"Thomas G. Marshall" . com
wrote in message news:Ke2ne.5436$zb.4004@trndny06...
Note: I'm expecting to be flamed from here to china for asking this,
because variations have been asked a million times here. I've read
through a number of them, but would like another stab at it.
AFAICT, the /universe/ uses essentially three kinds of
AV/audio/s-video/component cables. I'll gladly accept correction here.
**There are many hundreds of different types of interconnects.
1. The mostly inexpensive ~6 to 12 dollars
**Nope. Figure on about US$0.50.
2. Acoustic Research
3. Monster
**+ Several hundred others.
Is there a lesser known manufacturer out there than anyone particularly
loves that is cheaper, but of similar quality at AR or M.
**Try Apature. The trick to buying cables, is to find a manufacturer who
does NOT advertise. Ultimately, it is the consumer who pays for advertising.
When I used Apature, they were very low profile and thus, hard to find. They
manufactured an identical cable (different printing on the covering) to a
major manufacturer, but at around 20% of the price. Another of my
favourites, albeit quite expensive and relatively high profile is Cardas. I
don't, for one milisecond, buy their storyline, but the stuff does sound
nice. I have no idea why.
One of the things I'm missing is a useful (yet conversational) metric for
determining the quality difference between the 3. Of course, each
situation is going to be different, but I pine for a stake in the sand
from which all things are measured. Right now, all I have to go on is the
vaguest of vague notions that monster is probably a little better than AR,
but only in some situations and not really worth it.
**Whether it is worth paying any more than US$0.50 for interconnects, will
depend on several factors:
* The type and impedances of the sources and loads.
* The 'transparency' of the equipment used.
* The hearing acuity of the listener.
For instance: If you're using standard HT gear and watching movies, spend
US$0.50 on cables. There is no point spending any more. If you have good
sound only system (not SET crap) and you like listening to quality music,
which has been well recorded, then you MIGHT hear a difference between SOME
cables.
--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au