Cabling Solution Required

calpark46

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We are redecorating the room my system is in, and we may move the speakers to either side of the fireplace. I intend to run the cables under the skirting boards and in the expansion gap of a new wooden/laminate floor. I need a cable that will fit in the gap (probably 15mm square), but please bear in mind that, on one wall, both L and R cable will need to be squeezed in. Because I require 15m-20m of cable in total, I am not looking to spend a fortune and, to date, have been considering Linn K20, Van Damme Blue, Van Damme UP LC-OFC, and some Chord and QED models.

Any suggestions on good quality, affordable cable that will suit my system and will be discreet enough to maintain domestic bliss would be very welcome.

Thanks
 

nick8858

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Nice thin stuff. 3.5mm diameter. Around £8.00 metre unterminated. You can termibnate it yourself (I did) but its a bit fiddly. Tucks nicely in small gaps etc. Just 1 diameter as well. Linn K20 is 2 cables side by side although it is cheaper.
 
After some years with bulky Transparent speaker wires I replaced with the Vd LC OFC stuff terminated by Lucas - an eBay supplier - and am very happy with it. I'd not hesitate to buy again, and it's relatively flexible for a 4mm section.

Bearing in mind your specific requirements I'd also suggest you look at the WHF recommended flx slip cable from Audioquest.

https://www.whathifi.com/audioquest/flx-slip-144/review
 

calpark46

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Thanks for the replies.

Cno - the Linn K20 seems a good, safe call but, it all depends on fit.

Nick8858 - lots of good feedback on Van Damme cables both here and elsewhere and definitely a contender.

Nopiano - I was leaning towards the Audioquest and it gets great reviews but, at 9mm diameter, it's similar in size of my current cable.
 

andyjm

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As a general rule, long speaker cable runs should be avoided if possible.

It won't make any difference which brand of cable you choose, but I would aim for a cross sectional area of 4mm^2 to reduce cable resistance given the cable length.
 

nick8858

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Some of us have no choice but to have long cable runs because of the configuration of our listening rooms. I for one have never had any issue with it whatsoever. I'm now waiting for someone to tell us that the cable lengths should be equal and that we have a coil of cable hidden away in a corner due to this.
 

davedotco

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A very simple and inexpensive solution would be a 25meter drum of 30amp 'twin and earth' from somewhere like screwfix or B&Q.

Each conductor will have a cross section of 6 sq mm, usuall 7 strands (a bit like Nac A5) and when stripped out of the outer sheath, quite modest size. Lightly twist each channel together, no problem getting them into you space.

Expect to pay around £35-40.
 

nick8858

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Not a bad idea at all is this one. I have Chord Sarsen at £8 a metre and the ONLY reason I bought this is because its nice and thin and easy to hide. I couldn't give a tinkers cuss as to its audio attributes as my ears have never detected any difference between cables. I'd rather buy more music than chase the impossible dream of the perfect cable.
 

andyjm

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nick8858 said:
Some of us have no choice but to have long cable runs because of the configuration of our listening rooms. I for one have never had any issue with it whatsoever. I'm now waiting for someone to tell us that the cable lengths should be equal and that we have a coil of cable hidden away in a corner due to this.

Indeed. Though if at all possible you should aim for the shortest cable you can sensibly achieve. No point arguing about this cable vs that cable if you have it snaking around your room.
 

nick8858

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andyjm said:
nick8858 said:
Some of us have no choice but to have long cable runs because of the configuration of our listening rooms. I for one have never had any issue with it whatsoever. I'm now waiting for someone to tell us that the cable lengths should be equal and that we have a coil of cable hidden away in a corner due to this.

Indeed. Though if at all possible you should aim for the shortest cable you can sensibly achieve. No point arguing about this cable vs that cable if you have it snaking around your room.

Agree with this, and of course the shorter the run the cheaper it is!
 

calpark46

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Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Just to clarify my original post, I require probably 15m of cable IN TOTAL (7-8m on one side & 5-6m to the others speaker) so not extra long runs.

Shouldn’t be any problem with good copper 2.5mm 4mm wire without spending silly money.
 

davedotco

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calpark46 said:
Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Just to clarify my original post, I require probably 15m of cable IN TOTAL (7-8m on one side & 5-6m to the others speaker) so not extra long runs.

Shouldn’t be any problem with good copper 2.5mm 4mm wire without spending silly money.

If you want 2.5 sq mm, 15 amp twin and earth will give you that. A 25m drum will cost less than £20.
 

drummerman

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davedotco said:
calpark46 said:
Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Just to clarify my original post, I require probably 15m of cable IN TOTAL (7-8m on one side & 5-6m to the others speaker) so not extra long runs.

Shouldn’t be any problem with good copper 2.5mm 4mm wire without spending silly money.

If you want 2.5 sq mm, 15 amp twin and earth will give you that. A 25m drum will cost less than £20.

Why not just solder a few coat hangers together?

Paperclips probably work too.
 

Rethep

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Just thick stranded copper wire will do the job! And, yes it's really cheap. So because of the savings you can use your fireplace every night from now on!

The change of position of your speakers (as i have understood your story well) will change the sound anyway! Take some time to get used to that.
 

andyjm

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drummerman said:
davedotco said:
calpark46 said:
Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Just to clarify my original post, I require probably 15m of cable IN TOTAL (7-8m on one side & 5-6m to the others speaker) so not extra long runs.

Shouldn’t be any problem with good copper 2.5mm 4mm wire without spending silly money.

If you want 2.5 sq mm, 15 amp twin and earth will give you that. A 25m drum will cost less than £20.

Why not just solder a few coat hangers together?

Paperclips probably work too.

When I last checked, copper was still copper, and twin and earth mains cable makes fine speaker cables.

2.5mm^2 twin and earth is OK for shorter runs (say less than 5M), however I would go with 4mm^2 for runs over that. Electrically, doubling the length of the cable is the same as halving the cross sectional area.

Solid mains cable is inflexible, but there are real (but probably inaudible) benefits to having a solid conductor.
 

davedotco

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andyjm said:
drummerman said:
davedotco said:
calpark46 said:
Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

Just to clarify my original post, I require probably 15m of cable IN TOTAL (7-8m on one side & 5-6m to the others speaker) so not extra long runs.

Shouldn’t be any problem with good copper 2.5mm 4mm wire without spending silly money.

If you want 2.5 sq mm, 15 amp twin and earth will give you that. A 25m drum will cost less than £20.

Why not just solder a few coat hangers together?

Paperclips probably work too.

When I last checked, copper was still copper, and twin and earth mains cable makes fine speaker cables.

2.5mm^2 twin and earth is OK for shorter runs (say less than 5M), however I would go with 4mm^2 for runs over that. Electrically, doubling the length of the cable is the same as halving the cross sectional area.

Solid mains cable is inflexible, but there are real (but probably inaudible) benefits to having a solid conductor.

Twin and earth tends to be either 2.5 sq mm (15amp) or 6 sq mm (32amp), these are both common and cheap.

The thinner cable tends to be solid core but the 6 sq mm is often stranded, like so.

When stripped from the outer sheathing the cable is still quite stiff, but easily shaped for dressing to the speaker. It is so cheap that I would use the 6 sq mm myself but I am pretty sure that the 2.5 sq mm will be fine.

Point of interest. The guy who owns and runs the cable company Tara Labs started out in 1987 stripping twin and earth, terminating it and selling it as speaker cable from his shop in Bondi.
 

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