New Home Cinema Setup-can you recommend me not too expensive speaker cables for the following

[admin_exported]

hi,

i have just purchased an Onkyo NR616 with Wharfedale DX1-NSP Speaker system. this is my 1st proper put together system. my last surround sound was a dolby prologic aiwa nsx-d939 surround hifi with speakers purchased eons ago so i am a total novice in this world.

i know its a bit cheeky but i was hoping you guys could advise me on a good cheap speaker cable. i initially thought go for something good so go for the carnivals then i totalled it to about a 100 pounds and thought err i may need to rethink this. will the speaker cable really make a difference anyway bearing in mind my last system wasnt exactly stellar?

advice appreciated. cheers guys.

 

[Anonymous]

just to add, my speaker manual recommends 'quality loudspeaker cable rather than low cost 'bell' or 'zip' wire'-are these all expensive and how do i tell if its 'bell' or 'zip' ?

 

[bigboss]

Just buy standard cables to begin with & enjoy your system. You can always experiment with more expensive cables when funds allow at a later date. I suspect you'll be happy with standard cables & won't feel the need to upgrade.

 

[Anonymous]

brilliant. ok thanks

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Ebay for wire. I'm sure someone will point out a decent flavour. Keep as short as practical and use banana plugs. IMO.

Cheers

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

I just hooked up £1,400 worth of equipment with £12 of speaker wire from Maplin, four cheap banana plugs, and four cheap spades. So support the idea of using basics, and then consider upgrading as and when funds allow / you think there is some benefit.

 

[Anonymous]

great. i have bought a few things allready on ebay and dont mind it. have just signed up for amazon prime though and am loving the next day service. would still like recommendations if possible. im not thinking like a few pounds spend- surely there must be a reasonable cheap cable-possible 50 pounds spend? my room is 3.5m x 3.5m and its a 5.1 speaker system.

edit: k just seen post above. 12 pounds speaker cabling for 1400 pound system ,eek. ok i will shop for something cheaper.

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

I'm not saying that is right, just that is what I did. My AVR uses £4/mtr QED speaker cable, so look at that, or the Chord at around the same price. You could use cheaper stuff for the rear speakers, as they don't play as bigger part as centre and L/R (in that order). That is what I did. QED to front three, no name brand to back two.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

16/14 awg ofc cable less than £20 for 20m to start off I suggest. Amazon is fine. Hopefully this post wont start the BIG debate.

 

[Anonymous]

lol ok many many thanks. more than enough info for me to get my teeth into.

 

[simonlewis]

If i was looking for new speaker wire i would have checked here.

 

[Anonymous]

Chord Carnival Silversreen, $3-4 per meter, and you can forget about future upgrades, forever.

 

[professorhat]

I'd agree with the other guys - get something to get you going for the moment, then maybe take a look later when funds allow. Will you be listening to music on your system as well as movies? If so, at some point you could just look at upgrading the cable for the front three speakers (assuming a lot of the £100 cost is running long wires to the rears?).

It's fairly common to do so - I used to use QED Silver Anniversary XT for my three front speakers, but QED Silver Micro for the two rears due to the cost of running the XT cable at those lengths being extortionate for the large room I had. The XT cable made a decent improvement when it came to music listening in stereo, and I never noticed anything untoward in the movie surround tracks from using different cable for the rears.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Same as prof tho I wonder if standard ofc would have been just as good. "That Cable" - good supplier too

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi fanta1973

I'll recommend using standard 79 strand OFC or at a push 500 strand OFC speaker cables as i feel these speaker cables will be more then good enough for your system. Fwiw, i am currently using an AV system which consists of Chord Electronics DSP8000 > basic Pro XLR - XLR interconnects > Plinius Odean > standard 79 & 500 strand speaker cables > Monitor Audio PL200AV.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

@professorhat. Mainly movies (guesstimate 90 percent) ,only a little music.

Ok, this is tough, i know theres a great debate about effectiveness of wires and dont want to spark it ,however ive kind of reduced myself down to a few options and was wondering what you guys think?

1. 79 Strand ofc

2. 500 strand ofc

3. 16/14 avg cable generic

4. £4/m QED cable

5. Van Damme Blue 14avg (2x2.5mm)

6. Cambridge Audio Symphony 400

I think i can afford these, maybe pushing it a little with the QED option but i am reasoning that its not the 100 pounds that i calculated for other cable and ive read stories of people leaving their grills on for years before realising how much better it was after taking the grills off and i dont want to be stuck in situation with cables of thinking this is good when it could have been much better but dont want to pay silly prices.

I have calculated i need about 16m total. I have never bought speaker cable before. Will i look a fool if i ask for 1 length x m, another x m.... Or do i buy total length and cut it myself?

Also my speakers are rated at 4ohm nominal impedance and for example the van damme cable 7.3ohm. What effect is there or do the 2 values interrelate somehow? I am a total novice here and am looking to expand my knowledge.Thanks for all your advice.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi fanta1973

79 strand OFC or at push 500 strand OFC. Save your time and your money.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[professorhat]

I have calculated i need about 16m total. I have never bought speaker cable before. Will i look a fool if i ask for 1 length x m, another x m.... Or do i buy total length and cut it myself?

Nope, you won't look a fool - get the dealer to measure and cut them to size for you and they should also terminate them with banana plugs if you want them to.

If you go to a good dealer, you may well find one who is happy to loan you a couple of different varieties (with a deposit no doubt) so you can test them for yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, really appreciated. Lol if i can get one to lend me for a deposit a few cables, well brilliant idea, i can see the differences in sound. Many thanks.