Speaker cables

[podknocker]

I was using 1000+ strand OFC speaker cable, when I tried an experiment.
I made up the same length cables using a 0.5mm single strand, silver cable.
You couldn't get two more physically different cables. I heard no difference whatsoever.

I took five very different interconnect cables, including freebies and RA / Kimber cable (£76 for a half meter pair) and recorded the same music, via each onto a 5-track CDRW disc - perfectly level-matched.
Try as I might (and I tried, believe me I tried), I could hear no difference whatsoever.

Now here's the point. I won the £76 cable as a prize. Had I paid for it, I'm pretty sure there would have been an incentive to perceive a difference.

I too have heard the "you need a system that allows you to hear the difference" reasoning.
My systems have always allowed me to hear differences....between CD players, cartridges, tuners, amps, DACs, microphones....you name it.

As I always say Rob, if you or anyone else can consistently, blindly, tell cables apart, (especially if you can do it without struggling) then you have my admiration for a special skill.

In past employment, I was repeatedly told that I was "too honest", too much on the side of customers. It's because I really cannot stand BS....cable marketing is full of it.
As for those fuses, don't get me started.

Edit: Was a while ago now, but during my time at Monitor Audio, I don't think the internal wiring was anything 'special'.

You are correct about internal speaker cabling. It's average bits of copper, as are the windings on the voice coils. Having Nordost speaker cable, at £200k seems futile, when the signal then reaches bog standard copper. I bought TQ Ultra Blue speaker cable and it cost over £130 for a pair of 2m factory terminated lengths. It sounds exactly the same as the QED 79 strand cable I used for ages. There are 2 reasons I bought this pricey cable. Firstly, it matches the colour of my TV/video unit and yes, I am that picky, but secondly, this cable is very flexible and is more like a ribbon, which is very easy to push against the skirting boards and not get tangled up etc. Cables can't make a system sound different, because all these lengths of copper/silver actually do, is pass current to your speakers, at a certain voltage. This energy is carried by the electrons in the metal and they don't care what fancy stuff you are using. The 'burn in' option really amuses me. It's as if they think the electrons need a while to adjust to their job and 'settle in', passing charge along a cable. After several hours, the electrons find it easier to wobble about in the copper atoms. Where do they get this tripe?

 

[nopiano]

Edit: Was a while ago now, but during my time at Monitor Audio, I don't think the internal wiring was anything 'special'.

Do you remember those green and copper Litz cables? I think MA imported them in the late 1970s because I remember buying some at a Heathrow show. Polk Cobra was the name I think.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

You are correct about internal speaker cabling. It's average bits of copper, as are the windings on the voice coils.

I'm afraid that's a blanket statement and not correct. My previous MAs had Chord cable inside. I'm not interested in arguing about whether it made any difference - merely pointing out that your statement is certainly not universally correct.

 

[podknocker]

Perhaps 'average bits of copper' is a blanket statement, but I hope we can agree that copper is copper, regardless of who uses it. The internal cabling may have been branded, but the quality of the copper and its behaviour, wouldn't make a difference to the signal going through it. I doubt there is any 'special copper' in the universe. Even at 6N purity, there cannot be a difference. I really like Chord cabling, but again, they aren't using anything fundamentally different to 'inferior' brands. To be honest, using terms such as poor, average, or quality, don't have any relevance, with regards to copper inside a speaker.

 

[Symples]

Either way what would you suggest I try in my system to hear this difference people refer to? How expensive do I need to go?

I remember reading somewhere that it was recommended that 10% of the budget was spent on cables.

I'm not a cable fan, so I just buy a decent quality (construction) cable

 

[twinkletoes]

I remember reading somewhere that it was recommended that 10% of the budget was spent on cables.

I'm not a cable fan, so I just buy a decent quality (construction) cable

that was always the excepted thing. but really only works if you don't need 10 meters of the stuff.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

I remember reading somewhere that it was recommended that 10% of the budget was spent on cables.

I'm not a cable fan, so I just buy a decent quality (construction) cable

The 10% cable spend

I’ve seen this many times on whf about spending 10%+ of your budget on cables. that would give me around £800 to spend on speaker cable and an interconnect. I think I did it for under 1% of total outlay. thrifty old me 🤣 Has anyone ever done the 10% thing? Or more? I honestly don’t think I...

forums.whathifi.com

 

[Symples]

No comment !

View attachment 4428

Before you comment. I have ordered cable ties 😀😀😀

 

[Nico69]

that was always the excepted thing. but really only works if you don't need 10 meters of the stuff.

Exactly! I've just run speaker cables under my floorboards and I've used 10m per speaker! I could have got away with about 8.5m at a push. So 20m of expensive cable turns out to be very expensive. My QED 79 strand stuff does a fine job. Also ran some Cat5e at the same time to streamer and tv and an extra outlet.

 

[Gray]

Before you comment. I have ordered cable ties 😀😀😀

That makes mine look tidy 😆

It is amazing how the stuff builds up - but you do seem to have a lot there.

....I'm wondering how one of the twin mains wall sockets is unused.

 

[robdmarsh]

Before you comment. I have ordered cable ties 😀😀😀

At least you've got a few different colours in there which should be handy if you want to swap anything out!

 

[Gray]

Do you remember those green and copper Litz cables? I think MA imported them in the late 1970s because I remember buying some at a Heathrow show. Polk Cobra was the name I think.

No, I don't remember those - MA were ahead of their time with an interest in cables then.

Must have been a bit of a challenge for the terminators - OK for flexibility in headphone cables...not good if you need to solder plugs.

 

[nopiano]

No, I don't remember those - MA were ahead of their time with an interest in cables then.

Must have been a bit of a challenge for the terminators - OK for flexibility in headphone cables...not good if you need to solder plugs.

The ones I remember were terminated in a short solid core piece that you could fasten around a terminal or poke into those shuttered sockets that were common then. I believe they blew up lots of Naim as the capacitance was high and the inductance low.

 

[plastic penguin]

If the original cables were from the 70s, chances are they'll probably resemble bell wire. Not much better in my estimation.

 

[Symples]

That makes mine look tidy 😆

It is amazing how the stuff builds up - but you do seem to have a lot there.

....I'm wondering how one of the twin mains wall sockets is unused.

Good question.

• CD
• STREAMER
• AMP
• TV BOX
• NETWORK SWITCH
• NAS
• PS5
• LAMP
• TV
• ANOTHER LAMP
• PHONE
• TURNTABLE
• 4K DVd PLAYER
• ROUTER

I have as 12 socket extension Brennenstuhl Premium-Multi-Line extension socket 12-way) as well as another 8 cocket

 

[Gray]

Good question.

• CD
• STREAMER
• AMP
• TV BOX
• NETWORK SWITCH
• NAS
• PS5
• LAMP
• TV
• ANOTHER LAMP
• PHONE
• TURNTABLE
• 4K DVd PLAYER
• ROUTER

I have as 12 socket extension Brennenstuhl Premium-Multi-Line extension socket 12-way) as well as another 8 cocket

...and it shows how little each use - that 14 items are within the 13A single plug rating.

Even so, unless you need the empty socket for other occasional use, I'd have each multi-gang fed by its own one of the wall pair.
Of course, it's effectively doing the same thing, but serial multi-gangs are best avoided....although don't ask me to justify the reasoning as I'll be into fuse idiot territory 🤪

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Perhaps 'average bits of copper' is a blanket statement, but I hope we can agree that copper is copper, regardless of who uses it. The internal cabling may have been branded, but the quality of the copper and its behaviour, wouldn't make a difference to the signal going through it.

As previously stated, I'm not going into cable debates. Life's too short.

 

[podknocker]

As previously stated, I'm not going into cable debates. Life's too short.

Exactly! My cable rant quota has reached its limit.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

No comment !

View attachment 4428

Ok i will comment. If that lot is the Nordost Odin 2 range i bet there is best part of a million quids worth there.