RCA Interconnects

 

Starbucks
Unregistered guest
Hi Friends,

For NAD fans and expert, I am looking for a pair of interconnect to connect my NAD C370amp to the NAD cd player(player yet to buy :-). Any recommendations based on experince or audition?

Thanks broo....



(this threat may not belongs to this forum)
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 5691
Registered: Dec-03
Acoustic Research cables from best buy will work well. Do not spend too much money on interconnects.

Read
http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/cables.htm
 

Silver Member
Username: Sun_king

Leeds, West Yorkshire UK

Post Number: 338
Registered: Mar-04
You have on one side cable believers and on the other, cable doubters :-)
I'm a firm believer but don't go mad, if you're spending more than 20% of your equipment cost on cables then you're spending too much. My system runs at 16%. Some cables and ICs are warm and some revealing/bright. Copper is good for bass and taming shrill treble whilst silver is the opposite, extends the treble and sacrifices some bass. Silver can tame bloated bass. Then you get silver plated copper which is supposed to do everything but so many cables 'sound' different yet use the same materials. You're best off reading some reviews and preferably testing some at home.
 

Silver Member
Username: Black_math

Post Number: 320
Registered: Dec-03
Ask your NAD dealer what they use.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Musicluvr

Post Number: 44
Registered: Apr-05
Starbucks,

I have a NAD C372 amp and a C542 CD player and I've been swapping between Kimber Hero and Audioquest King Cobra interconnects. Both work well, but they each have their own character.

The Kimber Heros are warm and slightly rolled off on the high frequencies. But, they still retain a lot of high frequency detail. The rolled off highs are more than made up for with exceptional bass performance. I did not really understand what bass detail was until I used these cables. Sound staging is good with these cables, but they do better with depth than the width.

The AQ King Cobras have a clean, lush sound compared to the Heros with no HF rolloff. The standout characteristic with the King Cobras is a wide and natural sound stage that tapers off well beyond the sides of the speakers like a vignette. In comparison, the Heros sound a little boxed in on the sides.

I have also used Phoenix Gold, Radio Shack, Monster Cable, and the freebie interconnects that come with CD players. There are slight differences in these cables, but in my opinion, none of them come anywhere near the performance of the Kimber Heros or the AQ King Cobras.

You must have your system set up well before you will hear differences in interconnect cables. Set up issues such as speaker positioning and room acoustics, if not optimal, will easily mask the sound quality improvements of high quality interconnects. Make sure you have the basics in order before spending a lot on cables.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Musicluvr

Post Number: 45
Registered: Apr-05
Starbucks,

Another potential upgrade is the jumpers between the pre-out and the amp-in jacks. I replaced mine with Audioquest jumpers and got a good improvement in sound quality for all of my input sources.

http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl?sc=7&category=1144&search=audioquest%20jumper
 

Starbucks
Unregistered guest
Thanks everyone for the valuable feedback.

ctanaka: the Kimber Hero and Audioquest King Cobra interconnects u mentioned cost how much?

Friends, do u all heard of Belden 1694A interconnect. This is an unbalance interconnect. Any feedback? i know that this is a budget interconnect :-)
 

Bronze Member
Username: Musicluvr

Post Number: 46
Registered: Apr-05
Starbucks,

Kimber Heros list for about $150, and the AQ King Cobras list for about $175 for 1 meter pairs. Both are popular cables so look for them on Audiogon for about 60-75% of that. Resell them on Audiogon if you find that they don't suit you. I recommend getting 1 meter or longer. 1/2 meter is generally too short to be used in any configuration other than with your components stacked one on top of the other or closely spaced in a rack.
 

Gold Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 1476
Registered: Feb-04
Ask your NAD dealer what they use.

And they might happen to use the brand and model they make the most profit on! ;-)
 

Starbucks
Unregistered guest
friend, thank you for the helps.

You guys heard of Canare cable? Any comments?

I have just bought a pair of Canare bi-wire speaker cable...have yet to receive it. After i test it, wil give feedback to u guys.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 6174
Registered: Dec-03
Canare...very nice, well constructed, top-notch materials, great reputation.
 

Starbucks
Unregistered guest
Berny,
You haev experience in which Canare model? pls recommend me.
 

Anonymous
 
I like van den hul cables myself especially the used ones on ebay. Smoothness seems to be their main trait. Agree with upgrading the jumpers too.
 

New member
Username: Starbucks

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-06
Finally, get my user name Starbucks registered.

Guys, sorry for my stupidity, can someone explain what makes the improvement if we upgrade the jumper. Thanks.
 

Anonymous
 
Well the jumpers that come with the units are ok quality wise but I found using another interconnect seems to eek out a small but worthwhile improvement. There are sellers on ebay and a few manufacturers who sell short cables specifically for this purpose although there is nothing wrong at all in using two sets of the same interconnect. Everyones mileage seems to vary depending on their kit so if you can find a dealer who will loan you an extra pair then great.

As previously suggested don't go overboard on cables as they will only provide small improvements per extra $$$.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Musicluvr

Post Number: 48
Registered: Apr-05
The pre-out and amp-in jacks serve the same purpose as the output and input jacks of separate preamp and amplifier components except that with the C370 the preamp and amp are in the same box. If you had separate preamp and amplifier components you would have to use a set of cables to connect them together. Listen for improvements in sound quality similar to what you would get from using upgraded cables between your CD player and the preamp. The cool thing about swapping out the jumbers is that any improvement you do get affects all of your input components, CD player, DVD player, tuner, turntable, etc.
 

New member
Username: Fatelvis

Post Number: 7
Registered: Feb-06
What a load. Makes me doubt the entire "high end" category, as cables are as snake oil as it gets. Silver doesn emphasise treble, and copper doesn't help bass. It's in your head. Silver looks "harsh" and "cool" -- so you transfer this to what you are hearing. Rubbish.

I can tell a clear difference between Arcam's CD73 and CD192. But I can't tell a damned bit of difference between a $20 pair of Pro-Flex and $125 Kimber Heros. I A-B'd for an hour just last night trying to tell. When I though I had it figured out I had my wife randomly change between sources (the CD73 has dual outs, which makes testing cables easy). After 10 "guesses", I picked the more expensive cable 4 times. LOL. If I tried to return the cable the salesman would claim "200 hours break-in". Hmm... 7 day return policy = 168 hours. Interesting.
 

New member
Username: Fatelvis

Post Number: 8
Registered: Feb-06
P.S. NAD CD players come with a cheap interconnect. Are they trying to tell you something?
 

Silver Member
Username: My_rantz

Australia

Post Number: 302
Registered: Nov-05
My NAD C542 came with no interconnects. Maybe they are trying to tell me something.
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