Speaker cables make little difference, what about interconnects? (1 Viewer)

[Scott A. Pope]

I went with MIT for all of my interconnects and speaker cabling on my last build. I will admit that a large part of my decision was due to the fact that most of the cables were visible and the MIT stuff is very sexy to look at, especially with the big "look at me!" time alignment boxes on each cable.

Now, being dead honest... I could not tell much difference, if any, from the Monster Cables the MIT stuff replaced.

My point you ask? I would probably go with the best priced, quality insulated 14 gauge wire you can find unless your cabling will be visible. It's hard to connect 10k worth of speakers with cheesy looking cable in my opinion.

 

[Chu Gai]

Unless things have changed, the last time I looked at MIT's patents, that box contained a zobel network...maybe a dollar's worth of parts.

 

[RobertR]

If, as I suspect, all the gobbledegook about "high end" speaker cables really boils down to appearance, and NOT any differences in the sound, you could do what I did: Start with nice, cheap wire (I paid about 40 cents a foot). Cover it with Techflex (less than a buck a foot at Parts Express). Presto! You have "High End" speaker wire without the "high end" cost.

 

[Scott A. Pope]

Chu... I am certain you are spot on with your analysis. That said, the MIT stuff is dead sexy to look at, I chose it for that reason. Another reason I liked the MIT speaker cables was the supreme ease of changing out the terminations. I wanted banana connectors on one end and spades on the other, with MIT this is no issue at all since terminations just screw on and off. This is an awesome feature in my opinion. If I swap gear later and need a different termination... 5 seconds later, mission accomplished.

Robert... I love that idea, dress up the cable for visual effect. Cables and such fall into what I affectionatly call the "tweak" zone of HT. There are countless number of tweak accessories available (first ten pages of every Audio Advisor catalog) and most are just neat-o gizmo gadgets. I do believe that pristine cables, connectors and other tweak items play a legitimate roll in the pure audiophile world but I am not convinced that they are nearly as effective (or maybe I should have said, noticeable) in the average mans (or womens) Home Theater set up.

My core logic is applicable to any product line on any topic of merchandise. A Mercedes is arguably a work of art, but it still is a mode of transportation. Another brand of car may be plastic and vinyl but it still gets you to work just as effectively as the Mercedes did. Different, but same. Most people buy the Mercedes because it is somewhat of a status symbol, I have no problem with that... I bought the MIT stuff for the same reason.

 

[Scott A. Pope]

Chu... I am certain you are spot on with your analysis. That said, the MIT stuff is dead sexy to look at, I chose it for that reason. Another reason I liked the MIT speaker cables was the supreme ease of changing out the terminations. I wanted banana connectors on one end and spades on the other, with MIT this is no issue at all since terminations just screw on and off. This is an awesome feature in my opinion. If I swap gear later and need a different termination... 5 seconds later, mission accomplished.

Robert... I love that idea, dress up the cable for visual effect. Cables and such fall into what I affectionatly call the "tweak" zone of HT. There are countless number of tweak accessories available (first ten pages of every Audio Advisor catalog) and most are just neat-o gizmo gadgets. I do believe that pristine cables, connectors and other tweak items play a legitimate roll in the pure audiophile world but I am not convinced that they are nearly as effective (or maybe I should have said, noticeable) in the average mans (or womens) Home Theater set up.

My core logic is applicable to any product line on any topic of merchandise. A Mercedes is arguably a work of art, but it still is a mode of transportation. Another brand of car may be plastic and vinyl but it still gets you to work just as effectively as the Mercedes did. Different, but same. Most people buy the Mercedes because it is somewhat of a status symbol, I have no problem with that... I bought the MIT stuff for the same reason.

 

[MikeLi]

Hey Scott... could we turn the font down alittle... Thanks...
Mike

 

[MikeLi]

Hey Scott... could we turn the font down alittle... Thanks...
Mike

 

[Scott A. Pope]

Okay, sorry about that. I went to my User CP and made an adjustment.

 

[Scott A. Pope]

Okay, sorry about that. I went to my User CP and made an adjustment.

 

[Steven_Jobe]

I personally like Acoustic Research's standard line of cables you can buy from Best Buy. I've compared them to monster and others and they seem to be a good product for the price. Even cheaper than Blue Jean cables with the same quality.

 

[Steven_Jobe]

I personally like Acoustic Research's standard line of cables you can buy from Best Buy. I've compared them to monster and others and they seem to be a good product for the price. Even cheaper than Blue Jean cables with the same quality.

 

[Chu Gai]

That's an honest answer but when in Atlanta, I've found the offerings at say the Cheetah Club to be just a wee bit sexier.

 

[Chu Gai]

That's an honest answer but when in Atlanta, I've found the offerings at say the Cheetah Club to be just a wee bit sexier.

 

[Scott A. Pope]

"That's an honest answer but when in Atlanta, I've found the offerings at say the Cheetah Club to be just a wee bit sexier. "

Ahhh, Chu has made a cameo at the Cheetah 3... very impressive indeed.

Agreed, the Cheetah is sexier... hands down.

 

[Scott A. Pope]

"That's an honest answer but when in Atlanta, I've found the offerings at say the Cheetah Club to be just a wee bit sexier. "

Ahhh, Chu has made a cameo at the Cheetah 3... very impressive indeed.

Agreed, the Cheetah is sexier... hands down.

 

[Chu Gai]

Always do and I make no apologies for it either.

 

[Chu Gai]

Always do and I make no apologies for it either.

 

[Greg_R]

Don't forget the heatshrink to affix the techflex to the cable & connector...

 

[Greg_R]

Don't forget the heatshrink to affix the techflex to the cable & connector...

 

[Scott A. Pope]

Hey... I smell a lucrative business venture... :wink: