Got speakers.. NOW WIRE!! (1 Viewer)

[mark rush]

To make this easy, you have Klipsch speakers, they use the Monster Cable Z series wire on the Reference series, so go buy you some of that

 

[EdwinL]

Nah, I really don't want Monster cables.

 

[Todd Calhoun]

A few of my favorite cable links:
A History of Speaker Cable
http://www.sundial.net/~rogerr/wire.htm
Other factors introduce greater impedence to your amp/ speaker interface than the cable:
http://www.trueaudio.com/post_008.htm
A cable review:
http://www.sonic.net/soundscape/wire_rev.html
One guy's take on the cable tests:
http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I really want to fall in love with my equipment the first time around, and not worry that maybe it could sound better or worse or not know how it would sound if I had just stretched that bill just a little more.

You do have a point.

But we can see speaker wires that sell from $0.35 - $70 per foot: a huge range and a non-trivial dollar ammount.

Think of it this way: You could drink some wine from:

- a paper cup
- a coffee mug
- a $4 grocery-store wine glass
- a $125 Waterford Crystal wine glass

In all cases the wine is the same/tastes the same. But there is a big jump in the experience from the paper/coffee mug to one of the wine glasses.

And while I'd prefer the Waterford Crystal, the money I'd save is better spent on more wine.

Speaker wires are like the glass: they are only the container for what should be the main focus: the sound.

And the wire can only ever damage/flavor/color the sound. It can never improve it and the most perfect wire in the world would be one that has zero effect on the signal.

You are not paying $$ for improvement, only for less damage.

 

[EdwinL]

Well, I don't know about you, but I'd like the wine to flow as 'tastefully' as possible the first time around
Not meant to be offense, no way, i assure you. I'm simply saying, i want to feel good about my purchase. I want to stop, listen, and say "oh, yeah. mmmmm ONCE AGAIN!"

 

[Geno]

Bob, I love your analogy. thats about as true as it gets.

Ive used vacuum cords as my wires for a long time. very long, durable yet thick gauge and all copper.

 

[Rob Rodier]

These are the dominate reasons I suggest you buy a spool of good 12 ga wire and use it everywhere. For a music system, it will get you to within about 90% of what botique wires will for pennies

Exactly! But the "high end" stuff is all about getting that 10-15% improvement.

-rob

 

[Rob Rodier]

I will more than likely terminate these with some Ultralink banana plugs or spades.

Edwin, go with the spades.

-rob

 

[Walt N]

If there were another 10-15% of audible improvement to be gained by changing cables, wouldn't that have been fleshed out in at least one of the innumerable blind cable comparisons published over the last 20+ years? Remember, not one single solitary person has ever demonstrated an ability to identify differences in speaker wires of adequate gauge in a properly conducted blind test. Not one, though many have tried.

 

[matthew_rm]

EdwinL, what's a Klipsch Monitor 9??
For my Klispch RF3II's, Im using MIT 5 Cable. I love them, and they are better then the no name cable I had. Worth $289.00 CDN after taxes? Yup. Even if it is just an illusion, (I don't think it is) they sound SOOo good. Anyways, if your system sounds better to you, who cares waht anyone else tells you otherwise.
PS: Klipsch REF uses Monster Cable Z inside the speakers. A little better then Zip cord. (I hope:b )

 

[Rob Rodier]

If there were another 10-15% of audible improvement to be gained by changing cables, wouldn't that have been fleshed out in at least one of the innumerable blind cable comparisons published over the last 20+ years? Remember, not one single solitary person has ever demonstrated an ability to identify differences in speaker wires of adequate gauge in a properly conducted blind test. Not one, though many have tried.

Your right, what was I thinking?

Amplification doesn't matter either right?

This hobby get easier everyday!

-rob

 

[EdwinL]

Klipsch? did I say Klipsch??? I meant Paradigm Monitor 9s... and by the way, I don't have those nor do I have Marantz amp. I simply wanted to post the question, and if I had said I had an Diva A85 with Quad 11L, everyone would say "the heck you worrying about budget? if you can afford that, you can afford "MAGIC" wires!" It's a topic worth debating, and it's a very good way to see what people suggest!
Nevertheless, both my speakers and the amp are not connected! So I do need wire, but I'm wondering if it's worth spending so much for just 'wire'.
Hrm, as far was what has lately been posted, 10-15% improvement, although it might not seem like a lot, it does to me. Heck, if i didn't love my music so much, I might as well have bought a BOSE system

 

[Rob Rodier]

Hrm, as far was what has lately been posted, 10-15% improvement

Keep in mind, I was saying 10-15% increase but that increase is only over the home depot etc wire. Not 10-15% increase in total system performance.

-rob

 

[EdwinL]

Yes, of course rob. I understand, it's 10-15% more cymbals! 10-15% clearer finger sliding spanish guitar. 10-15% more of the "f&ck" in most of today's rap

 

[Rob Rodier]

lol

-rob

 

[Cire]

Assuming one use wires which attenuate the higher frequencies, say from 18Khz-20Khz, but then the frequency response of his speakers show it's good only up to 17khz.. what then?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Speaker wires are like the glass: they are only the container for what should be the main focus: the sound.

Bob,
I love your wine glass analogy exept for one minor thing. The audiophile in me would argue that with the Waterford Crystal glass it lets more of the true wine taste through to your palate so you get more of the pleasure.
Of course, audiophiles would spend days arguing whether Waterford or Baccarat made the best crystal.
In other words, high end cables have a magical quality to disappear and let the music through.
And this can happen without spending $70 per foot. In fact one of my favorite budget cables of the past was Audioquest F-18 which was around $1.00-1.10 per foot.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

If there were another 10-15% of audible improvement to be gained by changing cables, wouldn't that have been fleshed out in at least one of the innumerable blind cable comparisons published over the last 20+ years? Remember, not one single solitary person has ever demonstrated an ability to identify differences in speaker wires of adequate gauge in a properly conducted blind test. Not one, though many have tried.

Walt,

I don't mean to start a DBT discussion as that has been flogged to death already, but I have two serious disagreements with your statement.

1. There have been documented scientific tests where people identified cable differences.

2. DBTs are extremely difficult to implement and often miss major subjective sound differences.

The best test I have discovered as an engineer is to drop in the new item, keep all else the same, and see if it floats your boat over the next 3-4 days.

DBTs are difficult to implement due to short listening sessions and complexity in arranging an audience of critical listeners.

 

[Chu Gai]

another way to look at it is if the speaker wire were to attenuate the very top end 0.2dB but human hearing can only discern say a 2 dB difference. Well I can certainly appreciate wanting a speaker wire based upon theoretical grounds. The thing you need to come up are what's going to be your criteria?
price
flexibility
diy
once you define those, then perhaps reasonable choices can be offered.

 

[Walt N]

Lee,

"There have been documented scientific tests where people identified cable differences."

Is this a blind comparison using different wires of adequate gauge for the runs which don't incorporate Zobel network boxes (ala Transparent or MIT)? If so, would you list the article or reference for me? This would be huge news for the audio objectivists among us.