I question my custom made cables. Maybe I shouldn’t I am not sure. What are some very good store bought cables? Price is not an object within reason. I was thinking of used(no longer made) AQ Wel signature? Can get a very good deal on them. Should those suffice? Amp where the DSS is located is a Classe CAP-2100. Thank you
Why don’t you like them? Benchmark uses Canare wire, and they are quiet cables. Mogami cables are also high quality. If you want high end, I’d look at Cardas or WyWires. Not familiar with the brand you mention, but good wire and good build quality is half the battle. I use Blue Jeans Cable specialized balanced Y cables between my preamp and multichannel amp. They work great and were inexpensive to boot.
AQ Wel signature was widely copied and fakes abound. Shunyata Research Sigma XLR would be a good choice. If you have the cash to splash, Crystal Cable has recently released a limited edition 2nd top cable “future dream” and some dealers might have special pricing on their demo cables.
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The rest of my system just happens to be top Crystal cable. So probably go with those. No wonder great deal on AQ. Probably fake. You really do not need to spend a lot but I like to. Mogami and Bluejeans are fine cables too.
I use these guys for my interconnect between my BHK preamp, DS Jr, and M700 amps. They sound ok to me and are not expensive. Plus they are well built.
I was very happy with the Iconoclast. My installation requires the flexibility of the BAV variant but most of the goodness is there still…meaning they get out of the way.
I wholeheartedly encourage you to try them, you’ve nothing to lose but a bit for shipping back.
I spent BIG money several years back for VooDoo Cable Amati XLR. I love their clarity and “breath of life.”
I will be trying the Iconoclast at some point in the not-too-distant future, but am currently using Kimber HERO’s. A reasonably-priced variant of star-quad construction - and they publish their LRC values. Based on these, I’d expect the Iconoclasts to do better, but these are not too shabby.
https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=KKHEBAL&opt=1008|1018|1349
I am now going to redo the whole system with “Future Dream”. Maybe more money than brains but I can hear them.
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Iconoclast cables are very nice. I have both speaker cables and interconnects. Very much worth it. Get gen 2 interconnects. https://iconoclastcable.com
seriously? I am not being a jerk I am really asking. For instance their 4’ stereo XLR is $2,150. The Crystal cable is 50 Grand! If I can save that much, very happy.
Seriously. Try them.
heck yeah I will. Save a lot if I like them. I know it is not junk because it is not $25. $2,150 is a reasonable, sane price IMO.
2 grand for a balanced cable is insane. Their topology is such that Mogami 2534 is as good as you will ever need. It is a standard studio mic cable used in very long runs, if its good enough for recording, it’s good enough for playback. With the change from 2150 you can get a handful of top price tickets for the opera or gigs of your choice.
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That’s what I thought, figured my $150 BJC Belden 1800F were just fine and they totally are, until I tried the Iconoclast.
Everyone’s ‘insane’ level is different. $2k sounds like a lot but is not compared to $50k. $50k is insane for me.
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An iconoclast is someone who thinks you must be totally nuts to spend more than $100 on a pair of XLR balanced interconnects.
Belden had a repututation for making good cheap cables so presumably they thought it wise to call it “Iconoclast”, implying they were wrong all along and actually you need to buy this new $1,000 cable we just came up with. Well, they were right the first time. Buy tickets instead.
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Try the iconoclast they perform very well in my system.
I auditioned the ICONOCLAST OFE for 30 days, and although I thought they sounded very good, my existing $160 Supra EFF1’s XLR’s sounded almost identical for a whole lot less.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/interconnects/supra-eff-ixlr-interconnect-with-xlr-pair/
No one ‘needs’ them. Many of us find them enjoyable to integrate into our ‘bring me joy’ systems.
By all means, continue to buy the things/experiences that bring you joy.
Peace
I’ll buy the Crystal’s from you any time in the future should you wish to try something else. I might have a pair of Crystal FD coming here in a few weeks. Unfortunately only one pair (dealer has sold out his entire allocation except for this last pair which is currently with a reviewer), I really need two pairs.
p.s. if you in HK try and find this for me on CD.