Cable Synergy?

[OldSkoO1]

So you spent loads on your kit, whats your oppinion of cable synergy?

I spent a while listening to different cabling after i'd decided on my equipment. The salesman was top notch and didn't BS me.

We listened to different cable and the difference was suprising. There was a definite synergy between chord Innterconnects and their speaker cabling. Unfortunatly i didn't get to try the Cyrus IC with the speaker cable as they didnt have any cyrus spk cable in stock

However i had choosen some Chord Rumour speaker cable and Chord Chamleon Silver Plus interconnects. They really struck a balance, they affected tonal balance and seperation. I definatly think that after trying different combinations, cable synergy isn't some placebo affect. The difference isn't massive, cyrus kit still sounds great but it is possible to tell if you take time to test.

After hearing the salesmen say this term, when i got my kit home i googled cable synergy and came up with this link which pretty much completes the puzzle. I've just checked the name of the interconnects and to my amazement they matched up with the recommendations on Chords web site. Pretty much confirming that the combination i heard is the exact recommended combination by chord themselves.


Have you had similar experiences?

[alexs2]

These sort of questions always open up the old can of worms regarding cables in general,and the schools of thought divided between what can be measured objectively,and what can be heard subjectively.

I'll be as honest as I can in saying that it works some of the time,and not in other instances,and for me,a good example was changing all the leads on my headphone system around....I'd been using a selection of relatively cheap Kimber leads,and then put in a set of rather more expensive XLO's which simply made it harsh and bright,tiring to listen to.....next i put in a set of Nordost's which returned all of the smoothness,but with much more detail,and with respect to those who would rightly add in comments about the psychological aspects of wanting the more expensive cable to work,I'd already bought the Nordosts a while back so cost wasnt a part of it...it simply worked better in that setting.

I would say that there is a lot of hype and hearsay surrounding I/Cs of all kinds,and the only way to decide is to try,preferably before buying,and preferably with someone else switching the leads so you don't know in advance.....then decide.

[GW43]

A piece of advice I read (sorry, can't remember where!) was that you should spend your first £10,000 on equipment before you worry about cables, other than (obviously) buying something basic-but-sound to connect all the boxes together.

ABX tests on speaker cable would (and I risk a flaming here) show there to be no difference between basic multi-strand copper and any more expensive "engineered" solution, all other things being equal (cable cross-sectional area etc.).

£ for £ cable sales are pretty profitable for a dealer - and as it costs relatively little, they can afford to "give it away" as an alternative to a discount on any kit sold.

"Pretty much confirming that the combination i heard is the exact recommended combination by chord themselves."

Was that also the most expensive combination?????

[OldSkoO1]

I know this information may have been written from a decent source, but i just wondered if you have listened to different combinations yourself?

Regardless of the price in my situation i found that combination a clear advantage. It turned out to be a very average priced combination with other combinations, cyrus namely being much more expensive.

In my case i dont think the dealer forced me into buying cables that were un-nessecary. He advised me to try certain combinations and it just so turned out that the one i choose is technically a perfect match. His advice was honest and he knew his stuff.

Cables are expensive, i think they are too expensive but i know they do make a difference because i heard it last weekend. Yes its probably down to how much your willing to spend because in some cases the difference isn't night and day it is minimal. I guess it boils down to research and testing again. If companies like chord claim to put a lot of r&d into their products and test things by ear then it will cost more to make but essentially you should come out with better cables.

For me, cables do make a difference you just have to listen to a few combinations because some manufacturers obviously dont put the r&d, fine turning and tweaking into their cables like some companies but still sell them inline with the market.

[alexs2]

Good,honest salesmen/women are a great thing.....there are plenty of people who will sell you the most expensive offering that they can,and to find one who isn't pushing goods is excellent.

There's probably little doubt that cables can make a difference,but as GW43 has pointed out,get the basics of the system worked out first,and then work from there.