{interconnector and Speaker cables Recommendation}

[andromedaaudio]

I know for a fact there are some with only a L in series, lol.
I did some grinding damage in my younger hifi years

 

[the sound of Tao]

I'm just going to recommend you demo whatever cables you're interested in because there's SO MUCH conflicting information out there... I'm not going to even try to give you more. Good Luck!

Great advice. What a topic! Dave’s position on this says everything. If possible get a demo and live with the cables in your system for at least a week or two, play all the music that you usually love and see how much you are enjoying it and how connected you are to the music and also the sound.

Give yourself time to get past just trying to analyse what is going on and just relax with it all and see how playing music then makes you feel. The context of our systems, our experiences and preferences are all varied so it really comes back to best bet is try before you buy (if possible) and especially when you are investing in more expensive cables then this advice becomes more sage. Avoid anyone who tells you they have the absolute answer for you on this, they don’t.

 

[twitch]

Other than this quote, all the other posts are useful.

so Bud, another viewpoint (one that flies in the face of a lot of 'wire nuts') can't be useful ?

 

[Pb Blimp]

Not not all. Only in pro set-ups with extremely long speaker cables and low impedance speakers do the cables absorb a significant percentage of the power.

Yes, of course, it takes a very long cable run to absorb enough power to impact SQ. I was just speculating on a logical explanation for your curious post regarding the only scenarios where wire makes a difference.

Except in the case I noted above, speaker cable capacitance has no impact on loudspeaker sound.
Speaker cables with high total end-to-end inductance will only have high frequency roll-off in speakers like those Apogee's above.

So I guess the laws of physics apply to all matters except speaker cables and everyone who hears differences in speaker FR by changing cables is suffering from placebo. Thanks for clearing that up for me......

 

[Pb Blimp]

For any and all interconnect cables, I would go with Belden, Canare, Mogami or Blue Jeans Cable.
For speaker cables, what matters most is low end-to-end total resistance.
Stay away from any cable company that makes special claims about their cables.

Other than this quote, all the other posts are useful.

so Bud, another viewpoint (one that flies in the face of a lot of 'wire nuts') can't be useful ?

No I think Bud was specifically referring to the first post above (which I have put in bold) as not being useful. Certainly there are many possible viewpoints that would fly in the face of the "wire nuts" and still be exceptionally useful.

 

[Al M.]

Go with this option to test ZenWave.

Yes, contact DaveC and arrange a cable demo package.

I have ZenWave Audio throughout my system. Couldn't be happier.

 

[Speedskater]

Yes, of course, it takes a very long cable run to absorb enough power to impact SQ. I was just speculating on a logical explanation for your curious post regarding the only scenarios where wire makes a difference.

It works the same way as a tube amp with a high output impedance. Go to Stereophile and work at that type of amp. See how the speaker frequency response is impacted by the amp's high output impedance.

So I guess the laws of physics apply to all matters except speaker cables and everyone who hears differences in speaker FR by changing cables is suffering from placebo. Thanks for clearing that up for me......

Nope, there can be real differences. The cable and the speaker act like a voltage divider with two resistors in series. But the resistance of the loudspeaker keeps changing with frequency.

 

[Empirical Audio]

I have sold my old reference ribbon speakers, so I have one last pair of speaker cables available now. I needed an 8 foot pair to reach for auditioning the speakers.

These are my patented design that I used to sell when I made cables. These are hand-built and 11 gauge equivalent with very low inductance and low skin-effect. Since they have very high "Q", they have a passive termination that eliminates ringing on the cable. Silver-plated copper. These are very fast and yet very transparent. 30-day money-back, less shipping. $1600 plus shipping and PayPal fee for the pair. They were called "Clarity7". Terminated with solid copper spades on both ends with direct gold-plating. I never use bananas. If interested, PM me.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

 

[twitch]

No I think Bud was specifically referring to the first post above (which I have put in bold) as not being useful. Certainly there are many possible viewpoints that would fly in the face of the "wire nuts" and still be exceptionally useful.

LOL Paul, you obviously didn't see the once or two of levity I was projecting.

I am curious though, do you strictly reject the 'placebo possibilities' ?

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

A speaker cable with anything in it other than wire/insulation/terminals ceases to be a cable, it is now a component.

 

[twitch]

Since they have very high "Q", they have a passive termination that eliminates ringing on the cable. Silver-plated copper. These are very fast and yet very transparent.

Steve N.

LMAO, Steve, you are funnier than all get out, just what the 'H' is 'very fast and transparent' supposed to mean ? Why use such snake oil BS ?

 

[RogerD]

Try as many as you can. Noise suppression is the most important. See if the manufacturer explains in general what they do to suppress noise and improve the audio signal. As a rule of thumb..I always go by soundstage width and overall quality. I also think the noise floor is very important, which effects the soundstage. The less noise moves you closer to the music and improves clarity. Good luck.

 

[Pb Blimp]

LOL Paul, you obviously didn't see the once or two of levity I was projecting.

I am curious though, do you strictly reject the 'placebo possibilities' ?

Goodness no. Placebo is the backbone of the unscrupulous in this hobby. That doesn't mean science isn't science and reality isn't reality. Many use placebo to discount that which they don't understand.

 

[Speedskater]

Try as many as you can. Noise suppression is the most important. See if the manufacturer explains in general what they do to suppress noise and improve the audio signal. As a rule of thumb..I always go by soundstage width and overall quality. I also think the noise floor is very important, which effects the soundstage. The less noise moves you closer to the music and improves clarity. Good luck.

Yep, for interconnect systems it's all about noise & interference. However it seems that just a little bit of added noise can be enjoyable (even if it's not accurate or hi-fi).

While with loudspeaker cables, interference is possible but not very common, so it comes down to total end-to-end resistance/impedance.

 

[DaveC]

A speaker cable with anything in it other than wire/insulation/terminals ceases to be a cable, it is now a component.

Absolutely!

People dress up components as cables simply by hard wiring pieces of cable to their components and putting the component in as small a box as possible.

One example recently that cracks me up is the Burson Cable +. It has a cheap SS voltage amp (+6dB) powered by USB in it. If this makes an improvement between your source and pre/amp all it proves is your source's output section is garbage, which may be common but this isn't a cable, it's a preamp. The +6dB makes it able to "beat" almost any cable as well because people prefer higher SPLs.


Also, this thread is making my decision not to give information unless directly asked seem like a great idea. I've recently realized the futility, or even worse, the harm created by attempting to provide information on a subject like this. It's pointless when people are overwhelmed with conflicting information. Home demo, that is the key to achieving your goals and the only advice I'm going to give in the future.

 

[Empirical Audio]

Lots of good cables have various means to do transmission-line termination as well as mitigating dielectric absorption. Nothing wrong with these mitigation schemes.

Some IC's have DC power applied to a shield to charge the dielectric. This mitigates much of the dielectric absorption effect. This is not snake oil.

Some speaker cables have transmission-line terminations or filters in them. This eliminates ringing in high-Q cable designs. Also not snake-oil.

It would be helpful if more designers had EE degrees or at least knew something about physics.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

 

[DaveC]

And my other decision not to respond to guys like Steve N is also a great idea.

What's that quote about fighting with pigs? Oh yeah...

"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw

I think this is great advice that I'm finally going to follow. I just don't give AF anymore.

 

[Empirical Audio]

Dave - My post was not responding to yours. It just happened to come after it.

I refrain from attacking any business on the forums.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

 

[DaveC]

Nobody believes that, Steve. And if they're smart they won't believe anything you say...

 

[Speedskater]

Dave, while sometimes we have very different viewpoints on technical things, there are other times that I agree with you completely.