Studio 100's..which speaker cable? (1 Viewer)

[Mike_T_]

I have the V2's and are running them with a Sherbourn amp and they sound great. However, I'm using cheap 12 gauge monster cable from Best Buy and I'm not Bi-Wiring them. My dealer has some Tera Labs Prism Bi-Wire for $5.50 a foot. It would end up costing me over $200 for the front 3 channels.

I know the question I'm about to ask can spark a debate. I want to know if you think it would be worth it? Ultimately of course it's my preference, however I wanted to know if anyone had any experiences that could help me out?

My preamp is just a Yamaha receiver, however I'll be moving to a pre amp such as the Rotel 1066, Antem v20 or Outlaw 950 soon.

 

[Jan H]

I like DH Labs. Anything from the T-14 to the Q-10 (I use a 13 foot externally biwired pair of Q-10) sounds good. I also have used Tara Labs RSC Prime 1000 biwred, but preferred the extra detail of the Q-10. JH

 

[Mike_T_]

I forgot to mention, if you have a preference, how much did the cables cost?

 

[BobRoulier]

I use Kimber kable pr series loudspeaker cables 8pr (8 strands for + and 8 for -) to power my studio 100s and cc biwired they sound great with my parasound 2205. the 8pr is $3.00 a foot but I got it for about $1.50 ft.
Hope this helps
Bob

 

[james e m]

Are you using the Monster Cable XP series? That's what I am using and I wouldn't call it "cheap" as in poor quality. I'm just curious as to why you don't like it.
james

 

[Mike_T_]

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's the XP series, although it may only be 11 gauge as there is an "11" written on the wire. I ONLY call it cheap because of the price..not in quality. My speakers really do sound great.. I'm just wondering if jumping from a mass market cable like that to a 'high quality' bi-wire cable will be worth $200+

 

[jehremy]

I'm just wondering if jumping from a mass market cable like that to a 'high quality' bi-wire cable will be worth $200+

IMHO, No.

 

[David J L]

You'll never know until you try. Best to get a dealer to let you borrow some to try in your system. Many reputable dealers will actually do this. I use Prism bi-wire for my ProAc Response 2 speakers. Sounds great, but I have never tried anything else with these speakers.

(By the way, 11 gauge wire is actually thicker than 12...the larger the number, the thinner the strand.)

 

[Marc H]

Consider the Kimber TC series for those speakers. I find it increases the level of detail in the bass remarkably.

 

[keir]

I'm just wondering if jumping from a mass market cable like that to a 'high quality' bi-wire cable will be worth $200+

many think it's worth it , but the axiom engineers with access to blind testing facilities have said that it doesnt make a difference as long as the cable is good quality. (even home depot 12 gauge qualifies as good quality. at about $.32/foot). i have never owned high dollar speakers or high dollar cables so i cant give my own input. but if blind testing cant indentify differences im willing to bet they dont matter

 

[Michael Lomker]

I think once you get beyond the mid-fi junk you'll find that the money you spend results only in incremental improvements.

I use Monster XPHP for most of my speakers but I bought MIT T2 bi-wires for the main channels. It was a definite improvement in soundstage and bass quality.

Whether or not it is worth $280 is completely subjective. Few non-audophiles would understand any of the hi-fi stuff that you bought....they're perfectly content with the setup they got at Circuit City for a 1/3rd of what you paid.

 

[Mike_T_]

I've also heard that it won't make as big of a difference now since I'm just using the Yamaha Receiver as my Pre Amp. However, because I'm moving towards seperates, they will become more valuable after the fact, which can certainly be debated.

 

[Bob-N]

IMHO, I'd put the money into the pre/pro before cables. I'm sure there is some incremental improvement but I can't see spending any more than $2/foot with terminations for speaker wire/cable.

BTW, I use the old cheapie Sound King 12awg (from Parts Express), biwired and banana'ed to my CDM1NTs and they sound great.

Bob

 

[Greg_R]

I use Studio 40s with a Denon 5700 receiver. I've auditioned various amps with this combo (Crown, Parasound, Rotel, Bryston, Classé) and have tried speaker wire costing up to $4k for 2x8ft. I could not perceive any difference between the cables (12 gauge zip cord vs. 12 gauge high end cable) when using these amps. There was a very slight difference at high volumes between the receiver and the amplifiers (noticeable regardless of the speaker wire). I currently use my receiver for amplification and 12 gauge zip cord for my speaker wire. I also use wire to bridge between the speaker terminals. IMO, there are much better things to spend $$$ on besides pricey speaker wire. I'd wait until I got the pre-pro and then audition various cables (use the more revealing system to make up your mind)...

 

[KeithR]

I just tried a few cables on my 10k 2 ch. system...the results were subtle to say the least, and I probably would fail a dbt test. I just bought some speaker cable costing $150 for 10ft terminated if that tells you anything...my total interconnect bill is under 300 bucks too. Therefore, way under the "spend 10% on cables" logic that imho is false.

Hence, for your receiver, not worth it. Just buy some cheap that is well-built and won't break

Of course, ymmv greatly...

 

[Paul Gere]

Have Studio 100's v.2. I'm using bi-wired Analysis Plus Oval 14 in-wall HT cables for long runs and am very pleased with the results. Clear reproduction and great overall sound. Worth a look! FWIW.

-PG

 

[Alan Wild]

I also have Studio 100 v2's. Refer to my post In this thread for more info
-Alan