Paradigm Studio 20 owners: what speaker wire do you use??? (1 Viewer)

[Salvador]

what brand of speaker wire do you use?

 

[Evan S]

Salvador, I use DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 with my Paradigms. Lots of positive reviews with the synergy of this combo. You are going to get a lot of people pro/con hi grade wire. I believe in diminishing returns. The T-14 is about $4 a foot. You can get much more expensive, and a lot less expensive wire. I wanted a quality cable that sounds great at a good price. I'm very happy. Whether or not your ears hear any difference is debatable (and bi-wiring is another issue altogether!), so let your ears be the judge on this one.

 

[Matthew Anderson]

Like Evan I too use DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 speaker cable all around for my Paradigm Ref. 20's. The fronts and center are biwired and I really like the the results I get from this great cable that is reasonably priced. The construction is also very good. I also use DH Labs BL-1 interconnects for my amps.

 

[Salvador]

About biwiring, is this a good idea? I'll try to explain it as best as possible

Starting with 10ft of speaker wire

1.) Cut about 5 inches of speaker wire strip/twist both sides

2.) Strip the ends of the other piece of wire

3.) On one side of the longer wire, strip about 1/2cm section about 3 inches from the end. This will expose a small section of copper.

4.) Twist and connect one end of the 5 inch wire previously cut to the 1/2 inch of exposed copper and Solder neatly together.

5.) Solder all of the exposed copper remaining.

The idea here is to avoid purchasing an extra set of wires since you could get the same effect by doing this with only one set. It would probably be harder to do this with expensive wire that is heavily shielded and those that don't use conventional jackets.

 

[Marty M]

I have Paradigm Monitor 7's and I noticed a tremendous difference in sound when I switched from the bi-wires I got from my dealer to the Nordost Superflat bi-wired cables. As a matter of fact my wife and friends also noticed that CD's sounded "cleaner" after the switch. As the saying goes, results will vary from user to user.

 

[DavidY]

Monster XP 14ga. Studio/20 V.1 rears

Ultralink Reference Series 14ga. Studio/60 and CC-450 V.1 mains/centre

Reasons for buying the above: availability and low cost.

Dave

 

[Greg_R]

Home Depot 10 gauge zip cord for my subs (dual HE15.2s), Home Depot 12 gauge zip cord for my mains (Paradigm Studio 40s). I used to have some nice AQ wire until I did my own listening comparison test. A=B=C, so lowest cost won...

 

[Salvador]

i'm leaning towards getting a set of Audioquest Slates. Any opinions on this?

 

[Barry V]

I run slate's bi-wired to the fronts(ref 60's and cc center). I really didn't realize the difference the wire made. I had always bi-wired but going to the slates really made a difference.

 

[Salvador]

Barry, your post is kind of confusing, kind of self contradicting. If the slates did make a difference, what differences specifically did you notice?

 

[Barry V]

What I meant when I said "wire" was going with a much higher quality speaker wire than I had used in the past. What I noticed was a fullness and sharper detail than before.

 

[Salvador]

i'm probably getting those tomorrow. What kind of interconnects are you using? And i wonder how the bedrock compares with the slate?

 

[Steven Simon]

I have a few Paradigm Studio speakers I use all 12 Gauge Monster Cable. I got a sweet deal on it at .60 Cents a foot.

 

[Salvador]

after gettting the slates today, i can personally atest that wires DO make a difference. Those f**c*|ng wires that i had before were indeed holding up my whole system. Now the bass extension is there and the overall presence stamps its authority as it should. THank god i replaced those stupid wires, now i can sleep in peace. Buyers remorse was killing me.

 

[EricHaas]

If you don't mind me asking, where did you buy the slates and what did you pay for how much cable?

 

[Salvador]

bought them at Kennedy Hifi in Markham. I talked to Marcus there and the guys there are pretty accommodating. Paid $170 CAD (inc tax) for two 6ft slates and 12 regular banana plugs.

 

[Dave Simpson]

Hey Salvador,

Glad to hear everything's working out for you WRT your growing system. As for me, my interest has been piqued with your talk of speaker wires. Bear with me, sir; I'm a thorough neophyte where this stuff is concerned. My questions, then:

a.) how are the Slates connected to your 20s and your receiver? Bananas I assume from your post, but are the bananas factory terminated on your new Slates? Or did you do it yourself (this is where I'd beg off; I've zero skill in this regard)? The pic of the Slates on the Audioquest website shows spades(?), I believe.

b.) are the Slates intended for bi-wiring, ie. four leads on the speaker end and two on the receiver end?

c.) I gather you perceive a great improvement listening to your Slates connected to your 20s. Do you suppose I might enjoy a similar effect using my somewhat lower-end PSB Image 4T (I'm currently using Home Depot 12 guage)? I oughtta be able to come up with a spare $170...Cheers!

DS.

 

[Salvador]

hey dave, how's it going?

a.) This guy markus from kennedy high fi let me choose if i wanted spades, banana's , etc. I chose banana's because the price difference between that and the spades wasn't that much. He was the one who put the banana's himself.

b.) My slates have been setup so that i can use it for biwiring. If you don't want to biwire the slates can still be used.

c.) I really couldn't tell you if you're going to get great improvement if you switch wires. Its just in my case i felt that i was using inferior speaker wires not even in the league of normal or generic wires. I noticed unusual things before like when i turn the volume to max (+18db) without listening to anything, i hear this awful hiss that is really audible even from far away. Well, i did the same thing last night with the slates and they were dead quiet. Etchiness was also another annoying aspect that was present with the old wires and the bass was just not right.

Dave, i switched wires because i noticed things that were not right and the cable that i was using was just crap. From what i gather here the home depot 12g wires or even the ratshack 12g wires are decent wires that aren't suppose to cause glaring problems. Hmm, i really don't know though if you'll hear improvements if you switch wires.

 

[Dave Simpson]

Salvador,

Thanks for your quick response, mate. Hmm, do you suppose you might be able to bring your Slates over to my place sometime so I could try an in-home demo? I'd be happy to give you door-to-door chaffeur service! I know that you've currently got your hands full with your studies, so I'll understand if you're not available. Let me know what you think, sir...Cheers!

DS.

 

[Salvador]

Sure mate i'd be happy to! The earliest i could go to your house is during our midterm break. It's at february 4 or 11 i have to check on that. Next week is midterm week for the half year courses and the week after that is the midterm week for the whole year courses. I currently have my hands full but if you could wait until early february i'll gladly bring the slates to your house. I'll get back to you on the midterm break date.