Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
I've got a fairly modest setup; an old Yamaha 5.1 receiver and sub, new TEAC turntable (ortofon red cart) and Sony tower speakers. None of it was expensive, and the receiver and sub are about a decade old. So I had two options: replace some stuff with newer, more expensive equipment, or try some modest upgrades to see if it made any difference.
First thing I did was replace the supplied cables (this was after about 8 months of using the standard RCA, sub, and speaker cables). I went with all Monoprice items. Cost was seriously about $30.00 for a spool of 12AWG cable, "premium" sub and RCA cables. It wasn't a perceived difference, it was a clear difference over stock cables. So that was good and bad. After about 6 months I started wondering if higher end cables would make a difference. If a jump from cheapo supplied cables to still fairly cheapo Monoprice cables made that noticeable a jump from good sound to much gooder sound, would a "real" premium cable make even more impact? So I tried...
I didn't want to notice anything, but I went with a WireWorld RCA cable, their Sosltice 7, roughly $70. I hooked it up and noticed only a SLIGHT difference, but there was a particular guitar riff that I noticed while washing the dishes that stood out more than I had ever heard it. It's not imagination, I remember saying "wtf was that?" and turning around to the stereo. It wasn't as noticeable a jump from the Monoprice to the Wireworld as it was from the stock to the Monoprice, but I noticed it. I also noticed a backward turn when I tried some spring load banana clips. The connection didn't seem right, and seemed to have to turn the volume louder to get the same sound as previously.
So in order to keep my cables uniform, I'll go with a $200 upgrade: WW's speaker cable and sub cable. If I didn't already have the RCA's, I'd give this a go. To me, I'll be content with the best sound I can get out of my setup with a roughly $270 replacement cable purchase (over time) versus buying a new receiver, sub, or higher end speakers.
If you've got a few dollars to spend on stuff like this, I'd say give it a whirl. If it doesn't do ANYTHING for your sound, you'll have actually learned your lesson (or if you can return the item, it was a free test), not just make assumptions. If you don't have that much to burn, go with some of Monoprice's dirt cheap premium cables and you'll still be very pleased.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE