does high end system need expensive speaker cable


Hi,

I have some nice gear...Wilson Watt Puppy 7 and BAT tube preamp VK51SE and Krell 400CX FPB and Cary 306-200 with Nordost and Cardas interconnects. I am currently using Nordost Red Dawn Speaker Cables which I had used with my less high end system I had last year. I have read some articles by industry bigwigs like the founder of McIntosh Electronics who snorted at the need for anything other than a good sturdy speaker cable. While I trust his judgment as to speaker cables, I disagree with that very argument when it comes to interconnects? Is there a need for high end speaker cables in a high end system? Has anyone tried to test that theory out?

Michael
radioheadokplayer

Showing 1 response by newbee

Speaker cables can make a difference, both good and bad, and cost doesn't have a great deal to do with the result (IMHO). I think many folks use cable as a form of tone control to correct deficiencies in their basic electronics/speaker match, not to allow the signal from the amp to pass thru to the speaker with a minimum of change. Personally I would focus is on getting short runs of cable with the matching impedence/capacitance to your speakers. A cheap experiment - buy a couple of short runs of 8 - 10 guage twisted copper wire (50 cents a foot) and use them as a reference to how other cables sound in comparison, then decide if you are willing to pay for the difference. A caveat with cables - don't do short listening comparisons, let them play, or just rest, in the system for about 24 hours before you sit down to listen to them. You might be surprised - some cables that seem to shine in side by side comparisons can be down right irritating in long term listening.

Be careful, its a jungle out there!