chebby said:Van Damme Blue 2x2.5mm2 (or 2x4mm2 for long runs).
This set of 2x4mm2 Van Damme Blue (two terminated 2.5 metre lengths) with soldered plugs is only £1 over your budget ...
clicky
2x4mm2 (number of - and cross sectional area of - the copper conductors in each cable) is probably slight 'overkill' but it won't break the bank and you'll never be thinking ... "I wonder if I should have bought the thicker one".
drummerman said:To the best of my knowledge, signal flows mostly at the outer circumference of a cable with the inner/core mostly unused (any cable/thickness). This is more pronounced the higher the frequency. Some manufacturers use hollow cores with conducturs wound around it to mitigate this.
I don't think you need thick cable (a milimeter is probably plenty enough for average home length hifi runs without exhibiting audible resistance) for good bass but the material used both for the conductor and insulation is important as is configuration. Imo, the most likely scenario, when using thinner cabling is that you loose high frequencies (treble) and the cable will/can be perceived as sounding smoother rather than bass light. That at least has been my experience contrary to the common belief that thin cables lack bass.
PVC is not an ideal insulator but silver plating (or pure silver conductors) are arguably the best conductors (silver has some of the highest conductivity and doesn't loose it when tarnished either) ... it certainly doesn't do any harm.
Perhaps this explaines why I like the afromentioned VdH CS122 Hybrid. It follows good practice both with conductors and insulation. The only trick missed is perhaps a hollow core (as per some QED's which, technically and probably materially, should rank as some of the best cables available. They also publish measurements for each of their cables). Configuration is spaced rather than twisted, which has both some benefits and downfalls.
I am not a cable expert and the above simply reflects my preferences and limited experience. I also remember the very capable PaulMiller quoting that he personally would stick with silver plated copper. He has conducted numerous tests/measurements into cabling.
So, to sum up, imho you should use a thinner cable if you find your current sound to bright rather than a thicker cable to make up for any perceived shortfall in bass.
As always with cables, they may be used as very subtle tone controls but that's all.
chebby said:A twisted pair of RS 56 Strand cables was considered pretty 'racy' 35 years ago. Then it was QED 79 strand (still on sale and still good).
People need to look at the wiring used inside their expensive equipment to get an idea of what most manufacturers think of the 'boutique' stuff.
I'm not averse to a reasonable thickness/gauge/cross-sectional area of high-purity copper but that's it really. (Oh, and make the PVC jacket a funky colour other than grey or white or black.)
drummerman said:To the best of my knowledge, signal flows mostly at the outer circumference of a cable with the inner/core mostly unused (any cable/thickness). This is more pronounced the higher the frequency. Some manufacturers use hollow cores with conducturs wound around it to mitigate this.
I don't think you need thick cable (a milimeter is probably plenty enough for average home length hifi runs without exhibiting audible resistance) for good bass but the material used both for the conductor and insulation is important as is configuration. Imo, the most likely scenario, when using thinner cabling is that you loose high frequencies (treble) and the cable will/can be perceived as sounding smoother rather than bass light. That at least has been my experience contrary to the common belief that thin cables lack bass.
PVC is not an ideal insulator but silver plating (or pure silver conductors) are arguably the best conductors (silver has some of the highest conductivity and doesn't loose it when tarnished either) ... it certainly doesn't do any harm.
Perhaps this explaines why I like the afromentioned VdH CS122 Hybrid. It follows good practice both with conductors and insulation. The only trick missed is perhaps a hollow core (as per some QED's which, technically and probably materially, should rank as some of the best cables available. They also publish measurements for each of their cables). Configuration is spaced rather than twisted, which has both some benefits and downfalls.
I am not a cable expert and the above simply reflects my preferences and limited experience. I also remember the very capable PaulMiller quoting that he personally would stick with silver plated copper. He has conducted numerous tests/measurements into cabling.
So, to sum up, imho you should use a thinner cable if you find your current sound to bright rather than a thicker cable to make up for any perceived shortfall in bass.
As always with cables, they may be used as very subtle tone controls but that's all.
Andrewjvt said:chebby said:A twisted pair of RS 56 Strand cables was considered pretty 'racy' 35 years ago. Then it was QED 79 strand (still on sale and still good).
People need to look at the wiring used inside their expensive equipment to get an idea of what most manufacturers think of the 'boutique' stuff.
I'm not averse to a reasonable thickness/gauge/cross-sectional area of high-purity copper but that's it really. (Oh, and make the PVC jacket a funky colour other than grey or white or black.)
The arrow
chebby said:Van Damme Blue 2x2.5mm2 (or 2x4mm2 for long runs).
This set of 2x4mm2 Van Damme Blue (two terminated 2.5 metre lengths) with soldered plugs is only £1 over your budget ...
clicky
2x4mm2 (number of - and cross sectional area of - the copper conductors in each cable) is probably slight 'overkill' but it won't break the bank and you'll never be thinking ... "I wonder if I should have bought the thicker one".
Covenanter said:This just isn't true! Current flows through all parts of a cable. At very high frequencies, way, way, way above audio frequencies, there is a skin effect. There is no such effect at hifi frequencies.
No double blind test or any scientific measurement has ever found any difference between properly constructed hifi cables. Any company reported to the ASA for making claims about cables has had to withdraw their ads because they can't substantiate them. If you hear a difference it's all in your mind and not real.
But feel free to spend your money.
Chris
drummerman said:Covenanter said:This just isn't true! Current flows through all parts of a cable. At very high frequencies, way, way, way above audio frequencies, there is a skin effect. There is no such effect at hifi frequencies.
No double blind test or any scientific measurement has ever found any difference between properly constructed hifi cables. Any company reported to the ASA for making claims about cables has had to withdraw their ads because they can't substantiate them. If you hear a difference it's all in your mind and not real.
But feel free to spend your money.
Chris
What nonsense covenanter.
I have a few magazines (HifiNews &RR) where measurements have been conducted (Paul Miller/MillerAudioResearch) in cable tests. Most measure different from each other!
Whether you agree that these differences are audible is another issue but don't state rubbish like that, no offense. - At least mention that this is your opinion rather than implying it is a fact.
Happy weekend children ;-) x
Covenanter said:drummerman said:Covenanter said:This just isn't true! Current flows through all parts of a cable. At very high frequencies, way, way, way above audio frequencies, there is a skin effect. There is no such effect at hifi frequencies.
No double blind test or any scientific measurement has ever found any difference between properly constructed hifi cables. Any company reported to the ASA for making claims about cables has had to withdraw their ads because they can't substantiate them. If you hear a difference it's all in your mind and not real.
But feel free to spend your money.
Chris
What nonsense covenanter.
I have a few magazines (HifiNews &RR) where measurements have been conducted (Paul Miller/MillerAudioResearch) in cable tests. Most measure different from each other!
Whether you agree that these differences are audible is another issue but don't state rubbish like that, no offense. - At least mention that this is your opinion rather than implying it is a fact.
Happy weekend children ;-) x
Ok I simplified but there are no differences that could possibly be significant! If a speaker cable is properly made it will have a measurable but low resistance and a measurable but tiny capacitance and inductance. Both the capacitance and inductance are too small to have any audible effect at hifi frequencies.
If this weren't the case people would be able to detect differences in blind tests.
Chris