For those interested Bettercables has introduced two new speaker cables today. Check 'em out here: http://www.bettercables.com/premspeakcab.html I'd love to try out a pair of those new Silver Serpent cables in my system, but unfortunately, they're not available in bi-wire configuration. Oh well, maybe one day. Cheers, Brian
No thanks. I will stick with my Lowes brand 12 Gauge speaker wire and take the leftover money and buy a trip to the International Space Station. Kevin C.
Brian, thanks for the info. I knew these were coming, but didn't know when. BetterCables' web site says that they have "special introductory pricing" on the Silver Serpent cables, but they are still a lot cheaper than I expected them to be. I've had a couple discussions with Brad about them, and he made it sound like they would be much more expensive than $300/pair. Of course, that is only for a 2-meter pair, and a 3-meter pair is $460. That's still cheaper than I expected. Also, BetterCables isn't charging extra for banana plug terminations, at least not at this point. That said, I won't be buying these for my stereo systems, though I'd love to try them. I have my main system biamped and am using two pairs of the original BetterCables Premium cables (3-meter length). I'm not about to spend $920 for a speaker cable upgrade.
Keith, I just got an e-mail from Margaret Marcus and it turns out a bi-wire version of the Silver Serpents is available, it's just not on the website. It goes for $40 more per pair, which seems damn reasonable to me. I still haven't decided whether to pull the trigger and try out a pair. I really need to get a 4-meter pair to fit my current set-up, but they are offering 3 and 5 meter pairs. MArgaret said they could get me a 4-meter pair, but it would cost the same as a 5-meter pair. Maybe I'll just go home and drink a bunch of beers and hit the site. That way when the credit card bill shows up I can just blame it on the beer and enjoy my new cables
This NOT my opinion, but: From what I've read, 'biwire configuration' cables i.e. cables packaged with 4 terminations per side, is not the preferred way to biwire as it defeats whatever 'advantages' biwiring may offer. If you are into biwiring, try it with 2 totally separate speaker cables per channel.
Brian, sounds like a plan with the beer. If you do get the cables, please post a review. However, please be sober when you do the audition and write the review. I'm looking for an accurate assessment here.
Joe, I have heard that too. Some say that having the high pass and low pass leads on one cable leads to crosstalk (interference). If I were going to biwire, I would go with one pair of cables with banana plugs and another pair (same model) with spades.
Well, I'm safely ensconced here in my apartment with a few Sam Adams and some great CDs (nothing like Belle and Sebastian to run the speakers through their paces ) to keep me company. Though not enough to drop some serious cash on new cables without hesitation. Joe & Keith, you bring up an interesting point that I had hitherto forgotten about. Currently I am running my B&W 804s bi-wired with 2 completely separate runs of cable (Bettercables Premium 1 on the lower frequencies and regular original Monster cables on the highs). I know it is an extremely contentious issue whenever the benefits of bi-wiring are brought up on this forum (or any other for that matter), but it does make sense to assume that some (if not all) of the benefits of bi-wiring are lost when not using completely separate runs of cable. I think I might hold off jumping on the new Silver Serpent speaker cables until I decide how I want to approach the bi-wiring issue, especially now that it might double the original cost should I go with two separate runs. But never fear, if I do pick them up I promise to write a review sans beer induced jubilation. Cheers, Brian
Success! I got through the night (and about 6 CDs) without ordering the cables! I think I'll at least wait until the promised reviews show up on the Bettercables site before I make such a huge investment. Though, if anyone else is not as patient, please post a review when you get a chance. Cheers, Brian
Hey guys, Speaking of new cables, this isn't about Bettercables but since they are in the same price range i figured I'd chime in. Catcables has a sister company called Quantun, now I've been a Catcable user for a while so this new company has intriqued me. They have a set of speaker cables called the Silver Spectra. I contacted Doug last week and we talked about them. Well to make a long story short I bought a pair. 8 ft single runs with WBT connectors, my vandies are single wire only. And they cost about the same as the Bettercables new cable. I haven't got them yet so I can't comment but you might want to check them out since you're still shopping around. Catcables.com. Thanks, Josh
In this price range you have so many cables to choose from. I'd go with one of the well proven audiophile companies such as Kimber, Zucable, Nordost, Latinternational etc.. Bettercables has now ventured into the 'boutique' area of cable making, a far cry from their roots in affordable high performance cables. In that market there are so many established companies with well proven track records. They must be doing really well because they have print ads in all the major HT magazines. Will be interesting to see where they go from here.
Mark, although I am a happy user of three pairs of BetterCables' original Premium speaker cables between two systems and love their customer service, your advice is wise.
Question about the Silver serpents- I have the older "stiff" speaker cables from them - done w/ the techflex (black) exterior. I love them like this. Does the silver serpent line of products have the same techflex under it and the silver weblike material on top? Can't tell from the pics... Really love the techflex - durable!
I could be reading this wrong but the silver serpert is listed as 16 awg which i think is 16 gauge. Am I wrong here? because that seems high.
