Speaker cable

[crusaderlord]

On my systems i have used QED XT Anniversary then Chord Silverscreen then finally Chord Epic Supertwin (i also demo'd the Odyssey briefly)

I found a real bass improvement with a move to Chord which not only smoothed out the very top end but added more weight to the bass and was a much more enjoyable and balanced sound.

Chord Epic is really more / better than what you get with Silverscreen but more detail and focus to the bass - i tested using some very layered bass tracks from Kate's 'Hounds Of Love' and the layers really were more noticeable using the Epic.

I would say the Odyssey sat very close to the Epic but as i only needed short runs i went with the more expensive myself just so i didnt feel the need to upgrade again 🙂

 

[JoelSim]

I'd love Epic, but 12m of? I'm not gonna stretch to that. Looking at £250 absolute maximum, less if possible.

 

[Drummerdave]

JoelSim:
Drummerdave:Joel, I went from a generic shielded 4mm OFC bi-wired cable to Kimber 4TC and it was a big improvement....tighter, deeper bass, more clarity etc. Maybe worth a look.

Thanks Dave, that's definitely on the shortlist. What's the detail like? The warmth?

I agree wit Igglebert's comments - plenty of warmth and as much detail as you'd hopefully want. According to the RA brochure the 4TCs are better suited to standmounts than floorstanders so you may experience even better results than me.

 

[Anonymous]

JoelSim:
Drummerdave:Joel, I went from a generic shielded 4mm OFC bi-wired cable to Kimber 4TC and it was a big improvement....tighter, deeper bass, more clarity etc. Maybe worth a look.

Thanks Dave, that's definitely on the shortlist. What's the detail like? The warmth?

4TC - i'd decsribe it as very detailed, neutral, with fast bass. Get some 2nd hand, it will hold it value well.

jules.

 

[Anonymous]

I went from mains cable to VDH cs 122 and found the difference extremely marked. Soooo much more bass. Possibly too much depending on system. Now use the tea-track bi-wire equivalent, but that was bought second hand of EvilBay for 100quid for 2x10m runs, as part of the failed bi-amp plan.

This however made no audible difference which was to be expected I think.

I note that the tea-track is now 30+ quid per metre however (was 20 when I bought my cheapo second hand lengths) which is somewhat rich for my taste if you need 20m.

 

[Anonymous]

I am looking at upgrading speaker cable ... so as usual, I research, ask questions and often make a fool of myself (but that's how I learn) ... got an email from a reputable cable engineer and this a snippet from the mail:

Its true that cables sound different. Probably some are deliberately over-engineered to sound the way they are (better or worse? with a little bit of placebo?).

I was a big spender. Must have spent £3000+ just for cables (MIT, Audio Quest, Kimber) but shame on me coming from an electronic engineering background should have known better.

Shielding as the priority, the basic principle for any audio signal cable is the same and one can not improve that much from a simple coax design. In my opinion any studio cable is as good as it gets.

After all what you hear in a home setup came from a studio wired with proper studio cables and if one using a £1000 cable at home it would probably make it worse by altering the sound. Of course before listening a placebo pill fix may just make it worth £1000.

One can improve sound better by upgrading speakers, audio sources, etc...

 

[Anonymous]

If your looking for rock solid bass, look at used ads or ebay for some old Cable Talk Concert 2.1.

It used to cost £16m but would cost double that if it was made by one of the brands you list and who spend £20,000 just for one page of what hifi advertising!

Kinber is overpriced marketing hype, but does have good bass, Nordost on the other hand sounds very special, but only the expensive Red Dawn will give you the bass your looking for.

Of those you list, Ecosse would be the better choice if you really must stick to the well advertised cables...

 

[Anonymous]

Cable Lover:

lejockey:whats the snake oil brigade?

It's those of who wonder why an element, copper in this case, can sound different to some people from one cable to another despite it having the same physical characteristics (subject to variations in the smelting and drawing process); and, for economic reasons, it is almost certainly being drawn in the same few wireworks in China or wherever. We put it down to psychoacoustics. Many cables do have a pretty wrapping on them though which makes them go better. The other thing we snake oil brigade wonder about is why the professionals set virtually no store by cables, except that they be thick enough to do the job.

Given the choice, I would choose Van Damme Studio Blue, 6mm. I would choose this for two reasons: firstly, it's 6mm thick, and secondly the colour matches my baby blue eyes.

Kisses

I generally agree.

To be honest, cables can make a difference but they are system dependant because you are connecting (matching) a load across the amp's outputs. So to buy from a review is risky.

The thing is that expensive doesn't always mean good and what works well for one system may not for another.

I have always liked simple 1mm solid mains with the earth removed ( you could buy it like this if you look around)

There is such bull in the market though, the idea of oxygen free; mains copper is 99.8% free.

The method of winding ministrant can effect its inductive properties ( and also to capacitance)

The basic rule of thumb is that is should be relatively thick, but just remember how a 10mm shower cable can handle MASSIVE currents. (yes 240v/)

My cynicism was tickled years ago when I had access to a lot of silver coated copper cable FOC and approach Chord ( some time before it was readily available) for some advice on how to use it ( parallel or twisted etc ) to be told that they felt silver coated copper was not any good ( rather expensive back then) for speaker cables.

I think opinions change when people can source it relatively cheaply.

My only concern it that because it is portrayed as some black magic that people pay a large mark up.

And when you consider the cost of high quality RF cables that use a connector that can be /50 per end with cable made to such complex procedures audio cables are RIDUCULOUSLY expensive, even taking into account sales quantities and production runs.

Remember these companies source cables from manufactures then terminate to your specs, they don't have massive tooling costs.

One must always consider that your own ears ( brain) can fool you and that any test should be blind done by a friend.

 

[Thaiman]

JoelSim:
PS The snake oil brigade are asked not to post on this post please, just those who have experience of good speaker cables and can talk about the merits of these.

Asking nicely wouldn't work then Joel, I hope you didn't expect anything else in hifi forum