Speaker cable & interconnect tests

[pravstar]

System musical fidelity a3.2 cd/amp proac studio 125 arcam plus borrowed alpha 8 int and spendor s5e links, chord hugo dac 2.

I managed to scrounge about for some cables this weekend from mates for some testing, Mrs was away phew.

Cables tested - top 5 in brackets

Ecosse ms 2.4 (1), 2.3 & 2.15
Tellurium q black (3)and blue
Chord odyssey & epic (2)
Van den hul cs122
Van damme hifi 6mm (5)
Vienna acoustics
Qed genesis & xt 400
Nordost red dawn (4)

Interconnects used

Ecosse master(2) and maestro
Qed reference
Nordost red dawn (1)
Van den hul first ultimate & d102
Chord anthem (3) and signature (5)
Van damme lo cap 55
Tellurium q black (4)

Ok some of the cables cost more than my hifi but it was solely for testing purposes.

Results, mixed bag, interconnects produced a bigger difference in sound than speaker cables in my tests.

The speaker cable tests were extremely close, but kind of reiterated the point that you don't have to spend a fortune here. The van damme outperformed many named brand cables in my tests and value for money wise is the best by a country mile.

Yes there's loads more cables out there but with my ordinary components I won't be testing em.

Ebay and gumtree allow one to overcable due to cheap prices ie ecosse master RRP 500. Bought 75, so there's always room to buy more expensive cables, it's easier than component upgrading but maybe hit and miss as a solution imo only

Ps my next system will be a linn akurate or simaudio moon, the Mf gear was just my first venture many years ago into hifi but this testing session has been like a hifi viagra dose.

 

[ellisdj]

Good on you for doing a test like this for yourself.

No shock to me the favoured speaker cable uses high purity OCC Copper.

Now you know this is what you like - if you want to look at a better version of this - using better dielectics - Polyethylene has quite a high dielectic constant. A diy cable by VH Audio called CheLa is such a cable but needs terminating DIY which is pretty easy and allows you to chose the connections you want. I was seriously tempted by this cable but an XLO popped up which is pretty much the same thing

 

[radiorog]

Brilliant post, and good for you. Testing cables and even a lot of HiFi equipment is a pain in the rear (though at the same time enjoyable - isn't there a word for this?!) and time consuming. So cheers for posting.

I think the van damme 6mm HiFi are my next upgrade, so good to hear you liked them.

 

[radiorog]

So, far be it from me to suggest foul play ... but you just 'scrounged about for some cables from some mates' ... and managed to get Nordost, Tellurium Black, QED Genesis and other rather costly wires.

Not bad for scrounding around mates's.

Yet, the humble VanDamned came out top.

Coincidence or something to do with your quoted line of; 're-iterate the point that you don't have to spend a fortune' ... which may or may not have existed before you conducted said 'test'?

Stranded Copper cable in a PVC dielectric is, measureably, the worst solution for any speaker cable.

The configuration of paralleled conductors, with no shielding, also is about as far from ideal as possible for obvious reasons (imho).

I take your findings with a pinch of salt but am glad you found a cost effective solution for your musicn system.

I am putting together a kit (for myself) for a self-made speaker cable which encompasses some of the best practices (imho) which will not break the bank and I'd hazzard a guess, will be superior to anything VanDamned makes (not knocking them but most of their stuff is made for live and studio applications which arguably require more dependability (constant un-plugging) than outright neutrality/sq ... as many productions leaving studios these days probably can confirm).

I am sourcing the 'ingredients' as we speak and start a thread on what it consists. Anyone willing to try can then do a pair themselves if they wish so and compare with the ueber capable giant killer that is the VanDamned

The van damme came 5th DM.

 

[drummerman]

So, far be it from me to suggest foul play ... but you just 'scrounged about for some cables from some mates' ... and managed to get Nordost, Tellurium Black, QED Genesis and other rather costly wires.

Not bad for scrounding around mates's.

Yet, the humble VanDamned came out top.

Coincidence or something to do with your quoted line of; 're-iterate the point that you don't have to spend a fortune' ... which may or may not have existed before you conducted said 'test'?

Stranded Copper cable in a PVC dielectric is, measureably, the worst solution for any speaker cable.

The configuration of paralleled conductors, with no shielding, also is about as far from ideal as possible for obvious reasons (imho).

I take your findings with a pinch of salt but am glad you found a cost effective solution for your music system.

I am putting together a kit (for myself) for a self-made speaker cable which encompasses some of the best practices (imho) which will not break the bank and I'd hazzard a guess, will be superior to anything VanDamned makes (not knocking them but most of their stuff is made for live and studio applications which arguably require more dependability (constant un-plugging) than outright neutrality/sq ... as many productions leaving studios these days probably can confirm).

I am sourcing the 'ingredients' as we speak and start a thread on what exactly they consist of. Anyone willing to try can then do a pair themselves if they wish so and compare with the ueber capable giant killer that is the VanDamned .

They shouldn't cost much more than the VD by the way.

 

[drummerman]

My apologies for getting that wrong. I went with the OP's line of 'The VanDamned outperformed many named brand cables in my tests and value for money wise is the best by a country mile' (do they differ from town miles?).

I wont argue about this 'value for money' business. Pointless. No cable is 20, 20 or perhaps even a thousand times better than another one, not even compared to bellwire.

Still, there can be, imho, differences that perhaps make it worthwile for someone to pay what others consider to be over the odds in order to put that dot on the i.

Like I said, I can't promise a 'super cable' for a peanuts but my 'solution' should be good enough for some pretty decent systems without having to resort to VD's.

I do, by the way, rate the VdH CS Hybrid very highly in the right system.

 

[radiorog]

My apologies for getting that wrong. I went with the OP's line of 'The VanDamned outperformed many named brand cables in my tests and value for money wise is the best by a country mile' (do they differ from town miles?).

I wont argue about this 'value for money' business. Pointless. No cable is 20, 20 or perhaps even a thousand times better than another one, not even compared to bellwire.

Still, there can be, imho, differences that perhaps make it worthwile for someone to pay what others consider to be over the odds in order to put that dot on the i.

Like I said, I can't promise a 'super cable' for a peanuts but my 'solution' should be good enough for some pretty decent systems without having to resort to VD's.

I do, by the way, rate the VdH CS Hybrid very highly in the right system.

Well you need to hurry, this itchy wallet feeling is going to get the better of me soon. Have you got a thread yet on this home project?

 

[gasolin]

Mabye you should have tried this cable http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-speaker-cable/

 

[drummerman]

My apologies for getting that wrong. I went with the OP's line of 'The VanDamned outperformed many named brand cables in my tests and value for money wise is the best by a country mile' (do they differ from town miles?).

I wont argue about this 'value for money' business. Pointless. No cable is 20, 20 or perhaps even a thousand times better than another one, not even compared to bellwire.

Still, there can be, imho, differences that perhaps make it worthwile for someone to pay what others consider to be over the odds in order to put that dot on the i.

Like I said, I can't promise a 'super cable' for a peanuts but my 'solution' should be good enough for some pretty decent systems without having to resort to VD's.

I do, by the way, rate the VdH CS Hybrid very highly in the right system.

Well you need to hurry, this itchy wallet feeling is going to get the better of me soon. Have you got a thread yet on this home project?

No.

I don't want to make to much about it but here is a run-down of what it will consist, a few changes down the line possible;

Two or three Silver plated/enamelled copper solid core conductors in cotton sleeving wound around one or two hollow spacer tubes in a twisted configuration. Teflon, Silicon or PVC outer jacket depending on what I can find and perhaps some polyester braiding simply for aesthetics though not necessary. Terminated in BFA (cyrus) plugs one end and probably solid copper spades at the other (Anticables or Supra). Finished with shrink wrap and Ferrite sleeves each end.

A very simple cable.

Cost? Probably around 40quid including good quality spades. Plus/minus a tenner for a 2.5m pair. I already have the BFA's.

Should work out at around £5/m or so and 'scare' a few more expensive cables though the only comparison I currently have is my Naim Naca.

Downsides ... Solid core conductors. It will be less flexible than stranded cable.

Just a little project for fun

 

[drummerman]

Mabye you should have tried this cable http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-speaker-cable/

Aha and why do you think I should try that?

 

[gasolin]

To hear if it actually is as good as ther claim, if it's just a cheap cable you buy use and forget

Tried to find it in europe but it was just so much more expensice then in usa

 

[iMark]

The funny thing with these tests is that it is impossible to determine which cable is 'better'. There is no way of determining what the sound of the combination of equipment should be in the first place.

I would think that a cable that is best is the cable that leaves as much of the original signal intact as possible. That might very well be not the cable that sounds best to people.

If a cable sounds very different from other cables, it's a badly constructed one. If they conduct the signal from A to B without any loss, they all should sound about the same.

 

[pravstar]

Che la, will look into that, honestly never heard of that particular brand. Another option ive looked into are 7n monocrystal, Neotech have a 14 awg cable for sale only in Holland which retails for 12 euros. Ecosse use similar material in their SMS 2.4 which costs 275 pounds per metre as a comparison, only snag is both use pvc rather than the recyclable stuff

 

[pravstar]

 

[andyjm]

System musical fidelity a3.2 cd/amp proac studio 125 arcam plus borrowed alpha 8 int and spendor s5e links, chord hugo dac 2.

I managed to scrounge about for some cables this weekend from mates for some testing, Mrs was away phew.

Cables tested - top 5 in brackets

Ecosse ms 2.4 (1), 2.3 & 2.15 Tellurium q black (3)and blue Chord odyssey & epic (2) Van den hul cs122 Van damme hifi 6mm (5) Vienna acoustics Qed genesis & xt 400 Nordost red dawn (4)

Interconnects used

Ecosse master(2) and maestro Qed reference Nordost red dawn (1) Van den hul first ultimate & d102 Chord anthem (3) and signature (5) Van damme lo cap 55 Tellurium q black (4)

Ok some of the cables cost more than my hifi but it was solely for testing purposes.

Results, mixed bag, interconnects produced a bigger difference in sound than speaker cables in my tests.

The speaker cable tests were extremely close, but kind of reiterated the point that you don't have to spend a fortune here. The van damme outperformed many named brand cables in my tests and value for money wise is the best by a country mile.

Yes there's loads more cables out there but with my ordinary components I won't be testing em.

Ebay and gumtree allow one to overcable due to cheap prices ie ecosse master RRP 500. Bought 75, so there's always room to buy more expensive cables, it's easier than component upgrading but maybe hit and miss as a solution imo only

Ps my next system will be a linn akurate or simaudio moon, the Mf gear was just my first venture many years ago into hifi but this testing session has been like a hifi viagra dose.

An amplifier / speaker cable / speaker combination has to be looked at as a system. The amp has very low source impedance, and the speaker a very low load impedance. A bit of basic circuit theory will show that about the only thing that matters at audio frequencies for a speaker cable is its resistance.

So keep the cables as short as possible, and as thick as is practical, and all the rest is just fluff.

 

[pravstar]

You will find that the cs122 and van damme hifi are quite evenly matched but everything is system dependant.

As for obtaining all these cables, well being based in a building full of barristers,solicitors, accountants and I.T professionals it was easy.

In actual fact there were more high end speaker cables that some people wouldn't part with like Mit, Oddin and valhalla, it's more my bosses reputation that allowed me to ask around for testing.

Prior to this I was using cheap cables which drove me insane and long-term cost me more than spending a bit more dosh.

 

[pravstar]

The 4mm I've been told is better for treble/mid but you'll find these or 6mm cheap on ebay terminated

 

[pravstar]

Ty for your comments, I've posted a reply below from comment 12 onwards, but great advice from yourself

 

[TrevC]

You will find that the cs122 and van damme hifi are quite evenly matched but everything is system dependant.

As for obtaining all these cables, well being based in a building full of barristers,solicitors, accountants and I.T professionals it was easy.

In actual fact there were more high end speaker cables that some people wouldn't part with like Mit, Oddin and valhalla, it's more my bosses reputation that allowed me to ask around for testing.

Prior to this I was using cheap cables which drove me insane and long-term cost me more than spending a bit more dosh.

It's amazing what the imagination can do.

 

[drummerman]

You will find that the cs122 and van damme hifi are quite evenly matched but everything is system dependant.

As for obtaining all these cables, well being based in a building full of barristers,solicitors, accountants and I.T professionals it was easy.

In actual fact there were more high end speaker cables that some people wouldn't part with like Mit, Oddin and valhalla, it's more my bosses reputation that allowed me to ask around for testing.

Prior to this I was using cheap cables which drove me insane and long-term cost me more than spending a bit more dosh.

It's amazing what the imagination can do.

Something you seem to lack sadly. Must be a humdrum world you live in ;-)

 

[steve_1979]

Testing cables and even a lot of HiFi equipment is a pain in the rear (though at the same time enjoyable - isn't there a word for this?!)

Masochism?

 

[radiorog]

The 4mm I've been told is better for treble/mid but you'll find these or 6mm cheap on ebay terminated

The 4mm is better than what?

 

[radiorog]

Testing cables and even a lot of HiFi equipment is a pain in the rear (though at the same time enjoyable - isn't there a word for this?!)

Masochism?

That's the one!

 

[steve_1979]

Testing cables and even a lot of HiFi equipment is a pain in the rear (though at the same time enjoyable - isn't there a word for this?!)

Masochism?

That's the one!

Glad to oblige.

Sexual deviant vocabulary would be my specialist subject if I were ever to go on Mastermind.