Cables - one of the most taboo subjects in audio

I've gotta say, the more time I spend with cables, the more I'm a believer.

This weekend I got to do a short demo on a very high end distributor's system. We did one test - changing the power cord on the streamer. That's it, no other changes.

Also mind you, this is the distributors flagship demo system. He already had a power cable in place that goes for thousands of dollars per meter. And he plugged in the new one, that is expected to go for substantially more (were talking the market of people that own Lambos and multiple large homes). The difference was immediate and significant.

Obviously I won't be playing at that deep end of the financial pool anytime soon, but it does highlight that I have room to grow by treating ALL of the cables as an important piece of gear in the system.

The way he explained the importance of cables in the layman's terms was actually quite simple. He said cables are just antennas in your system. The only problem is you don't want to bring in other noise, so it's all about how to keep that noise from hitting the antennas.
 
Okay, so for next cable upgrade should I

• Upgrade my BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp to BJC Beldens
• Upgrade my random Amazon banana plug speaker cables
• Upgrade the power cord on my amp to a pangea or something

Currently I have

• BJC Beldens linking my TT to my phone
• BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp
• Really cheap amazon RCA's connecting my Bluesound to my AMP
• Some random banana plug speaker cables I got from Amazon for like $50
 
Ghost said:
Okay, so for next cable upgrade should I

• Upgrade my BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp to BJC Beldens
• Upgrade my random Amazon banana plug speaker cables
• Upgrade the power cord on my amp to a pangea or something

Currently I have

• BJC Beldens linking my TT to my phone
• BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp
• Really cheap amazon RCA's connecting my Bluesound to my AMP
• Some random banana plug speaker cables I got from Amazon for like $50
Click to expand...
What’s your gear again?
 
Ghost said:
Okay, so for next cable upgrade should I

• Upgrade my BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp to BJC Beldens
• Upgrade my random Amazon banana plug speaker cables
• Upgrade the power cord on my amp to a pangea or something

Currently I have

• BJC Beldens linking my TT to my phone
• BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp
• Really cheap amazon RCA's connecting my Bluesound to my AMP
• Some random banana plug speaker cables I got from Amazon for like $50
Click to expand...
I would likely be the deflator here, but I see no need to upgrade for performance reasons.

The LC-1 and Belden cables should be fine for their respective applications, especially with a MC cart.

Random Amazon banana plug speaker cables are fine if they are 14 gauge of thicker - resistance is what matters there.

Even the cheap RCAs are likely not to cause problems, but may look out
of place with more fancy cables. I use a cheap RCA for my Bluetooth receiver to my amp - the BJCs don’t perform better but do move the lightweight Bluetooth receiver around.

I have an engineering mindset - if I hear differences due to cables, something to me is really wrong. Some interconnects do reject RFI and EMI better than others, but that’s a noise thing, not a tonality thing.

As an experiment, swap a BJC cable with the cheap RCA and see if you hear anything different.
 
Angsty said:
I would likely be the deflator here, but I see no need to upgrade for performance reasons.

The LC-1 and Belden cables should be fine for their respective applications, especially with a MC cart.

Random Amazon banana plug speaker cables are fine if they are 14 gauge of thicker - resistance is what matters there.

Even the cheap RCAs are likely not to cause problems, but may look out
of place with more fancy cables. I use a cheap RCA for my Bluetooth receiver to my amp - the BJCs don’t perform better but do move the lightweight Bluetooth receiver around.

I have an engineering mindset - if I hear differences due to cables, something to me is really wrong. Some interconnects do reject RFI and EMI better than others, but that’s a noise thing, not a tonality thing.

As an experiment, swap a BJC cable with the cheap RCA and see if you hear anything different.
Click to expand...
Angsty, the yin to our yang.
Be.gif
 
Ghost said:
Okay, so for next cable upgrade should I

• Upgrade my BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp to BJC Beldens
• Upgrade my random Amazon banana plug speaker cables
• Upgrade the power cord on my amp to a pangea or something

Currently I have

• BJC Beldens linking my TT to my phone
• BJC LC-1s connecting my phono to my amp
• Really cheap amazon RCA's connecting my Bluesound to my AMP
• Some random banana plug speaker cables I got from Amazon for like $50
Click to expand...
FWIW, I recently switched out some KabelDirekt RCAs for Mogami RCAs from Worlds Best Cables. No difference in sound.

I have A BJC LC connecting TT to phono pre and Mogami from phono pre to amp. Also, have Mogami from DAC to amp.
 
displayname said:
Anyone have strong opinions of using a dedicated phono cable over a standard RCA innerconnect going from TT to phono stage?
Click to expand...
No, but you'd want to know what the capacitance of each option if you are using a MM cartridge. Capacitance and shielding tend to be the biggest variables with cables from the TT to the phono. Capacitance matters much less if you are using a MC cart and no SUT.
 
I feel like some won’t believe this, but wanted to share an experiment I did last night.

I had some friends over and one of them asked if I had thought about upgrading the power cable on the TT since all the others were upgraded. I said I really couldn’t see how it would make a difference, but he talked me into trying it.

We unplugged The AQ Hurricane from the DAC and popped that on the ultradeck. I’m not saying this was a massive life changing difference, but I’ll be damned there was a noticeable difference there. I won’t get into a bunch of flowery wording, I don’t want to over sell it. And I’m not sure this would be the biggest bang for the buck upgrade. But I was very surprised to hear a difference at all.

Just a reminder that if you love your main gear, you might be able to squeeze a little more out of it if you want to.
 
Cable question!

We are going to be moving and got a new console for the TV/stereo/etc. As a result the turntable being on the far end of a long console, the RCA cables are going to be a foot or two short.

Would I be better off:

1. Extending it with a female to male RCA cable
or
2. Getting a female/female adapter and another RCA cable

Or the 3rd possibility - it doesn't matter at all?
 
How long are we talking? I would prefer one long cable preferably under 10 feet (I think real world tests show 12 feet).

I'm assuming a preamp isn't by the turntable by looking at your signature. That is a pretty low signal passing through multiple connection points on a long run wouldn't be ideal.

If forced to pick one of the options, it would be extending with female to male RCA Cable. The less connection/pieces in the chain the better. Hypothetically if you have 2 quality cables your run is only as good as the female/female connector quality.
 
Closet Mix said:
Cable question!

We are going to be moving and got a new console for the TV/stereo/etc. As a result the turntable being on the far end of a long console, the RCA cables are going to be a foot or two short.

Would I be better off:

1. Extending it with a female to male RCA cable
or
2. Getting a female/female adapter and another RCA cable

Or the 3rd possibility - it doesn't matter at all?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I’m a little daft today. Are these cables from the turntable to the phono preamp or from the phono preamp to the receiver/integrated amp?

Generally, you want to keep cables between the turntable and phono pre short. They carry a tiny signal and it can be easily impacted. If it’s from the phono pre to your integrated 3M or so should be ok on single-ended RCA cables. I would not recommend “daisy chaining” cables together, rather a new continuous cable.
 
Sorry, should have clarified in my original post. The cables are going from the Technics to the phono input of my Rega integrated.

The issue is, it's an older Technics with the RCA cables hardwired, and they are not very long. I probably need about another foot or so to comfortably reach the integrated.
 
Closet Mix said:
Sorry, should have clarified in my original post. The cables are going from the Technics to the phono input of my Rega integrated.

The issue is, it's an older Technics with the RCA cables hardwired, and they are not very long. I probably need about another foot or so to comfortably reach the integrated.
Click to expand...
The female to male RCA would be the best bet then. You want it as short as possible but definitely want a little slack if you want that connection to stay good between the 2 RCA (especially if you have kids or a pets possibly bumping it).
 
Closet Mix said:
Sorry, should have clarified in my original post. The cables are going from the Technics to the phono input of my Rega integrated.

The issue is, it's an older Technics with the RCA cables hardwired, and they are not very long. I probably need about another foot or so to comfortably reach the integrated.
Click to expand...
Are there not shelves that you can put the amp on underneath the turntable?
 
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