Phono cable under $100?

[bobertbk]

I just purchased a Kenwood KD500; however, it did not come with an audio cable. It's got a an ADC LMF-1 tone arm and a Shure v15 type IV cartridge. The tone arm has a 5-pin connector.

I paid $300 for it and I'm just getting back into vinyl after a number of all digital years. I can't wait to get it hooked up but the cable prices I'm seeing are intimidating to say the least.

The only cable I can find under $100 is the Audioquest Wildcat. Is it even worth looking into?

[url]http://www.musicdirect.com/p-3720-audioquest-wildcat-15m-tonearm-cable-din-to-rca.aspx
[/url]

I'd appreciate any suggestions!

[Tedrick]

Audioquest makes very good cables. I have numerous AQ cables in my systems; they are well made and sound good. Only knock against them is they use solid-core conductors which can be a bit stiff in larger gauges, but shouldn't be an issue with the Wildcat.

[jake]

Acoustic Research has 6 foot , gold plated connects with oxygen free copper for $14.99. They are excellent, available on their website , SKU ES31

[Tedrick]

Acoustic Research has 6 foot , gold plated connects with oxygen free copper for $14.99. They are excellent, available on their website , SKU ES31

Those are stereo interconnects with RCA's on both ends. The OP needs a tonearm cable with RCA's on one end and a 5-pin DIN connector on the other end, and a ground wire with spade lugs on each end.

[rockdove]

Just been looking on fleabay, might be worth check this out;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canare-starqu ... 6rk%3D1%26

[jake]

Zu Audio sells a budget phono cable, got one off ebay for $90 hoping it would be an upgrade, but sounds just as good, or the same, as my Sumiko phono cable. I think they cost a bit more on their website, but they usually auction one off at a time, they are new and trying to make a name for themselves.

[PeterW.]

I just purchased a Kenwood KD500; however, it did not come with an audio cable. It's got a an ADC LMF-1 tone arm and a Shure v15 type IV cartridge. The tone arm has a 5-pin connector.

I paid $300 for it and I'm just getting back into vinyl after a number of all digital years. I can't wait to get it hooked up but the cable prices I'm seeing are intimidating to say the least.

The only cable I can find under $100 is the Audioquest Wildcat. Is it even worth looking into?

[url]http://www.musicdirect.com/p-3720-audioquest-wildcat-15m-tonearm-cable-din-to-rca.aspx
[/url]

I'd appreciate any suggestions!

With respect, there is no cable on the face of the earth that will give you any level of improvment after the very most basic quality/gauge/design criteria are met. At audio frequencies, the differences between the two most common conducting metals (copper or silver) are negligble. Gold (actually a poorer conductor than either copper or silver) is useful only to reduce the potential for corrosion - and so to be used only where that may be a concern. Look to manufacturing quality, strain-relief quality and connector quality if you need to differentiate between two cables. But the brute fact of the matter is that your equipment will not know the difference between the Dollar Store cables and the $100 cables (assuming no actual defects in either), nor will your ears if you are not otherwise aware which cable might be in place.

Otherwise, high-cost cables are designed to separate you from your cash, but emphatically NOT to increase your listening pleasure. So, find the least-expensive cable that meets the physical requirements of the use. You will be fine.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Alec124c41]

Must disagree Peter, but just a little bit. There are differences in shielding and capacitance, that do affect the sound. Dollar store cables are poorly constructed and poorly shielded junk. For interconnects, the Philips/RCA etc. cables with a clear coat over braided shield, that sell for $20 - $30 are fine.
Back to the OP, who is looking for a cable for his tone-arm. There are not so many of these in the lower price range, and under $100 is what you can find. No dollar store bargains here.
I am using the Jeweltone/Nagaoka.Jelco/Sumiko tonearm cables, and am happy with them.

Cheers,
Alec

[PeterW.]

Well, yes. And why I weasle-qualified my terms with: ... "basic quality/gauge/design". Keep an eye out on those dollar-store items. Occasionally the biggies (Dollar Tree as one example) purchase close-outs. I snagged a couple of 1-meter Monster-branded RCA cables once.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Alec124c41]

And I have found those RCA cables in a close-out store for $4.99.
It's the Chateau and Quality brand that will let you listen to your records and the radio at the same time, before they fail.
Still haven't been convinced to spend $500 on a power cord or interconnects, or speaker cables.

Cheers,
Alec

[Ottermel]

As I've said before, go here and check it out:

http://www.audiosensibility.com/product ... cables.htm

[duficity]

for the first time, I went and splurged on a set of high end cables. Paid a little more than what I lost when Ultimate Cables stiffed me, took my money and didnt supply product. Should have them next week. I'll report then if they were worth it. Its the last link in my quest for a full on high end system, or as close as I am likely to get.
Alec - we'll see whether $500 interconnects and speaker cables have a positive effect. If I say they do, will you go out and purchase?

[PeterW.]

I will still rely on my duct-tape coated coathangers twisted on a power-drill...

Not too far off, though. I use #12 thin-stranded THHN wire twisted using a power-drill as speaker cables. I can pull it through our crawl-space and around all sorts of things without worrying about it getting abraided, the cats chewing it (with cats, there are no other vermin in the house) nor anything much else attacking it. Cheap, too. About US$70 for 500 feet. Color-coding using a bit heat-shrink tubing, another bit to tame the ends and the appropriate connectors if needed do the rest.

I have, once, as a see-if-I-could, turned RCA connectors on my lathe from brass stock and then flash-plated them in silver. A piece of turned teflon served as the insulator. Generic shielded audio cable did the rest. That turned out to be more costly - even discounting time - than purchasing decent connectors off-the-shelf. But it was a giggle.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Alec124c41]

for the first time, I went and splurged on a set of high end cables. Paid a little more than what I lost when Ultimate Cables stiffed me, took my money and didnt supply product. Should have them next week. I'll report then if they were worth it. Its the last link in my quest for a full on high end system, or as close as I am likely to get.
Alec - we'll see whether $500 interconnects and speaker cables have a positive effect. If I say they do, will you go out and purchase?

Please do report on your perceptions.
No, I will not be buying $500 cables. That is out of my budget range. I do like to experiment with DIY alternatives, though.

Cheers,
Alec