Is standard 10 guage speaker wire superb for audio?

[dmusoke]

Hi allL


I currently use regular 10-guage stranded speaker wire i bought off a spool from e-bay about 3 years ago. But I've been seeing some well reviewed speaker wire well under $50 per foot. Is it worth the change to this type of wire or not? Am i being duped by their claims? Anyone knows the physics( if available) off good speaker wire? The specs i;ve seen are Capacitance <= 40pF/ft and Resistance <= 4 ohms /1000 ft.

Please, know that I don't want to start a flaming and meaningless war about esoteric cables etc... I just need honest opinions and healthy discussions on sane speaker wire recommendations.

 

[beek]

Hi allL


I currently use regular 10-guage stranded speaker wire i bought off a spool from e-bay about 3 years ago. But I've been seeing some well reviewed speaker wire well under $50 per foot. Is it worth the change to this type of wire or not? Am i being duped by their claims? Anyone knows the physics( if available) off good speaker wire? The specs i;ve seen are Capacitance <= 40pF/ft and Resistance <= 4 ohms /1000 ft.

Please, know that I don't want to start a flaming and meaningless war about esoteric cables etc... I just need honest opinions and healthy discussions on sane speaker wire recommendations.

In 75 with my MG-1's I was using plain jane 14ga. zip . A now defunct dealer sent me some http://www.bswusa.com/Speaker-Cable-Mogami-W3082-P8062.aspx and it blew me away I believe it is the lowest C/I cables out ther but I havent done any comparing. I am about to order some for the tops of my Vistas. Its cheap too.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Hi DM,

This is one of the most subjective audio issues out there and is entirely system / personal bias based.

Or in other words,what works for someone else may not work for you or anyone else.

You may hear about the likely "budget" contenders including but certainly not limited to Signal Cable, DH Labs, Anti Cable, Blue Jeans cable, etc.

If you want to dip your toes into the "cable" pond, contact the THE CABLE COMPANY. They have a very large lending library that allows one to audition wire (in all price ranges) for a small fee. If you can hear a difference in your system and the cash out of pocket is worthwhile in your mind, then go for it.

Also, if you do audition, make sure the cable has been played for the number of hours recommended by the manufacturer before making any judgments.

If not, spend your hard earned dollars on music.

You can also do a "search" on this site for past discussions on this specific topic of which there have been many.

Hope that helps.

GG

 

[FoxMulder]

I, of course, completely agree with Gordan. As someone who has been around the block more times than I care to admit, over speaker cables and interconnects. I really like these:

http://store.haveinc.com/p-49380-canare-4s11-starquad-speaker-cable-14-awg-cut.aspx

They replaced some very expensive cables and I couldn't be happier. Excellent sound and very inexpensive.

 

[amey01]

It's a subjective area alright. Better cable may give an improvement, but it should not be considered an upgrade in its own right. Get good equipment first, and concentrate on setting it up correctly. After you have done everything to extract better sound, you may then experiment with cables. The difference will unlikely be profound.

 

[dmusoke]

In 75 with my MG-1's I was using plain jane 14ga. zip . A now defunct dealer sent me some http://www.bswusa.com/Speaker-Cable-Mogami-W3082-P8062.aspx and it blew me away I believe it is the lowest C/I cables out ther but I havent done any comparing. I am about to order some for the tops of my Vistas. Its cheap too.

Hi DM,

This is one of the most subjective audio issues out there and is entirely system / personal bias based.

Or in other words,what works for someone else may not work for you or anyone else.

You may hear about the likely "budget" contenders including but certainly not limited to Signal Cable, DH Labs, Anti Cable, Blue Jeans cable, etc.

If you want to dip your toes into the "cable" pond, contact the THE CABLE COMPANY. They have a very large lending library that allows one to audition wire (in all price ranges) for a small fee. If you can hear a difference in your system and the cash out of pocket is worthwhile in your mind, then go for it.

Also, if you do audition, make sure the cable has been played for the number of hours recommended by the manufacturer before making any judgments.

If not, spend your hard earned dollars on music.

You can also do a "search" on this site for past discussions on this specific topic of which there have been many.

Hope that helps.

GG

I, of course, completely agree with Gordan. As someone who has been around the block more times than I care to admit, over speaker cables and interconnects. I really like these:

http://store.haveinc.com/p-49380-canare-4s11-starquad-speaker-cable-14-awg-cut.aspx

They replaced some very expensive cables and I couldn't be happier. Excellent sound and very inexpensive.

It's a subjective area alright. Better cable may give an improvement, but it should not be considered an upgrade in its own right. Get good equipment first, and concentrate on setting it up correctly. After you have done everything to extract better sound, you may then experiment with cables. The difference will unlikely be profound.

Thank you guys ...your inputs are well appreciated and thanks for the extra referrals for some good sounding cheap cables. I had already been looking at and narrowing my choices between BetterCables and SignalCables. I will now look at the other choices given me here. Yes, i know i should do this last after i've fine-tuned(as best and affordingly as possible) the rest of my setup. I don't know if i've been duped into thinking that speaker and IC cables matter or not but sure would like to know the real science(if any) behind this topic. I, for sure, may not be able to detect cable sounds differences but i was trusting others that claimed all sorts esoteric improvements in sound hence i felt leftout.

 

[Necrosuit]

I don't know if i've been duped into thinking that speaker and IC cables matter or not but sure would like to know the real science(if any) behind this topic.

The same can be said about amps and speakers. I have had people come to my house and see/listen to my system and they just say "I dont get it" this all seems ridiculous to me and I dont hear a difference. So in thier mind none of it makes any difference from an ipod with crap mp3 and would rather spend $5k on a bicycle. But in my mind and expierience it does, including cables.

 

[Tosh]

$50 per foot is more than one order of magnitude above my comfort level.

It's low inductance you should be prioritizing. (And it's not just Nelson Pass that says that...)

 

[edwinr]

Correct cable choice is very important. I tried a variety of cables - both interconnect and speaker. Some of the cables I tried were too thick, and didn't bend where I wanted them to. I don't know why manufacturers need to make them so thick! I finally found some cables that bent the right way and the connectors were very good quality so I knew they wouldn't break every-time I plugged or unplugged them. Most important of all, they looked good

 

[beek]

I, of course, completely agree with Gordan. As someone who has been around the block more times than I care to admit, over speaker cables and interconnects. I really like these:

http://store.haveinc.com/p-49380-canare-4s11-starquad-speaker-cable-14-awg-cut.aspx

They replaced some very expensive cables and I couldn't be happier. Excellent sound and very inexpensive.

The very cablesI am using now, from another vendor