Power leads, interconnects and speaker cable.

[Gaius]

^^^That's good advice!

 

[Mullardman]

The one I'm thinking of is an initialism that if I were to rhyme its translation would be something like "slow scuzzy abortion"

Why don't you just come out and say you are talking about LFD?

Indeed LFD offer Amps, DACs, Phono Stages, Interconnects and Speaker wire/cable.

However, unlike some other manufacturers, I'm not aware that they insist on the purchase or use of their 'wires'. They most definitely do not 'push hard' as you allege.

If fact, as I have said above, LFD is a low profile company which sells through a small number of dealers. And for the avoidance of doubt LFD4U was a distributor and not actually LFD.

I am happily using my LFD Zero MkV with Mark Grant constructed Van Damme Blue speaker cable and an assortment of pretty ordinary interconnects. I do not feel I'm losing out.

Mull

 

[Marky-Mark]

Why don't you just come out and say you are talking about LFD?

I didn't want to offend anyone. I'm a very happy LFD user myself (PA0-se), but the push with cables is quite real. Many of the LFD FS ads on popular audio sites (Audiogon.com & canuckaudiomart.com) are for LFD branded cables. Here's the text for an auction of mains cables from one of the USA's premier LFD distributors, Gene Rubin -

Made in the UK

1.25 Meter Length (4ft)

LFD Audio AC Mains Cable

"Like everything made by Richard Bews of LFD Audio, this AC cord is "mind blowing" for what an improvement it brings. Not only to LFD amplifiers, but to every amp I have tried it on! It makes a difference on digital sources as well.

If you are using a Cablepro AC strip, or any AC strip, use the LFD mains cord to go from the wall to the power strip. And then use a second one to go from the power strip to your LFD ( or other amplifier). Alternatively, you can plug your amp directly into the wall with one of these LFD mains cables and leave the rest of your components as they are, plugged into your Cablepro or current AC strip."
​

$395 USD

Mind blowing indeed.

 

[Marky-Mark]

However, in defense of the $400 LFD mains cable, Gene Rubin sells the CablePro Reality™ mains cable for $99, and as you can see it's sorta lumpy and sporting what looks like duct-tape as its foo paramaxial flux conductor. Very un-sexy. Who would want that dangling like a limp yarble behind their rutting rack.

 

[Mullardman]

Yes, but the 'push' is coming from a distributor.. not from LFD.

Personally, I am yet to be convinced that fancy mains cables do anything that is not done by any properly constructed lead of decent quality.

Mull

 

[Marky-Mark]

Yeah, that's fair. But I assume they've some hand in it since their name's on it.

And since Rubin has 200 of them available on Ebay.

 

[whatsnext]

I didn't want to offend anyone. I'm a very happy LFD user myself (PA0-se), but the push with cables is quite real. Many of the LFD FS ads on popular audio sites (Audiogon.com & canuckaudiomart.com) are for LFD branded cables. Here's the text for an auction of mains cables from one of the USA's premier LFD distributors, Gene Rubin -

Made in the UK

1.25 Meter Length (4ft)

LFD Audio AC Mains Cable

"Like everything made by Richard Bews of LFD Audio, this AC cord is "mind blowing" for what an improvement it brings. Not only to LFD amplifiers, but to every amp I have tried it on! It makes a difference on digital sources as well.

If you are using a Cablepro AC strip, or any AC strip, use the LFD mains cord to go from the wall to the power strip. And then use a second one to go from the power strip to your LFD ( or other amplifier). Alternatively, you can plug your amp directly into the wall with one of these LFD mains cables and leave the rest of your components as they are, plugged into your Cablepro or current AC strip."
​

Mind blowing indeed.

I am glad you are happy but aren't there problems for those who have had their mind blown? If it is a controlled explosion perhaps OKish. But randow blowing can leave one's experience very different to others resulting in a desire to have their mind repaired.

That cable picture was offensive. Ugly mind messing thing.

I must say if I had equipment (or is it kit these days) that was significantly different due to a mains cable I would be very uneasy about the situation. Like feeling giddy due to high blood pressure and getting up too quickly.

 

[Marky-Mark]

I must say if I had equipment (or is it kit these days) that was significantly different due to a mains cable I would be very uneasy about the situation. Like feeling giddy due to high blood pressure and getting up too quickly.

Don't lay plush carpet on the floors just yet!

I posted the two cable pictures from the same distributor to illustrate how similar they are in implementation and how wildly different in cost. It wouldn't be difficult for anyone to conclude they're basically the same thing.

As to why the sarcastic poll.

I really do enjoy listening to my LFD amp. I can honestly say more than any other piece of hardware I've purchased. But it's difficult to reconcile the narrative of a boutique one-man operation building audio products by hand one at a time. And all the while ignoring the audio press and advertising. One who subjectively and painstakingly selects passive components based on the secret experimentation of how they interact, and for an admittedly purposely austere circuit because that's what sounds the best on the one hand ...

And now on the other hand he is selling every sort of cable required for a system, much of it extravagantly clad and adorned, so I can obtain the best benefit from one of audio's simplest circuits.

For myself, any respect for this is a difficult proposition. If you're advising customers to purchase an expensive mains cable to make the expensive integrated amplifier you spent quite a bit of romanced copy on convincing them to purchase in order for it to sound its best, I'm going to find it difficult if not impossible to believe another word you print about any product you sell.

 

[Jason P]

Back to the OP. Personally, I'd not waste money on mains cables. The £10 build-it-yourself jobbies from MCRU are about as far as I'd go. As to speaker cable and interconnects - well I do have a Mark Grant 1500 interconnect from TT to amp. The rest are the Hitachi ones raved about a few years back, and a Linn silver I got ages ago. I can hear a clear difference between any of the 'decent' interconnects and one of those thin black RCA ones you get from Maplins. If it's those you're using I'd expect any halfway decent interconnect to sound better, and I would change them PDQ. As to speaker cable, again unless you're using bell wire any decent cable will do. By decent I mean made for the task with well soldered and appropriately sheathed banana plugs (or spades, whatever you need).

YMMV though, as our 'merkin cousins say.

 

[Mullardman]

Don't lay plush carpet on the floors just yet!

I posted the two cable pictures from the same distributor to illustrate how similar they are in implementation and how wildly different in cost. It wouldn't be difficult for anyone to conclude they're basically the same thing.

As to why the sarcastic poll.

I really do enjoy listening to my LFD amp. I can honestly say more than any other piece of hardware I've purchased. But it's difficult to reconcile the narrative of a boutique one-man operation building audio products by hand one at a time. And all the while ignoring the audio press and advertising. One who subjectively and painstakingly selects passive components based on the secret experimentation of how they interact, and for an admittedly purposely austere circuit because that's what sounds the best on the one hand ...

And now on the other hand he is selling every sort of cable required for a system, much of it extravagantly clad and adorned, so I can obtain the best benefit from one of audio's simplest circuits.

For myself, any respect for this is a difficult proposition. If you're advising customers to purchase an expensive mains cable to make the expensive integrated amplifier you spent quite a bit of romanced copy on convincing them to purchase in order for it to sound its best, I'm going to find it difficult if not impossible to believe another word you print about any product you sell.

Yes, I understand your point and I too have wondered why LFD offer such an expensive range of 'wires'. ( Though that said, their 'entry level' products are not especially costly) I'm happy with my amp with much less costly wires. However, I can only repeat that nobody, from Dr Bews, to distributors or retailers has 'pushed hard' to get me to purchase any of them.

I'm not here to defend LFD, but in some ways it is almost as if the wires are sold as a separate set of options, and not just for use with LFD electronics.

http://www.lfd-audio.com/index.html

And this from Steve Hoffman foums is just mad... http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/lfd-cables.372692/

Mull

 

[Yomanze]

Why do they loose 60/70% or their RRP value the day after you have bought them if they make so much difference ?

The first person to borrow my Airlink balanced transformer, has also borrowed a £ 2K Chord interconnect to audition.

Guess which he has decided to buy.

Glad you're pleased with the balanced mains if I read this correctly!

 

[Marky-Mark]

Yes, I understand your point and I too have wondered why LFD offer such an expensive range of 'wires'.

I'm not here to defend LFD, but in some ways it is almost as if the wires are sold as a separate set of options, and not just for use with LFD electronics.

http://www.lfd-audio.com/index.html

Mull

I should clarify what I meant by "push." I'm using it purely in a general marketing sense, and not that anyone is on a hard sell to directly link the cables with the other products, but that is easily inferred reading some of the distributor copy.

What's in your link is partly what I'm on about - the part about "not playing games" in order to build a perception as being 'above it all'. To me, that's classic having a cake while stuffing your mouth with it.

But I'm not on a vendetta because I do enjoy the LFD amp I own quite a bit, so I'll shut my fingers on this now.

 

[Mullardman]

Then while we are both happy with our amps.. we can be quietly smug and leave it up to others whether they wish to purchase them.. or the LFD wires.

Mull

 

[Marky-Mark]

Then while we are both happy with our amps.. we can be quietly smug and leave it up to others whether they wish to purchase them.. or the LFD wires.

Mull

Quietly smug is good!

 

[misterdog]

back on topic, the first thing the precious audio signal sees inside a Quad 63 is this capacitor and resistor.

Which are very cheap and mediocre components, so adding £££££ speaker cables will have sod all effect.

From my experience using amps with near zero distortion ( 0.00012% /1KHz,1W,8R )and recently using a balanced mains transformer to provide cleaner power are where the cash is better spent.

You could also substitute better components in the RC network.

 

[MattSPL]

I'm using a Power Inspired AG500 regenerator. It also doubles as a UPS.
Great bit of kit is running at a comfortable 44% with my Smart Tv, Sky box, Dac and EQ runnnng off it. A bargain upgrade removing noise from the system, letting more detail through.

 

[mandryka]

I've ordered some leads (Chord) to connect the DAC to the preamp, to replace my current 30 year old ones which were bought from the cheapest supplier on Tottenham Court Road.

I'm really intrigued by this discussion of mains transformers - I didn't realise they existed, and I want to try one - as long as I can just plug it in and as long as I can return it if it doesn't satisfy. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Basically I'm so thrilled at the impact that my DAC is making to the sound of my system (the DAC is new), it's like I can hear real music for the first time in my room, that I'm ready to go a bit further with hifi. I can see why you all get so excited by it all!

(Actually I've just seen that the above mentioned Power Inspired product can be tried for 14 days.)

 

[YNWOAN]

Why do they loose 60/70% or their RRP value the day after you have bought them if they make so much difference ?

The first person to borrow my Airlink balanced transformer, has also borrowed a £ 2K Chord interconnect to audition.

Guess which he has decided to buy.

Oh, that's me . I've only just read this thread but it is true that a couple of days after trying Paul's Airlink transformer I have placed an order for one (3000VA). It's also true that I have recently had on loan a £1500 interconnect and one at £2100; the Airlink made the bigger and more fundamental improvement (and I use a very different system to Paul's).

 

[misterdog]

At a quarter of the cost.

 

[YNWOAN]

Well yes, the Airlink I have ordered is their penultimate model and still a quarter the cost of the Chord Sarum T I have on loan. If you go for a more basic model (add your own 13A sockets) it's cheaper still.