Hookup wire upgrade while im in there. Yay or Nay?

[spwal]

Was thinking of freshening up the caps and changing the binding posts. Worth upgrading the wiring while im in there? and if so what brand works for you? My Klipsch Cornwalls had Kimber cable in there, my Merlins had cardas cryo wire.

I mean, i dont know why people spend big bucks on speaker cables then have the last foot or so inside the speaker be complete crap.

I for one use paul speltz anti-cables and like them much. On the 19s i am using monster zip cable and it is fine.

I wanted to hear about your success/ horror stories.

thanks

sean

[soundboy]

I have audioquest type 4 in a dynaudio system, most of my JBL stuff has monster 16 guage XP, and I THINK that the audioquest is slightly clearer....IMHO unless a cab has 20 guage wire in it, it's such a short distance it won't matter that much....and I am a freak when it comes to caps, interconnects, and such....and have pretty good ears still...I just can't hear a whole lot on 18 inches of wire, unless it is 22 guage lamp cord, compared to Monster studio pro1000 (which I use for my live rigs)....fwiw, the claritycaps are the s$#t.....blow away the solens, and only marginally more money....check out the net....anything else is stupid expensive for anything big enough to do a three way system without spending many hundreds...I now have them in several systems...they sound clearer, smoother, and more natural than many others at several times the price...(hovland for one) Pete...

[Robh3606]

I wouldn't go too nuts gage wise. I would be the first to admit I use 12 ga on woofers and 14/16 on anything else but that's over kill when you consider what the lengths are. Chances are the inductors and voice coils have a couple of hundred feet of much lighter gage than what's already in there as it is.

Rob

[grumpy]

Personally, I'd give more consideration to the state of the connections than
the wire itself, unless there appeared to be corrosion inside the jacket... but sure,
knock yourself out. -grumpy

[Rolf]

Inside the cabinet ... use silver wires. Improves the sound a lot. From amp to speakers it is a matter of taste. Some of the members here don't believe (don't hear? ) any difference with cables. I use different kind of Monster cables for different area of the frequencies.

[Tom Brennan]

"I mean, i dont know why people spend big bucks on speaker cables"

Me either.

To think that Wente, Blackburn, Olson, Lansing, Fletcher, Hilliard, Voight and such were too damned stupid to realize that by simply using "better" wires they could get much better sound.........how did that get by them?

Hmmm.

[Rolf]

"I mean, i dont know why people spend big bucks on speaker cables"

Me either.

To think that Wente, Blackburn, Olson, Lansing, Fletcher, Hilliard, Voight and such were too damned stupid to realize that by simply using "better" wires they could get much better sound.........how did that get by them?

Hmmm.

Tom. It is OK that you haven't been able to/don't have any interest in cables. What you should realize is that times move on, an wires are not cables. You probably agree that cars have been better over the years. So has cables. If your ears can hear up to 15000Hz you should be able to hear differences on cables.

[spwal]

you are preaching to the choir! the 19s are singing with cheapo monster zip cord...

I did poke around in there when i hooked up the drivers and ya... i may as well do the wiring when i spend all that money on crossover freshining.

90 percent of the crapola out there is audio jewlery... but really folks... the binding posts on the 19s arent the nicest.... but then again... if you arent changing the binding posts on the drivers as well, whats the f-ing point?

I may as well do it so that they are good for another 20 years.

I have had fantastic results with Jensen Copper Paper in Oil Caps, but they did cost a fortune. I certainly will try to keep things within reason.

[Rolf]

you are preaching to the choir! the 19s are singing with cheapo monster zip cord...

Maybe you can hear the vibrato in the vocal with better CABLES. Not like cheap wires. They bring you that.

[Thom]

Check this sight out. After that, it's a matter of what will make you feel good or be at least a level or two higher than any friends you may have who are refurbishing their speakers. Nah, I'm not going to give any advice but you might want to read what he has to say, check out his credentials and then that's at least one more data point. Personally I'd call it more than one, but at least one.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

I've always felt that speaker wires should be heavy enough to carry the signal with little or no effect and light enough to do little or no damage to the terminals on the speakers.

[Tom Brennan]

"wires are not cables."

Maybe not in Norwegian but in English they are.

[Thom]

I thought I might simplify this with a couple of definitions from Websters, but a quick look indicates that Webster wouldn't simplify this at all.

[4313B]

I mean, i dont know why people spend big bucks on speaker cables then have the last foot or so inside the speaker be complete crap.

Yeppers, I can see all those electrons putting their little shit waders on to make it that last foot or so. Those poor dumb bastards...

[spwal]

Check this sight out. After that, it's a matter of what will make you feel good or be at least a level or two higher than any friends you may have who are refurbishing their speakers. Nah, I'm not going to give any advice but you might want to read what he has to say, check out his credentials and then that's at least one more data point. Personally I'd call it more than one, but at least one.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

I've always felt that speaker wires should be heavy enough to carry the signal with little or no effect and light enough to do little or no damage to the terminals on the speakers.

I read through it. it sure is a nice read though i would have to disagree... i have A/Bed cables and they can do pretty cool things to the palpability of bass, clarity of cymbals, location and holographic quality of instruments and voice etc. But then again they cost a fortune. I have spent hours going back and forth, back and forth. I wouldnt say its better, just different.

I for one certainly would not spend a fortune on cables.. especially if i am aware that my internals (ie crossover parts, binding posts, and hookup wire) have all been exposed to the elements for 30 years.

But i still do think they are neat-- insanely priced-- but neat.

There is no doubt that my search for audio bliss has led me to simpler times and the pursuit of vintage gear etc.... even that is a bit of manipulation and molding. My perception that things were better in the "good ole days" is more a part of my perception of craftsmanship than a reaction to technology. To think that advancements have not been made in audio over the last 3-4 decades is pretty myopic i think.

The point is, that you can now get lighter, more cost effective materials and technology to make high quality sound. You dont need to have huge horns handmade out of heavy metals in southern california. You can have tiny puck tweeters made in china and shipped over.

Can you imagine, for one second, a company coming out and making something like an Altec 19 commercially available in the USA in this day and age? The thought alone is inconcieveable.

mark my words... China is going to emerge as the next hifi capital of the world... it already is well on its way.

How much does an avantegarde horn cost to manufacture? 4-5 USD per horn perhaps? Sell the system for 30,000 euros or more?

Why are we not all in China right now setting up shop and bringing tuba sized horns to the masses for like 2-3k for complete horn systems? it is totally do-able...

ok i have rattled on long enough.

but ya, thanks for the read on the cables. there is alot of snake oil out there and i have become exceedingly distrustful of any magazine, ad, or published review. I have become increasingly reliant on the good word of forum-members, who share a passion for the stuff and are not in it for any other reason.

[4313B]

But i still do think they are neat-- insanely priced-- but neat.

They're supposed to be neat. They're neato.

mark my words... China is going to emerge as the next hifi capital of the world... it already is well on its way.

Unfortunately for China there simply aren't enough global resources left to sustain their alledged ascendancy.

And now that we have control of the Iraqi oilfields...