This post is about hi-fi cables and connectors, and my recent experiences with them. A few months ago, I wrote a letter to a hi-fi magazine, and they made it ‘Letter of the month’, for which they offer a prize! In due course, I received a Russ Andrews 1 m Yello mains cable, with a UK 13 amp plug on one end and an IEC mains connector on the other. Sur-prize! 😀
I have always paid attention to hi-fi signal leads and connectors, but had assumed that the mains cables supplied with my kit (from reputable manufacturers) would be up to the task. I replaced the mains cable on my amplifier with the Yello cable, not really expecting to hear any difference.
But there was a clear improvement to the overall sound. Not a transformation, but a modest and noticeable enhancement. The sound was (and remains) a little airier, each instrumental strand just a little clearer, and bass guitar notes a little more defined. Not bad for free!
But I can hear you thinking I should’ve expected this. Magazines and reviewers have been praising cables for many years. With hindsight, I can see, as you can, that I should’ve known better. But now comes the interesting bit:
I ordered a second Yello cable. My thought was that I could try it on the PC, hoping it might improve the sound on my ‘phones. 😯 [I listen to music stored on my hard disk, via foobar2000 and a Chord Mojo2.] If this fantasy didn’t work out, I could surely use it to some benefit on the CD player.
I got lucky! Although any computer is a strong source of digital noise, a Yello cable did improve the sound, much as before, but bass and drum notes were just a little more prominent too. Not a bad thing when you use open-back headphones.
But my surprise was that sound originating from a computer can also benefit from decent power cables. Is this news to you too?
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