What's Best in Mid-Tier Cables

Salectric said:

I have not heard the Cardas but I am quite familiar with the Belden 1192a. That particular Belden cable has a neutral tonal balance, good dynamics and fairly good detail. It falls short in two areas---the bass is thick and lacks detail compared to the midrange and highs, and the overall resolution while good is not equal to my Audio Note cables or my DIY cables made with very old Western electric wire. I have tried the Belden with 6 or 7 different RCA plugs and both shielded and unshielded. All single-ended.

Despite my quibbles, the Belden 1192a is a stone-cold bargain in the cable world.

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mtemur said:

I recommend Belden 8402 with top of the line carbon Furutech plugs. Yes the plugs are pricey but cable is very cheap to balance it and overall result is very, very good.

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DaveC said:

The new Furutech XLR plugs are a huge improvement and now at the very top of the heap, I don't think it's possible to do better. Furutech implemented many improvements. NCF RCAs are great too, now in the same league as WBT silver. Furutech are a bit quieter but any differences are very subtle.

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Ron Resnick said:

That's a very different question.

My post responded narrowly to a comment suggesting that imperviousness to noise is the most important objective of a cable. My post explored how imperviousness to noise can be achieved quite inexpensively and comprehensively.

I have never written that I personally believe that imperviousness to noise is the most important objective of a cable.

I have replaced some of my Cardas Clear Beyond RCA interconnects with Cardas Clear Reflection RCA interconnects specially ordered with rhodium-free connectors.

I replaced my 47' run of Belden 1192A interconnects with Cardas Clear Reflection RCA interconnects specially ordered with rhodium-free connectors.

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