Good budget speaker cables

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I am new to hifi and I know nothing about speaker cables

I own an Onkyo TX8050 amp and Tannoy v4 speakers. Which relatively non-expensive speakers would you recommend?

Thanks!

Martin

 

[CnoEvil]

You could try some

- Van Damme UP LC-OFC here: http://www.vdctrading.com/content.asp?SubsectionID=30

- Atlas Element 2: http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/atlas_element_2.0_speaker_cable.shtml?googlecpc

- Chord Silver Screen : http://www.exceptional-av.co.uk/product.php?fdProductId=221

- QED 79 Strand: http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/2709/qed-79-strand-speaker-cable/?utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=Froogle&utm_content=QED79%20-1M-94382&utm_campaign=Froogle

Nb. Make sure you ask for a "terminated" price, if that's what you want.

 

[the record spot]

I use 400-strand OFC cable which I bought 6 metres of from Maplin. £18. Or, go to Ebay and buy some 322-strand for about a fiver for 10 metres from the likes of Digitalis Direct. I use 400-strand with my 8050 and my Tannoys and it works a treat.

 

[Captain Duff]

Yes, agree with above. Also keep an eye on ebay as there is always ex-dem stuff from shops, or s/h cables from the regular cable 'upgraders' so you could get a bargain there. I'm using some Gale 315 that I got s/h for about a fiver for 10m and it works a treat, no point in my humble opinion paying silly money here at all.

 

[davidpr]

All the above are good ideas and you can add Black Rhodium Twist to the list as well. I would not spend more than 6 pounds per metre for new cable but that is my opinion and others will have their own opinion. However it is down to you and what sounds good to you.

 

[matthewpiano]

Audioquest G2. £3.50 per metre and it is really good, natural sounding speaker cable. I use it in preference over my Chord Rumour 2, Chord Carnival Silverscreen and QED Evolution XT.

 

[CnoEvil]

Linn K20 off ebay is also another good choice.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi,

I am new to hifi and I know nothing about speaker cables

I own an Onkyo TX8050 amp and Tannoy v4 speakers. Which relatively non-expensive speakers would you recommend?

Thanks!

Martin

Hi Martin

Standard 79 strand OFC or as RS has suggested standard 322, 400 or even 500 multi strand OFC speaker cables will be more then good enough for your amplification and speakers.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[andyjm]

Hi Martin

Standard 79 strand OFC or as RS has suggested standard 322, 400 or even 500 multi strand OFC speaker cables will be more then good enough for your amplification and speakers.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

The number of strands is irrelevant, it is the total cross sectional area (CSA) of the conductors that matter. One thick conductor may be better than many much thinner conductors. All other things being equal, more CSA is better than less, and you should aim for a CSA of at least 2.5mm^2.

A good quality cheap speaker cable is: www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CASPEAK79.html

TLC (I have no connection) are a good quality electrical factor, and you are only paying for the wire, not a fancy marketing budget. The wire has been tested and has been found to be of good quality.

FWIW, if the budget is tight, there is nothing wrong with 2.5mm^2 mains 'twin and earth', the sort of cable used for house wiring. Being a solid conductor, it is tough to bend, but apart from that, it is fine. There are in fact arguments suggesting single conductor cables may be better that stranded for speaker cables.

Good luck.

 

[the record spot]

I don't know that it's irrelevant but for speaker cable purposes it probably is odd less importance. I wanted to try out cheap cable, around 14AWG, and 322-stand was what was available on Ebay. For interest to others, here's a passage of Wikipedia around solid vs stranded cable. Apologies for the text sizing, can't readily change on the tablet just now.

At high frequencies, current travels near the surface of the wire because of the skin effect, resulting in increased power loss in the wire. Stranded wire might seem to reduce this effect, since the total surface area of the strands is greater than the surface area of the equivalent solid wire, but ordinary stranded wire does not reduce the skin effect because all the strands are short-circuited together and behave as a single conductor. A stranded wire will have higher resistance than a solid wire of the same diameter because the cross-section of the stranded wire is not all copper; there are unavoidable gaps between the strands (this is the circle packing problem forcircles within a circle). A stranded wire with the same cross-section of conductor as a solid wire is said to have the same equivalent gaugeand is always a larger diameter.

 

[davidpr]

We are talking audio frequencies here so I doubt if skin effect is an issue especially over cable run of a few metres. Of course different cables will have different capacitance and and inductance and has the possibility to make the sound out of your speakers sound "different" compared to another cable but is that a fact or some sort of placebo effect? I have yet to be convinced.