So, you are using zip cord now?
Need recommendations for 20' speaker cable
When I first moved in my place years ago, my speakers fired down the long wall in a rectangular room. The speakers were 5 ft out from the front wall and the rear wall was 12 ft behind my listening seat. My amplifier was between the speakers so the standard 10 ft run of cable was sufficient.
Currently the system is turned 90° and as shown in my Virtual System pics, the speakers fire down the short wall with my listening seat directly at the rear wall.
Out of curiosity, I purchased a 100 ft spool of generic speaker cable and moved my speakers to their old location. I knew this would happen but I immediately got more depth, more separation of instruments. More localization of musicians, etc.
I don't want to move my rack so if I keep it this way I'm going to need 20 ft of speaker cables. The fact that I now use monitors and the terminals are 2 ft off of the floor only worsens the situation regarding length.
So, long story long, I'm looking for recommendations on 20 ft speaker cables preferably under $1,000 new or used.
Thanks.
Currently the system is turned 90° and as shown in my Virtual System pics, the speakers fire down the short wall with my listening seat directly at the rear wall.
Out of curiosity, I purchased a 100 ft spool of generic speaker cable and moved my speakers to their old location. I knew this would happen but I immediately got more depth, more separation of instruments. More localization of musicians, etc.
I don't want to move my rack so if I keep it this way I'm going to need 20 ft of speaker cables. The fact that I now use monitors and the terminals are 2 ft off of the floor only worsens the situation regarding length.
So, long story long, I'm looking for recommendations on 20 ft speaker cables preferably under $1,000 new or used.
Thanks.
63 responses Add your response
I think you will have a hard time finding used 20' cables. I would recommend the Analysis Plus Oval 9. I have the Oval 12's and they are excellent cables. http://www.audiowaveshifi.com/analysisplus.htm |
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I don’t think you will have a problem finding them. Go to the Used cables site. Used cables are a great deal. They generally sell at half price. So your budget would be $2k new... a good category to be in. Six or seven meter interconnects come up now and again. . A better solution is to leave your amp between your speakers and have your rack to the side, eliminating the central obstruction. Get long interconnects. XLR preferred but by no means required for that short of a run. |
You can download the spec PDF. https://www.parts-express.com/Belden-5T00UP-100-ft.-10-AWG-2C-Hi-Flex-Speaker-Cable-CL2-102-1192 |
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Since my system sounds better wired with "zip cord" firing down the long wall with 5 ft behind the speakers and 12 ft behind my listening seat as opposed to being wired with my higher end silver plated copper cables firing down the short wall with my head right up against the rear wall, I'm convinced that room acoustics are far greater of an importance than boutique cables. |
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@devilboy, Checkout Zavfino Nova OCC speaker cable. It is a well balanced, neutral and very musical sounding cable. The built quality is outstanding and anything I’ve seen at this price range. https://zavfinousa.com/collections/speaker-cables/products/nova-speaker-cable?variant=39279551578164 |
Nice system and place. Nice problem to have. But, yes I see the problem. . You have a room dilemma. . It is too bad there isn’t a portable chair solution... in having the speakers on the wide wall... the couch is too close to the rear wall. In the case of putting the speakers against the window the chair is too far back. A real world problem. . I’m not sure I wouldn’t recommend Nordst for the flat wire that could be taped to the floor, or are you going to go under the floor? |
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Hello, I am going to recommend Straightwire for getting a 20 foot speaker cable at $1,000 or less. Most people don’t know this but Straightwire is used in tons of different manufacturers. Very high end stuff. This wire is one of the best value for money speaker cables out their. If you are in the Chicagoland area the Hifi store I buy gear from is a dealer. https://holmaudio.com/ They have a try before you buy. If you are not in the area find your local dealer. They also are the only Ayre Acoustics dealer in Illinois. I just heard the new KEF blades on the Ayre system. It was incredible. The other customers who were auditioning said they wish they never had to leave. It was like having an Audio staycation for a few hours! I hope this helps. |
The best speaker wire I know of for a 20 foot run is the Audioquest Rocket 44 PREMIUM No Frills version from AudioAdvisor. It actually come in just under $1k: https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQPGRO44N&opt=3927|3933|3940|3944 Alternatively, you could do the normal "No Frills", but the PREMIUM has better spades/bananas. If you can't get a combination of spades/bananas that you want, just call them. They will custom make whatever you need. https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQRO44NF&opt=556|561|565|569 Solid core cabling always has done better. The copper on Audioquest may not be OCC, but it's close. I'd rather do this than use high grade stranded OCC copper. |
I have a very well broken in pair of Groneberg cables. They are 22 feet long, cost me $1500.00 for each cable. I’ll give them away for $150.00 for the pair plus shipping. They have the Groneberg spades at both ends and were soldered with Groneberg solder. These were custom made for me. I used them for 8 years or so. If interested, send a PM. |
You can buy 20' sets from Blue Jean Cables (Canare 4S11), Kimber (many of them), Audioquest and I'm sure there are others. I have used all 3 and believe BJC are great for the price and I preferred them to Audioquest Rocket 44. If you would like to 'audition' Kimber and Audioquest (through Crutchfield) have satisfaction guaranteed return policies. |
Get the Duelund 12 gauge wire. No reason to only consider the cotton version as the Polycast sounds fantastic and costs far less. It is a tad bit warmer and full bodied than the cotton. Very close overall. Here is the link. A set will cost you $240 for the wire and $65 for these banana connectors which I strongly recommend. Use WBT 4% silver solder. https://www.partsconnexion.com/KLEI-83432.html https://www.partsconnexion.com/DUELUND-84782.html If you don’t have skills in this area I would be happy to help. If spades are a must, then these are great for the money but not as neutral sounding as KLEI bananas. https://www.musicdirect.com/accessories/audioquest-p10m-premium-spades-ea |
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Ok, but this does not match my reality/experience with cables. Look @ my listed cables (26G solid core copper in single +/- 12' runs with inches between them (+/-). How many of my 26G wires would be required to achieve 12G? @ least a couple dozen - right? I've used these cables with normal speakers (meaning 2 & 3 way speakers) without any noticable loss in the lows/highs. However, once when experimenting I tried 30' single runs to Reynaud Twins MkII's and did notice a slight attenation of the HF's using an Audio Silver Night DH/SET 300B amp as well as with a Musical Fidelity X-A1 amp. I also ran 12' runs to Magnapan SMGA's with both a Pilot 232 PP El84 amp and a Carver 130 reciever (sounded great and this is with single +/- runs of 26G solid core cable). When I had the Audion/Reynaud system up and running Two members of A'Gon who visited thought I had a hidden sub in the room (both used large/expensive full-range speakers). Not a fan of Jeff Day, but then he's not always wrong. How about listing your system in order that I/we can get a grip on where you are coming from? DeKay |
GearIT speaker cables from our friends at Amazon. 25ft 10Ga OFC woven jacket w/Gold plated banana terminations and wire boots will run you a whopping $42.99, delivered if have Prime. I use these with my system and have no complaints. I used the change left over from what was recommended to buy a Hana 'S' moving coil cart. That definitely made an audible improvement. |
Find a way to setup a system with no more than ten feet of wire per channel because that is about as long as you would ever want because of the increased resistance and capacitance over long runs and you will be much more happy with the sound also keep your interconnects under 1 meter for the same reasons. |
@speakermaster In a blind listening test, do you think you could tell the difference between a 10’ speaker cable and a 20’ speaker cable? I’m not disagreeing with you. Physics are physics. I understand that resistance and capacitance change as the length of cable changes. So please don’t take that the wrong way. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. Can anyone tell the difference in a blind test, between a 10-ft speaker cable and a 20-ft speaker cable? Like I said physics are physics so I believe the numbers may change but how much of an audible difference would it make, is my point. |
So another issue has arisen... My zip cord is 16 gauge and 20' long. When I put my hands on the sides of my class A amplifier, I THINK the heat sinks feel warmer than before. Before I could hold my hands on the sides of my amplifier for 10, 15, 20 seconds without having to remove them. Yes it was hot, but it was tolerable. Now, after 5 seconds I think it's a bit warmer and I don't remember it being this hot. I could be wrong. I could just be getting inside my own head but I'm wondering if the added length and the thinner gauge of the zip cord could be a factor in my PERCEIVED increased temperature. |
I have to agree not to worry about arbitrarily short runs. I have always worried about them but never actually heard a difference. . One thing that my trusted audio guy (30+ years) recommended was doing the long run between preamp and amp instead of speakers and amp. Then if I got dual mono amps use really short < less than a meter cables. He said this gets you some real advantage in frequency timing (?) or something like that. I did not go with monoblocks, so didn’t pursue understanding the advantage. If I upgrade to monoblocks I’ll revisit it. I trust him... he has implemented probably a hundred high end systems. These kind of advantages are not likely to be heard in systems < $50K, which always has to be one of the considerations. What level of performance are you at, and going to be, and when? |
devilboy: same guy: So let me get this straight. When someone hears it you cast doubt and demand double-blind proof. But when it feels warm that is okay, no need for a double-blind there. One double you are consistent about: double standards. |
Isn‘ this ultimately a function of the construction of the cable? There are vast differences between single core, litz, twisted pair and shielded vs unshielded cables in terms of resistance and more importantly capacitance. While generally shorter is better, a low capacitance cable running 30‘ is not going to give problems, in any case less so than an equivalent run of RCAs running to feed monoblocks given the significantly higher voltage from the amp. |
I have a 22' pair of Rocket 44 available. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649729725-audioquest-amp-kimber-kable/ |
To answer your question on wether one can hear the difference between 10 and 20 foot lengths of speaker cable. The answer is NO if one is using the proper gauge wire for the system. I use a DIY speaker cable that is 20 feet on one side and 9 feet on the other. Cannot hear the slightest bit of difference. Nobody has or ever will in my system. My cables are a double run of 10 gauge however. 16 gauge is not thick enough (not ideal) when used with a SS amp and speakers of medium efficiency like yours. At 20 foot lengths and with the quality of your gear you should use 12 gauge Duelund. Good affordable option. 16 gauge is holding your system back. |