Question Cable advice

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Niko

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Dec 13, 2019
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Time has come for me to invest in cables for my stereo setup.
My setup is;
-Sonos port ( I use Spotify and Tidal)
-xtz edge a2-300 amp ( 2x 300W , 4 Ω)
- Fyne audio F502 speakers

For speaker cables I’m looking at 3 alternatives in different price segments:

Supra Ply 2 x 3.4 mm2
m/products/view/ply-2x3.4-1000000677

OEHLBACH TWINMIX ONE

Shawline X speaker cable
www.chord.co.uk

ShawlineX speaker cable - The Chord Company

Shawline speaker cable uses the same silver-plated conductors, XLPE insulation and twisted pair configuration as Chord RumourX, but enhanced with PVC internal jacket to reduce mechanical noise and the same high density dual-layer shielding we use on Chord Epic.
www.chord.co.uk www.chord.co.uk

Any thoughts? Recommendations?

And for now I’m using the rca cable that came with the Sonos port, worth investing in better rca cable?
 
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Speaker cables I use today

ARGON AUDIOBASIC SPEAKER CABLE1
argonaudio.com

Basic 1

This is a regular speaker cable as you know it. Can be used to connect a pair of speakers to an amp or between for example the ALTO Active or TEMPO-speakers.
argonaudio.com argonaudio.com

3m and 5m
100- 300£
I’m expecting a noticeable difference
 
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Scientifically, if you match cable geometry, strand count, thickness and copper purity, there should be no audible difference.

Once those have been altered, there will be some difference. For instance, cables where the + & - are spaced widely will have more inductance (this is a consequence of the simple equations describing magnetic fields), which could end up changing the level at 20kHz by maybe 0.1dB if you were to get really drastic with the spacings.

Thicker cable will have lower resistance, which can be of consequence over long cable runs.

Overall, when it comes to cables, in my experience as long as it's half-decent (ie, not thin and cheap rubbish), they won't be the limiting factor in any HiFi system. The biggest effects cables will show are still small fractions of a dB - moving my head produces larger changes than that, so cables are something that I simply don't worry about.

As always with HiFi, whatever improves your enjoyment of the music. If fancy cables really will help you enjoy your system, then I'm not going to stop you. I will, however, point out that for around £200 and a laptop, you can have a loudspeaker measurement system. Mine remains the best bit of audio gear I've ever bought - it has improved the sound of everything else I've designed/built/owned.

Chris
 
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2.5mm sq OFC cable (Or 4mm sq OFC cable for longer runs) is all you need, ignore the nonsense spewed out by cable manufactures, as they are just a load of con artists.

If you want a brand name then Van Damme is a good brand, as they are used in professional film & music production studios who's equipment makes even High End Hi-Fi sound mundane, so will far exceed the needs of your equipment.

If you still believe cables make a difference, then as has been stated just buy what you like, as while they will make absolutely no difference to the sound, psychologically you will feel much better and thus enjoy the music more.

Bill
 
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Niko said:
Time has come for me to invest in cables for my stereo setup.
My setup is;
-Sonos port ( I use Spotify and Tidal)
-xtz edge a2-300 amp ( 2x 300W , 4 Ω)
- Fyne audio F502 speakers

For speaker cables I’m looking at 3 alternatives in different price segments:

Supra Ply 2 x 3.4 mm2
m/products/view/ply-2x3.4-1000000677

OEHLBACH TWINMIX ONE

Shawline X speaker cable
www.chord.co.uk

ShawlineX speaker cable - The Chord Company

Shawline speaker cable uses the same silver-plated conductors, XLPE insulation and twisted pair configuration as Chord RumourX, but enhanced with PVC internal jacket to reduce mechanical noise and the same high density dual-layer shielding we use on Chord Epic.
www.chord.co.uk www.chord.co.uk

Any thoughts? Recommendations?

And for now I’m using the rca cable that came with the Sonos port, worth investing in better rca cable?
Click to expand...

Yep definitely need new cable's. Find a shop or look online as they will let you try before you buy. That way you can get it right but definitely need new RCA cable
 
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Niko said:
100- 300£
I’m expecting a noticeable difference
Click to expand...
Noticeable... possibly. Significant... unlikely. Difference for the better... Impossible to say.

First, if you do buy more expensive cables buy them in equal lengths (2x5m) as they will be much harder to sell in future. Second, for 5m runs I'd go with 4mm2 copper. I won't suggest any cables myself.

But to really appreciate the difference make sure you setup your hifi correctly. Speakers evenly spaced out, with appropriate toe-in, allowing room between speakers and wall. Ideally unobstructed space between listening position and speakers. If you have many reflective surfaces consider acoustic room treatment.

You can do a reasonable job with £300 including a DAC for your Sonos or acoustic room treatment which should give you far bigger results than any cables.
 
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I agree with most of the comments here. Cables don't make any difference. Saying that I did buy the Roksan HDC-01A interconnect for £35 and thought they were great 🙂

I would say go big on amps, speakers and DAC's.
On a final note I thought I would try the USB C port on my computer, so I bought a Ugreen type C to type B cable for £8, I believe going from USB 2.0 to 3.1 gen 2 makes a likeable difference.
Follow your ears!
 
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I see you joined this forum a couple of weeks ago Niko.
Maybe you've seen cable discussions before.
They are to hi-forum communities what Brexit is to the UK population.
Opinions are fiercely divided, with neither side open to persuasion.
(I started the original Brexit thread on this forum....I think there were suicide attempts).
Happy New Year.
 
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insider9 said:
Noticeable... possibly. Significant... unlikely. Difference for the better... Impossible to say.

First, if you do buy more expensive cables buy them in equal lengths (2x5m) as they will be much harder to sell in future. Second, for 5m runs I'd go with 4mm2 copper. I won't suggest any cables myself.

But to really appreciate the difference make sure you setup your hifi correctly. Speakers evenly spaced out, with appropriate toe-in, allowing room between speakers and wall. Ideally unobstructed space between listening position and speakers. If you have many reflective surfaces consider acoustic room treatment.

You can do a reasonable job with £300 including a DAC for your Sonos or acoustic room treatment which should give you far bigger results than any cables.
Click to expand...
I would agree with your comments.
For a system such as this I would certainly replace the RCA cable that came with the Sonus if only for an improved in build quality.....
 
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Gray said:
If you're in need of a bit of post-Christmas exercise Bill, check out the 'Fuse Direction' thread currently on HiFi Wigwam. It's guaranteed to make your heart beat faster.
Click to expand...
Had a read of the Wam thread last night... what a load of bullsh*t. It's mostly being torn apart but some poor fools are actually saying they can hear a difference. The weather affects my hi-fi more than any ridiculously expensive fuse would ever do.
 
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I went to a Hifi show many years ago, when my ears could still just about detect 12kHz when tested, and I won a pair of Audioquest interconnects. that were about half the price my amp, and although the overall build of the polyethylene insulation, the 99.9% oxygen free copper, and RCA plugs where of the finest quality, I never could hear any difference or improvement in sound.

During the same period - back in the 80's if you auditioned 10 different sets of audiophile speakers in a professional listening room, every pair of speakers would sound significantly different, (obviously?) but which was the best sound or nearest to the most natural? Nightmare!
 
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I've done A-B cable comparisons with some fairly resolving headphones and I can't tell a difference. If I can't tell with headphones I'm sure I wouldn't notice with speakers.
 
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The Chord SuperScreen mains sounds worse to my ears compared to a Roksan supplied mains £7. The QED audio 40 interconnects are quite good though, so its not black and white. Speaker cable seems good what ever you put on it, I don't know about luxury speaker cable.
 
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In the midt 90's i had 2 pair of monster interconnects with a pretty good rotel rcd-96bx le discrete, rotel 980 power amps, jamo Concert VII later audiovector x5, i couldn't hear a difference
 
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gasolin said:
i the midt 90's i had 2 pair of monster interconnects with a pretty good rotel rcd-96bx le discrete, rotel 980 power amps, jamo Concert VII later audiovector x5, i couldn't hear a difference
Click to expand...
Why did you get rid of JAMO Concert 7? With strong enough amp these will still slay most moderately priced modern speakers and bass on those... Wow
 
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