The path to cable enlightenment is never easy but well worth it…

This month, Matt is very much back on the cable side of things in his own Hi-Fi system, exploring how much difference speaker cables and interconnects can make. The goal? Making our Hi-Fi sound more musical while bringing those finer details to light without being fatiguing.

And the cable brand in question this month is one of our favourites—see if you can guess. That’s right, it’s The Chord Company cables. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and read along with Matt—we’ll see where we end up.

As many of you have followed my blogs over time, you’ll know my long and winding journey through the wild world of Hi-Fi & audiophilia has been quite fun. But there have always been small tweaks along the way, trying to bring the most detail out of my music without tiring my ears—essentially, making it more musical.

On the fine-tuning side, I always find myself wanting to improve, and one area I keep returning to is how my equipment is connected and which cables complement my system best sonically.

So this month, I decided to take a deep dive into all things interconnected. As mentioned, the cable brand I’m focusing on is one of my favourites: The Chord Company. Before I get into the details of the cables and my findings, let me take a moment to talk about what drives me—and all of you wonderful music enthusiasts—on that never-ending quest for detail in music.

Every detail matters

A few weeks ago, a good customer of mine asked a very interesting question about a piece of music we were playing while I was demonstrating a pair of Dynaudio Evoke 30 speakers in our demonstration room. The track in question was Tenement Time by the legendary indie guitarist Johnny Marr.

The question arose when my customer heard something in Johnny’s guitar tone he had never noticed before. What our customer and I heard was, as I explained, Johnny using a Fuzz Face guitar pedal through his Fender Twin Reverb amp along with his Fender Jaguar to get that brutal effect that filled the track out in the chorus section of the song.

Talking to my customer about this track and the effects gear musicians use sent me on a bit of a journey back into my past and the questions that should be asked about music. As I mentioned earlier, what makes us want to uncover this hidden information in music is the seemingly endless quest to find it.

Let’s Put My Cable Theory to the Test

Back in November last year, Ian, our sales representative from The Chord Company, kindly loaned me:

Chord Co. Signature Tuned ARAY RCA interconnecting cables
A pair of Signature Reference speaker cables

This was for our big REL subwoofer event (you may recall my December blog). After the event, I spoke with Ian about listening to my own Hi-Fi with these cables.

I hadn’t yet had the chance to listen to a system in isolation with the Chord Signature range, so I took the opportunity to test them at home. I also brought home:

Chord Epic ARAY interconnects
Epic X speaker cables

…to compare with my current cabling.

Like any component in a Hi-Fi system, how we connect each component impacts the sound. It’s very personal. What one person loves, another might reject. My system has changed over the last four years, and as you know, tastes in Hi-Fi and music differ widely, just like the brands of sources, amplifiers, and speakers we choose.

Starting the Listening Session

I had a fun evening ahead: coffee on, vinyl & CDs ready, and all set to enjoy the music. But first, the starting point: what was already in my system, and what music would I use?

Music Used:

Big Wreck – The Rest of the Story (2025) on vinyl | Track: Believer
The Black Crowes – Amorica (1994) on vinyl | Track: Wiser Time
A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step (2003) on CD | Track: The Outsider

Current Cables in My System:

Cyrus 40PPA phono stage → 40 Amp: Chord Cable Anthem Reference RCA cables
Cyrus CD player → 40 Amp: Ricable Magnus coax cable
Speakers: Ricable Magnus speaker cables

Cable Swaps and Performance Changes

1. Phono Stage RCA Swap:
Swapped Chord Anthem RCA for Chord Epic ARAY RCA. Very similar sound to Anthems, with slightly brighter treble. Noticeable on Big Wreck’s Ian Thornley vocals.

2. CD Player Coax Swap:
Swapped Ricable digital coax for Chord Epic ARAY digital coax. Massive improvement—A Perfect Circle track had more presence, especially Josh Freese’s drums, capturing their dynamic feel.

3. Speaker Cable Swap:
Swapped Ricable for Chord Epic X (silver-plated copper). Big change: mid-frequency detail improved significantly, revealing details I hadn’t noticed before.

Stepping It Up – Chord Co. Signature

Phono Stage & CD Player: Swapped RCA & coax to Signature ARAY. Massive improvement, particularly on vinyl. The Black Crowes – Wiser Time: Rich Robinson’s ’63 Gibson ES-335 sounded more open, with richer slide guitar textures from Marc Ford.

Speaker Cable: Swapped to Chord Signature Reference. Favorite moment: The Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz – guitars defined, soundstage bigger. Couldn’t stop listening.

Takeaways from the Sonic Experience

As always, once you’ve heard something you can’t un-hear it—whether it’s good or bad. For me, this evening of listening was a real eye-opener, not just in terms of sheer sonic detail but in how much the right cables can enhance the experience of music. The Epic ARAY interconnects brought a subtle clarity that made me notice things I’d heard countless times before but never quite appreciated—the way Josh Freese’s drums breathe, the texture of Marc Ford’s slide guitar, even the natural decay of notes on the piano. And the Signature Reference speaker cables? They were the real revelation. Suddenly, the space around the instruments felt more tangible, more alive. There was a sense of presence, of being in the room with the musicians, that had previously felt just out of reach.

I think the biggest takeaway here is how personal it all is. What I love about my system might not be exactly what someone else would prefer, but for me, these cable swaps reinforced that every component, every link in the chain, and every choice we make matters. It’s not just about chasing ‘better’ sound; it’s about listening with intention, noticing the subtleties, and enjoying the musicality without fatigue. It also reminded me of the sheer fun of experimentation—how rewarding it can be to try something new, to hear a familiar track in a new light, and to discover those little details that make you smile, lean forward, or even laugh out loud at the cleverness of a riff or the punch of a drumbeat.

For anyone out there wondering whether it’s worth experimenting with cables, my advice would be: absolutely. If you’re curious, if you love detail, if you care about nuance and musical expression, give it a go. Try different combinations, explore what works for your system, and don’t be afraid to hear something differently. And if you’re lucky enough to get access to a cable library like The Chord Company’s, it’s like having a playground of possibilities at your fingertips. Each swap, each comparison, teaches you a little more about your music and your system—and that’s what makes the journey so endlessly rewarding.

In Conclusion

Cable enlightenment isn’t about chasing perfection or an elusive ‘holy grail’ sound—it’s about discovery. It’s about the thrill of hearing something familiar in a new way and the satisfaction of understanding how each component, no matter how small, contributes to the whole. For me, this journey with The Chord Company cables has been a reminder that attention to detail matters, and that sometimes, the smallest changes can have the biggest impact.

So, whether you’re an experienced listener or just starting to explore the world of Hi-Fi, I encourage you to lean in, listen closely, and have fun along the way. Experiment, explore, and above all, enjoy the music—because that’s what it’s all about. So contact your local Audio T today to arrange a demonstration either in-store or at home with your own set-up. And who knows? You might just discover a detail, a nuance, or a soundstage that changes the way you hear your favourite tracks forever.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog -

Matt Aaron - Audio T Cardiff

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