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

[EdwinL]

Hmm, what would the number of strands per cunductor matter? In other words, THEORETICALLY is there an advantage of having a wire with a brade 300 as to one with 6?

Here's one for everyone to think about. What can you get for 40 ft.(20 per run) under $150.00?

keep........................................postin g!


ed

 

[BradJudy]

What can you get for 40 ft.(20 per run) under $150.00?

Just from audioadvisor.com:

AudioQuest Type 4
Kimber Kable 4PR
MIT Terminator 4
Straightwire Stage (but they only carry up to 12' runs)

The previously mentioned DIY cables.

 

[Chu Gai]

flexibility comes with more stranding. You want to use 12/2 romex? knock yourself out.

 

[EdwinL]

Well, how about bi-wiring for $150.00?

And what the heck does DIY mean?

 

[Walt N]

DIY = Do it yourself.
Jon Risch's cable recipes: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/cables.htm
Chris VenHaus site:
http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html
If you finger can hold up to all the braiding, this is a great low cost way to experiment with different speaker cables.

 

[Iver]

Todd, that first link you posted (A History of Speaker Cable) is the best source of speaker wire information on the Web.

I actually posted the same link earlier in this thread. I will check out your other posts because I am interested in learning more about the reactance caused by inductance and capacitance in runs over 50 feet mentioned by the guy in the History of Speaker Cable page.

The author of that site makes his points very well, backing them up with enough solid technical information to convince people who understand electronics, but also spelling things out explicity enough for the layman to get the general idea.

It's a good thing he's retired from MacIntosh because, with his straightforward, sensible writing style, he has no future as a copywriter for a premium-priced cable company.

To the folks wondering about the wire between the speaker posts and the drivers: forget about those few inches of wire and ponder the hundreds of feet inside the driver (you know, that thing called a "voice coil"). And make sure to find out from your speaker manufacturer if it's just regular 28-gauge copper wire or premium 28-gauge copper wire.

It's a shame PT Barnum couldn't have lived to see the premium-price cable phenom.

He'd feel so validated.

 

[Chu Gai]

John Edwards speaks to Mr. Barnum regularly. Certainly, IMHO, there's no bona-fide scientific reason as to why needs to pay ridiculous prices for wire that borders on the winning bid at Sotheby's. Furthermore, the lionizing that these designers obtain is better directed to the people who first layed out the fundamentals of electro magnetism years and centuries ago. There is far too much slaying of dragons that don't exist.

 

[Mike-grouse]

Proving once again that cables are still a heated debate.

Cable length versus size:
whatever you say, but when I hear a defintite improvement when using 10 gauge versus 16 gauge speaker wire on a multitude of speakers and receivers from cheap to expensive something else is going on beyond a numbers game anyone portrays as overbuying your cables.

I buy by what I hear to be different, not by the numbers games.

Any reputable HT store like tweeter or some of the smaller HT shops will let you audition cables in your home. I'll give you the best advice money can't buy... go try some out and hear the difference yourself. Try to do blind test with the same material.

Anyone can hear the difference as long as they're honest with themselves. Don't let numbers, extravagant materials, or cost persuade your decision. Performance alone should do that for you.

Cables I've used:
Monster
Esoteric
Kimber
Cobalt Cable

I now use and recommend cobalt cable due to the high perfromance vs. price.

good luck and judge for yourself.

 

[Walt N]

If you dig below the expandable braided sleeving on Cobalt's new Ultimate Speaker Cable as I did, you'll find nondescript Gepco 10 gauge PVC insulated zip cord which sells for $81 per 100 foot roll. Aside from gauge which won't affect runs under 30 feet in length, it's no different from any decent quality 12 gauge OFC PVC insulated zip cord one can find at Radio Shack or Home Depot. Interestingly though, I've seen testimony to the high quality sound offered by this cable over generic zip cord (and other pricier cables). This leads again to the idea of people hearing what they want or expect to hear as in this case there can't possibly be a audible difference vs. the Home Depot stuff. (Again, except in the case of very long runs of at least 30 feet due to the small difference in gauge.)

 

[Annette F]

Ed,

You'll have to call them for a price, but you really should consider Audioquest Slate internally biwired from Audio Advisor (.com). The biwired option is not listed on their website but you can call them for a quote. I just ordered some biwired. Several of the local dealers love this cable, as well as other reports I've read. Audio Advisor bought out a huge run of Slate before they changed it a bit. They will expertly terminate it any way you want. If you want a long run of cable, it's especially important to use a good quality cable. This is an excellent price/value option to consider.

Good luck,
Annette

 

[Chu Gai]

Cobalt takes regular old 10 gauge copper and puts a sleeve on it. But it's a very nice sleeve I understand.

 

[EdwinL]

Webaddress? Webdealer? Where can I see the cobalts?

Thanks.....

 

[Mike-grouse]

www.cobaltcable.com
To Walt N:
Funny you should mention people that hear different because they want to. After doing a blind test of cabalts speaker cable vs monster 10 gauge speaker cable, what should'nt have been a difference really was.
Just because they should be the same doesn't mean they are. The only way one can truly know is by hearing (blindly and testing). Yes there are many circumstances where a difference isn't heard but I'd recommend not going by the numbers and going by what you hear.

 

[EdwinL]

FORGET IT!!! That stuff is too expensive. I bought some QED Original, and reasonably priced considering I've never come across someone in the states that's authorized to sell them.
If your intertested, check out the QED website at www.qed.co.uk. They give you values for inductance/capacitance/resistance.
Also, if you want to buy them, I got my through www.ozenterprises.net and managed to stay under my $150.00 budget for the 40ft that I needed. If you can't seem to find their website, try to check'm out at EBAY.
Cheerio fellas, thanks for all your help, but I won this one!