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Post by monkumonku on Nov 1, 2009 15:56:48 GMT -5
Just wondering what people in the lounge think - between the two series for the single RCA cables, would there be a difference in sound quality or is it mainly that the two have a difference in build quality? I wonder if it is worthwhile stepping up to the X's purely from a sound standpoint.. thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2009 17:08:03 GMT -5
great question . . I am in the near final stages of determining just that and will post my findings at the conclusion of the test but I am also interested in what others who have both think.
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Post by artiek on Nov 1, 2009 17:24:24 GMT -5
Try a couple sets and hear for yourself. I'm one of the wackos who believe cables CAN make a difference.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2009 17:31:16 GMT -5
Try a couple sets and hear for yourself. I'm one of the wackos who believe cables CAN make a difference. I'm right with ya there, Artie . . ;D
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Post by monkumonku on Nov 1, 2009 17:39:56 GMT -5
Try a couple sets and hear for yourself. I'm one of the wackos who believe cables CAN make a difference. That is true, I should try both.. do the cables come with the 30 day trial period like the rest of the Emo gear?
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Post by stillearning on Nov 2, 2009 1:06:56 GMT -5
Haven't tried both but i do have the x-series cable's connecting my AVR to my xpa5. Great cable's at a great price if ya ask me ;D
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Post by funboy on Nov 3, 2009 10:29:05 GMT -5
There shouldn't be any difference in sound, only build quality. Cables can make a difference, but only when talking about very cheap cables vs decent ones. I think emotiva would agree with me on that one.
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ray
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Post by ray on Nov 11, 2009 15:04:22 GMT -5
I am with funboy on this one.
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Post by briank on Nov 11, 2009 19:36:06 GMT -5
Ok Rather. . . .still waiting on that Ultra series vs X-series interconnect review. Let's have it. I'd "rather" not wait any longer. ;D Yeah, bad joke I know. I have both cables but I've been too lazy so far to do a comparison myself, plus why bother since you do a much better job than me. I will say the X-series wins the beauty contest "hands down". The ultra series is a little 'homely', kinda reminds me of my ex-wife.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2009 20:34:36 GMT -5
Ok Rather. . . .still waiting on that Ultra series vs X-series interconnect review. Let's have it. I'd "rather" not wait any longer. ;D Yeah, bad joke I know. I have both cables but I've been too lazy so far to do a comparison myself, plus why bother since you do a much better job than me. I will say the X-series wins the beauty contest "hands down". The ultra series is a little 'homely', kinda reminds me of my ex-wife. First of all I appreciate the kind words. Truly I do. Most of those Emotivians who have disagreed with my findings have been at respectful. I have no problem with forum members that cast a disagreeing eye (or ear, as the case may be). That is the great part of our hobby. But there are those that question my observations with sarcasm and poor form simply because they have already made up there minds and are quite convinced they're right (sorry, Geddy . . ) I honestly just don't have time for that in my life right now. It really is pointless to engage in debates with people who tell you what heard or saw (or did not see or hear, for that matter) and know better than you do. They cannot be bothered with the fact that they weren't there to experience it. Science is on their side so they just know better than you. Period. This is why I find the Polk and AVS forums so obtuse sometimes and tend to not contribute to those forums. Life is too short to deal with those people. I am not a professional in this hobby nor have I claimed as such (quite the contrary) but I am fortunate to have very good ears (touch and taste as well). Sometimes I hear major differences (like between the Yamaha DSP A1 driving my speakers in comparison with the XPA-5) while sometimes its extremely subtle but I would never report a difference if I didn't hear/see one. I'm sorry to say I don't have an active imagination. Like someone recently told me: a discussion regarding cables is like religion and politics (or bi amping, eh? ). That made me laugh and its so true. If you want my observations, I will PM you when I'm done (I stopped mid way after my power cable thread. thanks.
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Post by briank on Nov 12, 2009 7:44:43 GMT -5
I totally understand. That's why I pretty much quit posting my opinions on gear myself too. It just not worth it as you have to be prepared to defend yourself every time. It's a shame that it's come to that. And by all means, please pm me with your findings when you have time. Thanks.
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Post by nativefx on Nov 12, 2009 14:28:54 GMT -5
Hey Rather, I'd be interested in getting a PM of your findings as well. Waiting for the UMC-1 to come out to pair with the XPA-5 that's been sitting around for awhile! Thanks.
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Post by jam2001 on Nov 16, 2009 15:48:45 GMT -5
I'm interested in your findings as well.
I'd like to encourage you guys to continue posting your opinions and not worry about what others think. Respond to legitimate questions, ignore the rest!
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Post by sounder on Nov 16, 2009 16:39:40 GMT -5
I believe that from a SQ standpoint, there isnt much difference. But, when you pay for the higher build quality, you can feel comfortable that they will last much longer, be less likely to get a "sketchy" connection, and won't be as susceptible to problems from things moving around or being disconnected and reconnected.
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Post by briank on Nov 29, 2009 22:52:00 GMT -5
Ok, I know discussing the effects of interconnects on SQ is almost as risky as discussing politics, but I still felt I should share my opinions on my testing tonight. I've just spent two hours comparing the Ultra, the X-series, and an old pair of Audioquest interconnects. With the help of my neighbor doing the switching, one interconnect was run from the cd player left channel and the different one on the right channel directly to the UPA-2 and I used the gain control on the amp for volume. I have found that for me this has been the best way and often only way for me to tell a difference in sound from interconnects as it allows me to go quickly back and forth in front of each speaker for quick comparison which is necessary as the differences in interconnects is usually very subtle. Regarding the audioquest cable, I'm not sure what model this is as I picked it up from a local audio salon that went out of business about 8 years ago. The cables were in a big box of demo cables with no packaging. The cables are dark blue with no markings on the cable itself, audioquest printed on the plugs, and they have magnets encased in red plastic attached to each cable as this was the cable "fad" at the time. Now for the listening, I'm not going to get into a long description as to the sound of each but the difference can best be described as the winning cable being smoother, maybe a tad fuller and less harsh, and with a tad more clarity to the vocals. Last place, the audioquest, it only took less than a minute to realize it's sound was harsher than both of the Emotiva cables. 2nd place, the Ultra series, the difference here was extremely subtle and I'm sure some people would not be able to tell the difference even in an a/b comparison as I spent a long time comparing these two. The funny thing is after about 10 minutes of comparison, I declared the left channel the winner, but just to be fair, and without knowing which cable that was, I asked my neighbor to switch the cables thinking ok the right channel should now sound better, but no, the left channel speaker was still the smoother and fuller sounding? I thought great, my left speaker just sounds better than my right or my amp left channel sounds better, now my test is screwed. However, after questioning my neighbor I found out that he had switched them at the cd player and not at the amp so I was still listening the the same cable on the left channel as before. Whew! So then he switched them at the amp side and much to my relief the better sound now came from the right speaker. At that point, I finally get to peek at the connections and see I chose the X-series as the winner. So my final conclusion, there is very noticeable differences among interconnects but the difference between the U and the X is Extremely subtle, with that said, there is still enough of a difference that I'm going to spend the extra money and go all X-series with my connections.
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Post by stillearning on Nov 29, 2009 23:30:49 GMT -5
Thank's for the follow up! I must say that is a very interesting method you used to do the comparrison TBH i think that is the best way that it could be done! For those who say that cable's are cable's and there are NO difference's between cable's i'm sorry to say but you are wrong! There is always a change between cable's. It could be a positive change or a negative change. A big change or a small change. This you will have to decide for yourself as everyone has different ear's, gear, room size/acoustic's, etc, etc.... Now: Because i beleive that cable's make a difference should i go out and buy the most expensive one's i can find? HELL NO! lol If you have a good quality cable you will be EXTREMELY satisfied! In my opinion it is best to purchase good quality cable in bulk and terminate it yourself so that you can get a better quality cable for your money If you are not into the DIY stuff Emotiva provide's high quality/performance cable's at VERY reasonable price's and they will definately put a smile on your face for not much money
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Post by bfisher on Nov 30, 2009 9:27:58 GMT -5
thanks for the honest opinion. Nice to hear from someone who took the time to test!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 11:43:33 GMT -5
thanks for the honest opinion. Nice to hear from someone who took the time to test! +1 Nice feedback on your blind cable test. Thanks Brian.
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Post by briank on Nov 30, 2009 18:49:10 GMT -5
Thanks guys, I plan on buying some Blue Jean and X-series speaker cables for Christmas and comparing both of them to my current Tara Labs cables using the same method. Also, If anyone else has any suggestions for any other "financially friendly" cables that might be superior to these please let me know.
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edmondwolfman
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Post by edmondwolfman on Dec 2, 2009 12:28:47 GMT -5
I can't speak to the difference but I wanted to chime in and say that I received some X series RCA and S/PDIF cables yesterday and while I haven't had time to hook them up yet they are very nice and very well built cables. I am going to slowly replace the wide variety (radio shack, monoprice, tartan, monster, blue jean, etc.) of cables in my system and the quality I see in the X series has made my decision easy that I might have all emo cables (probably later than sooner) at some point but I will watch these boards to see what everyone's thoughts are on the different cables after using them for a while
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