I've never tried the premier, but the Monolith RCA's are not too tight, they make good solid contact but slide on and off easily but with an appropriate amount of resistance.
CONFESSION - about cables and interconnects
- Thread starter Natasha Bell
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Shielding is important as keeping electrical fields away from your interconnects is an important function of a good AC chord for Audiophile use. Geometry is also important as the last few feet of AC chord influences the "antenna" properties of the AC wire in your wall in combination with the power chord. I don't know which Geometry is best, I just know that a cable engineer friend (IBM'er) has mentioned this phenomenon as it relates to AC power cable design.
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
As you should be, Dear Lady !
I chose and use 20amp rated heavy duty Tripp-Lite, Panamax, APC, & Furman brand surge/spike protectors plugged into 10 gage Romax (over gage) wire 20 amp circuit breaker dedicated circuits to power my house`s select higher powered systems, with no concern about any "mains starvation" (excessive power circuit voltage drop occurring during high dynamic demanding digital music passages at elevated (realistic) listening SPLs).
IMO/E, it`s best to HQ surge/spike power protect here in the upper end of FL.`s infamous "Lightning Alley", without negatively affecting the equipment`s performance..
Different Coax's all sound a bit different - as do the RCA's used on the ends. I have some RG-6 that cable installers use as well as some Audioquest "audio" RG-59 and some Audioquest "video" RG-59 and some Canare RG-59 (copper standed center connector). All of them sound a bit different. The "video" version of Audioqest Rg-59 is silver plated and is noticeably "brighter" sounding in audio applications than the other three. The "audio" version of the Audioquest is probably the best balanced, but it is pretty "warm" sounding so it is best used with gear that tends to be a bit on the thin or harsh side (like cheap CD players, etc.).
bluesky
Lunatic Member
My quick true story:
I never believed the cable hype. I just used good copper 'speaker' cables - nothing wrong with that. Not thin, thicker - regular. They did fit snuggly in the speaker terminals.
Then I got a pair of used 1980 quality, shielded, cables off of eBay from a guy in Ireland, hooked them up, and it was like Woah - That's the ticket. I immediately heard a 'better' sound quality coming out of the speakers, noticeably different - it just sounded ... ' better '. I was amazed really.
I vividly remember immediately thinking - ' That's it! Done Deal. ' My cable search was over on the first try.
I never believed the cable hype. I just used good copper 'speaker' cables - nothing wrong with that. Not thin, thicker - regular. They did fit snuggly in the speaker terminals.
Then I got a pair of used 1980 quality, shielded, cables off of eBay from a guy in Ireland, hooked them up, and it was like Woah - That's the ticket. I immediately heard a 'better' sound quality coming out of the speakers, noticeably different - it just sounded ... ' better '. I was amazed really.
I vividly remember immediately thinking - ' That's it! Done Deal. ' My cable search was over on the first try.
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Yes, I would definitely agree with that. Everything you do, does affect the sound in some way.
faber12
Addicted Member
DeeCee
"Music is what we like to play..."
Yep. I was an unbeliever until I found that “right” cable; initially I was looking for properly gauged speaker cables and better terminated RCA cables.
I started with Audioquest and then found Cardas made pretty obvious differences - specifically removing that “electronic” halo that presented an artificial tone on the sound. To save bucks, I *usually* purchased my cables used.
If interested here are a few of my rare reviews that describe the audio character differences I found that I made on another site:
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Quadlink-5C/cables/27571.html
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Cross/cables/82399.html
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Neutral-Reference/cables/124814.html
YMMV (of course).
I started with Audioquest and then found Cardas made pretty obvious differences - specifically removing that “electronic” halo that presented an artificial tone on the sound. To save bucks, I *usually* purchased my cables used.
If interested here are a few of my rare reviews that describe the audio character differences I found that I made on another site:
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Quadlink-5C/cables/27571.html
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Cross/cables/82399.html
https://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Cable/Cardas-Audio/Neutral-Reference/cables/124814.html
YMMV (of course).
Frank Sol
Lunatic Member
Capitol C
Well-Known Member
The Wikipedia article is worth a read, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable. If you are not tech-knowledgable, the bit on history is still interesting. Oddly, all the technical literature doesn't talk about removing the "electronic" halo, warmth, thinness, harshness... Even Heaviside seemed to miss the point. Odd...There are, just like with Ethernet cables, several grades defining the quality of the cables. I am sure you have heard of something like CAT-5... with COAX cable, it is just the same. It is just, that this is much less known. There is RG-6, but there is also RG-11. This is the cable I use. There is a 50 ohm and 75 ohm, versions. The RG-11 cable is optimized for stuff like HD television. Regular RG-6 coax cable can do that, but the RG-11 is better.
Fortunately, it is largely devoid of the "you're just hearing things" mantra from the non-experiential crowd.
AC50
Active Member
We spend our money and take our chances on components that should be "permanent," and cables are the place where we can afford to experience a sense of day to day control. The science is somewhat easy for laymen to wrap minds around. Easy prey for audio dealers and marketing specialists. Better to read a book on sales psychology than cable literature.
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Don't know about you, but I audition before purchase.
And I find it amazing that 99% completely ignore the reality that it's the components attached at either end that reflect the sonic changes. It is all about interaction.
AC50
Active Member
Things have changed so much in the audio industry. We used to have three excellent audio dealers in town, and these people were and are my friends, passionate enthusiasts and knowledgable experts. Now there's Best Buy. I couldn't agree more about the interaction between components and their connecting links. I run a single source, passive pre based system and believe me, I put a lot of study into what makes this admittedly simple system tick.
I find it amazing that 99% ignore the reality of high pressure marketing, regardless the field, and the stress and confusion it causes. I trust my heart, my intellect and my ears. I love the passion of this hobby and all the things I've learned from it.
Absolutely!
The output section of one device, the interconnecting cable, and the fed device form a network, the more revealing the components the more you will notice...
Passive, resistive volume controls brought that home to me years ago, the longer the cable seemed like the greater the interaction, it made 1/2 meter cables necessary for the least interaction, and showed how each cable sounded so different.
Transformer based passive volume controls, for me, had lesser interaction, while the SET type output on my Mod3A also shows up the fact that there is no cathode follower in the circuit with its sensitivity to cabling, especially over one meter in length. It also sounds better than any passive I ever tried, and I tried a bunch.
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Frankly, its been a long time since I relied upon it. One of my earliest mentors from the 70s was an honest salesperson who opened my eyes and ears to far better along with widening my musical tastes. Through the shop, I met a wide range of enthusiasts who were also "regulars" like me. Two were reviewers with one having an influential buddy - whose systems recalibrated my reference of how realistic an audio system could sound - on more than one occasion across decades.
And the first offered me the best means for evaluation possible IMHO: a minor role in Telarc's recording of Stravinsky and Borodin at the ASO. Bask in the experience with a perfect seat in the house while carefully timing practice sessions for the musician's pay. I loved large scale orchestral but the Borodin added choral power under Shaw (my friend sings in the chorus) Is it live or is it Telarc? After takes, I would accompany those who went downstairs to review the recorded piece. Soundstream recorder fed Threshold amplifier driving pro A/D/S BC8s.
I enjoy such in the garage system and did that in the main system for years. Raspberri Pi/Allo Digi One transport is sourced by LMS and Qobuz feeding a modified Music Hall DAC 25.3 via BNC. It uses balanced connections (which minimizes cable interactions) to a Hypex Ncore amp out to modified New Advents. RPi's power supply is battery connected via starquad DC cord. DAC is connected to Tripp Lite conditioner while amp uses DIY double shielded Belden 83803 power cord.
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Are there any double blind tests that conclusively show people picking boutique cables over basic cables? I have read about boutique wires not doing so well against even coat hangers in these type of tests, but I’ve never seen reference to any that showed the fancy cables as superior.
If the change is not subtle, you should be able to pick that out 10 out of 10 times.
If I made boutique cables and wanted to prove that they did what I believed they do, I would setup a Pepsi Challenge style test at audio shows and dealers. What a great marketing tool that would be. How about the audio review mags and websites do it? I wonder why they haven’t? Maybe they did and I just never heard about it. On the other hand, I have a feeling I know why they haven’t done it.
If the change is not subtle, you should be able to pick that out 10 out of 10 times.
If I made boutique cables and wanted to prove that they did what I believed they do, I would setup a Pepsi Challenge style test at audio shows and dealers. What a great marketing tool that would be. How about the audio review mags and websites do it? I wonder why they haven’t? Maybe they did and I just never heard about it. On the other hand, I have a feeling I know why they haven’t done it.
AC50
Active Member
It wasn't my intention to bring up the usual arguments for and against people's cable beliefs. I'm not trying to save experienced hifi'ers from themselves. Just pointing out that cables are a pretty easy place to jump to when you have the major components in place and that itch comes up. Or, that common sales technique based on the misconception that somehow your cables should equal a percentage of the total value of your system. And it's a shame that people wade through marketing hype, reviews, etc., before they find valid resources from which to base their decisions. Researching is fun and it doesn't mean having to spend lots of money making sideways purchases through trial and error.
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Geeze, more DBT nonsense...
Sometimes it may take hours of listening, or even days to get a real handle on the sound quality of different cables, even after over three decades of doing this stuff as a hobby and as an avocation...moving the cables in a high resolution system can also disrupt the sound...Cardas recommends to play your new cables and do not move them at all for at least 21 days...the original JPS Superconductor interconnects took at least this long to break in, I heard it many times and so did Martin DeWulf in his report in the late and lamented publication Bound for Sound...if you moved or bent them it would be hours before they came all the way back.
So, quickies while satisfying for a one night stand, don't always work well for cables...
It brings to mind the Acoustic Zen "Wow" cables...on first listen they really were WOW! But, after having them in a system and letting them run in for a while they didn't really have a wow factor anymore and became more of a Meh...I heard this from several people who took the cables home to audition them and then returned them after a while...so, if you had bought those on your first listen as time went by you could become dissatisfied
As always, YMMV
P.S. you should follow the cable talk on Head-Fi about inexpensive cables from AliExpress, 39 pages with improvements in cable sound being noticed hundreds of hours into the cables usage...
.
Sometimes it may take hours of listening, or even days to get a real handle on the sound quality of different cables, even after over three decades of doing this stuff as a hobby and as an avocation...moving the cables in a high resolution system can also disrupt the sound...Cardas recommends to play your new cables and do not move them at all for at least 21 days...the original JPS Superconductor interconnects took at least this long to break in, I heard it many times and so did Martin DeWulf in his report in the late and lamented publication Bound for Sound...if you moved or bent them it would be hours before they came all the way back.
So, quickies while satisfying for a one night stand, don't always work well for cables...
It brings to mind the Acoustic Zen "Wow" cables...on first listen they really were WOW! But, after having them in a system and letting them run in for a while they didn't really have a wow factor anymore and became more of a Meh...I heard this from several people who took the cables home to audition them and then returned them after a while...so, if you had bought those on your first listen as time went by you could become dissatisfied
As always, YMMV
P.S. you should follow the cable talk on Head-Fi about inexpensive cables from AliExpress, 39 pages with improvements in cable sound being noticed hundreds of hours into the cables usage...
.
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