Heavy gauge wire vs Audiophile Cables

[shafesk]

Hello again forumites....I'm sorry to be bringing up new threads every other day, think I've got the forum bug big time and can't find many interesting threads to interfere in :shhh:

Well my situation is that I have got about 30 feet of cables per speaker. Since audiophile cables are always more expensive than hardware store ones I am using some heavy gauge wire, very very thick stuff...its giving my wire strippers a hard time! I always believe the thicker the cable the better. So far I've noticed that these cables sound better than my previous 5 feet run of Van den huls. The problem with my Van den huls is that they've had a hard life, spent years in the storage and I used them after 5 years so I don't think its a fair comparison. Now the main question is that if I were to spend the same amount of money on some audiophile cables (around 2 pounds per metre) would I be getting an upgrade? How many of you have switched to hardware store cables from audiophile ones?

Signed,

Confused and Paranoid

 

[shafesk]

To add: these cables are revealing enough to show subtle differences in cables and tweaks, the only complaint is the soundstaging although it might be down to my speakers

 

[Anonymous]

A wise hifi dealer once said to me:

"Rich, the moment you start worrying about cables and upgrades do me a favour. Sell me your system back, buy a cheap one, and start enjoying the music again!"

 

[shafesk]

absolutely spot on Rich, well I don't worry about my system when I'm listening to it so I'm not terminal yet. Having said that I've spent what to me is a fortune and I'd like to get this sytem purrfect

 

[Anonymous]

Great news! Unfortunatly i have no other advice on cables. The only criteria for the cables for my set up were that they were "floppy" so that they could be easily and tidily arranged in a relatvely small space!

The chap at the hifi shop i bought them from (not the dealer noted above) looked at me like i was crazy!

 

[nopiano]

I'm not sure that £2 per metre and audiophile really go hand in hand. Obviously it shouldn't simply be about cost, but if you find sophisticated cables sound better then you may be looking at a greater cost.

Ironically, if you still need to use 30 feet lengths then this will potentially require better cable, and a greater multiple of the cost due to the length.

Can you begin by rearranging the system for shorter lengths and then audition something that appeals? Firms like Russ Andrews and many others offer home trials, though a local dealer is ideal.

And if you want to test your belief about thickness, try some DNM, which give one of the most coherent sounds around and are the thinnest imaginable!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi shafesk

I'll recommend using standard multistrand speaker cables and some basic interconnects.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[shafesk]

Hi shafesk

I'll recommend using standard multistrand speaker cables and some basic interconnects.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hi Rick, like you I'm sceptical about speaker cables....unfortunately I've found differences between the clear audio, chord and pure av interconnects in my system, which led me to investigate the speaker cable thing. Thank you for your advice.

All the best,

Shafin

 

[shafesk]

I'm not sure that £2 per metre and audiophile really go hand in hand. Obviously it shouldn't simply be about cost, but if you find sophisticated cables sound better then you may be looking at a greater cost.

Ironically, if you still need to use 30 feet lengths then this will potentially require better cable, and a greater multiple of the cost due to the length.

Can you begin by rearranging the system for shorter lengths and then audition something that appeals? Firms like Russ Andrews and many others offer home trials, though a local dealer is ideal.

And if you want to test your belief about thickness, try some DNM, which give one of the most coherent sounds around and are the thinnest imaginable!

Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to rearrange my system...It was a painful process getting things the way they are. I've kept my equipment as far away from the speakers as possible. Thanks for the recommendation I'll give the DNM a look!

 

[Overdose]

I'm not sure that £2 per metre and audiophile really go hand in hand. Obviously it shouldn't simply be about cost, but if you find sophisticated cables sound better then you may be looking at a greater cost.

Something either sounds good , or it does not. Period. Price is irrelevent and what does 'audiophile' mean anyway?

 

[shafesk]

Great news! Unfortunatly i have no other advice on cables. The only criteria for the cables for my set up were that they were "floppy" so that they could be easily and tidily arranged in a relatvely small space!

The chap at the hifi shop i bought them from (not the dealer noted above) looked at me like i was crazy!

Did he spray holy water on you? :twisted:

 

[shafesk]

I'm not sure that £2 per metre and audiophile really go hand in hand. Obviously it shouldn't simply be about cost, but if you find sophisticated cables sound better then you may be looking at a greater cost.

Something either sounds good , or it does not. Period. Price is irrelevent and what does 'audiophile' mean anyway?

In the context of cables audiophile means expensive

 

[chebby]

...what does 'audiophile' mean anyway?

Needs two people to carry it.

Capable of pulling connections out of the back of the amp through sheer mechanical strain.

Cannot go around corners.

Needs three months for 'first stage burn-in'.

Costs more per metre than most mid-range systems (or even some 'high-end' ones).

Short offcuts can be used as offensive weapons in bank raids etc.

Can support quite heavy bookshelf speakers with no need for stands.

 

[Paul.]

At the lengths and prices you are looking at you could try Chord Leyline, it's their install cable designed for long runs. I use it for my rears, it seems to match up tonaly quite well with the Rumor fronts, but it's hard to say as I have limited 5.1 music supplys.

 

[shafesk]

Thanks Paul, I didn't know about this one. I'll have a look and see what I can find. In my system I've found that the Chord interconnects sound very smooth. Having an already smooth system I needed to spark things up a bit and went the Pure Avs instead....how would you say they sound?

 

[Paul.]

I've not tried Pure AV myself so I couldn't say. I am the worst at demoing stuff, the second I find something that sounds good I stop, cant be bothered to explore further as I find demoing quite tedious. I went to Audio Excellence to buy some cable, they asked if I wanted to demo some Chord Rumour. I didn't believe they would make a difference but it was free so I had a go. On return, I asked for one bag of that stuff please. Had no desire to demo anything else, I was done. Bought the Leyline for the rear as it was supposed to sound similar, and I couldn't afford 20m of Rumour! Thats why I personally find the whole A B X ing thing so baffling, if something sounds good I stop there and put a movie on!

 

[shafesk]

Thats a great way to buy stuff, wish I could do the same...well time to have my OCD pills

 

[Overdose]

If you really want to AB some cables, attach two different cables, one left and one right. Switch between the two with the balance for an instant change over.

If you use a 'mono' track for comparisons, any differences should be immediately obvious, if not, nothing to worry about, go for the cheaper of the two (aesthetics shouldn't come into play with something generally hidden behind racks and things).

 

[Paul.]

That seems a very poor test to me. No Soundstage in mono, a very alien listening environment that bares no resemblance to normal listening.

 

[Overdose]

That seems a very poor test to me. No Soundstage in mono, a very alien listening environment that bares no resemblance to normal listening.

Maybe it does, but your comment is irrelevant.

The purpose of the test is simply to listening for changes in sound; tonality, timbre and loudness, that sort of thing. If none exist in this configuration, none will exist in stereo. It is rather simple and effective.

 

[shafesk]

I'm afraid I think there are some flaws to this methodology, soundstage for one as Paul mentioned. Not to mention that two cables sounding different with two different speakers will cause enough confusion for me leading to a sonic headache. I prefer to get used to the cable and then switch over to the other choices, live with them for a while and make my decision without any more abx testing as it leads to further confusion

 

[shafesk]

I've not tried Pure AV myself so I couldn't say. I am the worst at demoing stuff, the second I find something that sounds good I stop, cant be bothered to explore further as I find demoing quite tedious. I went to Audio Excellence to buy some cable, they asked if I wanted to demo some Chord Rumour. I didn't believe they would make a difference but it was free so I had a go. On return, I asked for one bag of that stuff please. Had no desire to demo anything else, I was done. Bought the Leyline for the rear as it was supposed to sound similar, and I couldn't afford 20m of Rumour! Thats why I personally find the whole A B X ing thing so baffling, if something sounds good I stop there and put a movie on!

I personally prefer the Pure AV range especially in a dull setup. Well constructed to but costs nearly the same as the usual suspects. Chord is smoother which is good for most cases and the midrange is silky too. I just had the same qualities and wanted a bit more bite in the treble which the Pure AV gave....although guessing by your cable buying technique you don't care about it

 

[Paul.]

Maybe it does, but your comment is irrelevant.

 

[Paul.]

I personally prefer the Pure AV range especially in a dull setup. Well constructed to but costs nearly the same as the usual suspects. Chord is smoother which is good for most cases and the midrange is silky too. I just had the same qualities and wanted a bit more bite in the treble which the Pure AV gave....although guessing by your cable buying technique you don't care about it

I had a Marantz/mission soft dome setup at the time, so it was warm + warm = double warm. The silver coating on the Rumour brightened things up compared to the QED copper stuff I was using before. What Chord were you using? A daft question really considering I probably haven't heard it :rofl:

 

[shafesk]

I personally prefer the Pure AV range especially in a dull setup. Well constructed to but costs nearly the same as the usual suspects. Chord is smoother which is good for most cases and the midrange is silky too. I just had the same qualities and wanted a bit more bite in the treble which the Pure AV gave....although guessing by your cable buying technique you don't care about it

I had a Marantz/mission soft dome setup at the time, so it was warm + warm = double warm. The silver coating on the Rumour brightened things up compared to the QED copper stuff I was using before. What Chord were you using? A daft question really considering I probably haven't heard it :rofl:

lol, for the record it was a chord crimson.