Gramophone Dreams

When I began using a standalone DAC with a CD player as a transport, I compared Radio Shack's 75 ohm coaxial cable to some Audio Note AN-Vx interconnect and decided I preferred the AN-Vx. When I started reviewing DACs for Stereophile, I spent some effort comparing audiophile-branded 75 ohm coax and discovered I much preferred the Kimber Kable D60 Data Flex Studio.

What must an audiophile do?
My strategy is to carefully mix diverse teams of moderately priced but superbly constructed wires from a range of popular cable manufacturers. This allows me to avoid swamping my system with any single cable manufacturer's "house sound."

I've learned two main things from this mixing and matching: The lower the signal level, the greater the cable's apparent effect on the sound. And: Some brands of cable have stronger flavors than others.

I first discovered this flavor-mixing strategy when I built DIY amplifiers. For example, I found that mixing capacitor types would avoid too much Sprague paper-in-oil, or Teflon film, or polystyrene, or polypropylene (Wonder Cap) sound.

For resistors, I discovered that, in the same circuit, small, properly specified half-watt metal-film resistors sounded more hard-compressed and colored than large, way-overspecified 5-watt wirewound resistors—which to my ears seemed to disappear completely. I imagined that similar principles apply to audio wires.

I believe that every single bit of the audio chain sounds like the resonant nature of the material(s) it is made of, like a violin or a human voice. Likewise, I believe the purity, form, and configuration of its materials define a component's specific resonant fingerprint and ultimately the degree to which it colors the sound (ie, dirty tin-clad copper sounds like dirty tin-clad copper).

More recently, I discovered that power conditioners and audiophile power cables dramatically affect my system's sound. The effect of these components on system sound is so dramatic that I've been reluctant to experiment with them. But don't worry: I will experiment, if only for the purpose of sharing my experiences with you.

These are some of the reasons why I regard audio cabling as a component-level consideration—not an accessory.

Of course, legions of audiophiles cannot imagine how interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, AC fuses, or line conditioners could possibly affect the sound of a properly engineered stereo. To these people, all this boutique crap is just overpriced snake oil created for "audiofools." I understand exactly why they feel this way. I mean,

If they can't hear a difference . . . how could I?

One thing I do know from five decades of hanging with audiophiles: Most seasoned audiophiles are capable of recognizing extremely subtle differences in DACs, amps, phono cartridges, tubes, and audio cables. Not only that, audiophiles actually enjoy learning to discern these differences and discussing them with their friends. I mean,

Aren't discernment and connoisseurship among the chief pleasures of our hobby?

I'm guessing, but I think the nondiscerning, can't-hear audiophiles are deafened by their expectations.

These All-boutique-cables-are-just-overpriced-snake-oil guys get deafer (and oftentimes angrier) when they see one-meter interconnects selling for $3000.

I understand that feeling too. And I admit to being confused and bewildered by what I perceive as the dystopian chaos of the audio cable marketplace.

During literally decades of buying and comparing audiophile interconnects, I have noticed a few other interesting things.

I like to use one brand of interconnects with my DAC and another with my phono stage, partly to mix up the sound, partly to flatter the component the cable is connected to, and partly so that when I swap preamplifiers, I can identify which cable goes to which source. More pertinent to this discussion, I have noticed that each of these sources sounds slightly different with each brand of wire. I emphasize the word slightly! To my surprise, however, DAC outputs and USB inputs seem much more affected by cable choice than my tonearms or phono stages. The latter makes me wonder: Why should digital be more susceptible to cable interface than analog?

Consequently, I pick interconnects, USB cables, and power cords that complement my digital sources. Over the last few years, I have preferred Auditorium 23 interconnects for phono because they sound the most natural and the least hi-fi. For years, I've used AudioQuest Cinnamon wires for digital USB because they sound quiet and dynamic. Plus, I did not want to review budget products with $1000 USB cables. However, as a recent experiment (not a review comparison), I replaced my 5m AudioQuest Cinnamon USB with the much more expensive Cardas Clear HS USB (also in 5m length). I just wanted to see if I could hear a difference. Which I did, but not instantly. The next day, in the afternoon, I was streaming a very familiar Vladimir Horowitz recording while doing chores and walking from one room to the other. Twice, I walked by the Harbeth M30.2 speakers and thought, Damn! Vladimir is sounding good today!

And then I sat down at my desk, saw the blue Cardas wire, and remembered that I had changed the cable. After listening carefully to a few assorted Tidal favorites, I switched back the AudioQuest Cinnamon. The difference in USB cables was obvious now, and I much preferred the enhanced clarity of the more expensive Cardas. Immediately, I contacted my old friend Gordon Rankin (Wavelength Audio), pestering him about why these cables sounded different. I will tell you the story of what he said, and compare more USB cables, in following "Wire Dreams" installments.

If I had to buy my own cables—if I were not a reviewer who gets to borrow lots of different cables—I would have no idea how to begin choosing the most effective, compatible, musically satisfying cables for my system. How could anybody choose? (footnote 1). Making things worse, experienced reviewers (including myself) choose to not review cables, either because they don't perceive differences or, more likely, because they're afraid of perceiving those differences incorrectly (footnotes 2 & 3). The latter was my excuse—until now.

Jim and Herb share a dream
When Jim Austin, Stereophile's new editor, informed me that I could do 12 columns per year (footnote 4), I squealed with joy because I enjoy telling Gramophone Dreams stories and have too many to tell for only six columns. I was already covering phono sources, but all along I've wanted to venture deeper into headphones, headphone amps, tubes, tube-rolling, and cables. Why these products? Because I think it's time to stop marginalizing them. It is time to recognize them all as the important audio components they are.

In order for neophyte audiophiles to feel comfortable considering expensive cables, I believe every high-priced audio cable manufacturer should explain why their cables cost so much.

Because I imported Audio Note cables from Japan, I know the short answer to that question: Manufacturing audio cables is more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive than manufacturing DACs or amplifiers. At Audio Note, Hiroyasu Kondo purchased 99.99% pure silver ingots from Italy. Then he drew this imported silver slowly, and at low temperatures, through diamond dies that he designed himself. That extreme work produced only bulk rolls of very thin silver wire; after that the wire was coated with several layers of natural lacquer, braided, and jacketed. Easy? Cheap? Definitely not.

A friend of mine who runs a small cable-manufacturing outfit told me the prices of his handmade audio cables are based on these factors: "The bill of materials; machine time (on home-made and modified machines); my and my helper's labor and learning time; packaging costs; promotional costs; and overhead (rent, insurance, utilities, property taxes, etc.)." To this he adds 15% to avoid screwups. Then, as he says, "The sum of all that is multiplied by a number that allows my dealers and distributors to buy at a fair price, and I can feed the family."

The second question for cable manufacturers: What makes expensive cable sound better than Belden, Mogami, or Radio Shack? Part of the answer is obvious: quality of materials and workmanship. I have disassembled a few big-name audiophile cables and found them all extremely well-made and structurally complex. Unlike RadioShack cables they were crafted to take use and abuse—sometimes in pro-audio conditions—without breaking or oxidizing (footnote 5). That is superimportant.

Also: Do the low-priced cables (under $100), moderately priced cables (under $500), and expensive cables (I've seen $5k interconnects!) sound better in ways directly related to their cost? In my experience they do—up to a point. However, all the cable brands I have tried have a sweet spot, where the buyer acquires maybe 80% of the virtues of the brand's best cable at about 40%-50% of the best cable's price. I intend to search out those sweet spots.

As of this writing, I do not understand what design features make one cable sound better than another. But now that I have 12 columns per year, my intent is to spend time finding out. Besides looking inside the wires and how they are manufactured, I will begin comparatively auditioning a variety of cable brands to determine if I can fairly describe their house sound in a way that might help others. But these are difficult tasks, with uncertain outcomes. I am willing to listen and learn. Are you?

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Footnote 1: Since 1989, one of the best answers to that question is the Cable Company's Lending Library.

Footnote 2: They're avoiding controversy (footnote 3).—Jim Austin

Footnote 3: They dislike dealing with new cable makers in particular, whose hunger for publicity sometimes borders on desperation.—Art Dudley

Footnote 4: Alternate months, Herb is filling the space vacated by Kal Rubinson's Music in the Round column, which ended with its 100th installment in the November 2019 issue.—Jim Austin

Footnote 5: This is also true—especially so—of pro-audio cables such as those from Canare and the aforementioned Mogami, which are almost always priced far below high-end audio cables. This pricing advantage arises at least partly from the fact that such cables are made efficiently in factories and not via boutique methods such as those described in the previous paragraph.—Editor