Avoid these three rookie mistakes when buying speaker cables

[What Hi-Fi?]

There is something magical about building a new hi-fi system, but it’s all too easy to make some pretty basic mistakes when buying cables. Here is how to avoid the three most common errors we encounter.

Avoid these three rookie mistakes when buying speaker cables : Read more

 

[daveh75]

"Rookies" would be better served avoiding articles promoting such snakeoil...

 

[podknocker]

Fancy cables cannot and do not make a difference to sound quality, yet WHF keep promoting and reviewing these cables and rate them according to their ability to improve sound quality.

I bought expensive cables, because of their build quality, materials and construction etc. I'm certain they aren't adding anything to the sound of my system.

 

[MHarris71]

"Rookies" would be better served avoiding articles promoting such snakeoil...

What did you expect from this place. They have been spreading the snake oil gospels like forever lol

 

[NSO]

Just do a loop impedance test with a DVM on your run of speaker cable, say 3m per stereo channel. Very sure every cable will show a virtually identical resistance unless of course faulty on such a ridiculous short run as in most people's homes. The cable is a carrier of AC signal and if a cable alters the sound then it is becoming a Eq. It certainly should not change the signal it is carrying in any way. Like everyone has said, snake oil promotion. You would be better off replacing capacitors in your speakers crossovers with better quality ones and then you hear a dramatic difference in detail, sound stage and imaging. Buy expensive cables by all means for there construction and quality of build but don't expect a difference to be heard.

 

[djh1697]

No advertising intended, but when I listened to Kudos KS-1 compared to NACA5, the differences where very subtle. I decided to make the purchase and sell he NACA5, It is worth noting that people who worked in the store I got my cable from had bought it for their home systems. The cables are both 6 metres long. My amplifier in a Naim 250-2, I use Roon, and a Pink Triangle record deck as sources.

 

[hifi]

There is something magical about building a new hi-fi system, but it’s all too easy to make some pretty basic mistakes when buying cables. Here is how to avoid the three most common errors we encounter.

Avoid these three rookie mistakes when buying speaker cables : Read more

I remember buying my first system saving my hard earned cash for months went too Laskys got my first new ! system all Technics with DBX and a A class Amp i was proud.
Those were the days when bell wire was speaker cable took me a while too realise i had overlooked the cables they deliver your sound so are very important but theres no need too spend silly money on them.

 

[AlChris Lover]

So off you go to your dealer miles away. The dealer is trying to flog (demonstrate )some Naim gear to a couple & isn't overly joyful you've called in Saturday afternoon to audition some inexpensive speaker cables - Assuming you listen to three cables, you are also auditing other equipment such as amp, TT, streamer, speakers, stands & more (likely all different to your home set-up) so a totally different room with different charismatics totally - Not sure how you work out where cables make the difference.

IMO the one & only place you can audition any Hi-Fi is probably in your listening room - Best of luck getting several cables on loan of the correct length - Also I don't feel same lengths of cable do matter, unless I was manufacturing/selling cables if so I would recommend with my heart & soul to get exactly the same length - It don't make much difference if any (well I've run with different lengths on purpose & for the life of me cannot discern the differance. I've read hi-fi mags starting with my fathers issue one of 'The Tape Recorder' for 45+ years & not convinced there was much truth in my reading.

 

[hifi]

So off you go to your dealer miles away. The dealer is trying to flog (demonstrate )some Naim gear to a couple & isn't overly joyful you've called in Saturday afternoon to audition some inexpensive speaker cables - Assuming you listen to three cables, you are also auditing other equipment such as amp, TT, streamer, speakers, stands & more (likely all different to your home set-up) so a totally different room with different charismatics totally - Not sure how you work out where cables make the difference.

IMO the one & only place you can audition any Hi-Fi is probably in your listening room - Best of luck getting several cables on loan of the correct length - Also I don't feel same lengths of cable do matter, unless I was manufacturing/selling cables if so I would recommend with my heart & soul to get exactly the same length - It don't make much difference if any (well I've run with different lengths on purpose & for the life of me cannot discern the differance. I've read hi-fi mags starting with my fathers issue one of 'The Tape Recorder' for 45+ years & not convinced there was much truth in my reading.

Why confuse the the rookies we are here too help them.

 

[Navanski]

Some manufacturers state that their cables will require 100 hours burn in before reaching optimum performance. There are also cables which, apparently, are directional. Amazing! Perhaps someone will explain how each of these attributes is scientifically credible?

It would be far better if the manufacturers did some independent double blind testing to prove the efficacy of their expensive bits of wire. I'll wait patiently for this occurrence.

 

[nick_loss]

Some manufacturers state that their cables will require 100 hours burn in before reaching optimum performance. There are also cables which, apparently, are directional. Amazing! Perhaps someone will explain how each of these attributes is scientifically credible?

It would be far better if the manufacturers did some independent double blind testing to prove the efficacy of their expensive bits of wire. I'll wait patiently for this occurrence.

the "burn-in" argument also perplexed me. tbh I think this was just a unscrupulous tactic that a few manufacturers started using to tackle the problem of product returns. clever, because if the consumer complained their product was not living up to hype as claimed by the manufacturer and sales people, well 'burn-in' would be in subtle way of blaming the consumer for not properly using their product...also gives the manufacturer a healthy length of time that would eat up much of a retailer's refund/return policy. Common sense dictates that if a cable needs a certain amount of burn-in time before performing at its peak, wouldn't this be done at the factory before shipping their products out to the consumer? Why would a manufacturer knowingly ship out a product that is not performing at its best?

As for directional cables.. controversial topic because there are indeed cables assemblies designed for directionality. It is important to distinguish wires versus a cable assembly as a whole. While wires are not at all directional, there are a number of "directional" cables that have specific shielding design elements which must be plugged into a specific component in the signal chain to take advantage of the design topology. A well known example in the pro-audio world is when a balanced audio cable has the shield connected to the ground pin at one end, but not at the other--aka 'floating ground' aka 'ground lift'... (often seen in more 'vintage' components...modern day pro audio equipment tend to have more robust designs and improved components that can take care of ground loops and AC 60Hz hum without the need for external mitigation techniques like this.)
Also, you might come across instrument cables that are specifically designed for one end to plug into something like a guitar and the other end to an amp... the 'guitar end' makes use of a special connector that shorts the tip to ground when unplugged. The amp end uses just a typical TS connector. So if you unplug your guitar while the amp is on, like when a guitar player swaps guitars during a concert, the amp won't be loudly buzzing away due to the infinite source impedance.
Once again, the wires are not directional... the electron flow doesn't care either...but as a whole, the cable assembly is directional to make use of its unique design characteristics.

As for why Monster Cables have a "source" and "destination" labels on their unbalanced RCA "home theatre interconnects" I saw they were selling a while back..? -- only god knows ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
That is pure, high octane, uncut, high grade SNAKE OIL.

 

[Navanski]

the "burn-in" argument also perplexed me. tbh I think this was just a unscrupulous tactic that a few manufacturers started using to tackle the problem of product returns. clever, because if the consumer complained their product was not living up to hype as claimed by the manufacturer and sales people, well 'burn-in' would be in subtle way of blaming the consumer for not properly using their product...also gives the manufacturer a healthy length of time that would eat up much of a retailer's refund/return policy. Common sense dictates that if a cable needs a certain amount of burn-in time before performing at its peak, wouldn't this be done at the factory before shipping their products out to the consumer? Why would a manufacturer knowingly ship out a product that is not performing at its best?

As for directional cables.. controversial topic because there are indeed cables assemblies designed for directionality. It is important to distinguish wires versus a cable assembly as a whole. While wires are not at all directional, there are a number of "directional" cables that have specific shielding design elements which must be plugged into a specific component in the signal chain to take advantage of the design topology. A well known example in the pro-audio world is when a balanced audio cable has the shield connected to the ground pin at one end, but not at the other--aka 'floating ground' aka 'ground lift'... (often seen in more 'vintage' components...modern day pro audio equipment tend to have more robust designs and improved components that can take care of ground loops and AC 60Hz hum without the need for external mitigation techniques like this.)
Also, you might come across instrument cables that are specifically designed for one end to plug into something like a guitar and the other end to an amp... the 'guitar end' makes use of a special connector that shorts the tip to ground when unplugged. The amp end uses just a typical TS connector. So if you unplug your guitar while the amp is on, like when a guitar player swaps guitars during a concert, the amp won't be loudly buzzing away due to the infinite source impedance.
Once again, the wires are not directional... the electron flow doesn't care either...but as a whole, the cable assembly is directional to make use of its unique design characteristics.

As for why Monster Cables have a "source" and "destination" labels on their unbalanced RCA "home theatre interconnects" I saw they were selling a while back..? -- only god knows ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
That is pure, high octane, uncut, high grade SNAKE OIL.

All agreed.
I should have been more specific when mentioning directional cables. I'm aware of shielding which is grounded at one end. Not absolutely convinced by that one but I'm in a generous mood.
The more contentious phenomenon is described in this text taken from the Futureshop website.
Now, you may wonder why cable burn-in is necessary. During cable manufacturing, gasses become trapped as insulation is applied over the conductors. Additionally, new cables often possess high electrical charges, resulting in a brittle and bright sound that lacks the desired detail and depth for music production.

When cables undergo burn-in, the trapped gasses are dissipated, and small impurities in the conductor metals begin to exhibit diode-like behaviour, favouring current flow in a specific direction.
Make of that what you will but the burn in service is 'free'. (somebody's paying somewhere, free lunch and all that).