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Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Are shielded cables declasse?

Ever since my dad put together a hifi system--one of the first, back in the late 1940's--I have always taken it for granted that shielded cable must be used for interconnects. That's what he used between the Pilotuner and the David Bogen DB10 amp; and from the record changer to the little RCA preamp; and from the preamp to the Bogen. It didn't even have an insulating jacket. The shield was right on top.

Oh, I knew that you could use a twisted pair--but if your stereo was any good, you wanted shielded cable.

For years, I have made my own interconnects. What's wrong with RG-59 terminated with pretty gold-plated RCAs with fancy coil-spring strain reliefs? Well, I've tried microphone cable too. And not forgetting the Canare cable I eventually swithed to. But now, all this is apparently anathema . . .

In reading, recently, I have gottten the impression that shielded cable is passe. Old fashioned. Sonically inferior. Now, we must have tri-braided cable, or something woven by a zen master--and definitely NOT shielded.

IS there anything to this? I have a pair of half-meter Kimber PBJs. They run from the CD player to the preamp. Good, but I'm not sure I hear the difference between them and my DIY microphone cable interconnects. Or is the Monster cable (shielded) between the preamp and power amp obscuring the subtle superiority of the Kimber?

Is shielding a No-no?


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Topic - Are shielded cables declasse? - robfoto@sbcglobal.net 21:50:32 05/30/08 (29)

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