speaker cable suggestion for Magnepans

Try a pair of Usher Rapport Bi-wires. You can buy them from Hometheaterdoc here on A'gon. They are suppose to be very similar to Acoustic Zen cables. I had a pair on my 1.5's, they are a very nice cable. I think I paid about $240 for them.

I have used Kimber 8TC, Bi-focal X, and Audience Au24s. First of all, I don't think you should bi-wire. I really like the single wire on Maggie 1.6s. Bi-wiring really isn't worth it and I'm sure most Maggie dealers would tell you the same. I tried it with the bi-focals and it was nice, but I prefer the Au24s. As others have stated warm, MUSICAL cables are the best. I really like Dan at Dedicated Audio. He is helpful, honest, and very reasonable. He carries Audience and Cardas. George Cardas is a Maggie user. Dan will probably tell you Cardas over Audience. Regardless, I think either would be great. Good luck with your great speakers

Anyone tried the Synergistic, Purist or Kimber Select cables with 3.6´s?

The Paul Speltz Anti-Cables seem to be all the rage at the moment with Maggie users. Supposedly very neutral, transparent and not very expensive. I have taken a slightly different approach with my 3.6s. I have found that warm and musical components in every part of my system seem to work best with the Maggies, especially in taming the top end. Currently, I am using a 12' run of Cardas Quadlink 5c, bi-wired. I am also using Cardas interconnects and power cords. I have found that the Cardas line works well with Maggies because they are generally soft on the high frequencies and extremely musical in the midrange. Although I do intend to upgrade the speaker cables at some point, I do believe I will stick with the Cardas line. I previously used Audioquest type 4, Audioquest Midnight, and Nordost Solar Wind bi-wired. The Quadlinks are an improvement, but not the end of my own personal search. The Quadlinks provide good bass and a nice midrange, but are a bit rolled off on the top end; overall, I would say they provide a soft sound for the whole frequency range. I bought the Quadlinks used in your price range. As previously stated, speaker cables are on my list of upgrades for the future meaning that the Quadlinks are not the be all and end all of speaker cables as they are not the most transparent of cables, but do provide the musicality that I believe mates well with Maggies. I will also add that in my experience bi-wiring is not that important or that much of improvement with Maggies; in other words, I would suggest that you seek a single run cable of a good transparent musical cable in your price range as opposed to having your heart set on a lessor cable that must be bi-wired. Although my system has much room for improvement, I am extremely happy with the sound of my system at the moment and the 1.6s are a great speaker (I used to have a pair). Let us know what cable you eventually find works well with your Mags.

soundstring is a fantasic neutral cable... it isnt seen used that often, but a true giant killer..

I use Goertz Alpha-Core MI-2's on my Maggies and love them. I found them to be better than the Tara Labs Air 2's I used previously and better than the Kimber 4TC's I used before that.

I second the Kimber. I used them on my Maggies for yeays. I even rewired the crossovers with it and got great results.

You are in the same boat I was in needing long 15' runs. The first decent cable I bought was Kimber 4TC. Kimber 4 & 8TC may not have a big glamour aura in the world of audio nervosa, but there is a reason they are consistently mentioned over & over as a good choice. The 4TC is a very decent cable with no aural sins of overt commision. I then wanted something better and bought the Analysis Plus Oval 9's. Yep, that was better, noticeably more detail, airiness, ambience, etc. Then I tried biwiring the 4TC and Oval 9. Better still, but not by the margin that the Oval 9 improved over the 4TC. I'd originally thought I'd sell the Kimber to pay for the Oval 9's, but I ended up keeping both and wound up with $1000 worth of wire driving $1700 speakers. I guess the point of all this is that your Maggies are very revealing of anything downstream. I'd suggest buying used to maximize bang for the buck. The Goertz cable mentioned is a favorite product line of many Maggie users. Kimber and Analysis Plus sound great, and I'm sure there are choices that you can pick up from Discovery, Music Metre, and others that are neutral, easy to live with choices that will do a good job. At your price point though, I think you'll do better to get a quality single wire and use a short length of quality cable as a jumper. The one exception I'm aware of might be the really good deals out there on closeouts of PS Audio's biwires. I've seen good PS Audio biwire cable in your length going for about $400.00. Good Luck.

I'm using Signal Silvers (single biwire)with my 1.6's. Very smooth, no grain, really allows the nice tight Maggie base to shine in my system. You could probably get these new at close to the upper end of your price range and give them a try.

I use Tara TFA Return Phase II with mine. A ten foot pair from Cable Company costs about $100. Love them.

With the money saved, buy yourself a better quality digital interconnect between cd and preamp.

R.

my cable runs will be fairly lengthy -- about 15'...i would most likely purchase used cables, topping my budget at $400.00...also, do you think bi-wiring is necessary for this speaker?

I am extremely happy with an 8ft pair of Alpha Core Goertz.

That's hard to answer without knowing how long your cables need to be. I haven't found my 1.6's to be fussy about wire. They have responded well to cheap stuff and the more expensive, revealing more detail and other positive virtues as I've used better cable. Unless you are using short runs or planning on purchasing used cable, you are likely to shortchange your system's potential at the $200-400 price point. You've got very good equipment and your system is no better than your weakest link.