14/4 wire for speakers- good idea? Bad idea?

I think once twined at the ends it is effectively 11 guage. If higher end manufacturers use this design then it looks to be a sweet deal unless I’m missing something. I’m also doing bare wire termination. 

Yep, the higher end manufacturers does it this way and they are all wrong. Who in their right mind would even think of using such tiny cablage to feed a poweramp? Then why in h**l use such tiny strands on the low voltage secondary site?  

So to be clear cable in 4 or more seperate bundles twisted at the ends is not as effective or have the same properties as one braided strand? 

Thanks. 

@argon66 - Cable geometry is key to producing a good cable, whether it be IC;s, Speaker or power cables.

Twisting the ends of a 4 conductor cable can be beneficial or detrimental - it all depends on the geometry of the conductors inside the sleeve and the conductors that you select to twist together
- you WILL also affect the capacitance and inductance of the cable which may be detrimental to the amp - some solid state amps (like NAIM, AYRE) can be driven into oscillation if a high capacitance cable is connected and you end up burning out the circuit.

I prefer to take a different approach...
http://www.image99.net/blog/files/d048bbacfce9bcad4a025be804771d9a-76.html.

This will approach almost eliminates any interference between conductors resulting in an extremely low noise cable

It also has low capacitance AND inductance parameters making it ideal for most amps and speakers.

@toddverrone, has provided a link to the Helix power cable above - he has tried all of the Helix Cables on my site - I think he likes them :-)

I’ve spent 4-5 years trying different geometries and conductors and the HELIX cables are the net result. The conductors identified on the site provide what I consider to be the best bang for the buck

I have compared them at length to a few commercially available cables costing substantially more (up to $2000) and the HELIX has the edge across the board everytime - i.e. dynamics, clarity, image, control etc...

Personally - I would NOT advise taking your approach - sorry :-(
It might work now - but it could damage other amps you might buy in future.
- it happened to a friend of mine with his Ayre - and he was using Cardas Cables

Regards - Steve

High end manufacturers don’t use this configuration, AFIK. (talking about starquad and equivalents)

It’s just that it is excellent and right in the correct area of design and requirements for big clubs or house systems, or concert performances, traveling road shows, etc.

Pro does not equal ’good’ or ’best’ ....It merely equals the requirements for pro use in ways that work and don’t fail. Functionality and not failing, the two big points. Performance quality is third or lower on the list.

If anyone asked my opinion on this for high end set ups, I'd say no, don't. For a few dollars more or spent differently, far better audio quality can be found. Star quad and equivalents are for ripping your face off with long term all day +1kw peaks on bass bins, flying monitors, 50-100 ft runs, and so on.