Which Of These Is Most Neutral

Polycotton

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Hi.

I would be interested in people's use of Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cable and Chord SignatureXL and which is the most neutral finding.

I am not in a position to home audition.

Thank you.
 

johns

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Not heard the rocket 88. I,m using chord signature xl. I was using chord epic before.
The signature was a big upgrade in sq lmo. The sound became clearer with better defined bass.
What cable are you using now and what are you hoping to achieve.
 

tackleberry

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Hi.

I would be interested in people's use of Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cable and Chord SignatureXL and which is the most neutral finding.

I am not in a position to home audition.

Thank you.
Hi bud.

In my opinion, don’t throw money at cables. Just buy well constructed cables, and put the money towards a better x, y or z. Especially speakers.
 

Lurch

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Do they have identical construction?
No. AQ is solid core (several 1mm dia twisted strands) & Chord is traditional thin stranded.
 

DomT

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No. AQ is solid core (several 1mm dia twisted strands) & Chord is traditional thin stranded.
That’s what I thought and so @Psilonaught ’s comment that they would sound the same seemed rather unfounded.

To the OP I have tried different types of cables from various manufacturers and they can sound quite different. It seems a bit like lucky dip in choosing as results are not always expected. And of course it depends on the system that you are using the cables in. For example I used the very clear sounding Tellurium cables with ATC and Audio Research and they were great but with Harbeths and the same amp I used Chord instead. Futureshop will allow home demos.
 

Lawrence001

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Some people say cables make no difference to the sound (assuming they are a basic good construction).

When I hear different cables I don't understand how they can say that.

However I will never be able to hear what they hear. To say they don't know what they are talking about is unfair. Equally for someone to tell me it's all in my head is unfair.

We all have to accept that some can hear a difference and some can't. If you can't maybe you're lucky as you can save some money for other improvements.

Now another argument is that the cost of a given degree of improvement is lower by spending it on a speaker upgrade than a cable. I'm not going to argue with that, it depends on your system. If you've got a £10k pair of speakers then £30/m cable will make them sound better than £5/m cable (assuming they're both a decent design). If you've got the £5/m cable you'll probably get a better improvement from the cables than upgrading to a £10,250 pair of speakers.

However if you've got a £250 pair of speakers you'll be better off buying a £500 pair of speakers than upgrading to the £30/m cables.

It's not rocket science.
 

DUVET

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Cables are the last piece of the jigsaw . Get all the other pieces right first and then if you wan to experiment fill your boots . Always buy second hand so if off you hear no difference the fiscal loss should be minimal and hopefully nothing .
 

MotherSky

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Some people say cables make no difference to the sound (assuming they are a basic good construction).

When I hear different cables I don't understand how they can say that.

However I will never be able to hear what they hear. To say they don't know what they are talking about is unfair. Equally for someone to tell me it's all in my head is unfair.

We all have to accept that some can hear a difference and some can't. If you can't maybe you're lucky as you can save some money for other improvements.

Now another argument is that the cost of a given degree of improvement is lower by spending it on a speaker upgrade than a cable. I'm not going to argue with that, it depends on your system. If you've got a £10k pair of speakers then £30/m cable will make them sound better than £5/m cable (assuming they're both a decent design). If you've got the £5/m cable you'll probably get a better improvement from the cables than upgrading to a £10,250 pair of speakers.

However if you've got a £250 pair of speakers you'll be better off buying a £500 pair of speakers than upgrading to the £30/m cables.

It's not rocket science.
This is an excellent post

I might add that rocket science is rather overrated - it certainly hasn't saved Elon Musk from being a massive tw*t
 

Lawrence001

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Cables are the last piece of the jigsaw . Get all the other pieces right first and then if you wan to experiment fill your boots . Always buy second hand so if off you hear no difference the fiscal loss should be minimal and hopefully nothing .
Often true but I've also found to my cost that I've moved things on that I didn't like and found out later (or even at the demo to the buyer!!) that it was my choice of cables holding them back.

So I keep a few different ones to hand and try different combinations before moving something on I've really wanted to try.
 

uzzy

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No. AQ is solid core (several 1mm dia twisted strands) & Chord is traditional thin stranded.
Several 1mm twisted strands is not solid core. I am not a fan of solid core nor of only several strands of copper in a speaker lead. For me the more strands the better (or if you must have solid core the thicker the wire) the more copper the lower the resistance.

I do wish all speaker manufacturers quoted the measurables (resistance, capacitance and inductance) which all have an affect on the sound.

This may prove a useful read http://www.tonestack.net/articles/cables/speaker-cable-guide.html
 

Polycotton

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Nov 18, 2012
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Not heard the rocket 88. I,m using chord signature xl. I was using chord epic before.
The signature was a big upgrade in sq lmo. The sound became clearer with better defined bass.
What cable are you using now and what are you hoping to achieve.
I have a Naim Supernait 3 amp and Graham Audio BBC monitors with Witch Hat Audio Phantom speaker cables. Looking for greater soundstage and more air around the instruments.
 

DomT

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I have a Naim Supernait 3 amp and Graham Audio BBC monitors with Witch Hat Audio Phantom speaker cables. Looking for greater soundstage and more air around the instruments.
Tellurium cables are very good at that but you need to try for yourself. Are Naim amps still fussy about which speaker cables to use?
 

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