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Entry Level Interconnect next step up?

Tin Bird

Tin Bird

Active Member
I am currently using an Audioquest Evergreen interconnect between my Onkyo C7030 Cd player and Pioneer A20 amp. I am looking to upgrade this cable. The three I have my eye on are Wirewold Luna 7 or Solstice 7 and Atlas Element Integra.
Any other suggestions? Or, should I just stick w the Evergreens?
 
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I would suggest with the gear you have to just leave them be. AQ cables are decently constructed and are a better selection than the $2 Black & Reds that came with your CDP.

If you have the option to return, or try a friends to see if there is a difference, I suggest you try that but my guess is you won't reap any real benefits with $350 worth of components, unless there is something wrong with the current Evergreen.
 
Hyfi said:
I would suggest with the gear you have to just leave them be. AQ cables are decently constructed and are a better selection than the $2 Black & Reds that came with your CDP.

If you have the option to return, or try a friends to see if there is a difference, I suggest you try that but my guess is you won't reap any real benefits with $350 worth of components, unless there is something wrong with the current Evergreen.
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What he said.
FWIW; I use DH Labs IC's and speaker cables.
 
^agreed. As long as the cables are well constructed, and are made of well shielded/low capacitance coax, and have decent quality connectors, you're probably in good shape as it is.

I understand the desire to tweak, but the only differences I've ever heard in cables have come from switching out poor quality or defective ones for good quality ones.
 
Having the same CDP as the OP, my experience with better cables on it was 100% positive. I went from the throw-ins to a set of AQ King Cobra's. They made a big difference in the sound. Two years later when I play CD's that have not seen daylight in a while I can still tell the difference. I am a cable believer especially on digital sources. Although the OP has probably seen 80% of any improvement that would be acheived with cables higher up the food chain.
 
Thanks for the intelligent responses. Very entry level gear over in this neck of the woods...and yes, I have been happy w the Evergreens and do not have any issues w them. As noted, was just looking to tweak a bit and improve if possible. Sounds like the majority recommend staying put with this equipment.
 
A cheap way to see what everyone seems to be saying is to try a simple, inexpensive experiment. Pick up some standard run of the mill 14 (or so) gauge cables from Lowes, home Depot or somewhere else, and see how much different they sound from your current cable. You don't even need to buy connectors. You can wire tem directly to your terminals with those 5 way binding posts.
 
I'd suggest getting a soldering iron and solder, some Canare Star-Quad L4E6S cable, and Canare F09 RCA ends, and build yourself a set of inexpensive top quality cables.
 
Hyfi said:
I would suggest with the gear you have to just leave them be. AQ cables are decently constructed and are a better selection than the $2 Black & Reds that came with your CDP.

If you have the option to return, or try a friends to see if there is a difference, I suggest you try that but my guess is you won't reap any real benefits with $350 worth of components, unless there is something wrong with the current Evergreen.
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Very much this. I bought AQ Forrest and Evergreen cables because I wanted something substantial with decent build. So far so good. I don't have any reason to upgrade them.
 
Thanks again...I'm not much for building my own cables...would be far above my noob pay grade... :-) Sounds like the Evergreens are well respected round here...which is cool. Think I was reacting to the lukewarm What Hi Fi? 3 star review... they kind've trashed them.
 
Your upgrade dollars will be better spent elsewhere.

As I've said on other threads, I use component video cable with one of the three cables stripped off. They are "obsolete," and so cheap to buy. Further, if you buy two sets, you get three sets of IC's. They sound just fine for audio.
 
Interconnects...the least worthwhile place to spend money, even if you do find they make a difference. These should be experimented with last after: Speakers/subwoofers, the source, the room/room treatments/placement/EQ, and amplifier/receiver/etc. The only reason I would recommend upgrading cables is if they are not shielded and you have a noise problem or if you experience reliability issues (such as when there is a break in the cable). Otherwise, finish upgrading the rest of your system before you even start thinking about cables. Besides, you already have nicer cables than are necessary anyway.
 
91r100gs said:
Having the same CDP as the OP, my experience with better cables on it was 100% positive. I went from the throw-ins to a set of AQ King Cobra's. They made a big difference in the sound. Two years later when I play CD's that have not seen daylight in a while I can still tell the difference. I am a cable believer especially on digital sources. Although the OP has probably seen 80% of any improvement that would be acheived with cables higher up the food chain.
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Right. You noticed a difference but you started with gimme cables; I have no experience with the OP's exact cables but I'm assuming that they're properly shielded and have appropriate capacitance etc...
 
N8Nagel said:
Right. You noticed a difference but you started with gimme cables; I have no experience with the OP's exact cables but I'm assuming that they're properly shielded and have appropriate capacitance etc...
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The difference I noticed was not a little bump, but a big one. I also tried my BJC LC-21's on the C-7030, the difference was pleasantly noticeable, but not night and day like the AQ's were over the cables that came with the CDP. These cables are a great match with the Wolfson DAC in the C-7030.
 
I have the some of the same interconnects as the OP. I thought they were OK for somethings, but just lacked some detail, or something just wasn't right. So, I went down the DIY path. My new interconnects are made from RG-59U coax, some flex sleeving to jazz the coax up and some Amphenol connectors. The results are very nice with the cables at 1 meter measuring 52pf, which includes the RCA jacks. Easy to make (and fun) and (IMO) way better. I've since built enough cables (1 and 2 meter) to pretty much replace all of my interconnects.
 
the skipper said:
But, to be honest, it would be a great way to see what all the super cable stuff is all about.
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Cables can deliver icing to an already nice cake, but really should be put in context to the rest of the system.

As for me, I'd invest in upgrading the modest amp first.
 
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