Please Help Me Choose a Speaker Cable


I need to replace my existing speaker cable setup with something more wife-friendly. I am currently bi-wiring with Audioquest Type 4 (tweeters) and Aperature 16 (woofers). About 20 years ago I bought the wires off a spool and had them built w/ banana plugs. You can see a pic of the offensive cable setup on my system page (https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6318). I put a nice jacket over the cables hoping that would be enough to clean up the messiness.

What I want is something of equal quality that will also fit inside my VTI speaker stands. The stands have a 3/4 inch opening and the 4 banana plugs don’t fit through. I want to continue bi-wiring but would go single if the sound was just as good on a different set of cables. A bi-wired cable terminated with two spades at the amp side would fit through the stands (2 banana plugs might fit also).

I don't want to spend more than $600 and need a 10-12 ft. pair. There appear to be a lot of options on Agon right now. I see names I know are pretty good like Audioquest and Kimber. If I were to pick one I would probably go with the Audioquest Rocket 88 or CV-8 or maybe the PS Audio Xstream. Maybe there are better options for less? Will the cables in this price range be good as or better than what I have? If not, maybe I should try terminating the two cables into one set of banana plugs on the amp end to see if that fits.  I guess I would prefer spades because they would be more flush to the speakers, thus a little cleaner looking.  

Thanks.
treebeard1
Sorry but I love to stir the pot! The wires looked "clean" from pics and I don't know what the big deal is so here's my two cents.Solution # 1 dedicated listening room. Solution #2 mail order bride!
Lol. I'll need to do some research on the mail order bride. I've heard good things ;)
Go to Parts ConneXion look at 12 ga Dueland wire, don't use connectors or banana plugs. Just twist the ends and wrap the bare conductors around the  amp and speaker connectors.
I have come to believe this article as an excellent recommendation!!!!

I've used and played with a few & his comments ring " true"

http://audiophilereview.com/cables/5-cable-combos-that-wont-break-the-bank.html

give it a read...........

Jeff


in this price range from Audioquest and the likes, nothing is worth !!
Nothing will come close to beat the Flexigy 8 from River cable; ridiculously good for the price. Tried and tested against several supposed high-end mainstream cables, and would put it up against those costing 10 to 20 times more.
I've got a true shotgun bi-wire setup using 2 single wire runs of CV-8. I think this configuration represent a bargain among name-brand cables. I suggest preemptively replacing the batteries in the DBS packs.