Speaker cable recommendation

[sa2013]

Hi there,

I’ve recently purchased KEF LS50’s and Marantz Pearl Lite amp / sacd player. I’m using Chord crimson interconnects and some cheap speaker cables. It’s now time to replace those with something better. I am considering Chord Odyssey 2 but not sure if that’s going to be the best match. I don’t really have time to look for shops that have my speakers and amp combo to try various cables, hence reliance on reviews and forums.

Any opinions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[atishaysingh]

You can use the qed revelation its 15 pounds a metre. among chord cables its chord company silver screen. Audioquest flx slip. Read the reveiws...

 

[DIB]

There is a company near me http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/ who used to offer a 30 day trial on cables. You bought them and if you didn't like them, (or felt there was no difference

) you could return them for a full refund. Not sure if they still do.

.

 

[abacus]

Do a quick search on WHF for cables as there are a number of threads about them.

You will find it is best to use what the professionals use (Rather than overpriced Hi Fi Cables) so pop down to your local music store and get some from them. (They will advise you) Remember if the cables are good enough for professional Film & Music production studios,(The ones that make the music you listen too) they will cover any of the equipment that Hi Fi Enthusiasts are likely to buy.

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[danrv]

Agree. Van Damme blue is very good value as is their clear hifi cable.

If you're using Chord Chrimson interconnects, have a look at the Chord Carnival Silver Screen cable, £5.50 pm. I use this combo on my Roksan/Dali system and am very pleased with the sound. Check out the WHF revew.

It is a tad bulky at around 10mm diameter but I think it looks cool. Got mine from Hificables who have a returns policy.

 

[busb]

If you are not convinced by what abacus has posted, at lease borrow some cable from a dealer before spending silly money. People generally believe that cables mak a big difference or they don't. I personally feel that speaker cable does make some difference, if not huge. Silver-plated copper cable is consideed to be brighter than pure copper or silver so avoid with a bright system. You will find that the advice you get will vary widely.

 

[sa2013]

Thanks all for your replies. I'm in Melbourne AU and don't know of any shops that would allow me to borrow cables to try with my system. I was really hoping to hear from people who have the same equipment, what speaker cables are you using?

Thanks.

 

[ifor]

You could definitely get a two week home loan of Graham Slee's Spatia Speaker cables through the Oz home loan scheme. Check it out at the Graham Slee website.

 

[Cypher]

-There are a lot of people who believe that speaker cables can make a difference

-There are a lot of people who don't believe that speaker cables can make a difference

Conclusion ; if there are differences they are very, very small.

Just keep using the cheap speaker cables IMO

 

[Frank Harvey]

As well as the Chord Epic, you could also try AudioQuest Type 4.

 

[alienmango]

untangle a coat hanger or solder on an old copper pipe from a skip

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi sa2013

I'll recommend 500 strand OFC speaker cables.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[sa2013]

untangle a coat hanger or solder on an old copper pipe from a skip

but what kind of coat hanger would you recommend, a reputable brand or just some cheap one?

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems I will have to invest some time and find a way of trying before buying.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I have been lucky enough to blind test (with audio enthusiastic friends) both the Chord Odyssey 2 and Chord carnival silverscreen cables on my system in my signature below.

I'm happy to report that we all noticed the difference between these cables and all preferred the odyssey 2 with its clearer, more detailed presentation of music. It also opened up the midrange and added extra depth to the bass.

This is just our opinion, and no doubt the anti cable crew will be along soon.

 

[abacus]

I have been lucky enough to blind test (with audio enthusiastic friends) both the Chord Odyssey 2 and Chord carnival silverscreen cables on my system in my signature below.

I'm happy to report that we all noticed the difference between these cables and all preferred the odyssey 2 with its clearer, more detailed presentation of music. It also opened up the midrange and added extra depth to the bass.

This is just our opinion, and no doubt the anti cable crew will be along soon.

That’s great, could you explain how you did the test, as all other scientific blind tests done so far have not found any difference. That you did find a consistent difference between the 2 cables means that current scientific experiments need to be updated, and it would be helpful if you could post your documented test conditions and collated results, which would allow them to be incorporated in future scientific testing.

Look forward to the details

Bill

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Here we go......as expected, and on time! :rofl:

 

[the record spot]

Here we go......as expected, and on time! :rofl:

Well, if it's fair enough to highlight perceived differences on the back of collective wisdom.,..

 

[fr0g]

Here we go......as expected, and on time! :rofl:

He asked a fair question. To which you gave a silly reply.

Cables make next to zero difference so long as they aren't scrawny little bell-wire ones.

Invest in other things. But the recommendation for Van-Damme is a good shout. It is as good as ANYTHING, at reasonable cost.

There is a reason why James Randi's million dollar reward has not been won.

That's because cables make "almost" zero difference.

And no, silver coated cables do not "sound" bright. They simply "look" brighter. Only people who have been conned will say that.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

As I stated.... These finding were from a group of people who blind tested on my system and they are just our opinion. You are free to take or leave are opinions as it's no skin off my nose either way... I'm just trying to offer help to the OP.

What I don't want to deal with are people on here who shoot down other people's opinions and insist others are wrong. That's just plain rudeness, and I can't be arsed to deal with those kind of replies.

This is a forum where people can offer opinions on questions people post on here. If your opinion is that all cables are the same.....that's fine with me. Do you see me shooting down your replies.....no!

Let's hope the op is able to find somewhere where he is able to listen to different cables and decide for himself!

By all means reply to this post directly......just don't expect a reply back from me. :cheers:

 

[Pistol Pete1]

How cool...it automatically changed my original word into 'bothered'! :rofl:

 

[sa2013]

Update:

I ended up demoing some cables at my home: odyssey 2, epic twin speaker cables and signet interconnects.

Comparing my crimson interconnects to the ten times the price signet if anything I thought crimson sounded better, not what I expected at all.

Couldn't tell the difference between odyssey and epic. As for whether the new cables sounded better than my original cheap cables, it's very hard to say. I thought yes but could it be the placebo effect. Blind test would be difficult as it takes a lot of effort to insert chord banana plugs into the binding posts.