More metal or more sheathing for speaker cables?

[gurjitsidhu]

I hae some silver plated cables which have less sheathing but a lot of metal so it's not being restricted on that.

When I look at other award winning cables, they tend to be very little metal but a huge sheath around it. One dealer told me that metal is the most expensive part so companies use less metal and more silicone and plastic to make their cables look big and fat and meaty but really they are not great at all. He told me to get ones with as much metal as possible (this was for my car and I'm using 4 gauge in my car)

So what's better??

Ive got a Yamaha As500 amp and using a rega dac with b&w 684 speakers

 

[Trefor Patten]

What's better? More metal. What's best? Good design. There are some great cables with very little metal in them (DNM) but a lot of thought in their design. 8)

 

[abacus]

Professional Studios (The ones that make all the music available too you) recommend a minimum size of 2.5mm 2 , OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) multi-strand, so just buy the cheapest that meets these requirements.

For RCA connectors try these here http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/category/cables/audio-cables/rca-phono/rca-phono-rca-phono/ as they are typical of the ones used in studios.

Don’t get conned into buying expensive cables as they will make no difference to the sound. (Just do the standard blind test if you don’t believe it)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[gurjitsidhu]

thanks.

i was thinking that is the metal portion of the cable to do with how much power is going through it? after that i should get one thats got a better sheathing? whats thr 2.5mm based on? i.e what power is going through the cable?

im using cambridge audio cabling at the moment but its all silver coated copper with not a lot of sheathing

 

[abacus]

2.5 mm sq. has suitable current carrying capacity for most speaker systems with minimum voltage drop.

The sheath is there to insulate the conductors from the outside world, a thicker sheath adds more protection for the cable, however too thick and it becomes inflexible. (As the voltage used to power speakers is small a thick sheath is not required, however if it can be trod on or going over with the vacuum cleaner, a thicker sheath can come in handy for additional protection)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[gurjitsidhu]

What Van Daam one is the best? Blue one ?