Hi-Fi Interconnects - The Truth Is Out There?

You will get every possible differing opinion on this one. Some people swear that as long as there are no physical flaws in the cable (damage, poor soldering at connectors, whatnot) and the conductor is not woefully undersized then it makes no difference what you use. Other people honestly believe that different cables can make or break a system. There is undeniably some serious snake oil going on in hi-end A/V interconnects, to a sickening degree. The "hard" science behind it is largely suspect and often manipulated in all sorts of ways once you get beyond basics like preventing excessive voltage drop (don't use 24-gauge speaker cable for a 60-foot run, for example) and shielding against interference from power cables.

My personal opinion is somewhat in the middle of the road on the issue. I have experimented a bit with an assortment cables (using some really expensive stuff that was borrowed for a while as well as a range of stuff in the same general price range as the Monster Cable products you can find at places like Best Buy). I've seen and heard some differences in the various cables, as has my wife (who has no interest in tinkering/upgrading the HT system, but has a pretty good ear and grew up with an audiophile for a father). Those differences were not necessarily linked directly to cost, either (for example, most of my analog audio interconnects are Outlaw's PCA's -- a good deal more expensive than RS Gold, but cheaper than many of the other cables I compared them to). How much of that is real and how much is my mind playing tricks on me I don't know, but I've got a setup now that pleases me. I got there by tinkering -- picking up a pair of this and a pair of that, using them for a while, comparing them a bit on my system. I would strongly recommend against chucking what you have and dropping a chunk of change on "XYZ" super-duper cables to replace them, but you might pick up some not-too-extravagent stuff and swap it out for a singlel component to see what your ear thinks of the whole debate. The RS Gold cables are generally regarded as a good value -- solidly made and free of the most grievous and obvious weaknesses of "stock" cables while being very affordable. I haven't ever had any, so I am going solely on what I have heard from others. If you don't see any difference between RS Gold and Outlaw PCA or BetterCables Silver Serpent or Tributaries or CatCables or whoever, then stick with the RS Gold. Many people end up in exactly that place.

Woah... Had a message written, got called away from the computer, posted it, and found that it had moved. Trippy.

I'm leaving town in the morning for a long weekend without 'net access, so I look forward to seeing where this thread goes while I'm gone. Could be very interesting...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review