In some cases, yes, and I’m happy to fit them, but people are often surprised to learn that there are usually many other considerations.

Many of these topics are plagued by misinformation and pseudoscience. Certain “improvements” are not actually improvements at all, and in some cases are retrograde moves. No retailer selling cables will tell you this of course, even if they actually knew or understood why.

Audio Jewellery

I’m interested in getting customer equipment sounding as good as it can, within their budget. I also encourage keeping equipment original, because that retains value. People are drawn to fancy cables and connectors, but there are almost always lower-hanging fruit that should be knocked off first. My question is:

Do you want fancy connectors or the best-sounding and running equipment with the highest resale value?

In other words, if you came to me and said, “Mike, I want you to spend two hours improving my amplifier,” I can tell you that those two hours would not be spent upgrading connectors in most cases. There will generally be much better ways to spend those two hours, and the improvements from this informed work will be far more significant.

Good Connections

Much of what people think they know about connectors is wrong because it’s based on marketing rather than science, so let’s clarify a few things. Good connections are critically important; good connectors might help us get there.

For example, did you know the best connections are no connections at all? Failing that, hardwired connections are always better, in terms of sonics. One of the best ways to improve an amplifier, for example, is to hard-wire a really good power cable to it.

The best connector is NO CONNECTOR. This can be inconvenient, though, so we need to be practical.

But Mike, this is sacrilege! Everyone selling cables and who’s spent a fortune on cables tells me that fancy detachable cables are the way to go!

I’m presenting well-understood basic science here. It doesn’t suit the retail narrative, but don’t shoot the messenger for that. Connectors are convenient and sometimes essential. Just understand that the fewer connections, the better.

Did you also know that the humble RCA connector is a really poor connector in terms of technical performance? There are many other connector types such as BNC, Camac, Cannon and others that perform measurably better.

I can treat connectors with a product that lowers contact resistance, and you’ll hear the difference that makes. I can replace speaker terminals, but it may be better to simply change cable-end connectors. If your speaker connectors are broken or awful, then yes, it makes sense to change them.

There are many possibilities that don’t make accessory manufacturers rich. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more.

Do Cables Make a Difference?

Yes, good cables are game changers, and I’ve written an FAQ specifically about this. Upgrading standard IEC inlets is a really sensible improvement. I can improve an existing IEC inlet with a premium hospital-grade filtered Swiss-made inlet module. They aren’t cheap but you can hear the difference they make. I can also bypass IEC inlets and hard-wire in some heavy-duty cables.

Some of the best-value and highest-performance cables are those sold as cable stock by cable manufacturers like Canare and Mogami, and then rebadged by boutique manufacturers. The best cables I’ve used in terms of build and sound quality are Accuphase cables, like the ALC-15 balanced cable, above.

Fancy-looking detachable power cables make retailers a ton of money and the biggest markups of all are on cables. If you want fancy detachable cables, no problem, just understand what you are spending money on.

Mini FAQ!

Yes, replacing bad RCA connectors can be very worthwhile when it improves connections. We often upgrade RCA connectors.

No, adding a heavy-duty or very fancy mains cable to a turntable will not make a difference. It simply can’t, because of that wonderful thing, physics. If you want to learn why not, ask me. Changing the signal cable can though.

No, using crazy-thick RCA cables is not a good idea. Want heavy-duty connectors and better sound? Go balanced. All the best gear is balanced and there are many technical reasons why it’s the better way to transmit signals.