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General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Down the rabbit hole

I've been a cable skeptic all my audio life. Always believed that a well
made cable, for whatever purpose, would do the job as well as any other
well made cable. I began to be disabused of this notion a few years back
when I needed to replace the stock cable on my Sennheiser HD600 headphones.
I bought an expensive Cardas replacement cable, and, lo and behold, there
was a substantial improvement over the stock cable - why, I don't know.
Better wire, larger wire, better connections, who knows.

Fast forward a few years to the current day. I decided to try some new
power cords, to replace my old and trusty Volex 17604s, so I purchased
some Audioquest NRG4s. And ... viola! Noise levels went down
substantially, bass got tighter and deeper, soundstage expanded a bit,
highs got clearer, and I started hearing things like sustain on piano
notes, increased shimmer of cymbals, and such like. It's a miracle!
Expensive power cords do work! Well, at least the ones I bought are
working. I'm now semi-convinced about the value of good wire.

I am not, however, going to go gaga and become a regular over at Cable
Asylum. I still have a healthy amount of skepticism about cables. It's
obvious to me that a couple of $175 power cords can make a difference,
but I'm still dubious that $1750 or $17500 power cords can make
appreciably more difference. 10 or 100 times the expense will not cause
10 or 100 times the improvement that $175 did, of that I'm still quite
sure. And I'm not going to spend my time and energy and funds endlessly
swapping cords seeking that last little bit of pleasing difference.
I've got better ways to waste my time and limited funds.

So I have learned something useful thru this process. Good for me.

Lack of skill dictates economy of style. - Joey Ramone


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Topic - Down the rabbit hole - Mike K 08:36:58 03/26/20 (9)

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