Recommendation for speaker cable (1 Viewer)

[EricHaas]

I have just completed my system which consists of all Paradigm Reference series, so I figured they deserve better than the cheap wire I have. But I don't want to spend a fortune. Can anyone recommend a good brand of cable that I can order online which costs no more than say $2.50 per foot?

 

[Evan S]

Eric, if you go to www.audioreview.com and look at some of the Paradigm reviews you will see great results from DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 cable. It's what I have wired to my 40's and my CC. There are other members on this forum who have this pairing as well and love it. That being said, the T-14 is $4/FT, so that may be out of your price range. You can go on line to www.value-audio.com and get the phone number for Jeff (the owner). Best customer service you can ever find. I e-mailed him a question on a Sunday morning once and he called me back with an answer at lunch time that same day!!! I've heard some have great results with the premium speaker wire from www.bettercables.com but I'm not sure what they charge for their runs. Good luck!!!

 

[EricHaas]

Thanks. Actually, after looking around, I was thinking that $4/ft is a more realistic price range if I want cabling to compliment the Reference series. I'll look into that, and any other recommendations would be appreciated. I was looking at the Audioquest line, but it is all very confusing to me.

Edit: OK, I just found an "18' pair" banana terminated of the DH labs for $100, used. I assume an 18' pair means 36' total. Is that a good price? Also, what if I want to bi-wire? Do I have to get two cables or can I get one that is configured to bi-wire? I am kind of a newbie at this.

 

[Phil A]

If you don't want to spend a fortune and want to DIY, you can buy some Belden '83030' wire. A 100 ft. spool (which since it is a single run will do a 25 ft. pair of speaker wire) is about $46. If you add something like Radio Shack locking bananas (I believe catalog 278-307) at $6.99/pair you are talking $60 bucks and can do a 25 ft. pair and will have something that is fairly good. If you want to purchase rather than do you own there are lots of sites, the previous post mentioned a few.

 

[Evan S]

Eric, sounds like that 18' pair are 36' total, which would mean that if the cable is terminated with Bananas, it would be a really good price.

If you wanted to bi-wire, you would have to get another run of cable...but if you ordered it specifically for that purpose, it would come custom...one end of the cable would have L/R connections for the amp/receiver while the speaker end would have 4 terminations for the 2 sets of binding posts.

Make sure if you intend to bi-wire in the future, you order a run of cable that measures the same distance so you don't have any anomolies in the run length.

I have mine bi-wired, but I would suggest you single wire it at first then experiment. Bi-wiring is really a controversial topic and if your ears cannot hear the difference, then you are better off saving the money. The cable I purchased was bi-wired and I bought it used, so I really had no choice. I haven't done a single run to hear any comparisons. Hope this helps.

 

[EricHaas]

OK thanks. That cable is not configured to bi-wire. When you say "controversial," do you mean some people think bi-wiring actually degrades sound quality, or some people just don't think it improves sound quality?

 

[Evan S]

I've heard very few people say it degrades sound quality. However, I have heard quite a few people say it really improves sound quality and quite a few say there is no difference whatsoever. You will have to let your ears do the deciding.

Some people think bi-wiring is just something invented to put more money in the pockets of the wire makers. I figure if the speaker has two binding posts, then they are designed to be bi-wired, so I will experiment. Some speaker companies (Dynaudio) do not put two sets of binding posts on their speakers because they do not believe in the practice. Again, you be the judge.