Not an expert. But you should look into Signal Cable. They should be within your budget. |
Another to consider (at least visit the website) is Anti-Cables. Paul claims different lengths will not matter with his cable. |
If your speakers have only 2 sets of binding posts, then you won't be able to biwire, so there's nothing to worry about. |
I will second the Speltz Anticables. I had a few differently configured pairs such as 8 footers, and the last times 11 ft. with an 18 ft. Could tell no difference in sound from the 8's. Was no perceivable difference left and right with the two runs 7 ft. different in length. This is with a very resolving system using ribbon mids and tweeter. Until I spend big money (well over $1000), I could find no cable that sounded as good in my system either. Very open, clear, and dynamic cable for the money and well beyond. |
Good suggestions above.
If interested email me, I have Valab Custom Made Silver Plated Oxgen
Free Copper Speaker Cables In Excellent Condition. I could post them on
Audiogon to sell.
From the manufacturer:
Core wire is 5760 strands of 6N silver plated oxygen free copper
filaments to insure least signal attenuation.
High quality Rhodium plated bananas or spade termination.
Internal cotton fiber vibration damper for decreased vibration
interference.
Two layers of damping; one by excluded foamed LDPE and another by
soft thick PVC to isolate vibration.
Alumina foil to isolate EMI interference.
20mm diameter of encapsulated wire.
This speaker cable was designed and made for real audiophiles. It is not
an expensive product but actually made by very high quality materials.
It delivers every detail of music with a powerful giant sound stage.
I used these cables as my reference in three different systems and had to
spend thousands of dollars more to better them.
$130.00
Bi-wired (2 X 4) with high quality Rhodium plated bananas 9' long
(113" tip to tip).
Standard 8' long (99" tip to tip) speaker Cable with High quality
Rhodium plated spades (7/16 gap).
At one time I was using Combak Harmonix HS-101-SLC speaker cables
and interconnects and the Valab equaled the Harmonix quality in sound
and workmanship. |
Thanks for the offer - I'm going to go with what I think is sometimes refered to as the vandersteen configuration ( 4 x 4). The Arcam kit is specifically designed to split the HF/LF across two discrete circuits, so unfortunately I don't think 2 x 4 cables will work. Also need one cable to be 15' long. The other will only be 3'. |
Thanks everyone else for the suggestions. Anticables are what I had found in my research to be the best value, so I'm glad to get some feedback and confirmation I was heading in the right direction :-) Just thought of something, any difference in termination? Should I do spades or bananas?
Thanks again! |
JW Audio Cryo Nova cables |
I don't understand what you are trying to do. I have several pairs of Vandersteen that are biwired. How you do it with them is to just use 2 desperate runs of the exact same cable. That said, if you are biamping using 4 channels on your Arcam, instead of 2, you cant biwire unless you have more than 2 sets of binding posts on your speakers. For example, 2 channels would run single wire to the bass binding posts and the other 2 channels could go to the binding posts for the mids and highs in a biwire config. But I think your speakers only have 2 sets of posts, so biwiring wouldn't be possible. If you were just using 2 channels on your Arcam, then yes, you can biwire. |
Sorry meant to say biamp. KEF R series have 4 binding posts (2 sets). I didn't realize that there was even a distinction in language between biamp (4-wires) and biwire(2-wires on one end with 4 on the other)! They were interchangeable in my head until about an hour ago. You are right, I'm going to *biamp* the front R & L, using 4 channels on the Arcam. |
I also have a 9' Valab 4x4. |
Since biwiring is not an issue because you're using 4 channels, the only thing that remains is cable choice. Opinions vary, but I recommend using the exact same cables for all channels. Some people try to use different cables for the highs and lows hoping to get better sound. If that works for you, great. That's all that matters. But every time I've tried it, I wasn't happy with the results. I could always hear the 2 different cables.
If you want to learn more about biamping and biwiring, go to Vandersteen's web site and download owners manuals for something like the Model 2 or 3. They do a great job explaining all the different terms and options. Also, Vandersteen was the first one to come up with concept of biwiring. |
Yes Anti-Cables....they are so inexpensive, you can get the same lengths for each side and just dress them accordingly. Anti- Cables have various "levels"....the higher the level the better, but don't be afraid of their cheapest ones. |
Guys - I have to say, thanks so much for the help, this has been great. You gave me great options to check out and research.
I ended up feeling pretty good about the pricing with Signal Cable and that for my first experience with this could buy something without breaking the bank. I'll let you know how it goes, and thanks again :)! |
A little tough to find in the US, but it's worth looking for QED 79 strand. It's not expensive and sound sweet. There are dealers in the UK which will gladly ship to the US.
Ps- I would avoid drastically differing lengths of cable |
Hey guys - my Signal HiFi cables arrived this week and I installed them. They are amazing, thank you for the suggestion. The biggest improvement I can hear is from my center channel. It sounds like a completely different speaker. Voices are clearer and more natural, bass sound ways better, and overall performance is noticeably improved. |
The JW Audio speaker cables IMO are more refined then the Speltz anti cables IMO
The several added applications JW does truly adds to the detail.
Their speaker cables out did Kimber cables that were Many times their cost
And their interconnects especially Reference beat my Selectand This was over $1k from Kimber ,that is saying a whole lot ,and not just in one area
But as a whole this now sits in a $15k system .i too was hesitant
As A Audiophille sometimes cost if not enough gets overlooked .
Please remember Big name companies Mark up cables sometimes
More then 10X ,and add in labor . Small companies much better value !! |
