Thick cables sound better?

[pyonc]

Hi guys,

I know speaker cable topic has been covered in this forum before, but want to double check with your opinion and feedback.
Do thicker speaker wires, say, 10 or 12 awg, sound better than thin ones such as 16 or 18 awg?
Googling on this shows mixed opinion, with some going for thick cables (usually audiophiles), but others showing skeptic response.

Personally I've used 16g wires for my bi-amped 4343 with good results in my basement listening room.
Depending on your opinion, however, I'm thinking of switching to thicker cables, at least for for the woofers.
I hear thicker cables work especially better for sub-woofers.

Any feedback and comments would be welcome.

[hjames]

Hi guys,

I know speaker cable topic has been covered in this forum before, but want to double check with your opinion and feedback.
Do thicker speaker wires, say, 10 or 12 awg, sound better than thin ones such as 16 or 18 awg?
Googling on this shows mixed opinion, with some going for thick cables (usually audiophiles), but others showing skeptic response.

Personally I've used 16g wires for my bi-amped 4343 with good results in my basement listening room.
Depending on your opinion, however, I'm thinking of switching to thicker cables, at least for for the woofers.
I hear thicker cables work especially better for sub-woofers.

Any feedback and comments would be welcome.

I run my 4641 sub on (I believe) 12 gauge copper zip cord from a regular vendor - nothing fancy.
Its powered by an old Harman Kardon Citation 22 in bridged mode - so its probably a MAX of 600 watts and usually much less.

Until very recently I ran all my speakers on the same wire, pretty much. The biamped 4341 were wired the same - probably 12 gauge zip cord and banana plugs ... their woofers ran on 200w/ch amps first JBL/UREI 6260 amps, then later Adcom GFA-555 amps ... never a problem. More recently I have a B&K ST-202Plus amp on the mains - a great improvement in clarity of sound.

The ONLY change recent is I now have a pair of Vandersteen 2CE speakers in that room, and Richard Vandersteen recommends biwiring them (not biamp) - so I recently switched to a pair of MIT Terminator 2 cables (off Craigslist) that I got pretty cheaply, as designer wires go.

It DID seem to sound better on THOSE speakers than the regular old copper did -
but I sure wouldn't have paid retail prices for those cables.

Your mileage may vary - its YOUR Money.
If you can hear a difference, spend your money as you like to be happy!

[grumpy]

There are electrical engineering types of answers, there are "if it makes you happy" types of answers,
there are "personal testimony" type answers, there are snake-oil answers, there are bullshit physics answers...

I personally like the first two.

[SEAWOLF97]

IMHE

I've been tinkering since the early 70's. Back then when I was broke, but had gear that had been ordered from the PX , used whatever was available for speaker wire. Often spliced shorter lengths (most likely out of phase) and the big improvement was when I got a roll of 4 wire solid core telephone cable
(24-26 ga ?)

I now use 12ga underground lighting cable and to me, I think it sounds great.

My understanding is that the biggest consideration for size of wire needed is:

Length of Run.

[Eaulive]

There are electrical engineering types of answers, there are "if it makes you happy" types of answers,
there are "personal testimony" type answers, there are snake-oil answers, there are bullshit physics answers...

I personally like the first two.

:dead_horse: I second that.

[martin2395]

Thicker wire sounds different, but better? It depends.
I always found thin 1.5mm copper to sound quite bass shy and shrill on the highs and 6mm2 was too dark and bass heavy to my taste.
Of course YMMV, maybe you will find both cables to sound the same.

Personally I like MIT cables very much, especially combined with powerful SS amps like Krell or Levinson. Currently I have a set of Magnum M3's and I would not trade them for anything else
The magic boxes seem to work for me ;)

[BeDome]

Thicker wire sounds different, but better? It depends.
I always found thin 1.5mm copper to sound quite bass shy and shrill on the highs and 6mm2 was too dark and bass heavy to my taste.
Of course YMMV, maybe you will find both cables to sound the same.

Personally I like MIT cables very much, especially combined with powerful SS amps like Krell or Levinson. Currently I have a set of Magnum M3's and I would not trade them for anything else
The magic boxes seem to work for me ;)

Obviously, this is one of those questions which has NO definitive answer.

From my own experience, I use short, large gauge cable in high current circuits (simple concept supported by simplest physics), such as my subwoofers, both lower and upper (bi-amped LFE channel in my HT rig). For my fronts and surrounds, I have just plain (I do think newish is important, since copper oxidizes rather quickly) copper cable 16 gauge.

The only time I have ever heard a difference in cabling was with my simple is better, two channel rig - tubes from Decware, single driver speakers, close field, silver cabling. Can not say if it was the silver or the connectors or the braiding or the extreme short length or the routing or ... or ...

That said, wanna talk about power cables?
:D

[pyonc]

Thicker wire sounds different, but better? It depends.
I always found thin 1.5mm copper to sound quite bass shy and shrill on the highs and 6mm2 was too dark and bass heavy to my taste.
Of course YMMV, maybe you will find both cables to sound the same.

Personally I like MIT cables very much, especially combined with powerful SS amps like Krell or Levinson. Currently I have a set of Magnum M3's and I would not trade them for anything else
The magic boxes seem to work for me ;)

I've heard about MIT cables. How do they match with your speakers, compared with other cables you used before, especially bass sound? As owner of 4343 like you, I feel strongly toward them...

[pyonc]

Length of Run.

Well, in my room setting, both speaker wires run about 6 ft.
According to the standard rule, 16 awg would work.
But I wonder if thicker cables, like 12 or even 10g, would get more bass...:blink:

[SEAWOLF97]

Well, in my room setting, both speaker wires run about 6 ft.
According to the standard rule, 16 awg would work.
But I wonder if thicker cables, like 12 or even 10g, would get more bass...:blink:

I've got the same 12ga. running to the A & B speakers ...4 foot run & 22 foot runs. Don't detect any difference once I've satisfied a minimum current requirement.

Quoting gauge thicknesses of stranded seems different than gauge of solid.
Someone on here (can't remember who) swears by very small magnet wire for speaker runs.

NOT to go off the rails here , but the owner of Mapleshade touts fine gauge over larger wire for better sonics.

http://mapleshadestore.com/feedback_speakercables.php

he is echoing my earlier comment about solid core telephone cable , but his cost a lot more :eek:

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/images/GH-TH.jpg (http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GOLDENH)




http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/images/5note.gif


Clearview Golden Helix Speaker Cable (http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GOLDENH)


• optimized thin gauge, solid core design delivers punchier dynamics and transparency
• superior to any multi-stranded garden hose cable, even with 250 watt amplifiers
• our entry-level speaker cable; outperforms widely-praised cables costing 20 times more
• offers excellent detail, sharp image focus, and surprising dynamic impact



OUR RECOMMENDATION: Whenever possible, connect our cables using their prepared, bare wire ends without extra terminations. This will be your least-expensive, best-sounding option. Unlike stranded-wire speaker cables, our solid-core conductor does not fray--and, once bent into a J-hook, is just as convenient as a spade. Even though our offered terminations are the least intrusive-sounding spades and bananas available, they still do not sound quite as good as making a simple, bare WIRE connection to your speaker/amp binding post, screw terminal, et al.

[Maron Horonzakz]

Thicker would not nessarily give more bass...but your tone control would,,,, people talk about difference,,,when they should be talking about accurate compered to live scource,, i use barbed wire for a sharper sound

[hjames]

Someone on here (can't remember who) swears by very small magnet wire for speaker runs.



I think it was Scott Fitlin ...

[martin2395]

I've heard about MIT cables. How do they match with your speakers, compared with other cables you used before, especially bass sound? As owner of 4343 like you, I feel strongly toward them...

I like them very much, they take away some of the harshness the 4343 with stock networks has. They have great bass too!
Funny thing is that you can clearly hear the difference just by connecting one speaker with the MIT and the other one with normal cable and by turning the balance knob left and right.

However MIT's are not really suitable for stuff like Sonus Faber or some british speakers as they will probably sound too dark on top end because MIT's aren't the most dynamic sounding cables around.

[pyonc]

Funny thing is that you can clearly hear the difference just by connecting one speaker with the MIT and the other one with normal cable and by turning the balance knob left and right.


That's a great observation! Let me try them out in the near future.
By the way, what's the awg of your MIT cables?

[pyonc]

From my own experience, I use short, large gauge cable in high current circuits (simple concept supported by simplest physics), such as my subwoofers, both lower and upper (bi-amped LFE channel in my HT rig). For my fronts and surrounds, I have just plain (I do think newish is important, since copper oxidizes rather quickly) copper cable 16 gauge.

Well, I've just tried Monster 12g both for bass and mid/high cones in a break from 16g for both.
With Miles Davis's Kind of Blue on CDP, my ears hear more bass on the one hand, but rather a bit dull sound from the mid/high.
So, I changed to 16g only for the mid/high just like before, and the crisper sound I'm used to came back.:)
Looks like these thicker cables work better for the LF woofers... Just my impression.

[SEAWOLF97]

Funny thing is that you can clearly hear the difference just by connecting one speaker with the MIT and the other one with normal cable and by turning the balance knob left and right.


left & right channels are often different sounding.

set the receiver/preamp to MONO , so the same thing is coming out both sides, then do the individual speaker assessments.

[pyonc]

I've got the same 12ga. running to the A & B speakers ...4 foot run & 22 foot runs. Don't detect any difference once I've satisfied a minimum current requirement.



Thanks for your observation and the useful link.
After having tried out 12g cables, I've decided to stay with them for the LF woofers.
As for the mid/high cones, I feel my current 16g wires sound better, crisper to my ears.

[Ducatista47]

There are electrical engineering types of answers, there are "if it makes you happy" types of answers,
there are "personal testimony" type answers, there are snake-oil answers, there are bullshit physics answers...

I personally like the first two.

Total agreement. A corollary would be, "It's your money." That's English for "You really believe that BS?"


I think it was Scott Fitlin ...

Steve Schell was using magnet wire for his horn system; the power requirement was milliwatts. Thusly inspired, I frequently use it so I am the other guy. My speakers are very efficient - about 100dB/watt - so I use it when flexiblilty is not required. That includes the inside the speaker wiring. The stuff is high quality, cheap in long rolls and needs no additional insulation. Heat can't touch it; it is used in motor and transformer windings. Use the double coated variety. For both equipment choice and musical taste, I should come with a warning. I am an iconoclast to the bone.

[Ian Mackenzie]

I would followup JBLs wire guide recomendation concerning distance and wire gauge.

A useful non bs concept is something as only as strong as its weakest link.

Sometime back we discovered that depending on the vintage and system, ie 4343, 4345 etc the factory stock crossover networks that used biamp switched had significant losses.

If you are able to bypasses these bi amp switches an audible improvement will result. This has also been discussed by Greg Timbers.

Greg also suggests CC the networks

So, if you have doubles about cables it might be wise to inspect your networks for switches or other contacts that have losses.

Losses can in theory also be present in cables but losses in contacts and switches completely swamps all other electrical losses.
4345 network pictorial

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?13930-JBL-3145-stock-crossover-A-pictorial&highlight=4345+network+pictorial

Project - Outcomes



All the exisiting wiring loom has been left intact. The terminations of the unused looms have been careful taped up. It was discovered that significant resistive losses are experienced in the operation of biamp switch. The action of the switch effects both the active signal and ground so it had to be completely bypassed (heavy white wires)


http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?17670-Ducatista47-s-crossover-upgrade-project&p=178769#post178769

[ivica]

Hi guys,

I know speaker cable topic has been covered in this forum before, but want to double check with your opinion and feedback.
Do thicker speaker wires, say, 10 or 12 awg, sound better than thin ones such as 16 or 18 awg?
Googling on this shows mixed opinion, with some going for thick cables (usually audiophiles), but others showing skeptic response.

Personally I've used 16g wires for my bi-amped 4343 with good results in my basement listening room.
Depending on your opinion, however, I'm thinking of switching to thicker cables, at least for for the woofers.
I hear thicker cables work especially better for sub-woofers.

Any feedback and comments would be welcome.

Hi,

We have to be aware of some physical cable properties

10ft - 18awg - 0.064 Ohms

http://www.cirris.com/testing/resistance/wire.html

so for usually used 15ft - two wire cable, total resistance would be 3 * 0.064 about 0.2 Ohms, and if 8 Ohms speaker is used (neglecting amplifier output impedance) we can get 8/0.2 = 40 damping factor.

regards
ivica

[martin2395]

Ian, are those switches so bad even when the're cleaned?

I replaced the stock binding posts and immideately noticed a big improvement in clarity!

[Ian Mackenzie]

Yes unfortunately.

Recommend bypass

[martin2395]

That's a pity. I prefer to replace them since I sometimes switch from bi-amp to single amp but are there any suitable high quality switches to replace the old ones?

[Dave_72]

The best cables for hi fi are Neotech, imo. http://www.neotechcable.com/

[gferrell]

Thicker would not nessarily give more bass...but your tone control would,,,, people talk about difference,,,when they should be talking about accurate compered to live scource,, i use barbed wire for a sharper sound


It also helps keep the cows in!:barf:

[hjames]

Thicker would not necessarily give more bass...but your tone control would,,,,
people talk about difference,,,when they should be talking about accurate compered to live source,,
i use barbed wire for a sharper sound


It also helps keep the cows in![:barf:

Cows like that Moozart concerto, hey?

[JuniorJBL]

That's a pity. I prefer to replace them since I sometimes switch from bi-amp to single amp but are there any suitable high quality switches to replace the old ones?


Put 2 more sets of binding posts on the back and make jumpers. :)

[pyonc]

The best cables for hi fi are Neotech, imo. http://www.neotechcable.com/

I've checked them on its website, and found they're bi-wire cables.
Can you use these bi-wire cables for vintage speakers like 4343? :blink:

[hjames]

I've checked them on its website, and found they're bi-wire cables.
Can you use these bi-wire cables for vintage speakers like 4343? :blink:

No need for biwires on the usual 4343 speakers, unless you rebuild the crossover to use them.

[Ian Mackenzie]

That's a pity. I prefer to replace them since I sometimes switch from bi-amp to single amp but are there any suitable high quality switches to replace the old ones?

Switches in speaker lines are never a good idea

[martin_wu99]

Hi guys,

I know speaker cable topic has been covered in this forum before, but want to double check with your opinion and feedback.
Do thicker speaker wires, say, 10 or 12 awg, sound better than thin ones such as 16 or 18 awg?
Googling on this shows mixed opinion, with some going for thick cables (usually audiophiles), but others showing skeptic response.

Personally I've used 16g wires for my bi-amped 4343 with good results in my basement listening room.
Depending on your opinion, however, I'm thinking of switching to thicker cables, at least for for the woofers.
I hear thicker cables work especially better for sub-woofers.

Any feedback and comments would be welcome.
Not so simple,i don't think so:crying:

[pyonc]

No need for biwires on the usual 4343 speakers, unless you rebuild the crossover to use them.

Thanks! :) That's what I guessed.
I see high-end cables like MIT or Neotech are bi-wire cables...

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks! :) That's what I guessed.
I see high-end cables like MIT or Neotech are bi-wire cables...
Makes sense... that way they get to sell twice as much wire. Makes perfect sense from a business perspective.;)


Widget

[martin2395]

I tell you, all the money in MIT's went to the "magic boxes", military grade resistors, cryo treated coils :blah: :D;)

I have a BiWire set but the low and high leads are shorted together, of course if I had the choice I'd go with single wire but at the price I bought mine for I won't complain...

[hjames]

I DO have a set of MIT Terminator 2 BiWire cables on my Biwire enabled Vandersteen 2CE speakers. Obviously, it is different than the Bi-Amp configuration I used on my JBL 4341 monitors, but on the biwired speakers, the MIT cables do quite well.

Caveat: I got them used off CL for substantially LESS than retail price.

61198

The casing was loose on one pair of the MIT cables, so, of course, I opened it to see what was inside -
tho I did not fiddle with the encapsulated block I found inside.

61199

[martin2395]

Wow, I've never seen Terminator2 opened up yet, thank you for the pic!
I've heard from a tech guy that the secret of MIT cables lies in their shielding/grounding principle and because they affect the amplifier's slew rate :confused:

I'd never ever buy them new as the prices are riddiculous - $45k bucks for their TOTL loudspeaker cables.....sometimes you can get the older models very cheap through local ads.
If you want the real deal from MIT's then I suggest you too lok for at least the MH-750 (versions with boxes) or Shotgun models, much better than the entry Terminator series.

MIT's are kinda fake Bi-Wire cables as they always have single connectors on the amp side and within the box they just split to low and high outputs.
By the way - those T2's look A LOT like Monster M1's, only the colours differ (M1 has black and white leads) and of course they don't use the Terminator box.

[Dave_72]

Thanks! :) That's what I guessed.
I see high-end cables like MIT or Neotech are bi-wire cables...

Neotech is the main OEM of many high end cable brands! The technology is not bs. They use a purer copper which is superior to OFC. That is a fact.

[hjames]

Wow, I've never seen Terminator2 opened up yet, thank you for the pic!
I've heard from a tech guy that the secret of MIT cables lies in their shielding/grounding principle and because they affect the amplifier's slew rate :confused:

I'd never ever buy them new as the prices are riddiculous - $45k bucks for their TOTL loudspeaker cables.....sometimes you can get the older models very cheap through local ads.
If you want the real deal from MIT's then I suggest you too lok for at least the MH-750 (versions with boxes) or Shotgun models, much better than the entry Terminator series.

MIT's are kinda fake Bi-Wire cables as they always have single connectors on the amp side and within the box they just split to low and high outputs.
By the way - those T2's look A LOT like Monster M1's, only the colours differ (M1 has black and white leads) and of course they don't use the Terminator box.

That's what biwires are ... one connection on one end and dual connections at the speaker ends.

I also have a pair of XO biwire cables that the Vandy 2CE seller threw in with the sale.
They have full pairs of wire from the amp end - but honestly, the MIT T2 wires sound "better", and both sound better than just regular zip cords.

If I could find a 20 foot pair of MIT T2 biwires for reasonable money, I get them to run my side surrounds with - they are Vandy 2CI and I run a single heavy copper cable pair to each them and made a pair of bridged jumpers that are at the speaker end. Those are "fake" biwires.

And personally, due to the heavy handed lawsuit-crazed nature of the Monster company,
I won't buy ANYTHING from them - they can rot for all I care.

[ivica]

Hi,

We have to be aware of some physical cable properties

10ft - 18awg - 0.064 Ohms

http://www.cirris.com/testing/resistance/wire.html

so for usually used 15ft - two wire cable, total resistance would be 3 * 0.064 about 0.2 Ohms, and if 8 Ohms speaker is used (neglecting amplifier output impedance) we can get 8/0.2 = 40 damping factor.

regards
ivica

VERY, VERY interesting explanations and cable comparison

http://diyaudioprojects.com/Technical/Papers/Speaker-Cables-Science-or-Snake-Oil-Nelson-Pass.pdf

regards
Ivica

[fpitas]

Cable high-frequency terminations can make a difference:

http://sound.westhost.com/cable-z.htm

I use ordinary large gauge twisted pair, but terminate the speaker end as Rod suggests.

[svollmer]

And personally, due to the heavy handed lawsuit-crazed nature of the Monster company,
I won't buy ANYTHING from them - they can rot for all I care.
Boy do I agree with that! Bose is another famous for suing everyone. They sued Thiel in the 1990's because Thiel called a model the 2.2 and Bose had a 2.2. So Thiel changed the name to 2 2. :applaud: I'm surprised Bose didn't already trademark the "space".

[pyonc]

I tell you, all the money in MIT's went to the "magic boxes", military grade resistors, cryo treated coils :blah: :D;)

I have a BiWire set but the low and high leads are shorted together, of course if I had the choice I'd go with single wire but at the price I bought mine for I won't complain...

Pics tell all, after all. Like hjames showed her MIT cables.
Can you upload some pics of your MIT biwire speaker cables hooked into your 4343 terminals on the back?
I'm getting curious.:blink:

[SEAWOLF97]

Boy do I agree with that! Bose is another famous for suing everyone. They sued Thiel in the 1990's because Thiel called a model the 2.2 and Bose had a 2.2. So Thiel changed the name to 2 2. :applaud: I'm surprised Bose didn't already trademark the "space".

Now it's that fruity company and their Korean rivals suing each other because they own the rights to the shape of "rectangle" or "rounded corners"

but yeah, Munster and Boze are low on my lists too, but I'm amazed by how many intelligent people think it's great stuff. :screwy::barf:

when I was on "audio street" in TPHCMC , looking at connectors ....they had Munster and generic side by side. Either the generic was a perfect 100% copy or they were both made in the same factory. There was about a 15X difference in price. Guess which one I picked ?

[martin2395]

You underestimate the power of commercials :)

Btw, pyonc the low and high outputs are simply shorted together, no magic here:

http://i42.tinypic.com/nm0z2u.jpg

[Mr. Widget]

...no magic here...

;)

Perhaps not much science either. :D

Widget

[pyonc]

You underestimate the power of commercials :)

Btw, pyonc the low and high outputs are simply shorted together, no magic here:



Thanks for the pic, Martin. :) That MIT cables look impressive!

[Ian Mackenzie]

Does anyone remember Kimber cables?

I while ago I made diy Kimber with cat 5 cables...the results with pure copper diy spades were quite interesting.

Taking idea further wind the fulling insulated wires around a thin hollow core diy style

If that seems like too much hard work, bi or tri wire but do not lume the 3 cables togerther using thickest cable for the woofer and thinner for mid and hi.


Thick cables carry large current pulses better then thin cables so they are great on woofers.

The down side is thicker cables have higher self inductance and capacitance.(reactance).

Depending on the modelled RLC of the cable that can effect the ampliifer an how it responds to the cable and speaker load which in itself is a complex RCL.

Most amps use feedback to set closed loop gain, reduce distortion and control stability (damping or ringing).

Interferring unduley with what the feedback might sense from the speaker terminals may result in changes to the amp transient performance and other parameters

Of course the best cable is no cable or terminal at all so keep cables short and stout with clean terminations!

[pyonc]

Of course the best cable is no cable or terminal at all so keep cables short and stout with clean terminations!

Thanks for your great suggestion, Ian.
By the way, I've got a question here :
How can you clean these vintage binding posts or terminals of 4343,
unless you have them replaced with a modern system like our forum member martin2395?
Any good idea?


https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSRTEajkrgEZgrTtCiTHPju7a5FxZkbn-nUpNPLaO-j_scVS8jb (http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=s9_J6gWSaywViM&tbnid=D5J-NuP_sZwixM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstereonomono.blogspot.com%2F2012% 2F12%2Fjbl-4343.html&ei=wJDZUuTINcXZkQe7jYCIDw&bvm=bv.59568121,d.eW0&psig=AFQjCNGaXhUvhFJUKMAlqJKu1saJGKpOFA&ust=1390076411230851)

[martin2395]

You can clean them but they will remain outdated and are quite useless if you want to use cables with spades or banana plugs.

[svollmer]

Thanks for your great suggestion, Ian.
By the way, I've got a question here :
How can you clean these vintage binding posts or terminals of 4343,
unless you have them replaced with a modern system like our forum member martin2395?
Any good idea?


https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSRTEajkrgEZgrTtCiTHPju7a5FxZkbn-nUpNPLaO-j_scVS8jb (http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=s9_J6gWSaywViM&tbnid=D5J-NuP_sZwixM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstereonomono.blogspot.com%2F2012% 2F12%2Fjbl-4343.html&ei=wJDZUuTINcXZkQe7jYCIDw&bvm=bv.59568121,d.eW0&psig=AFQjCNGaXhUvhFJUKMAlqJKu1saJGKpOFA&ust=1390076411230851)

Check out parts express.com item 269-103. They're overstock terminal cups from Mirage with WBT-style terminals. I ordered some similar ones last year to make wall plates for my surround speakers and love them. It's easy to get a good grip to clamp down on your wires or spades and they accept banana plugs too. Plus they look real nice and only cost $2.50 each!

Maybe they would work to replace your posts, assuming you would want to.

[wpod]

In my opinion, one of the best values in very good quality speaker cables is the Kimber 8TC.These usually sell for (retail) a bit over $400.00 a pair, but you can pick up a good used pair for a couple of hundred. There are several excellent reviews of these cables going back a number of years . Just noticed that there happens to be a pair for sale on Audiogon at this time for $265.00 or best offer (no Affiliation) . If you want to spend a bit more money (used), I'd also recommend the Audience AU24 speaker cables. The audience retails for over a grand new, but once again, if you don't mind buying used, they can be had for $400.00-$500.00 for a two meter pair with terminations. Good luck in your quest!! regards, Paulie

[pyonc]

Thanks a lot for your great comments and feedback, guys.
After all, there is no "best" cable, right? I don't want to spend thousands on them; rather I'd spend on source gear.
While googling on the topic, I've come across an interesting piece:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-speaker-cable/

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks a lot for your great comments and feedback, guys.
After all, there is no "best" cable, right? I don't want to spend thousands on them; rather I'd spend on source gear.
While googling on the topic, I've come across an interesting piece:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-speaker-cable/I'd suggest that is a wise direction to take.

From your link: "But keep in mind that this is the least important piece of gear in your entire home theater setup and the impact it makes is negligible."

I agree completely... I won't say speaker wires and other audio cables have no impact, I have certainly heard better and worse cable pairings, but compared to everything else... including the room, this is a silly area to spend a significant portion of your likely limited resources on. Also, please realize that as a single group, the cable manufacturers are the most profitable. Their industry presence and ad buying power will affect even the most honest reviewer as well as the opinions of many listeners.




Widget