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Tying it together

— By Paul McGowan —
I would be remiss if I didn't spend a few words on tying our system together with cables: power, interconnect, speaker. I remember when cables were an afterthought. Zip cord and cheezy RCA drek did the trick until we realized they mattered. My first encounter with cables came from one of the founders of Schiit Audio, Mike Moffat. Mike worked as a tech at a California stereo shop called Absolute Audio and Stan and I showed up to pitch our first product, the phono stage. I think this must have been around 1974. Mike gave it a listen and was impressed but before we left he turned our world upside down with an A/B comparison between zip cord and Polk Sound wire (then called Cobra Cable - Litz wire) on a pair of Quad electrostats. Mike wouldn't tell us what he was doing. "Listen to this—now listen to the same thing after I make a change. Hear any difference?" Yes, and it was life changing. Literally. Cables matter and how much you spend on them really depends on your budget. During this series, I have emphasized putting limited funds where they matter most. The fundamentals are critical: speakers, source, AC power, amplification. Somewhere in the mix, you're going to need to get good cables—and they don't have to cost a fortune. But, they matter. A lot. If I had to make a recommendation of the order of importance, it would look something like this:
  • Speaker cables
  • Audio interconnects (and always go balanced when the equipment permits it)
  • Digital
  • Power
Get those right and you'll build a strong foundation supporting the time, effort, and expense you've gone through building your system. It all matters.

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