Good entry level cables


Hi allnewbie here and I am totally confused. Just when i see and decide on a cable, another thread pops up recommending a different one... and I don't have time to keep changing different brand cables around to see what matches or sounds best. I probably only have an mid level system? So I need a consensus (not gonna happen haha) of what I need minimum now and for what piece of equipment.I have what follows- My room is 20x16. Ceiling height is 10'. Equipement is in the rear of the room. So I need speaker cables from FOH to the rear. This is new construction so I can place cables in wall or in ceiling. Probably 30' run of speaker cable. I've looked at monoprice, BJC, and others recommended on here that are REALLY expensive. I'm already over budget lol. Solid core, insulated strands?Power cables?Interconnects?In order of importance. What is the minimum I need? Best for the money?
Equipment as follows:
Atlantic Technologies 8200 - 2 fronts with 2 subs, a center, 2 pair surrounds4 Revel in-ceiling C763L for dolby atmos
Lexicon RV9Sony VPL-vw695es
Audioquest Niagra 1200Lexicon DD8-A for in ceiling revels (not purchased yet for $999 new) Anything better in this price range

obtuse2
Another vote for Audio Envy. I replaced my much more expensive Cardas Golden Reference with them, and the sound with the AE's is far superior to my ears and in my system. I think that AE has a 45 day money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose, except for the cost of shipping them back if you don't like them.
Canare 4s11 amazing sounding cable for only $1.28 per ft at Redco. I don't think you'll do better at many times the price.
I have a nice experience with DH labs silver Sonic cable -  non expensive and very good sounding
I was referring to their interconnects, I do no have any experience about their speaker cables.
Want to recommend Blue Jeans 10 ga
speaker cable - great quality, very inexpensive. Great entry level cable.
Blue Jeans may have high perceived quality, but I‘m afraid that‘s where it ends. I bought a 3m pair to replace my 2m 20yr old DIY pair made from good quality off the reel stock from my local high end audio store because they were no longer long enough for my purposes. The drop off in audio quality was immediately obvious. Dynamics were squashed, and clarity went down two notches. I REALLY wanted to like them and waited ages for them to break in. In the end I just rearranged my equipment back the way it was so I could use my old cables.
I have since moved on up the food chain but still remember the experience clearly.
If you would like to hear their limitations very easily, (I know it‘s unfair but it serves a purpose) put them up against something like a Cardas Golden Reference or a top of the line Nordost. You will get a handle on their sonic signature immediately.
However, you don‘t need to go anywhere near that price point to get clearly audible improvements.
With phono cables it is not necessarily getting the lowest capacitance, but the RIGHT capacitance and resistance loading for your cartridge that is the key issue. For really long interconnect runs, say >5m you are way better off going balanced, but if you are not able to, low capacitance is the way to go. Shielding also becomes very important.
Capacitance is only an issue with phono cables or extremely long interconnect runs. Almost all normal length interconnect cables have adequate specs and will not roll off the highs in the audio spectrum one iota due to capacitance. You are just quoting the sales pitch.The whole low capacitance thing is a con.
Blue Jeans cable.  They are based in Seattle you can get a 6 foot pair of LC1 with RCA connectors for about $50.  They are low capacitance so they do not filter highs the way higher capacitance cables will.  They manufacture them when you order.  Very high quality.
One more recommendation for the Audio Envy cables. I have compared them with Clear Day cables and they sound very good. The price is close to entry level,  but the performance is excellent.
Blue Jeans Cable is good stuff at a good price. I used 10AWG on my Magnepan speakers, LC-1 for interconnects. The ICs have more bass than AQ Evergreen without being boomy, which Is welcome on my Maggies. I have no idea why, but it’s noticeable, especially between my PS Audio DirectStream DAC and my amp.
Purist and Kimber makes excellent cables .Not the cheapest but one of the best .
The entry level Kubala-Sosna are very affordable and sound great. They're for some reason overlooked but much better than AQ type products for same money.
If on an even tighter budget, go all Signal Cable.
Zu sometimes auction their discontinued lines on ebay which go for a fraction of their retail and are great value for money.
@obtuse2 
Lol “over budget”?  I bet many/most audiophiles have had this experience, for some maybe a way of life, others throw their budget out the window.
From my (messy) notes:

Interconnects Max length:200pF/m (inexpensive cable) 7ft 28-40pF/m 30-40ft

Speaker cable max length 8 meters

Better longer interconnects and shorter speaker cables 

Digital interconnects- maybe 1.5m minimum to stop reflections 


Cable importance order:

  1. Power
  2. Speaker
  3. Interconnect 


run digital as far as possible, then run balanced as far as possible, then use monoblock amps set as close to the speaker as possible and do not worry about the brand of the wire

speaker cables should be short 


Iconoclast order of importance:

1st speaker

2nd analog - XLR 

3rd analog - RCA 

4th digital 


@obtuse2 It’s amazing how many people have recommended non in-wall certified cables when you’ve mentioned it multiple times. Don’t do that, if you have a fire, your insurance will not pay. 
I agree with @leemaze and @djones51 above.  Belden 5T00UP is a great value. 10 AWG vs most others that are 12 or 14 inwall. For your main speakers at that distance, you really want 10AWG.  If you don’t love the aesthetic of the bare cable, you can do what I did and add braid from the wall out to cover them. It’s very easy To do.  I bought the 250 feet for $240 at Parts-Express for my LCR channels. That left me plenty extra since mine was a through ceiling retrofit and I didn’t know if there would be any challenges. 
I think you are underestimating the distance you really need. You need some at each end To reach the equipment, plus up/across/down. So to me, you need 50 feet each. 5 to the wall, 10 up, 20 across, 10 down, 5 out. That gives you a little wiggle room. 
I have the same Lexicon RV-9 as you, driving Revel 228Be fronts using the Belden cable. It works superbly. I nearly bought the Kimber inwall, and don’t regret it at all. And the cost savings was quite significant. 
I see you chose the Revel 763Ls. I run the 763s at my Atmos F/R, and have been very happy with them running off an Emotiva A-500. I couldn’t pass it up as I got a factory renewed one, plus a military discount. I don’t remember that Lexicon being available when I bought, or I might have gotten that for aesthetic reasons. Although I don’t really like the connectors on the back. 
I used Belden 5000UP for the rest of the speakers. It’s the 12AWG version of the one listed above. Don’t forget you also need cables for your subs, so hopefully you’ve already planned their location, unless you are going wireless. 
I have moved over to using ZU audio cables throughout my system. You can get ZU Mission Mk1 cables through their eBay store for a great price. It’s worth contacting them directly and perhaps they will let you bypass the auction process. The Zu cables are well built. Sound is going to be subjective but that aside they have a robust look/feel and are well worth the price on those qualities alone. 
I switched to the Monoprice 12 awg OFC PVC coated CL-2 wire last winter. Available in 2 or 4 conductor. It sounds wonderful in my system.....as good as any of several I’ve tried over the last 30 years, and is very affordable. No marketing BS, just good wire.
14 gauge stranded twisted pair that is cut to size, with no coiled up slack, will perform as well as anything in runs of 10 meters or less.
@OP,
If you are going with long runs, I suggest Audioquest.
The GO-4 is probably the best bang for the buck, and not cost prohibitive.
The DBS system is the thing that raises them above the other manufacturers, in my opinion.
B
I highly, highly recommend you check out James Schmitt at Schmitt Custom Audio Cables. I use his stuff for everything on my Stereo. He has many options to choose from and it’s top quality work you’d pay much more from many other cable companies. I particularly like the interconnects he makes with vintage Western Electric Wire!! https://www.schmittcustomaudiocables.com
I stumbled on to an internet company(ebay), Pine Tree Audio. He makes oxygen free copper interconnects with nice shielding, high quality ends. I had 6 ft speaker cables and sub cables and I got all my wires and interconnects for $1000. This also includes a heavy duty cord and junction box he made for me and a couple nice power cables with high quality plugs and shielding. I tried Nakamichi banana plugs on my speaker wires and my cat managed to break them off. I sent them back and had spades put on them and He didn’t charge me anything. Also got to be kind of an email friend. Very honest. My system sounds better than it did with Audioquest at double the price. Also, all the stuff I got was his highest priced so you could spend less. I did buy a Blue Jeans Cable Cat 6 for my streamer.

Here is my advice:
For the front main speakers:
Tell me what is your power Amp's DF and what length do you need.
I'll calculate you what # awg you need.
My avr is lexicon rv 9. My equipment is 20’ away as the crow flies. My ceiling is 10’ so I’m thinking 35’. 
You cannot go wrong with audioquest type 4. You can get them cheap at audio advisor with their no frills assembled cables. Also the Qed xt25's are great low cost cables. Chord clearway lines of cables are also great. 
Here is my advice:
For the front main speakers:
Tell me what is your power Amp's DF and what length do you need.
I'll calculate you what # awg you need.

Id start with Audio Envy and go from there.  Thats where Im at now but I dont plan on going any  further.  I highly recommend them.
Mogami 3103 or 3104. - 12 AWG.  Buy in bulk at Redco.
http://https//www.redco.com/
Your contractor can do the runs and you can do the terminations as neded.
Dnm reson IC and speaker cable . They are british so availability in the US is limited but can be found . Sonically they are so good as to warrant admission in systems into the tens of thousands . The problem they have is that they are so inexpensive that audio snubs don't take them seriously 
 
Don't take my word for it...just hear them in your system . You will thank me over and over again . Another would be the least expensive cable from JPS Labs . They are more expensive then the DNM but do sound excellent in a wide variety of systems , be then Solid State or vacuum tubes .
In wall speaker wire  needs to meet NEC standards, you should check to make sure the cables are rated correct. 

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/inwallrating.htm
I would recommend Speltz Anticables for the speakers.  The original Anticables were about $80 for an 8 ft. pair.  I had to spend a lot more to get better sound--like over $600.  I tired a couple cables that listed for over $1400 and still preferred the Anti's to them.  The original Darwin Silver ICs were considerably better than anything near their price range.  I tried quite a few of the more popular ICs.  Amadi Maddie Signature ICs are very close.  I have some used Darwin's and Amadi's if you were interested in trying them out.

Bob
Maybe consider something like Belden cable (from Blue Jeans Cable)?  You can get 12-gauge, the price is gonna be right, you can install it practically anywhere (you can get CL3), and there are even more (and affordable) options to look at there.  It's also not a bazillion dollars, so you can afford to buy more music, too...
Can these be run in the wall? I’m doing new construction so I can run them through the studs behind the drywall

Well, you could run them in the wall, but I don't think either of these cables would be legal as far as electrical codes are concerned.  You really need a speaker cable that is "CL3" certified.  There aren't many good speaker cables that meet this CL3 requirement.


It’s seems you have not heard Audio Envy cables. If you did, you have not made the above statement. The bottom line is most top cable designs utilize OCC as it gives the absolute purest base platform to get that much closer to true absolute transparency.

I have done a direct comparison between stranded OCC and low grade solid core.  Comparing an extremely high end expensive 14awg Furutech OCC stranded cable used as a power cord.  This comparison was with some lower grade copper, but used a multiple 20awg solid-core braided configuration.  I could hear that the OCC Furutech gave better resolution, but it had a weird phasing effect and the sound was not nearly as solid or natural as the low grade solid-core.  I would pick the low grade solid core every day because it was much more pleasing to listen to and give a much more realistic result.

This was just on a power cord comparison, using the exact same plug connectors, so it was truly apples-to-apples comparison.  I suspect this same result would be similar when comparing speaker cable.
@obtuse2,

I suggest you speak to audio advisor or Audio Envy directly so your specific needs can be addressed.

Both AudioQuest and Audio Envy makes full range of cables, i.e. IC’s, speaker and power cords.
Audio Envy covers home technology and studio installations as well as audio cables, so the head guy, whose name is Captain, will be able to give you complete guidance.
Can these be run in the wall? I’m doing new construction so I can run them through the studs behind the drywall
what about power cords? Ideas?
and thank you to posters above!
“Stranded cable may sound good, but presents a sound that is not quite as natural.”

auxinput,
It’s seems you have not heard Audio Envy cables. If you did, you have not made the above statement. The bottom line is most top cable designs utilize OCC as it gives the absolute purest base platform to get that much closer to true absolute transparency.

I would recommend Audioquest Rocket 44 "no frills" version from Audio Advisor.  These are significantly cheaper than the retail version of the Audioquest cables.  They do have a "premium no frills" version that uses better terminations (spades/bananas).  They are multiple awg solid-core conductors.  Maybe not OCC copper, but very good copper.  The Rocket 88 uses better copper and is approaching OCC quality (but is more expensive).   These are essentially 13awg speaker cables.

https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQRO44NF

If the specific length you need is not shown, just give them a call.  They can make these at any length you want.  They just pull the wire off a large spool and cut/terminate to your specifications.

Audio Envy might use OCC copper, but they do not publish the awg and it's almost definite that it's stranded (not solid core).  I'm not saying anything negative about Audio Envy and I'm sure they are good cables, but solid-core has always performed better in my tests.  It just sounds more solid (no pun intended) and less harsh.  Stranded cable may sound good, but presents a sound that is not quite as natural.
twoleftears beat me to it.....Another vote for Audio Envy. My entire system is wired with Audio Envy wire loom. One thing worth pointing out, almost everyone uses OFC wire whereas Audio Envy uses OCC copper which IMO is far more superior than OFC.
You're going to get best bang for your buck (performance/price ratio) with Audio Envy.  Talk to the Captain and put in a bulk order.