VDH snowline vs. QED silver anniv.

both would be equally good IMHO the cheper of the two may be a better choice (But to be on the safe side, try to see if you can check them in your system..)

Cables cannot give you more than 5% improvements..so go with one and then focus upon the component which could affect the sound by as much as 50% ie the room !

from what I have heard differences in cables get shown only in more resolving systems at those cost level , I have a Transparent musicwave plus speaker cable and i am not sure if there really is a diffence from the Goertz MI2 or even a monster cable I used (the difference in cost are pretty significant)

BTW would like to point out that my rig(which is not that high end) but have very resolving speakers...shows cable differences(interconnect and spkr cables) very easily. It shows me diff's between transparent, vdh, vivanco, jamo, aurix and the lamington road stuff, all of which I own.

Manek.

In the end as you say, it depends mostly on the speakers. but I sincerely doubt if the Wharfedale Diamonds could be that resolving !

Also to me ICs do show a marginal difference (Good or Bad I could never figure out) , but i could never concentrate enough to qualify a speaker cable differences !

So I dont fall either into the Cables-Make-A-Difference group or the No-They-Dont group I am more into the It-doesnt-matter group and would rather focus on some minor room treatments for tonal quality !

Some cables may sound warmer(kind of softer) and others more analytical(kind of harsher)...that may be a good way to judge what you prefer.
I like them warmer.

Jeeves schrieb:

Some cables may sound warmer(kind of softer) and others more analytical(kind of harsher)...that may be a good way to judge what you prefer. I like them warmer.

Next i'll read that the cables themselves radiate sound!!

Those are the active cables!!!!! haha

Jeeves schrieb:

Those are the active cables!!!!! haha ;)

heheh...good one..

I agree with Arj on this one. Cables do make a significant difference if you have very resolving speakers. The diamonds are an overall performer (decent entry level audiophile speakers) but not resolving enough to warrant high cost cables. I used to have diamond series speakers and the entry level 4PR from kimber made a significant difference from generic OFC cable. Anything beyond that didn’t make much of a difference. The diamonds have a slightly shrill tweeter (not bright but slightly shrill) and the 4pr helped to tame that and resulted in cleaner sound and tighter bass.

square_wave schrieb:

The diamonds have a slightly shrill tweeter (not bright but slightly shrill) and the 4pr helped to tame that and resulted in cleaner sound and tighter bass.

Square, I have the diamond 8.1. The tweeter isn't really shrill. In fact, I feel it's a tad blanketed. But then again maybe it's because of my source. A Cyber Home DVD player, which is considered "one of the best bargains" in the US of A.

The fun and the mystery in our hobby is to experiment. If you can get hold of diff cables try them to check if you can hear any differences. If you can take the best you like. If you cant keep the ones you have!
For me some sound different imediately while others kind of grow on you.

When will I stop being 'a bit shy'??!!

Hey,
I had the 8.4. I don’t want you to confuse bright with shrill. Most people do. Wharfedale diamonds are actually on the darker side with it’s soft dome tweeter. But if you have good upstream components and keep the speakers at ear level and play slightly loud you may find the high details slightly shrill instead of clean. If you want to know the difference, compare it with the quad 11l bookshelf from the same company. That is why the 11l costs more. I experimented and found the kimber 4pr improving the highs for the better.

dude!

save the money for a good cd player. the improvement with the cables will be marginal compared to the cost u shell out in ur current setup. or use the money for room treatment. if u can get the wifey to agree that is ah the eternal balancing act we all have to go through...

While it is true you get better benefits with better source etc….you won’t be able to hear the benefits without some decent interconnects/spk cables. The trick to good audio is balance and synergy.