Russ andrews

[ianmacd]

Law of diminishing returns springs to mind. Also have to agree with Rawhide on the odyessey (although Irun 2 x 2 not 4) as they are excellent for the price. Cheap cables are just not worth the money on a decent system.

I also never bothered with mains conditioners (or overpriced power cables) as in my mind, Arcam (or meridian, linn, whomever is your preferred designer) would not spend years crafting an extremly well performing unit to only skimp on the PSU. As for weight, my P7 amp weighs 31Kg so it doesn't get moved very often at all.

Ian.

 

[Couleddie]

I remember the guys at my hifi store saying they reckon around 10% of your system cost on interconnects and speaker cable. I don't really know how accurate that is as i've always believed that cost is not a factor in how good a system is. If you're into good sound then you know yourself when you've got what you personally want from your system. I've always been happy with Nordost. I must be happy now because, with the exception of an offer I couldn't refuse on an Arcam FMJ CD player, i've been tinkering-free for five years now. Lucky really as residing in Skintsville does not equate itself to worthwhile hifi upgrades.

Some of that stuff in the Russ Andrews catalogue though!! A joke or what. I went as far as changing the socket to one of those ones with coated terminals - basically a bog standard 2 gang MK switchless with a Russ Andrews logo. I'm sure on my overloaded ring main that's really going to help. Although I swear I could detect a much deeper rumble of low frequency response on Beethoven's 5th last night. Yeah, as if...!!

End of the day, the things you CAN'T upgrade or buy new are those cunning devices attached to your head which are the most essential piece of kit for dedicated music lovers - EARS!!

 

[Couleddie]

And no matter what you do, a recording is never going to sound like a live band performance.I'm glad to say we are switching to digital amplifiers (Class D) these days. So much lighter and efficient with small switchmode power supplies.

Agreed but i'm happy for that. As much as I love the atmosphere and musical indulgence of a live performance i'm also very much a lover of a well produced studio recording where the artistry is put ahead of technological interference. That means proper instruments and analog tape. But please, not vinyl - I hate it. Too bad everything today is Pro-tools and compression.

 

[ianmacd]

I remember the guys at my hifi store saying they reckon around 10% of your system cost on interconnects and speaker cable. I don't really know how accurate that is as i've always believed that cost is not a factor in how good a system is.

People always said (for 2ch) 1/3 for source, 1/3 for amplification and 1/3 for speakers with 10% on cables. Never understood that cos thats like 110% of your budget

I must be happy now because, with the exception of an offer I couldn't refuse on an Arcam FMJ CD player, i've been tinkering-free for five years now.

CD36 or CD37?

Ian.

 

[Couleddie]

People always said (for 2ch) 1/3 for source, 1/3 for amplification and 1/3 for speakers with 10% on cables. Never understood that cos thats like 110% of your budget CD36 or CD37?

Ian.

CD36. Got it for

 

[bob]

The combined weight of the Musical Fidelity kw550 is about 10 stone!

/quote]

i want 1 of those amps



bob

 

[ianmacd]

CD36. Got it for

 

[Couleddie]

I have a CD36 too and it is great.

Applaud Smiley

 

[Robojin]

Used to sell HiFi in London's West End in the early Eighties

the 30/30/30/10 rule was common although I'd always go with 40% on the speakers

However that aside some rules we used to follow

If the customer likes the product and you have plenty in stock then "perfect choice sir, you are obviously an audio enthusiast",

If the customer thinks over priced cables/gadget will make his system sound better then he is absolutely correct, and I'm absolutely happy to bank the 65% mark-up

 

[Andy™]

, and I'm absolutely happy to bank the 65% mark-up

If there willing to pay, then why not

 

[ianmacd]

These debates about cables (esp. mains cables) get very heated on the av forums. People need to accept, as Andy says, it's their money and if they want to spend it then that is up to them.

 

[Andy™]

and they also need to accept that if i dont think its good enough to install, i aint gonna install it!

 

[rawhide]

CD36. Got it for

 

[Pyro]

Audiophool cable and connectors are all well and good for those that have more money than braincells, but it is a surefire guarantee that audiophools would blow a mental fuse if they could see the bog-standard wire, cable, industry-standard connectors and electronic components that go into professional audio equipment that is used in recording studios - the places that audiophools probably don't realise are where their music is sourced from.

As said before (and probably not the last time either) if all the many hundreds (thousands even) of metres of cable and standard parts are counted in the recording process, what difference will 10 metres of audiophool cable at home make? - Nowt, zip, nada, zero. It's too late to make a difference by the time the CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/vinyl masters have been made for the pressing plant!

Moving swiftly on to the mains powering of audio equipment.... It does seem a tad strange that standard wiring practices in professional studios, which do follow the Regs, are deemed good enough for hanging half a million quid's worth of mixing console and a hundred other bits of kit off it, yet standard mains wiring is not good enough for domestic hi-fi.

Q. What quality of cable should be used in a home hi-fi and at what price?

A. No worse technically and no more costly that what is used in a professional studio!

A question for Ianmcd:

Are the AV forums populated by professionals from the industry, or domestic users?

 

[Badger]

People always said (for 2ch) 1/3 for source, 1/3 for amplification and 1/3 for speakers with 10% on cables. Never understood that cos thats like 110% of your budget CD36 or CD37?

Ian.

109% actually :^O :coat

 

[ianmacd]

109% actually :^O :coat

eh?

 

[ianmacd]

A question for Ianmcd:Are the AV forums populated by professionals from the industry, or domestic users?

Grrr MAC!!!!

Anyway, 99% domestic users at a guess but then there are designers too (for example, Arcam's staff including John Dawson).

I will agree that mains cabling is fantasy land BUT interconnects and speaker cable are not.

Ian.

 

[Apache]

109% actually :^O :coat

no 1/3 = 33.3

33.3+33.3+33.3+10=109.9 which in whole numbers

=110%

 

[Andy™]

People always said (for 2ch) 1/3 for source, 1/3 for amplification and 1/3 for speakers with 10% on cables. Never understood that cos thats like 110% of your budget

is it no 10% of the 1/3rd for speakers? (which bright AV bloke thought of mixing % and fractions!)

 

[ianmacd]

No as its not just speaker cables but interconnects too.

Mixing % and fractions is rather dumb.