Speaker cable assistance needed..

[admin_exported]

Hello all. I've recently refurbished my living room and in doing so have lovely dark floorboards. Unfortunately, my Chord Carnival speaker cables stick out like a sore thumb, which is proving very troubling (especially for my long-suffering wife!!). Can anybody recommend a very dark-coloured single-run cable which would blend in with the aforementioned floor? Don't want to spend over £10 a metre, I'm running Monitor Audio BR5s with Cambridge A5 amp and Yamaha CDHD1300 HDD/CD player and Chord Cobra interconnects. Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Would it affect the sound quality if you varnished the cable a similar colour to your floor?

I personally would give this a go if potentially losing the re-sale value of these is not a concern! If it still sounds good to your ears, you're on to a winner

 

[Anonymous]

It's an idea I've considered, my only concern is whether the varnish would be detrimental to the cable? 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

I really dont know. Any of the more 'technical' guys here? Could you confirm?

As I suggested above Debagio, if you're not too worried about being able to sell the Chord cable on, give it a try and listen. Perhaps do one at a time and see if you experience any differences in a direct comparision between left and right channel.

I'd personally give this a try...

 

[Andrew Everard]

Why not ask Chord?

 

[John Duncan]

I wouldn't be worried about performance, but I'd be worried about applying a varnish that contains solvent which may be specifically designed to dissolve polycarbonates.............

 

[Anonymous]

there is also the tin of paint option... or wiring your speakers under the floorboards 😀

 

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about painting your floor same colour as your Chords? Problem solved.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="simonkee"]Have you thought about painting your floor same colour as your Chords? Problem solved.[/quote]

or getting some carpet? 🙂 or rid of the wife?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Skirting boards - cable running along it - job done.

 

[timwileman]

err.........as the speaker cable flexed would the varnish crack and flake off??

 

[6th.replicant]

I had the same problem with seemingly endless metres of ugly cable (albeit QED Silver XT!) vs waxed renovated floorboards. The floor won.

So I strategically lifted a few floorboards & ran the cable underneath, through the joists, then out into each speaker via a wee hole in floorboard(s) near to skirting/wall. (BUT, be careful to wrap cable in silver foil if it's near underfloor central-heating pipes...)

If you're worried about leaving unsightly holes in floor when you move/sell, it's easy to fill 'n' sand, then cover with stain + wax/oil/varnish.

Or you could put the speaker cable inside white plastic conduit (approx £5 for 3m length, it's cut to fit + it has sticky peel-off strip on back for fixing), & then attach the conduit to skirting (where it meets the floor). Also, you can paint the conduit with the same paint as your skirting boards, & if you paint with a wee foam roller, you'll get a nice smooth finish. (OMG! This is turning into a DIY forum! 'I'll get my coat...')

 

[Drummerdave]

All my cables are under the floorboards - looks tidy and works a treat