Mish Mash Cables

firefuocco

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Jan 7, 2011
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Cornwall
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David
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Sorry not a new product name but the state of my interconnects & digital cables.

I'm not sure it is an issue but I have a variety of brands in my system & I never seem to know what to get next.

I have Cardas, Chord, Straightwire, Audio Quest, Canare, Cable Matters.  Some of them are over 20 years old.

Not sure whether to start again and go for one brand/model throughout or just muddle on picking whatever takes my fancy or I get a good deal on.

I wonder how much cables have come on in the last 20 years?  

Luckily I just stick with one speaker cable.

 

Minicoupeman

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Jan 21, 2015
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Sittingbourne
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Andy Andrews
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I have mixed n matched for over 30 years until recently.  I had some good results but as a result of buying a job lot of (different) mains cables and hearing the difference I decided to settle on one make.  For me it is Tellurium but for you it could be something else.  Cables are ‘voiced’.  Like a jigsaw, same makes ‘fit’. Find the sound you like and stick with it.

 
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uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
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Apr 16, 2006
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NN38TA Northampton
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David
HiFi Trade?
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Have tried many - ended up making my own from the best twin coax cable Maplin used to stock .. system sounds great to my ears .. could it sound better?  Probably .. am I bothered - well as it sounds great now I really cannot be arsed to fart about with cables.  If I hear someone with the same components as my system sounding noticeably better I might sit up and take notice but other than that ...

I keep meaning to cut the cables down to the minimum required (which would remove the spiders web behind the rack) .. I actually think having the cables as short as possible might actually make a difference .. but again I can't be arsed. 

Horses for courses - if it floats your boat then go ahead.

 

kernow

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Dec 25, 2009
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Devon
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Shaun
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
  2. No
Sorry not a new product name but the state of my interconnects & digital cables.

I'm not sure it is an issue but I have a variety of brands in my system & I never seem to know what to get next.

I have Cardas, Chord, Straightwire, Audio Quest, Canare, Cable Matters.  Some of them are over 20 years old.

Not sure whether to start again and go for one brand/model throughout or just muddle on picking whatever takes my fancy or I get a good deal on.

I wonder how much cables have come on in the last 20 years?  

Luckily I just stick with one speaker cable.
You need two speaker cables 

 

rabski

Everything in moderation
Staff member
Dec 2, 2006
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Richard
HiFi Trade?
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On a sensible note, I don't agree with the 'all from one manufacturer' theory. The only way you can voice cables is by changing something so that they remove some part of the frequency spectrum. It is physically impossible for a cable to add something, so they are all going to either take nothing away, or take some things away differently. Any effect is going to depend a lot on things like the effect of capacitance and inductance, and the effect this has will depend on what is connected to what. Adding a bit of capacitance to a cable between a cartridge and phono stage will, for example, have a totally different effect to adding the same amount of capacitance to a speaker cable.

Use whatever you like, and if you hear a positive difference, use whatever makes that difference.

 

JANDL100

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Dec 5, 2006
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Forest of Dean, Glos
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Jerry
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I find that 1-brand systems don't work for me. 

My boxswap experience is that too much of one brand's house sound kind of accumulates and ends up going too far in one sonic direction. 

That applies to components and cables. 

Mix & Match works best for me. 

 

rdale

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May 21, 2009
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Richard Dale
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I use Duelund interconnects, speaker cables and I rewired my speakers internally with Duelund, along with Duelund bypass caps in the crossover. I like the sound of ‘maximum Duelundness’ as it goes well with the single ended valve amp I use and Klipsch speakers. Duelund cables are certainly ‘opinionated’ but they have great vintage tone, and I don’t find it overdone with all one make in most of the chain.

 
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garn63

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Mar 3, 2020
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www.avfc.co.uk
HiFi Trade?
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If I am honest (according to me) I enjoy stereo equipment & accept all the mild/strong weird behaviour that is part & parcel of the hobby.   I truly wish my ears could have a "rose tinted"device fitted (maybe with a fine tone control)  but this is only offered for sight ?   So am guessing that's why we mess with hifi.     I sort of know I am not a purist & like my music to sometimes appear across the top of my ceiling,creep round the walls & poke me now and again but the instruments have to sound believable. The permutations to achieve this are vast & take a long time to achieve to taste.  This is only a personal quest.

My behaviour reg cables is just as daft.  I will own up to spending more than I should once, but wouldnt again. My cables are a mix of frivolous times & cheap also but the end product seems to work for my own tastes.   (If I was passionate about cables I am sure I would mention brand names). When mixing & matching anything it's generally about clarity/tone/musicality of the signal.   I guess the trick is knowing when to stop :)

After all this waffling I realise that tonight my system sounded lovely.     Yesterday it did not.     How can this be ?   Same system ?   .... You've got to smile havent you?

*This is only my own opinion.    Bring on the controversy & diversity that any sane forum needs. It's great.                   P.s.  Is anyone selling some very expensive cable cheap ?

 
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Nopiano

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Jul 19, 2016
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Monmouthshire, Wales
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Nick
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
The loom approach looks neat and tidy, and psychologically it’s easy to imagine it must be better.  But I think it’s unnecessary unless you’re buying a brand new system.   I did once, on an insurance claim after my kit was burgled, but that was just speaker wire and CD to amp.  These days with internet, usb, etc., it’s more complicated!

 

monya

Wammer
Wammer
Apr 5, 2007
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London, , United Kin
AKA
Robin
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
As a rule I find cheap cables sound quite similar but as you go up the ladder differences are accentuated as the manufactures need some usp to justify the cost.

 

Rockchild

Formerly Radiant Red 🎶
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Jun 22, 2011
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Launceston UK
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Jonathan
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
And another rule of thumb is spend no more than 10% of your kits value on cables 

I have moved completely to VDH because the opportunity arose to do so. I have no regrets at all. 

 

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