Speaker Cables and Interconnects for HL5 & MA2275

[unleash_me]

Hello all...

Good Afternoon! I'm a rather new member here but have been following all these interesting discussions for a while now. I'm about to pick up a pair of HL5 Anniversary Edition and McIntosh MA2275 finally!

As the title says, I would like to have some advice on interconnects and speaker cables from all you seasoned audiophiles. I have never been a believer of exotic cables or for that matter any particular brand of cables. But nevertheless I would like to check them out and see what the whole fuzz is all about.

Your comments would be much appreciated.

Best regards.

PS: If this matter has been discussed earlier in a different thread, kindly accept my apologies for a repeat post and please link me to the original. Thanks!

[macraddy]

Hello,

This issue has certainly been discussed so a little digging will sort you out. I think most Harbeth users are 'Music Lovers' more than 'Audiophiles'!

Popular cable seems to be QED 79 strand, DMN &c.

I have Auditorium 23 cable throughout my system (with SHL5s) and love it.

Enjoy your Harbeths!

[unleash_me]

Hello macraddy,

Thanks for writing back. Really appreciate your recommendations. I wish I could confidently say all audiophiles are music lovers but unfortunately most seem to be loosing the whole idea of enjoying music and get too tied up with tweaking their gears and aspiring the next upgrade till they reach, maybe, sonic nirvana!

Well coming back to my search, after a few sessions recently, I'm leaning towards Chord Signature IC and speaker wires.

Best regards.

[denjo]

Hello,
I have Auditorium 23 cable throughout my system (with SHL5s) and love it.

I concur with the Auditorium 23 speaker cables too! The jumpers are also Auditorium 23s! Music sounds very natural and life-like with the Auditorium 23s in place in my system.

[hifi_dave]

It's many years since I used DNM speaker wire but a few weeks ago I bought in a few metres of their latest to try out and I must say that despite it's uninspiring appearance, it is one of the best cables I have used. It is smooth, clean, informative and just so natural that it makes nonsense of the majority of 'high end' cables on the market. An extra bonus is that it is inexpensive and I will be recommending it to my customers from now on.

[musicquest]

I've been using DNM for a while, the newer version, and concur. It's just what I had when I switched speakers, and it works well with the 7's.
The Auditorium would be nice as well, more money. I'd also like to try the Audio Tekne, a similiar design, also more money. (although I think it's best with tubes due to impedence).
Jeff Day wrote a glowing review on them.
Take care...

[Thanos]

I've been using DNM for a while, the newer version, and concur. It's just what I had when I switched speakers, and it works well with the 7's.
The Auditorium would be nice as well, more money. I'd also like to try the Audio Tekne, a similiar design, also more money. (although I think it's best with tubes due to impedence).
Jeff Day wrote a glowing review on them.
Take care...

Hi,

What we did here as a test was this:

- I put my Kimbers 8TCs (with WBT bananas and spades) on to my McIntosh MA 6500 and SHL5s, (have 2 pairs so we went both single & biwire testing) and gave some listening.

- Then immediately switched to speaker B output of the Mac, having at the same time connected a pair of wires (German origin) made from silverplated copper, not so thick, which I bought from the local electronics store (mainly professional audio suppliers for d.js, etc.) cut out from the reel, priced for about 12euros/m. (that was the expensive one). Connection was with bare wire to the amp, spades on the SHL5s.

- We went several times with listening, blind test also with a couple of experienced friends on the sofa, listening & not looking, trying to guess which was which...

- To remind everybody, Kimbers with WBT connectors cost 4-5 times as much...

- We also combined the same procedure with KIMBER HERO and KCAG interconnects, against some humble ones from Media Markt (I don't even recall the brand).

To our surprise and -dare say- embarassment, differences were almost non-existing, with a total agreement. So, I leave thoughts and afterthoughts to you all, because after 30 years of being a music lover ( I gave up audio-philismus at my 30's), I've seen an ocean of lies from marketing, also an ocean of empty pockets of those thinking that mega bucks can buy fidelity.

And, last but not least, a very bitter experience from a close friend, until recently a proud owner of Marc Levinson (pre 27 and power 23.5) separates, for which a fortune was spent back in early 90's. When opened for repairs and servicing by a friend technician (an excellent and golden handed electronic engineer with not at all expensive fees), we saw Motorola transistors that had white paint covering the phrase "Made in Mexico" in their centers... Feels like the maker would feel guilty if his made in the U.S.A. gem would bare the word "Mexico" inside... Also, despite its big promo at that time, of being hand-made with top-notch materials, we saw dozens of very low price bad quality capacitors in and on the side boards, not to mention other materials... Ok, the transformers were excellent monsters...

CONCLUSION: Who the hell thinks that really fine quality should cost a fortune? And, why knowledge and honest info should be a fatal enemy of marketing? I'm sorry, but -especially today's- marketeers don't pull my respect any more. Not at all. Alan once admitted that reasonable profit and honest making with transparent info for the customer are the keys of long life and excellent tradition for a firm, like his. And he's going strong and loyal with this wise principle, and on and on... Hope you'll agree and look at cables or any kind of accessories with this scepticism as well.

Thanks for reading,
Cheers from Athens,
Thanos

[musicquest]

Interesting conclusions.
In my system through the years, I've had Kimber, Mogami and now DNM. Through my system I can easily detect which cable is which, and so can all my friends.
But I would agree with you there is a lot of snake oil out there.

[Gan CK]

Hi,

What we did here as a test was this:

- I put my Kimbers 8TCs (with WBT bananas and spades) on to my McIntosh MA 6500 and SHL5s, (have 2 pairs so we went both single & biwire testing) and gave some listening.

- Then immediately switched to speaker B output of the Mac, having at the same time connected a pair of wires (German origin) made from silverplated copper, not so thick, which I bought from the local electronics store (mainly professional audio suppliers for d.js, etc.) cut out from the reel, priced for about 12euros/m. (that was the expensive one). Connection was with bare wire to the amp, spades on the SHL5s.

- We went several times with listening, blind test also with a couple of experienced friends on the sofa, listening & not looking, trying to guess which was which...

- To remind everybody, Kimbers with WBT connectors cost 4-5 times as much...

- We also combined the same procedure with KIMBER HERO and KCAG interconnects, against some humble ones from Media Markt (I don't even recall the brand).

To our surprise and -dare say- embarassment, differences were almost non-existing, with a total agreement. So, I leave thoughts and afterthoughts to you all, because after 30 years of being a music lover ( I gave up audio-philismus at my 30's), I've seen an ocean of lies from marketing, also an ocean of empty pockets of those thinking that mega bucks can buy fidelity.

And, last but not least, a very bitter experience from a close friend, until recently a proud owner of Marc Levinson (pre 27 and power 23.5) separates, for which a fortune was spent back in early 90's. When opened for repairs and servicing by a friend technician (an excellent and golden handed electronic engineer with not at all expensive fees), we saw Motorola transistors that had white paint covering the phrase "Made in Mexico" in their centers... Feels like the maker would feel guilty if his made in the U.S.A. gem would bare the word "Mexico" inside... Also, despite its big promo at that time, of being hand-made with top-notch materials, we saw dozens of very low price bad quality capacitors in and on the side boards, not to mention other materials... Ok, the transformers were excellent monsters...

CONCLUSION: Who the hell thinks that really fine quality should cost a fortune? And, why knowledge and honest info should be a fatal enemy of marketing? I'm sorry, but -especially today's- marketeers don't pull my respect any more. Not at all. Alan once admitted that reasonable profit and honest making with transparent info for the customer are the keys of long life and excellent tradition for a firm, like his. And he's going strong and loyal with this wise principle, and on and on... Hope you'll agree and look at cables or any kind of accessories with this scepticism as well.

Thanks for reading,
Cheers from Athens,
Thanos

Talking about what you mentioned above, a friend of mine brought his sgd3,000 Siltech interconnect to my place to let me try in the hope that i'll buy it over from him. After we compared his Siltech to my sgd30 QED interconnect, we found very subtle differences (if any) between the 2 cables. We repeated the comparison at least 5 times just to make sure but the results spoke for itself. In the end, he scratched his head & said that my Harbeth SHL-5 & the rest of my ancillaries were just not revealing enough to show up the differences between the 2 cables (100 times difference in price). To stay polite, i agreed with him but i was telling myself "what a relief" otherwise i have to burn a hole in my pocket just to buy his SILTECH.

[Thanos]

Talking about what you mentioned above, a friend of mine brought his sgd3,000 Siltech interconnect to my place to let me try in the hope that i'll buy it over from him. After we compared his Siltech to my sgd30 QED interconnect, we found very subtle differences (if any) between the 2 cables. We repeated the comparison at least 5 times just to make sure but the results spoke for itself. In the end, he scratched his head & said that my Harbeth SHL-5 & the rest of my ancillaries were just not revealing enough to show up the differences between the 2 cables (100 times difference in price). To stay polite, i agreed with him but i was telling myself "what a relief" otherwise i have to burn a hole in my pocket just to buy his SILTECH.

Well, Dear Gan,

as far as your (and mine) SHL5s and the rest apparatus "is not revealing", I suggest instead of changing them together with cables, and spending 200.000 bucks or so, we'd better buy a new flat as an investment! Then rent it and have extra income! (Ha..Ha....)!
I wish you enjoy your beauties as they are, getting involved with your music, and not with the machines that reproduce it!

Cheers,
Thanos

[Gan CK]

Well, Dear Gan,

as far as your (and mine) SHL5s and the rest apparatus "is not revealing", I suggest instead of changing them together with cables, and spending 200.000 bucks or so, we'd better buy a new flat as an investment! Then rent it and have extra income! (Ha..Ha....)!
I wish you enjoy your beauties as they are, getting involved with your music, and not with the machines that reproduce it!

Cheers,
Thanos

Well said Thanos. Can't agree more with you on that. Music matters most indeed! :)