Question What's your next HiFi purchase?

[gasolin]

Qed can be a little bright

QED Silver Anniversary XT is harper than most cables and a little thin bass

Try tellurium q blue II

 

[DougK1]

Rethinking speaker cables: should I upgrade once I have moved house and know exactly what lengths I require? If so, pure copper for greater warmth? Shielded or unshielded? My PMC speakers are very good and I’m not convinced my current wires are getting the most out of them: wondering if Chord Odyssey X or QED Golden Anniversary XT might be the upgrade worth investing in. Has anyone had experience with either of these cables? Or better ones?

I would suggest you follow PMC's advice and just use a cable of correct gauge. I swapped Van Dammed Blue out for QED XT, absolutely no difference except for sleeve colour, which was my only reason for swapping...it suited my decor.

 

[gasolin]

xt silver to me sounds to sharp and bright

I would get something better

 

[TimMel]

I would suggest you follow PMC's advice and just use a cable of correct gauge. I swapped Van Dammed Blue out for QED XT, absolutely no difference except for sleeve colour, which was my only reason for swapping...it suited my decor.

Thanks to @gasolin and @DougK1 for helpful replies. PMC themselves are pretty tight-lipped on which cables work best, saying they recommend a 'high-quality thick multi-strand OFC cable': does 'thick' mean a gauge of 10AWG or is that too thick? I suspect quality of connectors matters too.

 

[gasolin]

wbc makes super thick cables if you want that

WORLDS BEST CABLES: WBC-Ultimate-7AWG (Carbon) - Banana

Speaker Cable Pair Premium Audiophile HiFi Hi-Fi WORLDS BEST CABLES WBC Ultimate 8 Octa Core Eminence Gold Banana 12 AWG 9 AWG 7 AWG Oxygen Free Copper OFC Gift Box Braid Tweed Sleeve Jacket

www.amazon.com

 

[daveh75]

Thanks to @gasolin and @DougK1 for helpful replies. PMC themselves are pretty tight-lipped on which cables work best, saying they recommend a 'high-quality thick multi-strand OFC cable':

I'd take the hint personally....

 

[Jasonovich]

Rethinking speaker cables: should I upgrade once I have moved house and know exactly what lengths I require? If so, pure copper for greater warmth? Shielded or unshielded? My PMC speakers are very good and I’m not convinced my current wires are getting the most out of them: wondering if Chord Odyssey X or QED Golden Anniversary XT might be the upgrade worth investing in. Has anyone had experience with either of these cables? Or better ones?

Welcome to the forum!

The subject of cables is derisive, many would argue there's no sonic differences between cables. I think I'm in the minority, I believe cables are the veins that carry the oxygen. I don't believe cables can go beyond the laws of natural physics and magically transform the sound of your HiFi, but the cables do influence the sound.

They all have their unique tonalities, some brands like Chord work best with bright sounding systems, QED cables generally tend to be bright, so they're better suited to laid back sounding systems.

I have tried various Chord and QED cables not the ones you mentioned and got the desired results. AudioQuest Rocket 11 cables work well also.

I tended to experiment, making my own cables from generic suppliers and getting equally good results.
The ones I'm using currently are fake Nordost Valhalla 2 ribbon cables from AliExpress. The authentic ones are pure silver and costs £10-£14K, these are silver plated and cost a little over £100 a meter.
These are absolutely amazing, in terms of aesthetics, neutrality and built quality. I noticed the sound opening up, when I replaced the SKW cables with the fake V's.
Check link below

Ein paar nordost val halla 2 hifi lautsprecher kabel horn kabel - AliExpress 44

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Comments from some happy bunnies

 

[DougK1]

The ones I'm using currently are fake Nordost Valhalla 2 ribbon cables from AliExpress. The authentic ones are pure silver and costs £10-£14K, these are silver plated and cost a little over £100 a meter.

You were robbed Jason

 

[DougK1]

Thanks to @gasolin and @DougK1 for helpful replies. PMC themselves are pretty tight-lipped on which cables work best, saying they recommend a 'high-quality thick multi-strand OFC cable': does 'thick' mean a gauge of 10AWG or is that too thick? I suspect quality of connectors matters too.

A cross section gauge of 2mm is probably more than enough, personally I went for 4mm cross section, anything thicker is just a waste of copper and cash

 

[Lenny67]

Just bought for Christmas a new streamer Cambridge Audio MXN10 (after your review for best streamer) and a pair of fantastic Tetra Speakers 120U hand made in Canada.

 

[TimMel]

Welcome to the forum!

The subject of cables is derisive, many would argue there's no sonic differences between cables. I think I'm in the minority, I believe cables are the veins that carry the oxygen. I don't believe cables can go beyond the laws of natural physics and magically transform the sound of your HiFi, but the cables do influence the sound.

They all have their unique tonalities, some brands like Chord work best with bright sounding systems, QED cables generally tend to be bright, so they're better suited to laid back sounding systems.

I have tried various Chord and QED cables not the ones you mentioned and got the desired results. AudioQuest Rocket 11 cables work well also.

I tended to experiment, making my own cables from generic suppliers and getting equally good results.
The ones I'm using currently are fake Nordost Valhalla 2 ribbon cables from AliExpress. The authentic ones are pure silver and costs £10-£14K, these are silver plated and cost a little over £100 a meter.
These are absolutely amazing, in terms of aesthetics, neutrality and built quality. I noticed the sound opening up, when I replaced the SKW cables with the fake V's.
Check link below

Ein paar nordost val halla 2 hifi lautsprecher kabel horn kabel - AliExpress 44

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

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Comments from some happy bunnies
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Thanks Jason, perhaps I should have trodden more lightly on a subject about which people have strong views! But the range and quality of the replies have most certainly been worth it. I'm prepared to believe that speaker cables can make a difference - it's quite clear to me that the quality of cables makes a difference in other forms of HiFi connection e.g. analogue RCA - but real-world testing with your own kit and ears is key given the risk of confirmation bias and the power of subjectivity ... but you knew that already, I suspect.