Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat The Old Snake Oil topic

I just tried making up some temporary power cords for my DSPs (until I can afford some RA ones) with Belden 19634 and some nice Wattgate connectors I had. Now the Wattgates I can vouch for as I've had great results before, but the Belden's reputation is not justified - here is an example, sadly, of a cable making a difference alright, but not in a good way. I'm actually quite shocked how much worse the system sounds after a couple of days burn-in - tinny and strangled, where it was lovely and rich and smooth with the stock cables. My girlfriend, unaware of what I'd changed, described it as 'difficult to listen to'. Beware, not all aftermarket cables are created equal, or are an upgrade! Well, either that or some other highly coincidental fault developed in those two days. I'm going back to the standard cables, so should know soon...