Speaker Cable arguments...

[RankStranger]

15 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

But it is stranded cable, Simon - iow, still a pig ... even tho' it's got lipstick on it.  

 

Andy

 

 

But it sounds excellent, Andy. For the money and just in general. It can be bettered but you have to spend a lot more money to do so. I don’t care if it’s knitted from nostril hair, as long as it sounds good. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[andyr]

55 minutes ago, RankStranger said:

 

But it sounds excellent, Andy. For the money and just in general. It can be bettered but you have to spend a lot more money to do so. I don’t care if it’s knitted from nostril hair, as long as it sounds good. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

 

Shure - it has to "sound good", Simon.  

 

But "sounding good" ... is relative!  Even for the same money.    Only when you hear some solid-core cables will you understand where the 4s8 sits.

 

How long are your spkr cables?

 

Andy

 

[RankStranger]

1 minute ago, andyr said:

 

Shure - it has to "sound good", Simon.  

 

But "sounding good" ... is relative!  Even for the same money.    Only when you hear some solid-core cables will you understand where the 4s8 sits.

 

How long are your spkr cables?

 

Andy

 

 

I’m happy to try some solid core speaker cable if you point me to some for $3.50 per metre, plug and play. My speaker cables are only a couple of metres long. I used the 4s8 for a while and now I’m back to using my favourite Chord Co Epic Twin. It’s better in small but important ways for approximately forty-three times the cost. It’s also stranded though so it must be rubbish too?  

[andyr]

3 hours ago, RankStranger said:

 

I’m happy to try some solid core speaker cable if you point me to some for $3.50 per metre, plug and play. My speaker cables are only a couple of metres long. I used the 4s8 for a while and now I’m back to using my favourite Chord Co Epic Twin. It’s better in small but important ways for approximately forty-three times the cost. It’s also stranded though so it must be rubbish too?  

 

 

Hi Simon, I happen to have some solid-core spkr cable made up ... but not terminated yet.  However, they are only 1.8m long.  

 

If this can be used in your system, I'm happy to terminate them - with banana plugs or spades, your choice - so you can compare them to the Chord Epic Twins you're currently using.

 

If you prefer them ... they won't be $3.50 per metre - but you'll be able to:

• buy mine, and
• sell your Chords

... for a handsome profit!  

 

Andy

 

[RankStranger]

9 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

Hi Simon, I happen to have some solid-core spkr cable made up ... but not terminated yet.  However, they are only 1.8m long.  

 

If this can be used in your system, I'm happy to terminate them - with banana plugs or spades, your choice - so you can compare them to the Chord Epic Twins you're currently using.

 

If you prefer them ... they won't be $3.50 per metre - but you'll be able to:

• buy mine, and
• sell your Chords

... for a handsome profit!  

 

Andy

 

You’re a bad influence, Andy I’ll PM you

[vinilink]

Are Expensive Speaker Cables Actually Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know (gearpatrol.com)

[oldbrowndog]

A mate put me onto audio principe cables ( i bought the solid core version) and thats the only time i've bought better than regular braided bunnings 18GA cables. I have to admit cant hear the difference, but its probably more to do with speaker placement than anything else. That being my main reason for posing the question in the first place, but i think its answered now.. ie. testing time.

[doogie44]

Many things make a difference in the perceived sound, one of which is the kind of cable--according to my listening. 

 

But the most elusive and frustrating perception is the better quality of the overall system at various times of the day and night

 

Just my 2c worth

[Misternavi]

9 hours ago, vinilink said:

Are Expensive Speaker Cables Actually Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know (gearpatrol.com)

No audiophile would take that article seriously.
Writer hasn't used such words like 'timing', 'PRAT',' Transparency', 'micro-dynamics'

[rantan]

10 hours ago, vinilink said:

Are Expensive Speaker Cables Actually Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know (gearpatrol.com)

 

I shall refrain from posting my actual opinion on this piece but may I say that people make their own decisions and should be free to do so.

[muon*]

11 hours ago, vinilink said:

Are Expensive Speaker Cables Actually Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know (gearpatrol.com)

He lost me here, he is clueless.

 

"When it comes to conducting electricity–which is what cables do when they form a path for fast-moving electrons"

[Guest thethrowback]

2 hours ago, doogie44 said:

But the most elusive and frustrating perception is the better quality of the overall system at various times of the day and night

 

My audio equipment always sounds at its best at about 2 in the morning. It must have something to do with the electrons in the power grid not being diverted to other households.

Edited June 23, 2021 by thethrowback

[ray4410]

34 minutes ago, muon* said:

He lost me here, he is clueless.

 

"When it comes to conducting electricity–which is what cables do when they form a path for fast-moving electrons"

i got lot's cables power,interconnects +speaker cables,so i must have heaps of those lil ol fast moving electrons doin there thing,don't care how they do it as long as they keep doing it cos i luv what i am hearing on my system

[bob_m_54]

14 hours ago, vinilink said:

Are Expensive Speaker Cables Actually Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know (gearpatrol.com)

But he doesn't understand the terminology. ie resistance and impedance...

[jya]

On 22/06/2021 at 8:11 AM, davewantsmoore said:

 

It all really comes down to how much current you are going put down the speaker cable.... and of course, length.

theoretically, it's more voltage drop you want to be wary about and having as low resistance as possible.

 

There's very little current, and it's alternating current to boost.

 

[bob_m_54]

7 minutes ago, jya said:

theoretically, it's more voltage drop you want to be wary about and having as low resistance as possible.

 

There's very little current, and it's alternating current to boost.

 

Voltage drop is directly related to current and resistance.

[andyr]

51 minutes ago, jya said:

theoretically, it's more voltage drop you want to be wary about and having as low resistance as possible.

 

And you want the cable to be low inductance - since inductance acts as a brake on current flow.

 

51 minutes ago, jya said:

 

There's very little current, and it's alternating current to boost.

 

 

Very little current in spkr cables?  Perhaps you have very efficient spkrs; with less efficient spkrs (like Maggies, for instance) ... 5a is easily achieved.

 

Andy

 

[davewantsmoore]

1 hour ago, jya said:

There's very little current

 

That depends hugely on the efficiency of the speaker and how loud you play it.

 

Some speakers it's << 1A .... or it could be >> 20A

 

"very little"  

[ianferndale]

I bought 25 metres of 10AWG Ugly Cable on eBay for $79. Then I bought some connectors on eBay. I made up the cables so they were all the same length. Electrons aren't fussy, so long as there are lots of them to bump into in the cable, and 10AWG is so thick there's no shortage of them.

 

You'll find no difference between the cables I knocked up in my lounge and ones made in a (supposedly) perfectly sterile lab on Mars out of Pharsical isotope 937 Cu + Au alloy by Dr Fauci lookalikes and sold complete with the services of a pair of Swedish blonde twins to help with installation.

 

But of course, one set of cables will give much greater bragging rights than the other.

Edited June 27, 2021 by ianferndale

[davewantsmoore]

2 hours ago, ianferndale said:

the services of a pair of Swedish blonde twins to help with installation.

 

I think I spotted the difference.... but I will need to check again to be sure.

[ianferndale]

8 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said:

 

I think I spotted the difference.... but I will need to check again to be sure.

 

Yes, but don't forget girls like that charge by the hour, and the wife-approval-factor might be quite low.

[Dingbat]

For the OP, as you can see from how this thread has meandered, every man and his dog has a different opinion. My advice, there isn't any substitute for listening yourself, and deciding whether you hear a difference, or not. So you need to borrow (or buy) a bit more expensive cable, and see whether you think it's worth it, or not.

 

Personally, I don't believe in spending a ridiculous amount of money on cables,  but I think there's a bit more than getting the basic speaker cables from Jaycar or Bunning's, depending of course on the level of your system. There's no particular reason for a cheap(-ish) brand speaker cable not to work well, but it will also depend on the level of your system.

 

On the one hand, the conductor in the speaker cable carries a current, so theoretically, all that matters is the resistance (cross-sectional area of the conductor). But on the other hand, a music signal is a complex waveform, so inductance and capacitance come into it. That's where the designs of more expensive speaker cables come into it. But if your system is on the cheaper end, they're not really going to add much. If you have a much more expensive system, you can go for pricier cables, but even then, depending on what you're after, I don't necessarily think you need to spend an arm and a leg. The speaker cables I have cost less than 5% of the cost of my speakers and amp combined, and I'm pretty happy with the result. 

[davewantsmoore]

 

Quote

I don't necessarily think you need to spend an arm and a leg.

Agree with this.

 

11 hours ago, Dingbat said:

But if your system is on the cheaper end, they're not really going to add much.

IME when you have cheap system (with garbage cable) ..... then adding good quality, well terminated cable can dramatically improve the sound.

 

People often say (something like) "you can't hear the benefits of megabuck cable without a megabuck system" ...... but I think a much more relevant (and accurate) generalisation, is you can hear the degradation in SQ of poor quality or poorly terminated cables in any speaker (assuming the speaker isn't complete garbage).

Edited July 18, 2021 by davewantsmoore

[MattyW]

I'd suggest getting in touch with @Bill125812. Belden tinned copper is lovely, as is Duelund tinned copper. Neither will cost an arm and a leg. Basically a significantly better than Hardly Normal or JB Hi-Fi level of cable to try in your system though without the added expense. If you hear no difference then it won't have been an expensive experiment and should sell easily in the classifieds.

 

As always in these threads, opinions are like @r3h0l3s so best to try it out yourself 

Edited July 18, 2021 by MattyW

[Dazz]

Hi All

 

I didnt really buy into cables making much difference to the sound unless you used really crappy wires. However that changed recently. I was using AWG 12 monster cable for my speakers (all SVS) and found it to be pretty good. I have had these for many year so decided to upgrade the ones for my mains (prime pinnacles driven by Rotel power amp RB1552). I got some Van den Hul CS-122 Hybrid. I couldn't believe the change in the sound and it was not in a good way either. Seemed to lack detail and punch and the bass was muddy. Dynamics seemed to be missing. Ran them in for awhile but the sound didn't change. In the end I went back to my old Monster cable. I'm now a believer that cables can make a difference to the sound. Hearing is believing!

 

Cheers