Bryston Interconects and cables advice required

clive101 · « **Reply #20 on:** 15 Oct 2016, 10:10 am »

I have read all the replies with great interest, thank you for all you help support and welcome greatings.
I only need xlr balanced and speaker wire advice along with a usb lead for the Melco
Looking at the advice so far it would seem around £500.00 for a set of balanced XLR and say £2500 for 3mt of speaker wire or should I be paying more..? Perhaps not..?
Are chord, audioquest and other brands similar in price performance bang for buck..?
£ and $ are about the same when purchasing in the UK.
Buy the way does any one have the Melco how does it compare with the Bryston bp2 perhaps I should start a new topic ..?

schmidtmike76 · « **Reply #21 on:** 15 Oct 2016, 12:51 pm »

Hello Cyrus friend Bryston cable is worth a try. The price point here I find it's more than adequate. I know your from the UK so the prices going there may be higher but if the price looks familiar to what your spending I can say there really good value

martydmnt · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Oct 2016, 12:47 am »

Quote from: clive101 on 15 Oct 2016, 10:10 am

Looking at the advice so far it would seem around £500.00 for a set of balanced XLR and say £2500 for 3mt of speaker wire or should I be paying more..? Perhaps not..?

Just for reference, the 40' of Mogami W3103 I use for speaker wire cost $130 state-side.

Bryston's web site shows $500 for a 10' pair of speaker wire terminated with bananas.

FWIW, with the prices you're quoting, make sure you can try in-home and compare with other options. £2000 pounds can buy a lot of music.

maplegrovemusic · « **Reply #23 on:** 16 Oct 2016, 02:04 am »

Bryston is not shy about telling what wire they use . I forget what it is at the moment . I do remember looking it up and not easy to get in the states . It is a European country of origin i believe . You could save a few dollars i assume by terminating yourself . How about Supra cables . Pretty common over where you live ?

keet360 · « **Reply #24 on:** 16 Oct 2016, 02:57 pm »

I use Van Damme Tour Grade Classic XKE Microphone cable terminated with Neutrik XLR. http://www.van-damme.com/13.html. I think I paid about $40 for a 1m pair from an online vendor out of the UK.

maplegrovemusic · « **Reply #25 on:** 16 Oct 2016, 04:02 pm »

Quote from: keet360 on 16 Oct 2016, 02:57 pm

I use Van Damme Tour Grade Classic XKE Microphone cable terminated with Neutrik XLR. http://www.van-damme.com/13.html. I think I paid about $40 for a 1m pair from an online vendor out of the UK.

Thats the one i was thinking of . Are you in the states ? If so how long did it take to get ? Thanks

keet360 · « **Reply #26 on:** 16 Oct 2016, 04:26 pm »

I'm in Canada and it took about a week. They store lets you choose the connector, cable color and cable length.
It's really nice cable. Its flexible but does not kink, it feels durable, and has a nice rubbery texture to it.

clive101 · « **Reply #27 on:** 23 Oct 2016, 01:59 pm »

Dear All,
Thank you for the advice, I since have a demo with and major manufacture and found the more you pay the sound improves, until you get the upper levels and then the change is minimal in my opinion.
The high medium level or low high end is where I am at the moment.

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #28 on:** 25 Oct 2016, 04:56 pm »

TAS Interviewer: "In a field that is overcrowded with competing designs and technical hype, what advice would you give consumers when choosing cables for their systems"?

George Cardas responds: "The Internet is the great leveler of all that is hype. I would say the answer is clear: simply listen and feel, share what you have experienced with the world, keep your eyes open. There really aren’t many different conductor designs, and there are many more people trying to hop on bandwagons than there are actual wagons. Musicality can be achieved in the simplest of systems if they are well focused. Work on focusing a nearfield system first—it will serve as your best tool in the end. If cost is an issue, start with simpler straightforward designs that focus on good symmetry in construction and excellent materials. Realize that the best design is not necessarily the most expensive design and that the things you are looking for will be found in the relationship of the music, the manufacturers, and their components. Look for products that are born of the passion for the sound of music".

Pundamilia · « **Reply #29 on:** 26 Oct 2016, 02:44 am »

Sounds like an utterance of the Oracle of Delphi

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #30 on:** 26 Oct 2016, 01:22 pm »

Quote from: Pundamilia on 26 Oct 2016, 02:44 am

Sounds like an utterance of the Oracle of Delphi

There's truth in it, though. If musicality is the goal, who better to design gear and cabling than musicians?

clive101 · « **Reply #31 on:** 26 Oct 2016, 06:25 pm »

I have listened and there was a difference.
I will be having a final test after the equipment gets delivered and burned in and will get back with a full report and share what my ears hear.

clive101 · « **Reply #32 on:** 22 Apr 2017, 11:37 am »

I thought I would update the post.

I have tried a number of cables and decided on a more expensive loom.

I did try some cables that music professions use but my ears and system I did not find what I was looking for.

I have discovered that mains power does need some conditioning so addressed this with even more improvements.

post a reply if you want more detail.

Marius · « **Reply #33 on:** 22 Apr 2017, 12:53 pm »

Quote from: CanadianMaestro on 26 Oct 2016, 01:22 pm

There's truth in it, though. If musicality is the goal, who better to design gear and cabling than musicians?

I'd be tempted to respond a 'hear, hear'. If I didn't know a vast group of pro-musicians with faulty ears....

or

, depending on the philosophy you feel best with.

Cheers,
Marius

stereoal · « **Reply #34 on:** 22 Apr 2017, 05:14 pm »

Hi Clive,
I have your same amps and preamp in the SST2 series and I purchased Bryston balanced cables for my entire system. It's microphone cable. Cheap, simple and it sounds great. Since you have monoblock amps, you can use very short speaker cables. I purchased Chord, but only because that's what my dealer recommended and he offered me a decent price. It too sounds great. I am not a fan of Audioquest speaker cable. I purchased four pairs of the stuff with silver banana plugs as recommended by the manufacturer. The banana plugs get tarnished and have to be cleaned with a pencil eraser at least once a year. What a pain.
In my opinion, exotic cables are just tone controls and since you have fantastic electronics, you don't need to waste your money on cables that offer low return for the dollar. You've wisely invested your money in great electronics.

Elizabeth · « **Reply #35 on:** 22 Apr 2017, 10:47 pm »

Personal choices are often different for different folks. Some folks find simple cables work just fine. Others find a expensive cables offer enough to be well worth the investment.
Ditto for power cords and power conditioning.

schmidtmike76 · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 Apr 2017, 01:36 pm »

Quote from: clive101 on 13 Oct 2016, 06:11 pm

Firstly I an new to the Hifi and looking at the interconnects - speaker cable.

I have purchased 2x7b3, bp26 preamp and mb2 speakers and a Dave Dac.

Looking at the forums and internet it would seem the cost and choice is endless.

As I have a Bryston system and I trust the product it would seem to me that their cables would suit their HiFi better than other third party brands. Bryston cable prices seems very reasonable.

Any suggestions please, as I have to start somewhere to burn in the equipment then test other cables to suit my room surrounding..?

Thanks Clive.

Welcome over from Cyrus

gtaphile · « **Reply #37 on:** 26 Apr 2017, 01:26 am »

I have a somewhat similar set-up. BDP-2/BDA/2, 7b cubed amps, PMC Ib2Se (a few weeks old) and ARC Reference 5Se. I tried various tri wire speaker wire of reasonable quality and mogami, canaire and Byston's own balanced and thought canaire was most appropriate in my set-up. My PMC dealer then suggested that Van Damme speaker wire which is what the PMC drivers are wired with internally would take me forward in a tri wire configuration and it has. It was not very costly at about $350. He also suggested that the Van Damme balanced interconnects would take me forward. I have only replaced the Pre to amp set and the presentation is much smoother at the upper end and more detailed. It was a pleasant surprise as I had no idea that there was room for so much improvement. The bill hasn't come in but it sure was worth it.

PM me if you are interested and I can share the dealers name.

Best of luck.

TJ-Sully · « **Reply #38 on:** 26 Apr 2017, 08:08 pm »

I also settled on Van Damme balanced cables for my Bryston electronics (BDA2/BDP1/4BSST2/BP25). love them.

recently, I replaced the stock Bryston power cord (for the amp) with a middle of the road PS Audio cable. and wham-0.
something changed.

As Elizabeth so eloquently stated, it comes down to personal choice. And, so far, I like what PS Audio brings to my Bryston driven listening environment.

TJ

clive101 · « **Reply #39 on:** 26 Apr 2017, 09:20 pm »

Thank you all for your updates re Van Damme Cables. I did purchase a set and very good.

One of the many cables I tried were the Chord Sarum T Range and sadly for my room and ears the Van Damme did not come close.

I say sadly because my wallet has taken the hit.

The extra cost, worth it ...? Well could write pages about this.

What I will say the HiFi system cost me more than I really wanted to spend and did not want to compromise the end result with uninspiring cables. After I tried the Chord Sarum T cables I could not go back.

So I have the new Chord Sarum T cables and smarting at the cost, I dearly wanted not to spend the extra cost but had to go with my ears and heart, the wallet was not happy. I tried the Signature ( one step down, dare I say ) and they did not inspire me so not worth the effort, but then when I tried the Sarum I knew instantly they were for me. Chord upgraded the range to Sarum T so more delay testing and waiting.

IMO the difference from Signature to Sarum T is massive.

What I did find interesting if your system responds to changes in USB cables say from "Source to DAC" are a company called Curious Cables ( from Australia ) they make a very good alternative what was very close to the Sarum USB cable and much cheaper.

Wish I could have been in the snake oil camp.

Last week was the first week I just sat down and listened to the music.