@mastering92 The cable itself should not have any sound characteristics.
When you talk about "cable synergy" in a system, that does not exist.
If I were you I would test 2 pairs - 1 cheap and well built cable, and a more expensive cable for your choice. You should be listening for transparency. Does any octave sound elevated after a cable swap?
Mogami, Canare, and Belden are the typical standard for Pros.
If you can tell a difference and one cable sounds better, that's fine. @mastering92 What cables have you actually tested yourself, and with what amplifiers and speakers? Can you describe the listening results for each test case? |
@nonoise
"Stranded copper has always smeared the sound a bit too much for my liking. It has a very pleasing, but inaccurate, warmth to it that obscures detail and smokes the air, so to speak..." The first time I used really good OCC Crystal copper (or silver plated OCC) interconnects and then went back to the my prior OFC stranded copper cables, did I finally realize how much "smearing" had been going on prior. Once I was able to compare and contrast these two types back-to-back, the difference became much more obvious than I would have ever imagined. |
Speaking of OFC vs. OCC, and switching to "interconnects" and different metallurgy types, over the past year (on and off) I’ve been testing two different pairs. Using the same brand, same internal design, same connectors, and the primary difference is the type and purity of the copper inside ofc vs occ. Its been a really interesting test of "wire" types.
My speakers and amp setup is as revealing as I’d ever want it to be. This truly helps to realize differences when comparing back to back.
OFC:
When swapping back and forth, you can actually hear more grain and less clarity and less high frequency extension with the OFC version. Not bad, just different. Hard to believe and true in my setup fwiw. Some times at first, OFC does sound fuller until the amps are warmed up then its more comparable with both types in terms of grain. Does seem more plump, and warmer with a mid-bass bump at times. Sound stage is less deep and slightly more forward with the OFC too. Sounds nice for different reasons short term, not long term for me. I always go back to OCC. Since they sound this way, and I don’t mind to start listening sooner, before the amps are fully warmed up with these. After full warmup with my tube amps, the ofc can become a little veiled over.
OCC:
Then, swapping back to the OCC version, instantly the upper frequency extension reappears, the sound stage is literally 3x deeper and 2x larger, more clear, with more transparency and detail in the right places, yet never harsh (after 200hrs on the cables, no joke). I notice I prefer for my tube mono amps to warm up a little longer before I can enjoy the occ cables to their fullest potential. The warmth and lower bass starts to kick in once the amps and transformers are fully warmed up and saturated. Goes well with good tube amps for sure and would likely not want these with any edgy or harsh SS amps. Lets it all through in a different way than my former silver-over-copper cable, without edge, never over-emphasizing any part of the frequency range. Kinda neutral I guess.
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@nonoise Hehehe. Yeah, I know and hear ya. :)
Is "too transparent" something you'd consider as a valid observation or consideration? Well, its something I wrestled with when I first got my OCC cables new. Thankfully it all settled in after an unbelievable 200+hrs. AP calls for 300hr. I would have never believed it myself unless I had gone through it first hand. Argh, was kind of nauseating along the way with light at the end of the tunnel, eventually.
As for "going again", now I kind of want to start testing and comparing different brands using OCC only, looking for any sound variance with designs. Why? To try to make any sense of this wire voodooo magic.
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... Years ago, I think it was Stereophile or The Absolute Sound, just for fun, went to Home Depot and got a 12 gauge extension cord and threw it into the mix. It was actually really good. So, for my let's see... $5 or 6K system crammed in my office it is great. But for my main system with Sonus Faber Amati Traditional speakers and All Audio Research Reference stuff, it doesn't cut it. While I was building some speakers using White Supra for internal wiring , and using Cardas bi-wire or Apature or AudioQuest for my main speakers over the years, thought I'd give the "Home Depot" wire a test while waiting for parts. Turned out to be a waste of money for a test. Tried both, the extension cord -and- the brown roll wire test. Neither were really any good, kinda grainy, not smooth. Would be okay for a cheap 3rd system with veiled over speakers or something. The whole "just go to Home Depot" and get some wire is a joke or its good enough for a basic system at best. If it makes no difference on a system compared to other decent OFC or OCC cables, either the system itself is mediocre grade or there is a hearing problem going on with the listener if they are unable to discern a difference. Best of luck. |
@cakyol
I can GUARANTEE you that NOBODY on earth will EVER be able to tell the difference between that wire and something costing 100s of dollars per foot... Yes, read all of it and totally disagree with polar opposite experiences, is why I replied. Tested various (obsessively) many times, all sorts of different capacitance and inductance types, spool, self made, and professional made, single and double runs, bi-wire. In a truly revealing and transparent system, good ears can hear a difference. Have several colleagues with the same conclusions with more than 50yrs experience each. Some of which are 40-50 year techs in the industry. For your ears you can guarantee anything you wish. Not for my ears. Maybe you can get rich if you can convince people otherwise. Best of luck. You won't sway me, been there and done that too long. Thanks. |
@jjss49
IMO whatever you do, recommend NOT using the home depot brown spool wire some people talk about, it's garbage for internal speaker wiring too. Super grainy result from it in my setups. Not helping you with your color-coded black/red wire desire, I've been using the White Supra for over a decade in my builds (same as Omega does today, reportedly), yes you can go with thinner gauge with the tweeter. Cardas and Analysis Plus use to offer some nice internal wire too, yet I've only stuck with the Supra knowing its signature. As others have said, its not as bright or detailed and its a preference thing I guess. As for speaker terminal binding posts, it varies for me using the generic ones Madisound sells for lower grade builds and Cardas binding posts for the nicer builds works nicely. Try the junk ones and the good ones, solder them on with silver solder and you may hear a difference. Your experiences may vary. Good Luck. |
@jjss49
+1 @pesky_wabbit mentioned Partsconnexion, another good option. I had forgotten to mention them as I have not bought internal wire from them in a while. Also It looks like they are selling the Cardas black/red wire again, including Ultra Pure Copper, Multi-Stranded Litz Hook-up Wire if compelled. |
