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
View attachment 8065
View attachment 8066

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.

 

[Jasonovich]

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

Oh absolutely, most people on this forum who are sceptical about the sonic merits of speaker cables are politely accommodating to accept a broad range of opinions but one or two always sees red when you mention the subject, I would see red if someone kicks me in the groin but metaphorically speaking, it must feel like that to them..... hey ho .......

 

[podknocker]

You were robbed Jason

The thing is, it probably does cost that amount to make them due to the over engineered design and the bits of wood. The cost has nothing to do with the materials actually improving sound quality. If anyone knows how daft bits of wood are going to improve signal propagation, the answer will be truly welcome.*




*not holding my breath.

 

[TimMel]

Oh absolutely, most people on this forum who are sceptical about the sonic merits of speaker cables are politely accommodating to accept a broad range of opinions but one or two always sees red when you mention the subject, I would see red if someone kicks me in the groin but metaphorically speaking, it must feel like that to them..... hey ho .......

I think there's always room for healthy scepticism towards what is occasionally slammed as 'snakeoil': it is inevitable that a highly technical hobby like this, with people willing to spend serious coin to enjoy it, attracts innovations and product developments whose objective merits are sometimes difficult to establish.
I always appreciate those dealers willing to allow punters to test stuff out in their own homes before committing to purchase - if it sounds better, it's better, no? And every time I think I've reached the point where my cloth ears can no longer tell the difference, someone sits me down and makes me listen to something reassuringly expensive that really does make a difference ... honest!

 

[Jasonovich]

The thing is, it probably does cost that amount to make them due to the over engineered design and the bits of wood. The cost has nothing to do with the materials actually improving sound quality. If anyone knows how daft bits of wood are going to improve signal propagation, the answer will be truly welcome.*




*not holding my breath.

Wood looks nice Pod. Doesn't add anything to the sound.
The quality of these fake Vs is really good.
If you are a believer or just value good design cables, these are worth the small investment.

 

[podknocker]

Wood looks nice Pod. Doesn't add anything to the sound.
The quality of these fake Vs is really good.
If you are a believer or just value good design cables, these are worth the small investment.

I'm a utilitarian and want my devices to to what they should, within cost restraints and I don't like smoke and mirrors marketing, insulting my intelligence and deceiving me on grounds of performance. Coming from a fairly technical background and knowing a bit about science, all I'm asking the cable 'believers' to do is prove via scientific reasoning how these things should sound better and also prove their views with blind listening tests. If you are 100% certain your fancy new Nordost Fairy Knickers cable sounds better, then you should be able to 100% choose this over your previous one, or any other cable offered for testing. Guess what, nobody on any forum EVER, has been able to do this. I'm always going to reject claims of better sound quality until someone can prove their cable sounds different, through listening tests and with scientific and technical assessment.

 

[Jasonovich]

My fake Nordost Odin cables arrived today and I have attached these to my Little Princess ribbon tweeters.
Banana plug for the tweeter boxes and spade for Oberon 3s.
The optimal settings have the arrows pointing in the wrong direction. Unfortunately the tweeter boxes only accept banana plugs. So this is the only option available, though I doubt I'll notice any difference in the sound.
I'll listen to them tomorrow, hopefully these are worth the investment 🙂