Your speaker cable recommendations, please.

I paid 150 quid for some speaker cables (rrp 650) - and it was no better than the 39 quid van damme cable I bought - I initially bought it as an interim when I moved house as I needed a longer cable and bcause it sounded fine - I kept it...

 

The problem is that the power of suggestion is a strong one and the prices charged for shelves or little cones various interconnects, speaker cables or what have you that may well change the sound of your kit are so obscenely priced.
Ask yourself how a studio manages to capture all these revelatory musical nuances revealed by these expensive accessories without resorting to there use at all....bog standard mic cables/stands, speaker cables, mains electricity, power strips etc.
I personally think it's 'mostly' BS; see some of the pro amp posts-you really shouldn't waste money on boutique hifi accessories or components-go Pro-it's honest and very high quality- you wont go back.
ALL my own humble opinion of course and if it makes you happy then it's right for you.
Cooky

 

Why do I feel a debate coming on??





"I personally think it's 'mostly' BS"

at least you state it as an opinion, rather than fact........



"prices charged for shelves or little cones "

...actually big cones are far better



Just google for vibrations+lab equipment to observe that microphony is a big subject affecting science kit as well as audio equipment.


"if it makes you happy then it's right for you."

...perhpts I am being a little sensitive but doesn't this sound a little patronising?


fwiw the gains I've made experimenting with cones and iso platforms (at little cost) have indeed made me very happy.

Power of pursuasion?

No, I don't think so. YOu can loose as easily as you can gain....and you soon know which it is. When you here an instrument you know you've never heared before you are pretty sure you've gained.

IMO of course.

 

Fascinating replies. Firstly,I did not post my reply to 'start an argument or a debate'. Rather some posters are openly dismissive of commercial tweaks. It is OK if you make it up yourself but taboo if you buy it from, for example, Russ Andrews. It is as well to realise that people check out forums such as these to get or read the opinions of those they assume/hope 'are more experienced in this subject' than themselves. It is possible that a reader might be put off from trying something that would reveal hidden qualities in the kit they already own. Which would be a pity.

IMHO it is only logical if I try and make the very best sounds from the kit I have. With that objective in mind I listened to the system as it was and through a process of 'try it and see' I arrived where I am now.

The purpose of my post was to highlight the fact that there are commercial tweaks that improve the sound of your system. I agree that some are costly [based on the cost of manufacturing the devices], and (definitely) a lot are over hyped but some of them do actually work.

 

I wish I could experience a day in the life of some of you guys. It must be fascinating for all these repetitive discussions to keep popping up.

 

Gentlemen, please! Cable/tweaking debates have their place and can be fascinating, but I was sincere when I said I wanted to avoid this kind of debate.

Many thanks to everyone who has responded - you've given me much food for thought.

Now come on, guys, group hug - whaddaya say?

 

How about this:

 

I couldn't agree with you more Chris - in fact, I was just about to write the exact same thing; no need to as you have done it for me I don't believe in the multistrand, copper, boomy bass idea either. However, I've seen enough pics of peoples systems to know that a LOT of people have their speakers too close to the wall, or corner, or large piece of furnitue (or all of them).

 

No patronising intended-some like blondes some brunettes whatever floats your boat was my sentiment and I was acknowledging the fact perceived changes are often personal and far from consistent when subject to group appraisal.
I also said some treatments may affect your kits performance-digi cables are a real eye opener in this regard imo.
The later post regarding 'home grown' tweeks is a good one-as it involves far less of your hard earned.
Spend yer money however you wish it's up to you.
But just because some members are no longer here hardly heralds a new orthodoxy re this particular debate;-)

 

as cooky says so elonquently....


"some like blondes some brunettes whatever floats your boat "

oh, man, this is TAME to whats been before.....

Yes, I know, I should be doing my Polish lessons right now....

I did actually nearly fall off my seat laughing when I read this.

 

nice to see such a polite discusion on cables, quite rare these days!! can i put in a plug for the humble chord oddysey , relatively cheap and plenty s/h. good full blooded sound [imho]

 

If I May Sujest Supra Will Go Downw Well,
Nando

 

no cable will cure boomy bass, not unless it has electronics in it that cuts the level or some passive compensation network, both of which would need to be specifically 'tuned' to your exact set up.

Silver, copper, it makes no difference. bass boom is a speaker and room interaction issue, unless you listen to a lot of vinyl then it might be feedback.

It could be your amps are just uncontrolled on the bottom end or your speakers particularly wayward, but most likely its big ass speakers in a smaller room exciting room nodes.

move your speakers, do it systematically, along the wdith and length axis of the room, then when you think you have it right, toe them in to your seat.

and only once you have that right should you think about the icing on the cake of different cables.


I happen to use Pete's silver ribbon cable myself, and i would never dream of fixing something so obviously acoustic in nature with speaker wire, as it just doesn't work.

 

Yup

 

Cheers, I think you and Bottleneck are on to something here. I suspect I wasn't getting boom with the silver wires because I wasn't really getting much bass.

I'm going to get new speaker cable anyway, because my current cable doesn't allow me to use my new MIT cable toys Rearranging the room is a nightmare I may just have to face....

 

Its usually not a big a job as it looks and you CAN put everything back again if you don't like it.

 

you'd be getting exactly the same bass with silver wire unless it was much thinner than your copper, there is no difference of this nature between conductor metals, only a differnece in the much larger context of bulk cable geometry.

a thin wire will limit signial flow by a small amount, and if it does then the wire, regardless of what it is made of, is just too thin.

 

Pure copper Coaxial TV cable.

Just remove the outer shell and conductive mesh, bind them with paper tape and you're off to a punchy sound...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ITAG=SPEC&ModuleNo=9512&doy=18m5#spec

 

I'm using Slinkylinks bi-wire very effectively in my system. This is solid silver, about the thickness of a hair. There are 16 of them in bi-wire configuration. I don't know what effect they have on signal flow, but I believe they have very low inductance and capacitance but high resistance.

 

i have only one cable recommendation

Kimber 8TC

its simply the most sensible, honest and eve handed performer ive come across, for reasonable money. Throwing more cash at cable, doesnt really gain you an awfull lot over the 8TC and spending less, you can hear where the losses are.

I only have two levels of cabling, £2 a metre gale stuff from richer sounds, that works well with almost anything, and then the 8TC which does everything the gale does, but a bit better.

Never found a need to venture outside these two, as every time i do, i end up very disappointed. VDH, Chord and Nordost are three perfect examples of times i tried to deviate from pure copper was was sadly disappointed. The VDH was so bland i couldnt be bothered to listen, and the chord cables were all so brash i couldn't bear to listen. That includes their rumour, odyssey and signature speaker cable as well as their silver siren, chorus and signature interconnects. Suffice to say, i wont touch chord ever again