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Good quality Speaker cables?

post #1 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:07pm
Thread Starter 
For cheap anyone? I'm a fan of canare and cardas as far as RCA interconnects...what are some good speaker cables for a reasonable price including termniation?
SD
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post #2 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:16pm
monoprice.com
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post #3 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:18pm
bluejeanscable.com
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post #4 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:22pm
I got my Belden from http://www.westlake-electronic.com/
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post #5 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:34pm
monoprice.com or partsexpress.com
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post #6 of 89
9/7/06 at 10:56pm
I got 14 gauge cables and banana plugs from monoprice. Excellent speaker cables at incredible low price. (local pick up for me) See for yourself.

I would braid my own 10 gauge cat-5 speaker cables if I had a house. Until then this will do.
LL
LL
LL
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post #7 of 89
9/7/06 at 11:18pm
buyextras.com has great prices on cables and accessories as well.
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post #8 of 89
9/8/06 at 6:12am
Nordost or Kimber Kable...............Cheap? No...........Reasonable? Yes.

Try getting Audiogon too, you can get some descent cable or interconnects at a descent price.
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post #9 of 89
9/8/06 at 6:31am
Home Depot has 14 gauge for $0.55/ft and several types of terminals for cheap. Sound wise, this is as good as any speaker cable (including stuff that sells for literally hundreds of times as much.)
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post #10 of 89
9/8/06 at 7:40am
Pullman, what size cables do you recommend for my setup? The x-ls paired with the TXSR603X?

Do I use the same size cable for the speakers and sub? And damn 55 cents a ft is cheap.
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post #11 of 89
9/8/06 at 8:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hulk311 View Post

Pullman, what size cables do you recommend for my setup? The x-ls paired with the TXSR603X?

Do I use the same size cable for the speakers and sub? And damn 55 cents a ft is cheap.

The cable size depends only on distance, not the speakers and/or receiver. 14 gauge is fine for runs up to 100 ft (per speaker.) The same gauge is fine for the sub if you are going to use speaker-level connections. (It is more common to use a line-level RCA connection if your receiver has a sub out jack. Home Depot has those at a reasonable price, also.)
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post #12 of 89
9/8/06 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wgerman View Post

Nordost or Kimber Kable...............Cheap? No...........Reasonable? Yes.

Try getting Audiogon too, you can get some descent cable or interconnects at a descent price.

Don't know about Nordost, but Kimber Kable is one of the worst offenders for excessive pricing and false claims that their cables make an audible difference. Monster offers good performance/price by comparison.
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post #13 of 89
9/8/06 at 8:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang View Post

bluejeanscable.com

Thats what I went with.

38 cents/foot for quality 12 AWG, pretty hard to beat that.
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post #14 of 89
9/8/06 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by elbobo19 View Post

Thats what I went with.

38 cents/foot for quality 12 AWG, pretty hard to beat that.

Whoa! Cheaper than Home depot? Now that's what I call good value!
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post #15 of 89
9/8/06 at 9:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PULLIAMM View Post

Don't know about Nordost, but Kimber Kable is one of the worst offenders for excessive pricing and false claims that their cables make an audible difference. Monster offers good performance/price by comparison.

On their higher end offering maybe,but the lower end ie. Hero interconnects and the like are very good. Nordost gives a very open sound,and yes I am very skeptical of claims made by cable makers. Most of it is BS. However I did like the way the Nordost interconnects (Blue Angel) sound (when its interconnects you are just hearing difference in effected impedences anyway and not the actual wire).
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post #16 of 89
9/8/06 at 10:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by elbobo19 View Post

(bluejeanscable.com)Thats what I went with.

38 cents/foot for quality 12 AWG, pretty hard to beat that.


I just did that as well- for IN-WALL rated speaker wire- not bad. $38 for 100 feet.
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post #17 of 89
9/15/06 at 9:11am
I went over to bluejeanscable to get some cables, but what exactly do I need??

I need to hook up a 5.1 system to a receiver but not sure which cables to get. Stereo audio, surround sound, balanced audio, or regular speaker cables? And do I need a special sub cable as well? Do I need spades or banana plugs as well?
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post #18 of 89
9/15/06 at 9:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PULLIAMM View Post

The cable size depends only on distance, not the speakers and/or receiver. 14 gauge is fine for runs up to 100 ft (per speaker.) The same gauge is fine for the sub if you are going to use speaker-level connections. (It is more common to use a line-level RCA connection if your receiver has a sub out jack. Home Depot has those at a reasonable price, also.)

Actually, it also depends on the impedence of the speakers since the wire resistance is a greater fraction of it as the impedence of the speaker is lowered. The Roger Russell table recommends 80 feet for 14AWG at 8 ohms, but that drops to 40 feet at 4 ohms (and we all know how speaker impedence varies across the frequency range too). There's an extra caveat about wire capacitance for lengths above 50 ft. http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
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post #19 of 89
9/15/06 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wgerman View Post

Nordost gives a very open sound

This is the kind of claim that makes me bust a gut laughing, because it is so ridiculous. Speakers have a characteristic sound. Amps and source components have a characteristic sound (though to a lesser degree.) Cables do not have a characteristic sound at all. They just connect things that do.
Nordost does not "give a very open sound". It sounds exactly like any other wire of the same gauge.
You said above that most claims by cable-makers are BS. I say it is all of their claims, not just most.
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post #20 of 89
9/15/06 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PULLIAMM View Post

This is the kind of claim that makes me bust a gut laughing, because it is so ridiculous. Speakers have a characteristic sound. Amps and source components have a characteristic sound (though to a lesser degree.) Cables do not have a characteristic sound at all. They just connect things that do.
Nordost does not "give a very open sound". It sounds exactly like any other wire of the same gauge.
You said above that most claims by cable-makers are BS. I say it is all of their claims, not just most.

You can believe what you want Pulliam, if you are happy with what you have, good for you.

Since the word "open" makes you laugh so much, let me simplify further and say the Nordost sounds "different" from other cables. No matter what volume your system is at during A/B testing.
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post #21 of 89
9/15/06 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wgerman View Post


Hey Pulliam, why not use those cheap RCA cables that comes with most mid-fi, why bother with Blue Jean Cables, I mean they all sound the same right?

The only reason is that the ones purchased separately are thicker (heavier gauge.)
(I forgot to add that those RCA cables you refer to are interconnects anyhow. The present discussion concerns speaker cable.)
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post #22 of 89
9/15/06 at 11:33am
Blue Jeans Cable rocks!
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post #23 of 89
9/15/06 at 11:58am
Try http://www.rivercable.com "AHB704SX" 10% off code or http://www.cobaltcable.com "SUMMER06" 25% $250.

I personally like River Cable... I will go with www.bluejeanscable.com if I can hide them.
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post #24 of 89
9/15/06 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by psgcdn View Post

Actually, it also depends on the impedence of the speakers since the wire resistance is a greater fraction of it as the impedence of the speaker is lowered. The Roger Russell table recommends 80 feet for 14AWG at 8 ohms, but that drops to 40 feet at 4 ohms (and we all know how speaker impedence varies across the frequency range too). There's an extra caveat about wire capacitance for lengths above 50 ft. http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Some very good points. Since even 8 ohm nominal speakers can drop to 2 ohms at some frequencies, perhaps we should all follow the 2 ohm recommendations? (Or are these recommendations based on nominal impedance?)
(Fortunately, none of my runs exceed 20 ft so I never have to go above 14 ga even at 2 ohms. )
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post #25 of 89
9/15/06 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PULLIAMM View Post

Some very good points. Since even 8 ohm nominal speakers can drop to 2 ohms at some frequencies, perhaps we should all follow the 2 ohm recommendations? (Or are these recommendations based on nominal impedance?)
(Fortunately, none of my runs exceed 20 ft so I never have to go above 14 ga even at 2 ohms. )

I believe they are based on nominal impedance.
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post #26 of 89
9/15/06 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PULLIAMM View Post

Some very good points. Since even 8 ohm nominal speakers can drop to 2 ohms at some frequencies, perhaps we should all follow the 2 ohm recommendations? (Or are these recommendations based on nominal impedance?)
(Fortunately, none of my runs exceed 20 ft so I never have to go above 14 ga even at 2 ohms. )

It's based on the resistance of certain gauges of wire relative to speaker resistance, so it's best to use the lowest of the speaker.
From lower in the web page:

If you have doubts, it's best to ask the manufacturer about the lowest impedance of the system that you plan to use and select a connecting wire based on the lowest impedance value.

Maybe this expalin why certain people hear differences? They use fairly long runs on hard to drive speakers? I've never heard a difference but my speakers are benign to drive.
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post #27 of 89
9/15/06 at 5:05pm
If you make cables and have a name that sounds good; high-end sounding like Nordam-Dahlquist or something like that, you can charge thousands of dollars per meter. The name is very important. And, of course, a good journalism major or ex- wine critic to write the prose...
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post #28 of 89
9/15/06 at 9:40pm
I can't afford to spend thousands on cables, however, I have listened to enough cables to notice that different cables sound different, and the same cable will have different effect when used in different system.

I cannot tell you whether a $5000 cables will sound "better" than a $20 cables, because "better" is a subjective word. Some prefers more bass, some prefer more mid, some prefer more high, some prefer darker background...and the list goes on.

People who claim cable doesn't make a difference typically use the "measurement" argument - "Their measurements are the same so should sound the same" or "This $2000 cable measured worse than the $50 cable, how can it sound better".

However, I have listened enough to conclude that good measurement does not necessarily produce good sound to everyone's ear. This is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this audiophile hobby, we just have to keep experimenting with our hard earn money until we have found the system that sound best to our ear, there's no other way around it.

Hence my philosophy is that cables should be the last item on the upgrade list, after you've sorted out all your other equipments.
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post #29 of 89
9/15/06 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wgerman View Post

You can believe what you want Pulliam, if you are happy with what you have, good for you.

Since the word "open" makes you laugh so much, let me simplify further and say the Nordost sounds "different" from other cables. No matter what volume your system is at during A/B testing.

If you can distinguish between cables under blind conditions, you will be the first. But who knows, maybe you can. There are large prizes in the neighborhood of twenty five grand for the first person who can do it.

In any case, I have an open mind and would love to review the basis for your claim. Please put in a response to this post and we can go from there.

Nick
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post #30 of 89
9/15/06 at 11:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 95bcwh View Post

I can't afford to spend thousands on cables, however, I have listened to enough cables to notice that different cables sound different, and the same cable will have different effect when used in different system.

I cannot tell you whether a $5000 cables will sound "better" than a $20 cables, because "better" is a subjective word. Some prefers more bass, some prefer more mid, some prefer more high, some prefer darker background...and the list goes on.

People who claim cable doesn't make a difference typically use the "measurement" argument - "Their measurements are the same so should sound the same" or "This $2000 cable measured worse than the $50 cable, how can it sound better".

However, I have listened enough to conclude that good measurement does not necessarily produce good sound to everyone's ear. This is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this audiophile hobby, we just have to keep experimenting with our hard earn money until we have found the system that sound best to our ear, there's no other way around it.

Hence my philosophy is that cables should be the last item on the upgrade list, after you've sorted out all your other equipments.

As you have read in my previous post, you too have an opportunity to be the first to distinguish between speaker wire under test conditions, and you can make a lot of money in the process. Let's get started on this ASAP, nothing like a little extra cash for the holiday season.

Nick
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