DNM Precision for speakers >90db and DNM Stereo for speakers <90db. I have used both at different times and love the way that DNM conveys music.
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FMS Nexus 3 is a winner! (IMHO:)) |
It is whatever sounds good in your system. If home depot wire works and matches your system go for it, HD may also sell some speakers now. For the purpose of this thread I like alot of wires, transparent is nice Kimberly 8 tc is a classic and good, I can tell you also what I would not buy again kimber select silver I am running now I would never buy again sound good but came in all scratched up and kimber will not make right also build quality was cr#% weaving was off etc.... So I am just not mentioning cables I have in my system as liking. Audio quest I like but they keep changing for better technology making the old cables worth a lot less. I have herd good things about the quicksilver silver wires for the price. This is a tuff thread because what sounds good in my system may not in yours or may be overkill it is all about matching. |
Milpai,
You get no argument from me that wire is system dependent. There are also many over-priced cables on the market. Some systems are revealing enough that cable differences are easily heard. There will always be a divergence of opinion as to the merits of those differences. Fortunately, there are a handful of manufacturers who are truly advancing the state of the art yet who are also committed to improving the listening experience of customers at virtually every price point. I believe they should be championed. I urge people to audition a variety of cables and be open to the unexpected. I never would have thought that Anti-cables could be effective, but my ears changed my mind. |
Vhiner,
Thank You for sharing the info. Honestly, I am still surprised that the new Shunyata wires beat Nordost Odin. But as Stringreen mentioned, it is all system dependent.
Good for you that you have settled on the cable that best matches your system. |
There isn't a professional music production studio in the world that uses zip cord, and many of those facilities are constantly looking for ways to cut costs. If all wire were the same, they'd be using spools of Lowe's 18-guage. The people who actually produce the music we all listen to KNOW there's a difference in wire and that it has dramatic effects on sound. Google famous record mastering professionals like Bob Ludwig and Doug Sax. They don't take a dime from cable manufacturers but they ALL have their favorite wire...and it isn't lamp cord. But I'm sure there are people with Bose systems who are far more qualified to comment on the merits of using coat hangers in their "killer" rigs. Yawn. |
I started with Mapleshade Golden Helix but found them to harsh to my ears even after several hundred hours. So I researched DIY cables. White Lighting cables made from Walmart patio extension cable were much better. Then I read about Home Depot extension (Holloween) cable. Made some, and they were even better. I eventually had the funds to try again and bought some Blue Jean Canare 4S11 cable; broke them in. Then I compared all three cables and decided the HD cables were just a bit better overall. I'm thinking of wrapping them with black electrical tape to improve appearence and maybe help reduce noise. |
I purchased some raw soft annealed 9999 Silver 14 gauge wire on ebay.
When you think about it, the only connection between the Amp and speakers is the actual wire conductor.
So get the best possible wire to make that connection.
Honestly, I have tried practically ever high end speaker cable and I found that my simple home made version is wayyy better.
Unfortunatly, silver has gone up quite a bit, but it is still the best |
I've said this so many times...there is no best cable...all cables sound different in different systems. The absolute worst sounding cable in MY system was any iteration of Cardas cable. That's not to say they are crap, because in the right system they are ok. In MY system they are awful. You have to listen to what the cable does in YOUR system to determine the best cable for YOU. Actually, Anti=Cable is the best in my system with Audioquest Sky/Everest coming in second...go figure. |
Milpai,
I am quoted on their site, which came as a bit of a surprise when I found out. I have no connection to them, other than as a customer.
I only know that my one-meter RCA interconnects list for $1495 and my 8-foot speaker cables list for $2495. I've heard that a variety of dealers will work out package pricing deals on the new line. Consider the politics of rolling out a product that blows away the competition, including your own flagship models. Eventually folks like the Cable Company will have demo's available and then other people will begin to weigh in on whether these cables are as revolutionary as I think they are. I'm eager to hear what other people hear when the Pythons are hooked up in their own systems. That'll be the real test. |
Vhiner,
Are you the "Vance H. in St. Louis" mentioned on Shunyata's site?
http://www.shunyata.com/Content/products-SignalCables.html
Out of curiosity - what is the price range for these cables? |
Shunyata Research just released (2011) new line of speaker cables. I have the Pythons. The beat every cable I've ever heard including the Nordost Odin's. Watch out when reviewers finally hear these. The new speaker cables are twice as effective as Shunyaya's power cords, which is saying a lot. |
Miss: Wire World Eclipse III
Score: Slitech LS-180 |
For me it turned out to be an absolute boutique cable from Einstein Audio, their Greenline Largo, Unisono combo has beaten everything else I tried by a long shot. The production of these specific cables have stopped now. Volker, the designer of all Einstein audio products admits that these were the very best cables he has ever made. They are outstanding, though they are not known outside Europe all that much. |
PranaWire Nataraja closely followed by Stealth |
So far, ASI Livelines. They may be my last. |
between a krell ksa 80 and b&w 703 i have fallen in love with kimber 8tc.When i say in love i mean that i have shaved my head sold all my possession and now live at the kimber parking lot. |
02-08-08: Mrtennis
so far, 16 companies have been mentioned as sources of favorite speaker cables.
if the purpose of the thread is to obtain ideas for purchasing a speaker cable, how does one make use of 16 suggestions (opinions) ? True. Everybody seems to answer with whatever they have in their system right now. Unless they give a list of all their components, the info is not very useful. So, to your point, I'll say I've owned and used Straightwire, AudioQuest, Kimber, Monster, Tributaries, TARA, Transparent, Audio Magic, MIT, Zu, Kimber, Sony, and PS Audio. But my absolute favorite, and what I'd cable everything in the house with if I could afford it, would be high level Transparent. It is my absolute favorite, whether you're using an integrated amp or separates, digital or LP, tube or SS, Magnepan, Martin-Logan, mini-monitors, Wilson, Vandersteen, GoldenEar, Krell, McIntosh, Classe, Audio Research, VTL, Ayre, Linn, or Peachtree, Transparent (IMO) provides the most balanced, most natural-sounding signal transfer I've ever heard. |
Home Depot. They were the cheapest and they worked perfectly. |
Definitely Elrod Power Systems for me. |
Zu Ibis (Zu's top-end silver cables; not made anymore). Detailed yet smooth and engaging at the same time. |
My highest recommendation for the Supra Cables, all of them. Price wise they are truly a competive product, and this you can take to the bank. |
Bobabooyee extreme Reference MkIII SE, Stunning! |
Valhalla, with the right system.
Also like Jena Labs Symphony for a less expensive alternative. They are very natural and don't do anything wrong, which is what I always listen for first.
Neal |
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I'm partial to my Zu Ibis cables. Ultra clean and ultra-fast sound. Love that silver. |
STELTH DREAM Wonderful musical great imaging bass etc!! |
Count me in for Argento Flow also!
They haven't graced my system yet but each time I hear a system with a full loom, the desire to have them grows. |
The best I have heard (by a wide margin) is the Argento Flow. I haven't tried the Flow Master Reference yet but I suspect that is going to be a big improvement |
So far in my journey its the Kubala Sosna Elation followed closely by the emotion. Both these cables just produce natural magic and tone definition and detail with very quite back-ground. |
I just went thru a whole speaker cable experience that included 10 guage Romex, Canare Quad,Clear Day solid silver,Harmonic Pro 9,Blue Circle,Cardas Golden Cross and Golden Hex 5c.
All wires had their high and low points,no real stinkers however in the end the Cardas Golden 5c were the ones I settled for.
They seemed to have the least flaws of any of the cheapest cables and were as good or better than the more expensive cables.
One thing that I noticed was how much thicker they are than the newer more costly Gold Cross.
Internally they don't seem to be anything special , just 4 runs of 3 wires for a total of 12 separate wires. |
I have auditioned a number of cables including Nordost, Cardas, Coincident, JPS, Audience, Tara Labs, Acoustic Zen, Audioquest, Transparent, Siltech and a number of others. Many of these cables do certain things well and have strengths that match certain types of systems, but I have yet to find a cable that I prefer over the Jena Labs cables. |
I have Shunyata Andromeda and love them. The shunyata cables stood out among every every cable I auditioned all being in or near the same price. |
Just installed Gregg Straley's Reality Cables. My search is finally over. After using Alphacore Goertz MI 1 cables for several years, switched to Signal cable Ultra's for fronts. IMO the Signals produced a fuller sound ... and just a bit on the warm side. I heard a system with some Transparent cables in place ... simply amazing, but I refuse to pay $2,000 for speaker cables! Then I got the upgrade bug ... auditioned Morrow Audio SP2, Speltz Anti-cables, and Audio Art SC-5. While all of these cables are excellent - especially at their price points - each was lacking in a certain area ... the Morrows (bass), Speltz (warmth/emotion), SC-5 (clarity/details). To me, of these three, the SC-5's are the best. Of course, YMMV. I eventually tried a shotgun bi-wire configuration with the Speltz combined with the SC-5's, which was actually quite good.
These Reality Cables do everything well ... top to bottom. There's an ease and refinement in my system now. It now approaches the "high end" sound realm I've been seeking. I believe the Reality Cables are the final piece of the puzzle. I was most impressed by the timbre and tonality they produce. This is the closest I've been to hearing real instruments. It sounds like a sax, piano, guitar playing ... as opposed to a recording of the music. The best part is, at $250/8ft pair these are still in the "budget" price range ... just slightly more than the others I tried, but at higher performance level.
Finally, Gregg Straley is pleasure to do business with. He's got great service and he stands behind his product. |
I am also using the Auditorium 23 speaker cables and am very pleased with them! They are very natural sounding. Timbral accuracy is excellent. Allows for fatigue-free listening! |
I am using Auditorium 23 and I am very pleased. |
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I just received a 8' biwire set of Gregg Straley's Reality Cables and even though they are not fully broken in yet, they are really something else. Tonally, they are very neutral sounding...no zippy highs, no bloated bass. Where they seem to have an edge over everything else I've used (AG biwire Mont Blanc, Zu Wax/6 awg combo and Anti-Cables) is in dimensionality. A plapability or "thereness" of everything. The soundfield in more inverted "U" shaped than "V" shaped. Textures and body is more evident. I don't know what he's doing or what's inside those stiff orange cables, but it is something special, IMHO. And for the $, they have got to be the steal of the century in the high-end audio world. |
While the bright orange cords may have merit with some speaker-amplifier connections,in my system,the sound is too citrus like.
I use 16 gauge heater cord;they are brown.
Yes,I know brown is technically orange,but the heater cord imparts a darker sound to my system |
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Kubala-Sosna Emotion, double run
Kimber Kable 4PR - which was my first real speaker cable several decades ago |
The reality is that cables do sound different and that for a given amp/speaker interface, one design will often sound markedly superior to another. In another set up, preferences may be very different. Many will argue that this is solely attributable to the different tonal balances of different cables and that certainly can be a factor; however, even within the family of cables produced by one manufacturer, all of which share a similar tonal balance, the cable chosen will exhibit other very audible characteristics that have nothing to do with tonal balance. In this instance, I am thinking of the differences between Jorma #1 and Prime speaker cable which have very similar tonal balances but differ in a number of other ways that are clearly audible on a number of different systems that I have heard them in.
I think that my point is that the speaker cable serves as an elctrical interface between the widely complex load that the speaker presents and the output stage of the amplifier and that certain combinations seem to work much better than others. I do agree that some amps are much more sensitive to this than others (think low power, directy heated, single ended triodes) and some relatively immune to most of these effects (think the older Krell KMA series). |
I, for one, love this thread because I like to learn what other people have tried. It's only a competition for people with very, very small penises. Anyhoo, I've learned from Krellman that I've *got* to find a set of Supra's to audition. My own current favorite is Harmonic Tech's Magic Reference Woofers. Since hooking them up, ear fatigue is a thing of the past. For those in the flat earth society, I'm happy to be this deluded about what these cables have done for my system. I listen twice as much now. |
Dweller...Check my 2/6 posting, and see if you don't think I am having fun. I am sure that your Harmonic Technology Pro-9s are the best (for you). |
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Eldartford & Mrtennis:
I thought the purpose of these threads was to have fun.
You DO remember fun don't you?
If you find the thread trite, ignore it and move on... |
Hey, I thought Auditorium 23 made the best speaker cables... (not that I've ever heard them). At least that's what many here have posted. |
Mrtennis...You are right that all these diverse oponions are worthless to someone trying to choose what to buy. But, is that really the purpose of a thread such as this? It seems to me that this kind of thread exists so that insecure audiophiles can convince themselves that their own cables are excellent. Their own opinion is the only opinion they believe, and, by the way, that's OK because it's the only opinion based on their own ears. |
Definitely the Jorma cabling, particularly the Prime which incorporate Jack Bybee's latest thinking on terminations and noise filtering. Please see my virtual system thread for a longer discourse on what these cables do well. |
i have tried quite a few and have always like the audience speaker cable with the audience power cords - great combo.
i have tried nordost and they are good but a bit overpriced imho.. |
