Interconnet impact on 1066/1075 sound quality

[pbarata]

I’m the proud owner of Rotel RSP1066/RMB1075 combo since February this year, much before it become the overall winner on multi channel pre/power super test on May edition of What Hi-Fi magazine. I wanted separates, budget was short and the quality/price ratio for Rotel combo was unbeatable.

I paired Rotel combo with Monitor Audio Silver 8i front, Silver 5i rears, Silver 10i centre and REL Quake subwoofer, all in cherry finish. Analog interconnects are QED QUNEX Two between pre and power amp, also for Rotel RCD-1070 CD player, front and centre speaker cables are QED Original Mk II Bi-Wire, surround speaker cable is Supra Rondo 4x2,5 and IXOS 1081 for subwoofer, digital coax is QED QUNEX P75 and SCART is IXOS 141-AV flat cable (RGB) for Pioneer DV-454 DVD player. However in the mentioned review they suggest to pair Rotel combo with much more expensive cables and speakers, namely Chord Company Rumor speaker cable, Chord Chorus/Prodac interconnects and Ruark Contemporary Prologue speakers.

Question is, should I upgrade my cables and speakers in order to take the most of my Rotel combo? Compared to my current setup, should I expect any dramatic improvement if I pair my system with your premium options? Which priority, speaker cables, interconnects or speakers first?

[Andrew Pratt]

I wouldn't bother with the speaker cable upgrade since what you're using now is fine. Interconnects on the other hand can make a difference in the sound you hear but its not as huge a change as a change in pre amps or CD players etc. That said if you're looking to tweak your system a little changin interconnects can be worthwhile. I use SilverCats from http://www.catcables.com which just happens to be a sponsor of this forum. They use solid silver wire and very nice locking RCA's which together I find provides me with a little better top end and very solid bass reposnse. I tend to use these only on the front channels though since this is where I listen to music and I can't yet afford to use silver on all five channels (maybe one day) so for the surrounds I'm using the CopperCats which have the same build quality but use copper instead of silver so they're more affordable.