Anyone used these cables? Views?

[pogologo]

From B and Q "
Smartwares Speaker Cable 20m (79 strand)
From Maplin

Hi-Fi Speaker Cable 20m Drum White (79/0.2mm)
Anyone used either of the above or have any recommendations for keenly priced speaker cable I can get pretty easily in a shop?

Got some Van Damme blue for the Zensor 5s but am getting some Wharfedale 121s to run from the B output into another bedroom and don't want to wait for cable to be delivered!

 

[michael hoy]

How long will the run be to the new room.

 

[pogologo]

Right above fortunately so about 8m per speaker.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I doubt you will hear or see much difference in the cables, but personally I'd go for Maplin over B&Q.

 

[pogologo]

Think I will try the Maplin then unless anyone has any better suggestions in the next day. Thanks

 

[michael hoy]

Maplin for me as well, not worth spending more on £100 speakers.

 

[andyjm]

B&Q doesn't specify strand diameter, so not helpful in reviewing cable. Maplin says 79/0.2 which gives a cross sectional area of 2.5mmsq, which is a good size of cable for the application you have in mind. Given the choice of the two, Maplin would get my vote.

If money is tight and you are near a TLC store (electrical factors with no nonsense pricing), they have an excellent 2.5mmsq cable for 59p+vat per metre. Part number CA SPEAK79.

TLC's delivery charges make this uneconomic for a small order, but you could save a few quid if you can just pop in and buy a length over the counter.

 

[TrevC]

B&Q doesn't specify strand diameter, so not helpful in reviewing cable. Maplin says 79/0.2 which gives a cross sectional area of 2.5mmsq, which is a good size of cable for the application you have in mind. Given the choice of the two, Maplin would get my vote.

If money is tight and you are near a TLC store (electrical factors with no nonsense pricing), they have an excellent 2.5mmsq cable for 59p+vat per metre. Part number CA SPEAK79.

TLC's delivery charges make this uneconomic for a small order, but you could save a few quid if you can just pop in and buy a length over the counter.

Blimey, there's an outbreak of sensible on this forum. Long may that continue!

 

[Freddy58]

B&Q doesn't specify strand diameter, so not helpful in reviewing cable. Maplin says 79/0.2 which gives a cross sectional area of 2.5mmsq, which is a good size of cable for the application you have in mind. Given the choice of the two, Maplin would get my vote.

If money is tight and you are near a TLC store (electrical factors with no nonsense pricing), they have an excellent 2.5mmsq cable for 59p+vat per metre. Part number CA SPEAK79.

TLC's delivery charges make this uneconomic for a small order, but you could save a few quid if you can just pop in and buy a length over the counter.

Blimey, there's an outbreak of sensible on this forum. Long may that continue!

It was bound to happen, sooner or later *biggrin*

 

[pogologo]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quality-2-5mm-Loud-Speaker-Cable/dp/B003CZBNJ2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Anyone think this may be better or worse? Could get it on prime to come on Friday....

 

[Anderson]

Wire is wire, the diameter is important. Buy whatever looks best and meets your requirements balanced against cost. Functionally there's no difference.

 

[davedotco]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quality-2-5mm-Loud-Speaker-Cable/dp/B003CZBNJ2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Anyone think this may be better or worse? Could get it on prime to come on Friday....

Flat ribbon cable of this type is a pain to terminate, whether you are using connectors or bare ends, best avoided.

A couple of runs of this will be great.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Van-Damme-Professional-Twin-Axial-268-525-060/dp/B0030C1MNY/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1420036045&sr=1-16&keywords=speaker+cable

 

[pogologo]

I got some VD for the main run. Was looking for something half decent and slightly more fitting for a second set of speakers which are £100. The VD will almost cost as much as the speakers.

I only justified it to myself on the main run as I spent a lot on the speakers and convinced myself it was worth it

 

[michael hoy]

The OP wants to pick up some cable quickly and not wait for delivery.

 

[drummerman]

Wire is wire, the diameter is important. Buy whatever looks best and meets your requirements balanced against cost. Functionally there's no difference.

The dielectric/insulator is probably just as important and re. wire, silver is a better conductor than copper. Then there is spacing and interference rejection etc

 

[davedotco]

If you want some 'instant' speaker cable, get yourself down to your local electrical shop and buy some 15amp twin and earth. Strip out the two insulated cores, lightly twist together and you are ready to go. Simple, and it works.

 

[Vladimir]

Wire is wire, the diameter is important. Buy whatever looks best and meets your requirements balanced against cost. Functionally there's no difference.

The dielectric/insulator is probably just as important and re. wire, silver is a better conductor than copper. Then there is spacing and interference rejection etc

Geometry, materials, shielding, all of that matters electrically. Just not audibly.

 

[andyjm]

...silver is a better conductor than copper...

...by volume, and aluminium is a better conductor by weight.

Are you so tight for space that you need to limit the diameter of your speaker cables? If not, then a slightly thicker copper cable conducts just as well as a slightly thinner silver cable - and costs a fraction of the price.

 

[pogologo]

Apologies for the boring questions, I am learning.

unforunately nowhere near a TLC (but if anyone knows something more central Midlands I will go).

Apart from price, what could be the difference between these?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/hi-fi-speaker-cable-20m-drum-white-n17ap

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/speaker-cable-figure-of-8-6-x-3mm-white-priced-per-metre-xr72p

 

[andyjm]

If you want some 'instant' speaker cable, get yourself down to your local electrical shop and buy some 15amp twin and earth. Strip out the two insulated cores, lightly twist together and you are ready to go. Simple, and it works.

For those looking to start a hifi speaker cable company, there is a phenomenon called 'strand jumping' which has not been (IMO) adequately exploited in misleading speaker cable advertising. Here is your sales pitch:

While skin effect is only significant at frequencies above the audio band, even at low frequencies there is a tendency for a current distribution gradient to exist across the diameter of the cable. In simple terms current generally prefers to travel closer to the surface than the centre of the cable.

Now picture a normal multistrand cable. Typical twist arrangements have the strands moving toward the centre of the cable then back out again as the strands move along the cable. As the current prefers to travel toward the outside of the cable, electrons have to jump from strand to strand to maintain their preferred path relative to the cable exterior. This creates multiple copper / copper interfaces throughout the cable, seriously impacting the fidelity of the sound. Single crystal OFC is no solution whatsoever if the current is continually having to jump from strand to strand - crossing multiple crystal boundaries as it does.

You need 'twinandearth' the solution to all these problems. By using an innovative solid copper core for the main conductors, and a central shielding electrode, all of the problems with strand jumping are solved, the current has an uninterrupted path along the conductor. A veil is lifted, blacks are blacker...etc, etc, etc.

Sounds convincing?

The effect is real (although negligable), and solid copper cable does eliminate it. So don't dismiss good old mains twin and earth as a speaker cable, it does have merit - although I would recommend 2.5mmsq 32A ring main cable, not 15A.

 

[Vladimir]

Andy, allow me to introduce you to my Audioquest Type 4, solid core speaker cable.

I tried a very thick two strand flat solid core cable from a utility pole, but the amp was oscilating so I still use my amazing audiophile Type 4.

The 4-Series of AudioQuest speakers cables may be the most successful in AudioQuest’s 30+ year history. Type 4′s roots go all the way back to the late 80′s. The fundamental geometry and conductor complement of Type 4 hasn’t changed since 1995 … because any change to the size or position of the 4-Series’ 2-sized Spread-Spectrum conductor arrangement would reduce performance.
SOLID LONG-GRAIN COPPER (LGC) CONDUCTORS: Type 4’s solid Long-Grain Copper allows a smoother and clearer sound than cables using typical OFHC (Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity) copper. OFHC is a general metal industry specification regarding “loss” without any concern for distortion. LGC has fewer oxides within the conducting material, less impurities, less grain boundaries, and definitively better performance. All four of Type 4’s conductors are solid. Electrical and magnetic interaction between strands in a conventional cable is the single greatest source of distortion, often causing a somewhat harsh, dirty and confused sound. Solid conductors are the most important ingredients enabling Type 4’s very clear sound. Whether a conductor is solid or stranded, skin-effect is a prime distortion mechanism in speaker cables. Type 4 very simply keeps this effect out of the audio range by using conductor sizes that are below the threshold for audible distortion.

CARBON-BASED NOISE-DISSIPATION and CROSS-TALK-DISSIPATION SYSTEMS (INSULATION): The two negative conductors in Type 4 are insulated with partially conductive Carbon-Loaded Polyethylene. This remarkable material damps radio-frequency garbage from being fed back into the amplifier. The sonic benefit is exactly the same reduction in “hash” and better dimensionality that comes whenever RF garbage is reduced in an audio circuit. Type 4 uses Nitrogen-Injected Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation on its positive conductors because air absorbs next to no energy, and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile. Thanks to all the air in Foamed-PE, it causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.

STAR-QUAD GEOMETRY: The relationship between conductors defines a cable’s most basic electrical values (capacitance and inductance). However, even when those variables are kept in a reasonable balance, the relationship between conductors can be varied in ways that greatly affect the sound. The Star-Quad construction of Type 4 allows for significantly better dynamic contrast and information intelligibility than if the same conductors were run in parallel.

SPREAD-SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY (SST): Any single size or shape of conductor has a specific distortion profile. Even though radially symmetrical conductors (solid or tubular) have the fewest discontinuities, any conductor of a particular size does have a sonic signature. SST is a method for significantly reducing the awareness of these character flaws by using a precise combination of different size conductors. The different SST-determined conductor sizes used in Type 4 allow an exceptionally clear, clean and dynamic sound.

 

[unsleepable]

For those looking to start a hifi speaker cable company, there is a phenomenon called 'strand jumping' which has not been (IMO) adequately exploited in misleading speaker cable advertising. Here is your sales pitch:

While skin effect is only significant at frequencies above the audio band, even at low frequencies there is a tendency for a current distribution gradient to exist across the diameter of the cable. In simple terms current generally prefers to travel closer to the surface than the centre of the cable.

Now picture a normal multistrand cable. Typical twist arrangements have the strands moving toward the centre of the cable then back out again as the strands move along the cable. As the current prefers to travel toward the outside of the cable, electrons have to jump from strand to strand to maintain their preferred path relative to the cable exterior. This creates multiple copper / copper interfaces throughout the cable, seriously impacting the fidelity of the sound. Single crystal OFC is no solution whatsoever if the current is continually having to jump from strand to strand - crossing multiple crystal boundaries as it does.

You need 'twinandearth' the solution to all these problems. By using an innovative solid copper core for the main conductors, and a central shielding electrode, all of the problems with strand jumping are solved, the current has an uninterrupted path along the conductor. A veil is lifted, blacks are blacker...etc, etc, etc.

Sounds convincing?

The effect is real (although negligable), and solid copper cable does eliminate it. So don't dismiss good old mains twin and earth as a speaker cable, it does have merit - although I would recommend 2.5mmsq 32A ring main cable, not 15A.

Mate, you gave me goosebumps.

 

[pogologo]

Is all 79 x 0.2mm 2 strand 2.50mm2?

This looks good value but information is again scant: -

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Speaker-Flex-79-x-0-2mm-x-7-5m/p/204863

 

[davedotco]

If you want some 'instant' speaker cable, get yourself down to your local electrical shop and buy some 15amp twin and earth. Strip out the two insulated cores, lightly twist together and you are ready to go. Simple, and it works.

For those looking to start a hifi speaker cable company, there is a phenomenon called 'strand jumping' which has not been (IMO) adequately exploited in misleading speaker cable advertising. Here is your sales pitch:

While skin effect is only significant at frequencies above the audio band, even at low frequencies there is a tendency for a current distribution gradient to exist across the diameter of the cable. In simple terms current generally prefers to travel closer to the surface than the centre of the cable.

Now picture a normal multistrand cable. Typical twist arrangements have the strands moving toward the centre of the cable then back out again as the strands move along the cable. As the current prefers to travel toward the outside of the cable, electrons have to jump from strand to strand to maintain their preferred path relative to the cable exterior. This creates multiple copper / copper interfaces throughout the cable, seriously impacting the fidelity of the sound. Single crystal OFC is no solution whatsoever if the current is continually having to jump from strand to strand - crossing multiple crystal boundaries as it does.

You need 'twinandearth' the solution to all these problems. By using an innovative solid copper core for the main conductors, and a central shielding electrode, all of the problems with strand jumping are solved, the current has an uninterrupted path along the conductor. A veil is lifted, blacks are blacker...etc, etc, etc.

Sounds convincing?

The effect is real (although negligable), and solid copper cable does eliminate it. So don't dismiss good old mains twin and earth as a speaker cable, it does have merit - although I would recommend 2.5mmsq 32A ring main cable, not 15A.

I have used 15amp twin and earth on a number of occasions, minus the earth conductor, I am sure that the 32amp cable you mention will be lower in resistance but in a budget system I doubt it matters.

This is a simple, cheap solution that can be bought from virtually any diy store and it sounds fine, use the thicker stuff if you can get it, but don't worry if you can't. Over normal hi-fi cable lengths, you will not hear the difference.

 

[Vladimir]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quality-2-5mm-Loud-Speaker-Cable/dp/B003CZBNJ2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Anyone think this may be better or worse? Could get it on prime to come on Friday....

I have a 4mm thick version of that one in my cable box and can't really recommend it. It oxidizes very quickly, doesn't seem to be of decen't quality at all. Don't know if you can tell the varnish on the copper from this photo.