speaker cable

[Burke]

Hmm. A lot (but not all) of the advice on that page is suspect, to say the least. "Put your small speakers on the floor and tilt them back for improved sound"? Give me a break... (FWIW, I think the use speakers cables that exceed 8' advice is in the "suspect" category.)

I agree on the suspect category. Some one mentioned that they had heard this advice from Mapleshade and I wanted to put a link to the original site (less mis-quotes that way).

like you my gut reaction is that much of what Mapleshade advices / sells is suspect. and everything seems based on listening, with out a scientific explanation. But all that being said based strictly on the quality of sound on the records I have purchased from them. These guys do know the difference between good sound and bad. If you like the performances of their artists, I will vouch for the quality of the recording and pressings.

 

[tah800]

Speaker Cables

O.K. guys back to the original post. My room is 21ft. long By the time I've gone from the center of my front wall and back to the position of my rear speakers i'm going to need well over 30ft on each side. Now are you saying that I should be using interconnect if that's what i/c refers to instead of speaker cable. Are you saying it should be balanced interconnect. There seems to be back and forth discussion between what's right or wrong but this isn't helping me much with my problem. I'm not A technical audiophile but I do know what sound good and what doesn't. A lot of technical jargon just goes right over my head. What I need to no is what should I buy. Obviously 30+ feet of something like Nordust Cable is not going to be something I can run out and buy. I've got some real nice Martin Logan surround components. What I would really like to do is get them hooked up to sound nice. What I don't want to do is spend more on cable than I did for all my components. Thxs Art

 

[Reverb2009]

I don't think there is a right or wrong to speaker cable/interconnect lengths, they both do the same thing. Get the signal from point A to B.

Personally I have always gone with short interconnects, long speaker cables, because the signal sent over an interconnect is a low voltage single that will degrade faster then a high current signal sent over a long speaker cable.

 

[JonFo]

My $0.02

I’d go with BlueJeans Cable Belden 10 Gauge and be done with it.

Oh, wait, I just did, I placed 300+’ in my system and it’s awesome.

I do NOT subscribe to long IC’s over long speaker wire. Totally wrong tradeoff in terms of noise interference possibilities and hum.
Even using Balanced, I'd still stick with short IC's.

 

[lpaudio2]

Ok. I do have a suggestion for you. Belkin pureav silver. Its $47 for a 50 foot spool. Its only 16ga, so I would terminate in dual runs. Its POCC copper, a bit of a pain to terminate. Got a great review in pos feedback. I really like the stuff. Is it megabuck cable no, but its quite good for what it is. Id easily put it up against a 150-200 retail cable.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-AV53102-100-100-Foot-High-Performance-Speaker/dp/B000653J20

I would recommend terminating with heat shrink (its somewhat delicate so you need the protection of heat shrink). I would also use crimp spades and then solder, there are very thin threads that are hard to solder unless crimped carefully. Its not what I would call rocket science, and definitely easier than some enameled cardas stuff.

EDIT CAREFUL. I notice that the $46 price is "buy now inc" just FYI. Amazon carries it also - probably a safer bit

 

[Len44]

Correct, here's a link from a post By Neil (nsgarch) regarding cabling



http://www.sanderssoundsystems.com/Cables WP.htm

Interesting article...

So...it might appear [from the above] that Sanders Speaker Cable is the only "right" or perhaps "best choice" speaker cable for ESL speakers, such as our MLs...

I also wonder if members have zeroed in on speaker cable / interconnects to avoid...

 

[JMAUSGP]

I too would say go with Blue Jeans cable 10 gauge. I ran two 40 ft speaker cables with it to my ML Sources for the rear and it gave me spectacular results...... I am also using it on my CLX fronts and it sounds unbelievable.....one of the best sounding 5.1 music systems I have heard. Although it could be the Running Springs stuff that is giving me goose bumps.

 

[Mantana]

Another alternative to Signal Cable is Zebra Cables at a similar price...
here's the link and you can check their reviews:

http://zebracables.com/speaker.html

personally, i bought Audioquest Bedrock from Audio Advisor for
about $300...it was discontinued..normally it would run around
$800 in the 15 ft length i ordered. It sounds great to me and
is impressive in its construction.

They have another Audioquest closeout in stock now for about
the same price....you might want to check it out.

 

[itzpms]

i get all i want at the wholesale electrical house.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Mapleshade

I agree on the suspect category. Some one mentioned that they had heard this advice from Mapleshade and I wanted to put a link to the original site (less mis-quotes that way).

like you my gut reaction is that much of what Mapleshade advices / sells is suspect. and everything seems based on listening, with out a scientific explanation. But all that being said based strictly on the quality of sound on the records I have purchased from them. These guys do know the difference between good sound and bad. If you like the performances of their artists, I will vouch for the quality of the recording and pressings.

Hi Burke,

I think Pierre needs some new marketing.

Having said that, I have had his speaker cable, interconnects, power cords, and brass cones in my system. I also treat all my CD's using his three products. Recently swapped out his IC's for DH Labs. Minor difference between the two. Still have the rest in my system with no desire to look elsewhere.

Based on my personal experience and if you can discard the dubious marketing, his products mentionned above offer an outstanding price / perfromance ratio.

IMHO, no reason to be suspect. And if you don't like them, MS offers a 30 day money back on all their stock items.

And yes, his wire is consistent with the quality of his recordings, which are outstanding by any measure.

And now, back on track.

Sorry.

GG

 

[Len44]

Thanks for the input, Gordon...

I'm about to purchase some new items (speaker cables and interconnects) ...and the following are under active consideration:

Bluejeans
Signal
Anti-Cable
Mapleshade

While I think I'd be OK with any of these, I'd appreciate any /gentle/ thoughts regarding the above.

Many Thanks!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Len,

You've received great recommends from MLC members and I'm confident that all will work well based on the member's personal experience.

Always best to have the 30 day money back option if possible. Don't know about the other products but I know MS offers this with all their "stock" items.

A 30' and 35' pair of MS "Golden Parallel" wire goes for $215 and $240 respectively plus ship. My only caution is that this wire is unshielded, is very thin, and needs to be in a place where it will not be subject to foot traffic, etc. You will also need to separate each positive and negative wire by 6" or so per Pierre's recommend.

I'll vouch for this wire because I had a 25' pair (when I had my SL3's) before I switched to the MS "Double Helix". Given the design, I'm confident that it has extremely low resistance over long runs, which is a principle concern with long speaker runs.

Details available at "[email protected]".

Good luck.

GG

 

[Burke]

Mapleshade

Gordon,

I think that we are mostly in agreement. I find Pierre's marketing somewhat suspect, the write catalog write ups do not make me want give them a try. Maybe one day in the not too distant future I will travel out to Jackson Hole and give them a listen at your place. (and stop by Yellowstone since I will be in the neighborhood anyway).

I do have several of Mapleshade's products the Micosmooth CD treatment, a set of Surefoots, and this week a Samson V1 rack arrived. Also several of the records, as previously mentioned.

I did not hear any discernible difference with the CD treatment (except on scratched records, this will take out very small scratches) or with the surefoots under my Oppo 981 transport. But that does not mean that other do not, it just did not work for me. (the surefoots under the Oppo come and go, today they are under the Oppo).

The new Samson rack also did not seem to make a sonic difference, but I did not buy it for the sound. It is rock solid, and the Maple shelving is some of the prettiest spalted and figured Maple I have ever seen. A real keeper in my opinion.

In summary, the marketing could be rewritten. The product quality and customer service should not be messed with as it is top notch.

 

[Burke]

Thanks for the input, Gordon...

I'm about to purchase some new items (speaker cables and interconnects) ...and the following are under active consideration:

Bluejeans
Signal
Anti-Cable
Mapleshade

While I think I'd be OK with any of these, I'd appreciate any /gentle/ thoughts regarding the above.

Many Thanks!

I have purchased products from all four companies. All four are reputable companies with excellent customer service. You will be happy with any of them.

Gordon is correct be sure that you can return any product that does not meet YOUR expectations not just defective. I just checked tonight and all four do offer 30 day guarantees. (double check as you order, in case of exclusions).

my brief review.
Blue Jeans Cable (This is what I use for both ICs and speakers) Good quality products at reasonable prices.
Signal Cables (I have one power cable from them, good quality do not have ICs or speaker cables)
Anti-Cables (I have a set of the jumpers for my Summits)
Mapleshade (I have never had their cable, the marketing is suspect to me but I have never heard them, Gordon swears by them. Other products I have purchased have been first rate quality).

Any one of the four will work well for you. If you want to get the best for your system / ears. You will have to order from more than one, listen and return the lesser.

 

[Len44]

HI Burke

Thanks for the great info -- very helpful!

'Course, I wanted all this to be much more simple...:banghead:

 

[Burke]

'Course, I wanted all this to be much more simple...:banghead:

I did too:devil:, but the journey is part of the fun.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Hi Burke,

Thanks for your input on the MS products.

Like all things audio, I have a somewhat different perspective but, as you said, that's what makes this hobby fun.

As an aside, I wouldn't say that I would necessarily "swear" by MS products. What I will say is that I've had a very positive experience with all the products I've tried. Each person will obviously need to decide for themselves regarding the value.

Would love to have you visit if you are in the neighborhood.

Len, welcome to the wonderful world of audio.

Gordon

 

[Gordon]

Len, sent you a PM.

Gordon