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Low, Mid and Hi End Audio Gear.

post #1 of 6
11/20/12 at 11:51pm
Thread Starter 
What is considered Low, Mid and Hi End audio gear?

I'm getting ready to purchase the Integra DHC-80.3, DTA-70.1 and the DBS-50.3 equipment. What category are they listed in? Low, Mid or Hi End audio gear.

The reason I'm asking this question is that I'm looking to purchase XLR balanced cables and many different reviews mention that some of your high end cable will sound better in hi end systems compared to low end systems. Also that I should match the right cables for my audio system. I have no idea where to start and don't know what cables are good with my system or what is bad for my system.

I don't want to spend over $300.00 per .5 meter cable lengths.

The audio store I'm purchasing the gear from recommends Tributaries Cables. There's not too many reviews online on these cables. I also read good and bad reviews on Kimber Kable Heros and Better Cables Silver Serpent II's. And many other reviews on other cables such as Cardis, Straight Line and Norsdost.


I'm so confused on finding a good pair of cables that will match my system.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Happy holidays. smile.gif
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post #2 of 6
11/21/12 at 4:28am
regardless of the "fi level", you'll be buying the same cables... smile.gif

monoprice.com and tartancable.com are good places to start... another good place is markertek.com, i bought xlr cables from them...

unless you have a very long run or are experiencing noise issues (very unusual in a home environment), there's no real good reason to use xlr over rca...

if you end up spending more than 100 bucks on cables (unless you have some very long runs), you spent too much money...
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post #3 of 6
11/21/12 at 5:14am
Buying audio gear is like buying a new car...that is the dealer makes a much higher % profit selling options than the car itself.
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post #4 of 6
11/21/12 at 5:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cigarjohn47 View Post

What is considered Low, Mid and Hi End audio gear?

I'm getting ready to purchase the Integra DHC-80.3, DTA-70.1 and the DBS-50.3 equipment. What category are they listed in? Low, Mid or Hi End audio gear.

The reason I'm asking this question is that I'm looking to purchase XLR balanced cables and many different reviews mention that some of your high end cable will sound better in hi end systems compared to low end systems. Also that I should match the right cables for my audio system. I have no idea where to start and don't know what cables are good with my system or what is bad for my system.

From a status and bragging rights perspective, I would put them in a category I call "upper end mid-fi". If I've got my aliases right, Integra is an alias for Onkyo. Many Integra products are technically very much like comparable Onkyo products.
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I don't want to spend over $300.00 per .5 meter cable lengths.

Actually, the sound quality of your system would be well served by cables costing more like $3 in that length. They are a little flimsy and won't withstand zillions of pluggings and unpluggings, but who does that? If you want something really durable, figure on $6-15. After that, you're making charitable contributions to the people you are spending your money with. The two online vendors to look at are Monoprice and Blue Jeans Cable.
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The audio store I'm purchasing the gear from recommends Tributaries Cables.

Here's the deal. Audio components are highly competitive price-wise, so in many deals the actual profit for the dealer is in the accesories, not the components themselves. If the dealer gets a decent markup on the components, then the profits on the cables are all gravy for him.

Most audio cables are made in China or made from parts made in China. Their actual costs, even if they look like jewelry, are low. You can make one heck of a 0.5 meter audio cable for under $10.
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There's not too many reviews online on these cables. I also read good and bad reviews on Kimber Kable Heros and Better Cables Silver Serpent II's. And many other reviews on other cables such as Cardis, Straight Line and Norsdost.

That's all audio jewelry.
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I'm so confused on finding a good pair of cables that will match my system.

Obviously, because it is clear that you are being trapped into spendy equipment with no sound quality advantage.
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Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Any suggestion? Rethink your system design strategy. Speakers and room acoustics, yes. Fancy electronics and cables, no.
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post #5 of 6
11/21/12 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 
Thank you good audio people for pointing me in the right direction. I like to do research on merchandise before making a purchase. A JL Audio specialist once told me that the best testing gear in the world for speaker calibration was your "Brain and Ear". But if you want to, you can purchase all those toys for room balance and other stuff as well.

I guess I sometimes tend to read into things a little too much and let others make the decision for me when their ears hear things differently than my own ear.

I'll check out monoprice and bluejean cables. How about the Bettercables.com (Silver Serpent 2). They seem to be affordable and again have good reviews as well.

What troubles me is that my subwoofer is probably the most single expensive component in my system at $3,100.00 @ 1500 watts. Will it make that much of a difference in the type of cable to use for the LFE connection?

Everyone has mixed reviews on cables and there pricing levels. That's why I joined AVS to meet real honest people that can lead me in the right direction. And to find out what cables, gear, speakers they are using and the results they have encountered.

In my old 5.1 system, I was using the cheap plain metal RCA connects that had copper stranded wire with a rubber protective sheath around it. And they seem to sound good. Now as I'm venturing into a 7.1 system with a seperate pre-amp and amp, people are pushing me towards the more expensive cables saying that they'll make a big difference in sound quality. Which has made me more confused. A hundered dollar cable may sound good, but a five hunder cable will sound much better and so on and so on. It never seems to end. Then theres the difference between copper and siver stranded cables for better sounds.

So anyway, whether I purchase cables for my amp to pre-amp or subwoofer to my pre-amp, should I use the same cable model or is the subwoofer a total different animal?


Thank you all for your honest opinions.

I hope you all have a safe holiday thanksgiving if any of you do celebrate that holiday. And if not, I hope you all have a great, prosperous life.
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post #6 of 6
11/21/12 at 9:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cigarjohn47 View Post

Thank you good audio people for pointing me in the right direction. I like to do research on merchandise before making a purchase. A JL Audio specialist once told me that the best testing gear in the world for speaker calibration was your "Brain and Ear". But if you want to, you can purchase all those toys for room balance and other stuff as well.

Everybody has their biases and their axes to grind.

As far as "brain and ear" versus gear goes, AFAIK nobody who is seriously engaged in the loudspeaker and system design businesses does it strictly based on his ears. If you can arrange a tour of JL audio's factory and see whether there is any audio test gear there. If there is (and of course there is!) ask them why they have invested so much money in inferior means for developing and testing speakers.

The big change is that you can set up an audio lab that cost $millions in the 1970s, $100,000s in the 1980s, and $10,000s in the 1990s for a few $100 this year.
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I'll check out monoprice and bluejean cables. How about the Bettercables.com (Silver Serpent 2). They seem to be affordable and again have good reviews as well.

Look to me like $10 cables with 50 cents worth of shrink wrap and braid selling for about $50. ;-)
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What troubles me is that my subwoofer is probably the most single expensive component in my system at $3,100.00 @ 1500 watts. Will it make that much of a difference in the type of cable to use for the LFE connection?

No.

There are people who say crazy things like you should spend so many percent of the price of your components on cables.

Nonsense!
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Everyone has mixed reviews on cables and there pricing levels. That's why I joined AVS to meet real honest people that can lead me in the right direction. And to find out what cables, gear, speakers they are using and the results they have encountered.

In my old 5.1 system, I was using the cheap plain metal RCA connects that had copper stranded wire with a rubber protective sheath around it. And they seem to sound good. Now as I'm venturing into a 7.1 system with a seperate pre-amp and amp, people are pushing me towards the more expensive cables saying that they'll make a big difference in sound quality.

Shove back! ;-)
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Which has made me more confused. A hundred dollar cable may sound good, but a five hundred cable will sound much better and so on and so on. It never seems to end.


Then theres the difference between copper and siver stranded cables for better sounds.

The true story about cables is short and sweet. The lies go on and on.

BTW copper versus silver? The real truth is that a 12 gauge copper wire carries audio just as good as a 13 gauge silver wire (for sepakers). The difference in conductivity is covered by making the wire one wire gauge larger. For interconnects conductivity is not much of an issue because the current is so low. Compare the price and choose!
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So anyway, whether I purchase cables for my amp to pre-amp or subwoofer to my pre-amp, should I use the same cable model or is the subwoofer a total different animal?

A good audio cable is a good audio cable. If you are using RCA cables, use the same brand (or mixed brands, doesn't matter) from the CD player and turntable tone arm to the input of the power amp. The basic technical requirement is all the same!

Not being scammed by people who don't tell the truth about audio cables is my idea of good luck for the holidays!
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