I can also vouch for Blue Jeans Cable. Nice that they are local to me (Seattle) and I picked up some of their fantastic custom made speaker cables at their facility.
I use BJC (blue Jean cables) cables. Similar reason to what you said. You know they are made extremely well and I will never have to worry. They also allow you to customize what type of Ends you want. They also shield in white. $40-80 for normal cable length
I use BJC cables as well (Canare 4S11 speaker cables, LC-1 RCA interconnects, and a SPDIF cable). They're well built and very beefy. The one thing I do not like about them is how far the connectors stick out. Because of the length of the connecter and stiffness of the cable, they can apply leverage on the connectors on the back of your equipment. I also use a World's Best Cable RCA Mogami interconnect and prefer that. It's got 40mm RCA connectors vs 65mm on the BJC LC-1, and the cable itself is more flexible. For my balanced headphone cables I like Hart Audio.
@@didioentoro7575 I use the WBC Mogami RCA interconnect between my DAC and pre-amp, and the BJC LC-1 between the pre-amp and power amp. I haven't bothered to swap them around, and even if I did I doubt I'd hear any sonic differences. For a 3-foot interconnect I'd probably prefer the WBC cable for ease of use due to it's flexibility. For longer runs where you might be worried about interference, the BJC cables might be the way to go. They are so thick and beefy that I'd assume they'd have better shielding. Also, on the BJC speaker cables, I do appreciate the locking banana plugs, which WBC speaker cables do not have.
I borrowed a Niagra 1200 from a friend for almost 6 months. I wasn’t sure that it made that large of a difference until he asked for it back. Once it was gone, I had to immediately buy my own.
The Monoprice Monolith Audio Stand XL is quite good for the money. It has larger diameter tubes and thicker shelves than most other racks in the same price range. I recently assembled one and added the Monolith Amplifier/Component Stand XL to the top for a five shelf rack. I filled the tubes with glass beads so the rack is both sturdy and quiet. A good place to buy speaker stands is Parts Express, they have multiple sizes in wood or steel.
I'm a Tripp Lite Isobar guy. Built like tanks and (depending on the model) each socket has an isolated filter. If they're good enough for medical equipment keeping folks alive, then it's good enough for me. i'm also a huge fan of flex pin banana plugs because they work with spring-clip and screw-down terminals. It's like having a bare-wire connection that doesn't get shredded.
I have 3 of the isobars but didn’t the President of Tripp lite just sell out and donate his money to politics ? Just wondering who is operating Tripp lite today
Rack - built a Salamader-style one for my system in University - Home Depot for threaded rod / washers / nuts, and for the pine 'project boards' used as shelves. Sent a couple of nights drilling, sanding, rounding all the edges and then finishing the shelves (urethane) Worked really well, and being able to adjust the shelving for different sized components / storage racks was great (although time consuming).
@Nick Butler. You may already know this. On the subject of racks. Saw a vid on UA-cam of a guy who used suitably sized IKEA thick/heavy - duty kitchen chopping boards as his shelves. Just like your rack build, he used threaded rod ( it's sometimes called "studding" here in the U.K.), washers and nuts to set the spacing between his shelves. Can't remember how he built the base shelf/how the rack was supported from the floor - but it looked like a good job when finished. Stay safe and well.
I use inner and outer sleeves from vinyl storage solutions. They are a Canadian company but shipping is still free if you spend a certain amount. I really like the double pocket outer sleeves so that I can put the record in one of the pockets and keep it separated from the album cover to prevent leaving a circle impression on it. They also have really nice rice paper, inner sleeves that minimize static. Their products are priced fairly and occasionally they do have sales. Also, my sister has one of the mono price audio equipment, racks; and I think it is very good for the price. I’m sure the other ones you mention are better, but they are priced accordingly.
@@TheFrugalAudiophile definitely use Vinyl Storage Solutions album covers! Well worth the money. Gatefolds finally have there covers. Everything I own is wrapped with them
My Furmans' breakers tripped overnight once. They have coax and RJ45 protection. I was impressed. Definitely buy that again. I absolutely love the 10 AWG copper speaker cables from Blue Jeans. I have their optical/RCA/Cat 6E cables also. My whole system is on casters. Nice rubber wheels do not transmit much vibration. I replaced my wall outlet with a medical grade model. We moved the hardwired house internet port next to it. This was over the course of six years. I keep a dedicated box of audio parts/cable in the garage. Never know when something might be needed.
Spot on Randy! A few months ago I tried World's Best Cables. I bought the Mogami 2964 variety and Wow!. This led to a return to Amazon for 3 more pair and a pile of junk cables that will never be used again. I never thought about snipping them in half, but they probably should be. LOL! Also, about a year ago I purchased a Panamax 4300. The unit has Linear noise filtration and that is a definite sonic improvement for things like a DAC, streamer and CD players.
What's even more important than the company selling the cable is the manufacturer of the cable and interconnects. Sommer, Canare, Belden, Amphenol, Neutrik, etc. all manufacture quality products.
Heard a big difference using worlds best cables from my dac to the bellari eq (though not from the eq to the A08 pro). Didn't mind upgrading the system like a cable per month. Also bought a linear power supply for $ 92 (soulspeak) for my $150 modi dac. May have taken a touch off the dynamic range but the background is so quiet. Ikea Kallax bookshelf. I bought the single for vinyl thought it's still empty... they say the double shelves will work but I'd buy two singles and stack them.
I have two sets of speakers stands in my house. I just need racks - for my stereo equipment and my rather expansive collection of vinyl. I hope to acquire them when I move into a bigger place next year.
I built my own rack by buying 1/2-13 threaded rods, stainless steel nuts, washers, and rubber washers (used them under the stainless-steel ones to dampen vibrations and to help hold everything snug) from McMaster. Bought castors from Home Depot. If I had to do it over again, I'd buy heavier duty castors. Don't skimp out there. Bought 3/4" thick oak plywood and had Lowe's Hardware cut them to shape and drill holes in each corner. They were able to stack two or three at a time when drilling the holes to maintain alignment. Used some rolls of oak veneer (yeah, comes in a roll you iron on - duh) to hide the edges and then stained them with several coats of stain and a few of urethane for protection. All this wasn't cheap, but I got exactly what I wanted. One thing to note: Using threaded rod works well but be prepared to go a bit crazy spinning the nuts into place. Recall that there will be EIGHT for each shelf. That takes a long, long time. Chill out and listen to music and be prepared to waste an afternoon. Oh, if I had a chance to do it all again, I might spring some $$ for black anodized threaded rods. That would look even better.
I highly recommend Pine Tree Audio cables. I use his speaker, interconnect, coaxial and power cables. Replaced my Audioquest Diamondback interconnects first and I saw a big improvement in clarity plus Jesse does custom work and is great to work with.
I’ve long preferred Kimber Kables. I still use them in my living room system. For my main rig I replaced all of my Kimber RCAs for Iconoclast BAV. I use ikea too because I can be cheap when it comes to furniture. Dröna bins work well for vinyl albums. I prefer to flip through my records vs having to cock my head and try to read the edge of the sleeve.
Decided to bi•amp my speakers and built the cables with Canare quad shield. Made a huuuuge difference. Very happy with it. Wish I hadn't waited so long
I use standard 19" equipment racks for most of my audio and computer equipment. For equipment with rack ears, it's perfect. For stuff without, rack mount shelves are the simple solution. Regarding vinyl record storage, you are right. The IKEA Kallax shelves are about the best for cheap record storage, and modular too which is a big plus.
If you can solder, get Mogami W2964 and Neutrik REAN RCA connectors and you can easily make interconnects to whatever length you like. A three foot RCA pair would be $20. Less than half a WBC set. I make mine and it’s very satisfying and easy to make them whatever length I like.
Good advice. I can recommend the QED interconnects, about £25 for a metre RCA. Very well built and I think they sound just as good as some of my other higher end interconnects which were over £100 back in the 1990’s. To put that in perspective they would have been a weeks wage back then.
I mostly solder my own cables with Neutrik or Amphenol plugs and cables from Sommer or Cordial. These are German cable brands, so I'm not sure if they're available outside of Europe. They are professional brands that are used by studios and event technicians, their build quality is very good. I just like soldering my own cables, it makes me happy to use something that I built and configured myself 😁
For more German cables, don’t forget Klotz. Do have a look at round for plugs. Neutrik are good but some of their ability of being able to be plugged in and out all day is wasted on a home system. One brand I like is KLE (his old brand ETI has strayed a bit)
On my dining room (Number 2) hi Fi I upgraded my standard metal speaker stands to accommodate larger footprint speakers with bamboo chopping boards Amazing vibration isolation improvement + lifted tweeter to better height (my Mission.QX2 Mk2s tweeter is below the mid bass cone 🙃)
I use a UPS to 'protect' my system, so not a conditioner per se. I use WBC interconnects, and they work for me. I haven't used spade connectors, but find my banana plugs have worked well for me. Thank you as always for your efforts to share this with us all.
Casters are a great idea. Better still are casters with a brake mechanism. I use 3 inch furniture ones with rubberised wheels that I've fixed to the bottom of a solid wood board. Then the rack stands on that board. Beauty of this is you can custom make it any size you want to fit the rack. Once the brakes are engaged you ain't gonna get any rattle!
Great Sunday Topics Randy. Thanks! I don't have a massive CD collection, but I managed to get control of it by taking a CD case to Target along with my interior dimensions of my AV cabinet at home. I found rectangular bins that hold a couple of dozen CDs each and fit nicely inside the cabinet. As my collection grows, I add more bins. It's imperfect, but works for now and keeps the room clutter tolerable. I say to take a CD case with you when shopping because I had a hard time finding an actual music CD in the store as a sample for bin selection fit! Have a memorable Memorial Day!
the furman ss6b is great and a bare minimum "cheap power strip" (the mentioned $25 model); for cabling I've always preferred the cost/build of the monoprice stuff. Micca makes good premade speaker/banana cables.
I bought the World's Best Cables Canare on your recommendation and I'm super impressed. They feel like the several hundred dollar interconnects (scams in my experience) and were roughly $50. Really happy with my purchase and I'll be getting more.
I have a large TV stand that I bought for a 150 lb Sony TV back in 2005 before tv's got feather weight. Top shelf has my amp and turntable, 2nd shelf cd and cassette deck. Bottom shelf odds and ends. Looked at those stereo stands for years just too expensive. This TV stand is beautiful and rock solid. 🎸🎸🎸
I highly recommend SKW cables. Probably the cheapest cables with OCC copper instead of regular OFC. Their speaker cables are amazing (on the slightly more expensive side tho) and the RCA are quite a bargain
Great video! For record sleeves you can't go wrong with the Mofi inner sleeves. I'm not a big fan of their outer sleeves (too cloudy for my liking) but, they are good quality. For outer sleeves, I like Vinyl Storage Solutions and the Japanese outer sleeves. My vinyl collection has a combination of those 3. All are good quality. Like someone else posted, all vinyl is washed before playing whether new or used. Helps to protect the stylus. Keep up the good work!.
Big 2nd to Furman gear. A long time ago a wise man told me that you should spend 10% of the value of your gear on surge protection/power conditioning. Has not failed me yet. For me, spending a little more for a model with a voltmeter is worth it to make sure you are not running under or over, but it is not required. Just get something.
I have been using a $90 Fitueyes 4-tier Media Component stand for my rack for about 6 years. Works great and looks nice. Maybe not the choice if you are using 200lbs monoblocks, but if your components aren't too heavy it is a solid option.
I've got one for you. See if you can find a Sound Organization Table that was designed in the 80's exclusively for the Linn Sondek LP12 Turntable. I have 4. I strip them of their black paint and repaint in a beautiful red or green. They are the best table I have ever found to put a turntable on even if it is not a Linn. And you can put a board between the lower rungs and put an integrated amp on that or even a CD Player and an amp on them. What a value cheapaudioman!!!
The C-Line (entry level Chord Company) cables are wonderful IMO as are as the first three levels of cable made by QED, the Connect, Profile and Performance Graphite ranges (all of which are cheaper than Chord C-Lines).
All my interconnects are Chord, QED and Van den Hul. For speaker cables I use Cable Talk and Van den Hul. With interconnects...does it make a difference...? Hmm, better than stock RCA cables. Speaker cables..hmm. Depends what sound you want. Some are 'brighter' sounding than others, but depends upon taste. Without getting boring, if your speakers have basic cables/crossovers inside them spending a fortune on fancy cables from your amp won't make much of a difference at all. Save your cash for music! As for 'isolation', I use washing machine rubber stands. Amazing, do the job and very cheap.
Blue Jean cables. -- Cheaper banana plugs/Spades: direct wire. Never going to get a worn-out connector, as there is no connector. -- Rack & vinyl/CD storage: DYI. You actually get what you want. -- Vinyl/CD storage: home made wood shelves from 1" red oak, built into closet of my listening room. Sleeves: vinyl storage solution (Canadian company) dual pocket, crystal clear outers and thick inner. Yes, expensive, but totally worth it.
I had a 16 foot cable running from preamp to amp from a manufacturer who shall remain nameless. $800 dollar cable. A friend came over with $40 used monster cable . The $40 cable was probably the biggest improvement I've ever heard. Crazy.
I bought an audio rack from an electronic supply house many years ago. Stands over 6' tall, all metal. It was over $1000. Once I got it loaded up with a GAS Ampzilla and Son of Ampzilla, DVD recorder, laserdisc player, mixer, etc., the bottom of the rack where the casters attached started to bend, had to stabilize it with 2x4s.
I have a decent size vinyl collection, around 400 rn. I use Hudson vinyl sleeves for inner and outer sleeves, cause the inner ones are good quality and anti-static and the outer are thick enough to last and actually provide protection, plus they are not too expensive on amazon. As far as storage, i have 3 "4 cube storage organizer" shelves, they stand vertically and each space is like 13.5" x 13.5" so it fits everything perfectly and i can sort them by genre or however i want cause theres different spaces. Mine have the little flimsy 1" shelves but i have several of the filly loaded with vinyls and they hold up fine
i buy monoprice cables, i love them because their xlr, trs, RCA's all have unscrewable connectors. If you ever have a problem you could just open the connector unsolder the wires, cut the cable and terminate the new wires on the same plug. Luckily ive had all my mono price cables for 5 years and have had 0 issues with them or had to even do this.
I use a VTI rack for about $500. Five shelves, looks good too. For vinyl I use a 2x2 cube shelf I assembled from Target. Worlds Best Cables are good. I now use PS Audio Power regenerator. They do make a difference. They are very expensive though.
I've been using bar stools for speaker stands for a really long time...they work great and they're pretty cheap...especially compared to purpose made stands
Sleeve City out of Tennessee has the best quality outter vinyl sleeves I’ve come across. I use their Ultimate Outter Sleeves on all my albums-love them and an American company 🇺🇸.
I store all of my vinyl in aftermarket inner and outer sleeves. All records also get washed. It doesn't matter how much the record is worth, sometimes the sleeves are worth more than the album, but protecting your record protects your stylus.
I built my own rack using 5/8" black anodized screw poles so I can adjust each shelf using black bolts and large fender washers on top and bottom of each of the four shelf holes I drilled into the shelves. You can then finish it off with sections of PVC cut to each span length and slit along the back so you can remove and add them as needed. Painted with the nice finish glossy black Krylon paint it looks like an expensive pro rack. But 1/5 the price.
Some of the more expensive “racks” are beautiful wood creations that can highlight your equipment and your listening room as well. I don’t like junk or one step up from junk so in a effort to receive quality I spend a little more and my yard sales are few. Just for the record there is nothing wrong with Pangea.
I've tried Worlds best, Audioquest, and others. But the best are Blue Jean Cables. They are lowest capacitance, hand built in Washington to the exact length you need, and inexpensive. They make every type of cable,except for power. They say they don't make them because they don't make a difference.
Bananaplugs and other items in the loop are nice but can create extra impedance and resistance. If you don't need it just keep any loop as simple as possible. I have used several cables brands like Audioquest but I wanted to go cheaper with same quality or better and found "RU connected". Very happy with them.
I've bought and been impressed with the quality of Gear IT speaker cables from Amazon. They are welded together with the terminator. I will never build my own cables again because they just fall apart. Like CAM I can't say they sound better but they are very likely to be my last cable purchase.
Randy- great video. Buy once cry once is a great motivator for the items mentioned. We’ll have these products for (maybe) the rest of our lives. Like, how often are we going to upgrade a killer rack?
On vinyl protection- I only mention this as my wife recently, after playing DJ one evening, said, “now I get why you’re so particular with your records.” It starts when I open the vinyl for the first time. To protect the record, it’s fidelity, and my stylus, the record goes into an ultrasonic bath to get off any yuck. Then I clean my stylus with at607a. After play, I give it a quick brush and it goes into mo-fi (audiophile grade from the original masters😂) sleeve, stored with the album sleeve in a larger dustcover poly sleeve, upright, in its right place (alphabetically by band name and chronological release😅😁😆) in one of our many attractive 5x5cube IKEA Kallax shelves we will probably die with😅
I use TRIPP LITE surge suppressors. They will detect via led's that determine bad grounding. If you want a real clean power outlet install or have an electrician install a medical grade outlet. They are expensive but are made of gold plated components and must meet reliability requirements.
I work for a different division of Amphenol but can attest that our connectors are very good for the price. I am gradually replacing all my RCA cables with Worlds Best Cables.
I have the AudioQuest PowerQuest 2 for $199 though i think it might be $249 post cove-of-an-id 9-teens. I just got it as audio-jewelry/“non-sacrificial” surge protection. My Marantz cd5005 has transformer hum which is annoying but its just mechanical, and though small, marantz uses decent components even in the entry level stuff and as such the sound theoretically isn’t getting passed into the signal. But its still annoying as hell when you purchase a brand new cd player with linear power supply and it ends up being noisy. The 5005 uses a small transformer so the hum is very faint and slightly higher pitched though im pretty sure its 60hz hum. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I used to sell MIT cables and have a few left around. They aren’t cheap but even though they’re probably 20 years old they’re still the best sounding cables I’ve found. Basically they don’t make nasty sounds. Ludicrous pricing, I’d couldn’t afford them if I had to buy them now.
I use Atlas speaker cable. I was saving up for Atlas interconnects and in the meantime I ordered Blue Jean interconnects and a digital coax. They are so good I will not be upgrading to Atlas.
I run a Panamax conditioner/protector myself. They are a bit pricey these days. Furman is also a solid choice. I can vouch for Blue Jeans cable. They are a bulk supplier, but also sell to the consumer, (focused on the DIY type, but will make completed cables as well). They also happen to supply the likes of Audioquest and others with their bulk rolls. Yeah, you are basically buying BJC when you buy Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables, you are paying (over-paying) for the fancy wrapping, name, packaging and in some cases the pseudoscience/fake science of battery packs, etc. I would take any cable over Audioquest personally. I can also vouch for World's Best cables, but Randy is right, be careful, just make sure you are getting the real deal. Very easy to contact them and make sure you are getting the Canare or Neutrik, what have you. Example: Balanced cables you need to make sure you are getting the Japanese ones, there are tons of knock-off Chinese Canares, etc. World's Best will tell you how to spot them. I have not tried Amazon Basics cables and have no need to. If they are anything like Monoprice premium cables I'm not interested. The Monoprice cables are good (formally Monster Cable), they are very well shielded and all, but unfortunately too thick and stiff and the terminators are overkill and can disembowel your gear if not careful. (I don't use them anymore obviously). In my opinion, Pangea is superior to Salamander in build and function. The Monoprice racks are also quite good. As for record inner sleeves and such, there are many good ones out there. You can't go wrong with Diskkeeper, Vinyl Storage Solutions, Mo-Fi, etc.
I agree with your accessories, great build quality. At least that’s what I have. I like the Worlds…that lock. Everything, RCA cd player and turntable. Speaker cables are bi wired locking Blue Jean. Speakers Canton Vento 7 reference, 1st generation. I plug it all into a Furman except my integrated amps are direct in the wall. Furman got rid of phono hum. Made the system seem quieter as well. Pangea power cord for amp. Worth it also. I should get better power cords for everything else. Nice job.
I have 3 Furman products. Well worth it, one more level of protection and power filtration. Cheap cables often have poor strain relief, cold solder joints and other flaws. Cheap speaker stands result in toppling over REALLY easy.
Nice video Randy. Regarding World's Best Cables, good to know about this brand. When I went to the WBC website, I could not find two important pieces of information. (1) Country of Manufacture and (2) Where is the company located. I'm always a bit leery when a company hides such basic information.
seeing a perfect rack always makes me happy i agree with you on that one, sometimes though it includes a reoccurring cost most audiophiles don't talk about
For UK buyers, I see some chatter about a Tacima Surge Protector / Power Conditioner that has some good reviews. Can be bought discounted at places like Richer Sounds (sometimes). I'm going to keep a look out for it. It's not crazily-priced either.
The power filter that definitely improved the sound quality in my system is the Iso-Power unit from Pine Tree Audio. Also I *love* the Iso-Braid AC cable from them. And they also make very good braided interconnect; RCA and XLR. Their quality is top notch - and their prices are quite reasonable.
@@NeilBlanchard no, the point is that no matter how ugly or pretty the AC incoming signal is, it gets cleaned up to the same degree and turned into a DC signal.
@@NeilBlanchard all devices operate on DC. The conversion from AC to DC removes whatever noise is in the AC line. This is a basic fact of electrical engineering in consumer products.
I have a Pioneer txh94 Elite. I know it has a dac. And sounds good, so should I buy a external dac ? My Pioneer txh94 is a 08 model. Please answer this! It's not an easy decision 😅 Thanks so much ❤️
Cables should be rugged enough if they are going to be moved much and are physically large enough to handle the power going through them. Screened speaker wire should be best although I haven't detected any difference if they are not. Consider the size of the wires inside the amp, the connections which are often circuit boards that plug in to various parts of an amp, tiny wires! and every contact offers resistance so there is potential for distortion just on those basics alone. If the cables are set to rest for years in a setup all that is needed is the size to match.
I've always made my own speaker cables only me to blame if there crap . Rca cables I use qed carbon fibre not the best for bending but there great value, 40i are really good . If you know a good welder get them to make your speaker stands (mates rates) . Other wise B@W are cheapish .
amzn.to/3MLBbWa adapters spade and pin
amzn.to/3qhFReM monolith speaker stands
Furman Power Conditioner amzn.to/3N3i2jP
howl.me/chnBLuHLhyT Pangea Stereo Rack
World's Best Cables amzn.to/43q4tA0
I can also vouch for Blue Jeans Cable. Nice that they are local to me (Seattle) and I picked up some of their fantastic custom made speaker cables at their facility.
I’ll second blue jeans cable, been using them for years and never had a bad cable. Only ever had one cable go bad and it was my fault lol.
I'll third the blue jean love! lol Great quality can't imagine ever having to replace them.
I use BJC (blue Jean cables) cables. Similar reason to what you said. You know they are made extremely well and I will never have to worry. They also allow you to customize what type of Ends you want. They also shield in white.
$40-80 for normal cable length
I use BJC cables as well (Canare 4S11 speaker cables, LC-1 RCA interconnects, and a SPDIF cable). They're well built and very beefy. The one thing I do not like about them is how far the connectors stick out. Because of the length of the connecter and stiffness of the cable, they can apply leverage on the connectors on the back of your equipment. I also use a World's Best Cable RCA Mogami interconnect and prefer that. It's got 40mm RCA connectors vs 65mm on the BJC LC-1, and the cable itself is more flexible. For my balanced headphone cables I like Hart Audio.
@@mattsev9134 Which one is better Mogami or BJC LC-1 ? To your likings
I love BJC. Well built, no B.S.. Their low cap RCAs are amazing for turntables.
@@didioentoro7575 I use the WBC Mogami RCA interconnect between my DAC and pre-amp, and the BJC LC-1 between the pre-amp and power amp. I haven't bothered to swap them around, and even if I did I doubt I'd hear any sonic differences. For a 3-foot interconnect I'd probably prefer the WBC cable for ease of use due to it's flexibility. For longer runs where you might be worried about interference, the BJC cables might be the way to go. They are so thick and beefy that I'd assume they'd have better shielding. Also, on the BJC speaker cables, I do appreciate the locking banana plugs, which WBC speaker cables do not have.
@@mattsev9134 Try their Belkin 10 gauge.
I borrowed a Niagra 1200 from a friend for almost 6 months. I wasn’t sure that it made that large of a difference until he asked for it back. Once it was gone, I had to immediately buy my own.
The Monoprice Monolith Audio Stand XL is quite good for the money. It has larger diameter tubes and thicker shelves than most other racks in the same price range. I recently assembled one and added the Monolith Amplifier/Component Stand XL to the top for a five shelf rack. I filled the tubes with glass beads so the rack is both sturdy and quiet. A good place to buy speaker stands is Parts Express, they have multiple sizes in wood or steel.
Yeah I have one it's great
Thanks! Love that you're always here when I start messing with my HiFi again and wanna kick back with some videos on the hobby.
Blue Jeans cables have been solid for me. Welded terminations are tough to break. I like WBC also. 😊
Blue Jeans cables are very well built and decently priced as well.
I'm a Tripp Lite Isobar guy. Built like tanks and (depending on the model) each socket has an isolated filter. If they're good enough for medical equipment keeping folks alive, then it's good enough for me. i'm also a huge fan of flex pin banana plugs because they work with spring-clip and screw-down terminals. It's like having a bare-wire connection that doesn't get shredded.
I have 3 of the isobars but didn’t the President of Tripp lite just sell out and donate his money to politics ? Just wondering who is operating Tripp lite today
My first speaker stands were unfinished wood barstools! I sawed off the legs to the correct height.
Rack - built a Salamader-style one for my system in University - Home Depot for threaded rod / washers / nuts, and for the pine 'project boards' used as shelves. Sent a couple of nights drilling, sanding, rounding all the edges and then finishing the shelves (urethane) Worked really well, and being able to adjust the shelving for different sized components / storage racks was great (although time consuming).
@Nick Butler. You may already know this. On the subject of racks. Saw a vid on UA-cam of a guy who used suitably sized IKEA thick/heavy - duty kitchen chopping boards as his shelves. Just like your rack build, he used threaded rod ( it's sometimes called "studding" here in the U.K.), washers and nuts to set the spacing between his shelves. Can't remember how he built the base shelf/how the rack was supported from the floor - but it looked like a good job when finished. Stay safe and well.
I use inner and outer sleeves from vinyl storage solutions. They are a Canadian company but shipping is still free if you spend a certain amount. I really like the double pocket outer sleeves so that I can put the record in one of the pockets and keep it separated from the album cover to prevent leaving a circle impression on it. They also have really nice rice paper, inner sleeves that minimize static. Their products are priced fairly and occasionally they do have sales.
Also, my sister has one of the mono price audio equipment, racks; and I think it is very good for the price. I’m sure the other ones you mention are better, but they are priced accordingly.
Another VSS customer here. Really like their products and they are always innovating. Also run record day sales.
@@TheFrugalAudiophile definitely use Vinyl Storage Solutions album covers! Well worth the money. Gatefolds finally have there covers. Everything I own is wrapped with them
My Furmans' breakers tripped overnight once. They have coax and RJ45 protection. I was impressed. Definitely buy that again. I absolutely love the 10 AWG copper speaker cables from Blue Jeans. I have their optical/RCA/Cat 6E cables also. My whole system is on casters. Nice rubber wheels do not transmit much vibration. I replaced my wall outlet with a medical grade model. We moved the hardwired house internet port next to it. This was over the course of six years. I keep a dedicated box of audio parts/cable in the garage. Never know when something might be needed.
Spot on Randy! A few months ago I tried World's Best Cables. I bought the Mogami 2964 variety and Wow!. This led to a return to Amazon for 3 more pair and a pile of junk cables that will never be used again. I never thought about snipping them in half, but they probably should be. LOL!
Also, about a year ago I purchased a Panamax 4300. The unit has Linear noise filtration and that is a definite sonic improvement for things like a DAC, streamer and CD players.
What's even more important than the company selling the cable is the manufacturer of the cable and interconnects. Sommer, Canare, Belden, Amphenol, Neutrik, etc. all manufacture quality products.
Heard a big difference using worlds best cables from my dac to the bellari eq (though not from the eq to the A08 pro). Didn't mind upgrading the system like a cable per month. Also bought a linear power supply for $ 92 (soulspeak) for my $150 modi dac. May have taken a touch off the dynamic range but the background is so quiet. Ikea Kallax bookshelf. I bought the single for vinyl thought it's still empty... they say the double shelves will work but I'd buy two singles and stack them.
I have two sets of speakers stands in my house. I just need racks - for my stereo equipment and my rather expansive collection of vinyl. I hope to acquire them when I move into a bigger place next year.
Blue Jeans Cables. Great quality, great value. This is where i go to get cables that will do the job and not overcharge.....
I have a Furman. It actually helps the sound. And it saved my system when it was brushed by lightning..And all the 12 volt triggers are handy
I built my own rack by buying 1/2-13 threaded rods, stainless steel nuts, washers, and rubber washers (used them under the stainless-steel ones to dampen vibrations and to help hold everything snug) from McMaster. Bought castors from Home Depot. If I had to do it over again, I'd buy heavier duty castors. Don't skimp out there. Bought 3/4" thick oak plywood and had Lowe's Hardware cut them to shape and drill holes in each corner. They were able to stack two or three at a time when drilling the holes to maintain alignment. Used some rolls of oak veneer (yeah, comes in a roll you iron on - duh) to hide the edges and then stained them with several coats of stain and a few of urethane for protection. All this wasn't cheap, but I got exactly what I wanted. One thing to note: Using threaded rod works well but be prepared to go a bit crazy spinning the nuts into place. Recall that there will be EIGHT for each shelf. That takes a long, long time. Chill out and listen to music and be prepared to waste an afternoon. Oh, if I had a chance to do it all again, I might spring some $$ for black anodized threaded rods. That would look even better.
Thanks!
Blue Jeans Cables are nice. They'll build most cables in any length and, in some cases, different colors.
I highly recommend Pine Tree Audio cables. I use his speaker, interconnect, coaxial and power cables. Replaced my Audioquest Diamondback interconnects first and I saw a big improvement in clarity plus Jesse does custom work and is great to work with.
The majority of my cables are from them. Really happy with their speaker cables, XLR interconnects, and their power cables
@@reconbbs360 One of the best value, no nonsense cables on the market and the sonic differences aren’t subtle.
I’ve long preferred Kimber Kables. I still use them in my living room system. For my main rig I replaced all of my Kimber RCAs for Iconoclast BAV.
I use ikea too because I can be cheap when it comes to furniture. Dröna bins work well for vinyl albums. I prefer to flip through my records vs having to cock my head and try to read the edge of the sleeve.
Decided to bi•amp my speakers and built the cables with Canare quad shield. Made a huuuuge difference. Very happy with it. Wish I hadn't waited so long
I use standard 19" equipment racks for most of my audio and computer equipment. For equipment with rack ears, it's perfect. For stuff without, rack mount shelves are the simple solution. Regarding vinyl record storage, you are right. The IKEA Kallax shelves are about the best for cheap record storage, and modular too which is a big plus.
If you can solder, get Mogami W2964 and Neutrik REAN RCA connectors and you can easily make interconnects to whatever length you like. A three foot RCA pair would be $20. Less than half a WBC set. I make mine and it’s very satisfying and easy to make them whatever length I like.
Good advice. I can recommend the QED interconnects, about £25 for a metre RCA. Very well built and I think they sound just as good as some of my other higher end interconnects which were over £100 back in the 1990’s. To put that in perspective they would have been a weeks wage back then.
Thank you so much for sharing such valuable and informative information.
I mostly solder my own cables with Neutrik or Amphenol plugs and cables from Sommer or Cordial. These are German cable brands, so I'm not sure if they're available outside of Europe. They are professional brands that are used by studios and event technicians, their build quality is very good. I just like soldering my own cables, it makes me happy to use something that I built and configured myself 😁
Worlds best cables has these. I’ve made custom orders from WBC and highly recommend.
For more German cables, don’t forget Klotz. Do have a look at round for plugs. Neutrik are good but some of their ability of being able to be plugged in and out all day is wasted on a home system. One brand I like is KLE (his old brand ETI has strayed a bit)
On my dining room (Number 2) hi Fi I upgraded my standard metal speaker stands to accommodate larger footprint speakers with bamboo chopping boards
Amazing vibration isolation improvement + lifted tweeter to better height (my Mission.QX2 Mk2s tweeter is below the mid bass cone 🙃)
My Pioneer txh94 has 140 watts per channel, Iam now running a 2 channel mode. I have the Elac 2.0, thanks to your review. They are incredible 😁🤘❤️
I use a UPS to 'protect' my system, so not a conditioner per se. I use WBC interconnects, and they work for me. I haven't used spade connectors, but find my banana plugs have worked well for me. Thank you as always for your efforts to share this with us all.
Casters are a great idea. Better still are casters with a brake mechanism. I use 3 inch furniture ones with rubberised wheels that I've fixed to the bottom of a solid wood board. Then the rack stands on that board. Beauty of this is you can custom make it any size you want to fit the rack. Once the brakes are engaged you ain't gonna get any rattle!
Great Sunday Topics Randy. Thanks!
I don't have a massive CD collection, but I managed to get control of it by taking a CD case to Target along with my interior dimensions of my AV cabinet at home. I found rectangular bins that hold a couple of dozen CDs each and fit nicely inside the cabinet. As my collection grows, I add more bins. It's imperfect, but works for now and keeps the room clutter tolerable. I say to take a CD case with you when shopping because I had a hard time finding an actual music CD in the store as a sample for bin selection fit! Have a memorable Memorial Day!
the furman ss6b is great and a bare minimum "cheap power strip" (the mentioned $25 model); for cabling I've always preferred the cost/build of the monoprice stuff. Micca makes good premade speaker/banana cables.
I bought the World's Best Cables Canare on your recommendation and I'm super impressed. They feel like the several hundred dollar interconnects (scams in my experience) and were roughly $50. Really happy with my purchase and I'll be getting more.
I have a large TV stand that I bought for a 150 lb Sony TV back in 2005 before tv's got feather weight. Top shelf has my amp and turntable, 2nd shelf cd and cassette deck. Bottom shelf odds and ends. Looked at those stereo stands for years just too expensive. This TV stand is beautiful and rock solid. 🎸🎸🎸
Amazon basics working great for me. Banana plug speaker wire was about $25 and the length was perfect. RCA's sturdy, quiet. Not too thick.
I highly recommend SKW cables. Probably the cheapest cables with OCC copper instead of regular OFC. Their speaker cables are amazing (on the slightly more expensive side tho) and the RCA are quite a bargain
Great video! For record sleeves you can't go wrong with the Mofi inner sleeves. I'm not a big fan of their outer sleeves (too cloudy for my liking) but, they are good quality. For outer sleeves, I like Vinyl Storage Solutions and the Japanese outer sleeves. My vinyl collection has a combination of those 3. All are good quality. Like someone else posted, all vinyl is washed before playing whether new or used. Helps to protect the stylus. Keep up the good work!.
Big 2nd to Furman gear. A long time ago a wise man told me that you should spend 10% of the value of your gear on surge protection/power conditioning. Has not failed me yet. For me, spending a little more for a model with a voltmeter is worth it to make sure you are not running under or over, but it is not required. Just get something.
blue jeans cables are great too
Thanks!
thank you so much for your support!
- Outer Sleeves: Eveo (I've tried tons of brands, this is the best size that works great with regulars AND gatefolds)
- Inner Sleeves: MoFi
Been using Tributaries RCAs and speaker cables. Sound great and built very nicely!
I have been using a $90 Fitueyes 4-tier Media Component stand for my rack for about 6 years. Works great and looks nice. Maybe not the choice if you are using 200lbs monoblocks, but if your components aren't too heavy it is a solid option.
I've got one for you. See if you can find a Sound Organization Table that was designed in the 80's exclusively for the Linn Sondek LP12 Turntable. I have 4. I strip them of their black paint and repaint in a beautiful red or green. They are the best table I have ever found to put a turntable on even if it is not a Linn. And you can put a board between the lower rungs and put an integrated amp on that or even a CD Player and an amp on them. What a value cheapaudioman!!!
If you use pro amps like Crown for your home setup, use a Ferman power conditioner, it really reduces the amount of noise.
The C-Line (entry level Chord Company) cables are wonderful IMO as are as the first three levels of cable made by QED, the Connect, Profile and Performance Graphite ranges (all of which are cheaper than Chord C-Lines).
All my interconnects are Chord, QED and Van den Hul. For speaker cables I use Cable Talk and Van den Hul. With interconnects...does it make a difference...? Hmm, better than stock RCA cables. Speaker cables..hmm. Depends what sound you want. Some are 'brighter' sounding than others, but depends upon taste. Without getting boring, if your speakers have basic cables/crossovers inside them spending a fortune on fancy cables from your amp won't make much of a difference at all. Save your cash for music! As for 'isolation', I use washing machine rubber stands. Amazing, do the job and very cheap.
Blue Jean cables. -- Cheaper banana plugs/Spades: direct wire. Never going to get a worn-out connector, as there is no connector. -- Rack & vinyl/CD storage: DYI. You actually get what you want. -- Vinyl/CD storage: home made wood shelves from 1" red oak, built into closet of my listening room. Sleeves: vinyl storage solution (Canadian company) dual pocket, crystal clear outers and thick inner. Yes, expensive, but totally worth it.
I use sturdy end tables as a speaker stand. Four legs beat one pedestal! Plus the extra storage shelf space is nice.
Thumbs up for Furman. Pangea or Sanus for racks and Canare speaker wire. Long time consumer at Blue Jeans Cable
Power Conditioner is great, but what about Power Shampoo?
stop looking at my swan
I had a 16 foot cable running from preamp to amp from a manufacturer who shall remain nameless. $800 dollar cable. A friend came over with $40 used monster cable . The $40 cable was probably the biggest improvement I've ever heard. Crazy.
I bought an audio rack from an electronic supply house many years ago. Stands over 6' tall, all metal. It was over $1000. Once I got it loaded up with a GAS Ampzilla and Son of Ampzilla, DVD recorder, laserdisc player, mixer, etc., the bottom of the rack where the casters attached started to bend, had to stabilize it with 2x4s.
I have a decent size vinyl collection, around 400 rn. I use Hudson vinyl sleeves for inner and outer sleeves, cause the inner ones are good quality and anti-static and the outer are thick enough to last and actually provide protection, plus they are not too expensive on amazon. As far as storage, i have 3 "4 cube storage organizer" shelves, they stand vertically and each space is like 13.5" x 13.5" so it fits everything perfectly and i can sort them by genre or however i want cause theres different spaces. Mine have the little flimsy 1" shelves but i have several of the filly loaded with vinyls and they hold up fine
i buy monoprice cables, i love them because their xlr, trs, RCA's all have unscrewable connectors. If you ever have a problem you could just open the connector unsolder the wires, cut the cable and terminate the new wires on the same plug. Luckily ive had all my mono price cables for 5 years and have had 0 issues with them or had to even do this.
Make your own audio cables, its so easy and you can use high quality stuff for cheap.
I use a VTI rack for about $500. Five shelves, looks good too. For vinyl I use a 2x2 cube shelf I assembled from Target. Worlds Best Cables are good. I now use PS Audio Power regenerator. They do make a difference. They are very expensive though.
Also recommend upgrading the outlet you're plugging your system in to.
Turkey hill plastic milk containers are perfect for record staorage!!! As a retired dj I really like them
I've really liked the CESS cables for RCAs, and WBC Mogami for balanced.
I've been using bar stools for speaker stands for a really long time...they work great and they're pretty cheap...especially compared to purpose made stands
Sleeve City out of Tennessee has the best quality outter vinyl sleeves I’ve come across. I use their Ultimate Outter Sleeves on all my albums-love them and an American company 🇺🇸.
9:35 has some of the best life advice you will ever receive.
I store all of my vinyl in aftermarket inner and outer sleeves. All records also get washed. It doesn't matter how much the record is worth, sometimes the sleeves are worth more than the album, but protecting your record protects your stylus.
I do all that too.👌
I built my own rack using 5/8" black anodized screw poles so I can adjust each shelf using black bolts and large fender washers on top and bottom of each of the four shelf holes I drilled into the shelves. You can then finish it off with sections of PVC cut to each span length and slit along the back so you can remove and add them as needed. Painted with the nice finish glossy black Krylon paint it looks like an expensive pro rack. But 1/5 the price.
Some of the more expensive “racks” are beautiful wood creations that can highlight your equipment and your listening room as well. I don’t like junk or one step up from junk so in a effort to receive quality I spend a little more and my yard sales are few. Just for the record there is nothing wrong with Pangea.
I've tried Worlds best, Audioquest, and others. But the best are Blue Jean Cables. They are lowest capacitance, hand built in Washington to the exact length you need, and inexpensive. They make every type of cable,except for power. They say they don't make them because they don't make a difference.
Bananaplugs and other items in the loop are nice but can create extra impedance and resistance. If you don't need it just keep any loop as simple as possible.
I have used several cables brands like Audioquest but I wanted to go cheaper with same quality or better and found "RU connected". Very happy with them.
From the socket, I use a Tripp Lite Isobar (plug-in style only), silver plated eBay cable, to a Furutech power distributor.
Banana clips are a god send..i use them for my Klipsch r51 pm
I've bought and been impressed with the quality of Gear IT speaker cables from Amazon. They are welded together with the terminator. I will never build my own cables again because they just fall apart. Like CAM I can't say they sound better but they are very likely to be my last cable purchase.
Randy- great video. Buy once cry once is a great motivator for the items mentioned. We’ll have these products for (maybe) the rest of our lives. Like, how often are we going to upgrade a killer rack?
On vinyl protection-
I only mention this as my wife recently, after playing DJ one evening, said, “now I get why you’re so particular with your records.”
It starts when I open the vinyl for the first time. To protect the record, it’s fidelity, and my stylus, the record goes into an ultrasonic bath to get off any yuck. Then I clean my stylus with at607a. After play, I give it a quick brush and it goes into mo-fi (audiophile grade from the original masters😂) sleeve, stored with the album sleeve in a larger dustcover poly sleeve, upright, in its right place (alphabetically by band name and chronological release😅😁😆) in one of our many attractive 5x5cube IKEA Kallax shelves we will probably die with😅
Blue jeans cables out of Seattle are also pretty good! use their RCA interconnects and also speaker wires.
I use TRIPP LITE surge suppressors. They will detect via led's that determine bad grounding. If you want a real clean power outlet install or have an electrician install a medical grade outlet. They are expensive but are made of gold plated components and must meet reliability requirements.
I work for a different division of Amphenol but can attest that our connectors are very good for the price. I am gradually replacing all my RCA cables with Worlds Best Cables.
Randy, Please review the optical HDMI cables. I put them in my system and I was blown away. The sound difference is amazing!
I have the AudioQuest PowerQuest 2 for $199 though i think it might be $249 post cove-of-an-id 9-teens. I just got it as audio-jewelry/“non-sacrificial” surge protection. My Marantz cd5005 has transformer hum which is annoying but its just mechanical, and though small, marantz uses decent components even in the entry level stuff and as such the sound theoretically isn’t getting passed into the signal. But its still annoying as hell when you purchase a brand new cd player with linear power supply and it ends up being noisy. The 5005 uses a small transformer so the hum is very faint and slightly higher pitched though im pretty sure its 60hz hum. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I used to sell MIT cables and have a few left around. They aren’t cheap but even though they’re probably 20 years old they’re still the best sounding cables I’ve found. Basically they don’t make nasty sounds. Ludicrous pricing, I’d couldn’t afford them if I had to buy them now.
I use Atlas speaker cable. I was saving up for Atlas interconnects and in the meantime I ordered Blue Jean interconnects and a digital coax. They are so good I will not be upgrading to Atlas.
I run a Panamax conditioner/protector myself. They are a bit pricey these days. Furman is also a solid choice.
I can vouch for Blue Jeans cable. They are a bulk supplier, but also sell to the consumer, (focused on the DIY type, but will make completed cables as well). They also happen to supply the likes of Audioquest and others with their bulk rolls. Yeah, you are basically buying BJC when you buy Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables, you are paying (over-paying) for the fancy wrapping, name, packaging and in some cases the pseudoscience/fake science of battery packs, etc. I would take any cable over Audioquest personally.
I can also vouch for World's Best cables, but Randy is right, be careful, just make sure you are getting the real deal. Very easy to contact them and make sure you are getting the Canare or Neutrik, what have you. Example: Balanced cables you need to make sure you are getting the Japanese ones, there are tons of knock-off Chinese Canares, etc. World's Best will tell you how to spot them.
I have not tried Amazon Basics cables and have no need to. If they are anything like Monoprice premium cables I'm not interested. The Monoprice cables are good (formally Monster Cable), they are very well shielded and all, but unfortunately too thick and stiff and the terminators are overkill and can disembowel your gear if not careful. (I don't use them anymore obviously).
In my opinion, Pangea is superior to Salamander in build and function. The Monoprice racks are also quite good.
As for record inner sleeves and such, there are many good ones out there. You can't go wrong with Diskkeeper, Vinyl Storage Solutions, Mo-Fi, etc.
I agree with your accessories, great build quality. At least that’s what I have. I like the Worlds…that lock. Everything, RCA cd player and turntable. Speaker cables are bi wired locking Blue Jean. Speakers Canton Vento 7 reference, 1st generation. I plug it all into a Furman except my integrated amps are direct in the wall. Furman got rid of phono hum. Made the system seem quieter as well. Pangea power cord for amp. Worth it also. I should get better power cords for everything else. Nice job.
Really good topic here. That vinyl storage thing I’m interested in. Not to mention all recommendations from others. Thank you
I have found that the IKEA Kalax system is very good for vinyl storage.
selling my maple shade crates
I have 3 Furman products. Well worth it, one more level of protection and power filtration. Cheap cables often have poor strain relief, cold solder joints and other flaws. Cheap speaker stands result in toppling over REALLY easy.
For vinyl storage I just bought some Glorious racks on Reverb and they’re great. The Isoacoustics Zazen1 and Zazen2 saved my hifi.
Nice video Randy. Regarding World's Best Cables, good to know about this brand. When I went to the WBC website, I could not find two important pieces of information. (1) Country of Manufacture and (2) Where is the company located. I'm always a bit leery when a company hides such basic information.
@Cheapaudioman..- Sorry Randy, but I'm not following what to do. It's no big deal. No worries. Cheers, Steve
I bought Blue Jean Cables out of Oregon.
seeing a perfect rack always makes me happy i agree with you on that one, sometimes though it includes a reoccurring cost most audiophiles don't talk about
Hey, Randy! Very much looking forward to your review of the Eversolo DMP A6….
For UK buyers, I see some chatter about a Tacima Surge Protector / Power Conditioner that has some good reviews. Can be bought discounted at places like Richer Sounds (sometimes). I'm going to keep a look out for it. It's not crazily-priced either.
The power filter that definitely improved the sound quality in my system is the Iso-Power unit from Pine Tree Audio.
Also I *love* the Iso-Braid AC cable from them. And they also make very good braided interconnect; RCA and XLR. Their quality is top notch - and their prices are quite reasonable.
The Power filters in the devices already clean up the power...
@@DescartesRenegade More filtering is even better.
@@NeilBlanchard no, the point is that no matter how ugly or pretty the AC incoming signal is, it gets cleaned up to the same degree and turned into a DC signal.
@@DescartesRenegade So, all power supplies are immune to noise?
Somehow I think that's not the case.
@@NeilBlanchard all devices operate on DC. The conversion from AC to DC removes whatever noise is in the AC line. This is a basic fact of electrical engineering in consumer products.
Monster cable
have been great for years for me.
I have a Pioneer txh94 Elite. I know it has a dac. And sounds good, so should I buy a external dac ? My Pioneer txh94 is a 08 model. Please answer this! It's not an easy decision 😅 Thanks so much ❤️
Cables should be rugged enough if they are going to be moved much and are physically large enough to handle the power going through them. Screened speaker wire should be best although I haven't detected any difference if they are not. Consider the size of the wires inside the amp, the connections which are often circuit boards that plug in to various parts of an amp, tiny wires! and every contact offers resistance so there is potential for distortion just on those basics alone. If the cables are set to rest for years in a setup all that is needed is the size to match.
I like Blue Jean Cables
I've always made my own speaker cables only me to blame if there crap .
Rca cables I use qed carbon fibre not the best for bending but there great value, 40i are really good . If you know a good welder get them to make your speaker stands (mates rates) . Other wise B@W are cheapish .