If someone would describe his impression of stunning visual cable appearance, for example, I have nothing to object - I do not like how el-cheapo cables look like, too. But if I read "I installed $5000 cables XXX and my high-end YYY audio system have opened new dimension of sound reproduction" - sorry, its a marketing. There is nothing wrong or illegal after all, but that cannot be considered as statement of scientific research or engineering data.

Wow.
So everyone in this forum, and there have been hundreds of test done by members, have either been liars or misguided by the marketing they have read.
As this forum is all about firsthand experience, would you please share what tests you have done to support you painting everyone else with such a broad brush?

 

[Tangent]

So everyone in this forum, and there have been hundreds of test done by members, have either been liars or misguided by the marketing they have read.

Not so fast, Bigerik! Stop confusing us with facts!

I want to get paid Big Bucks for the interconnects that I love (and recommend to others with the same equipment that I have - vintage McIntosh tube equipment.) You know the ones - RCA brand? $5.99 at Home Depot? They suited my system better than the $270.00 (IIRC) Kimber Silver Streaks, better than the $300.00 van den hul's and even the cheaper Audioquest interconnects (forgot what I paid for them.) And others, actually...

Who can send me the cash? LinuxGuru? I know AK can probably use the cash....

 

[LinuxGuru]

Basically I feel I should not have to reply to Xindak cable question at all. If some people would like to enrich their emotional life with cables, no problem, after all its just another hobby :thmbsp:

 

[RichPA]

Basically I feel I should not have to reply to Xindak cable question at all.

This is true. No reason for you to reply at all.

 

[sqkelly]

For what it's worth (and since this has become a debate on speaker cables generally):

I recently upgraded from mass market speaker cable to Blue Jeans cables (well less than $100 for two 6-foot cables) . As I did it I left the old cable connected to one speaker and hooked up the new cable to the other. The difference I heard, with my own ears, between one channel and the other was enough to convince me that there is a difference in speaker cables. Whether the positive benefits increase proportionally with increased price is something that I still have to be convinced about(preferably with someone else spending the money!), but I am a believer that some speaker cables are better than others.

 

[Stark]

Make sure they are Xindak for sure, there is another crap brand that has a very close name passing itself off as original, cannot remember quite what it is, but one letter is off or switched.