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  3. 161281-107

Bought some 14/2 “speaker wire” from Home Depot

So I decided to amuse myself and on a recent trip to the Home Depot I bought some 14 gauge speaker wire. 25 ft for under $11.
I have what I think is a good system and my current speaker wires are analysis plus mesh oval 9 terminated in spades. My system is noted in my profile.
I substituted in the 14/2 I picked up- each leg is about 9.5 ft. Tinned bare wire at each end. I did use 4% silver solder.
Quite listenable, though perhaps not as extended at the high end. If someone told me I had to use the Home Depot wire I’d get along just fine. Leads me to one of 4 possible conclusions- 1- my hearing stinks; 2- my fancy Analysis Plus cables aren’t anything special; 3- my system isn’t resolving enough to make a difference; 4- given sufficient gauge, cable is cable. Of course, it’s also possible that my system is so good, any wire will allow that to shine through 
Your thoughts, comments, etc appreciated 

thanks
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Showing 1 response by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,470 posts
 
Don't use solder for high current connections.  Cold weld/crimp. :-)

Otherwise, here's what I have observed:

Fancy cable only shows us that a lot of amps are more impedance sensitive than we think they are. At best, their effect on the listening experience is subtle, and very rarely worth what they charge.

Next, too many audiophiles put emphasis on gear that is "resolving" of downstream equipment.  I've gone the opposite.  I want gear that is resilient, that sounds great no matter what is upstream. I am not building cable analyzers, I'm building a system for my personal enjoyment. In this sense, I think the Krell CAST idea was spot on.
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