I was just wondering if there is anybody out there with their speaker cables being more expensive than the speakers itself. Although it may seem unwise or unjustified to have the cables pricier than the speakers as one could always upgrade to a more substantial or better pair of speakers, I always had this crazy idea of having the Nordost Valhallas permanently with my speakers, but then I could get a whole lot more upgrading the speakers rather than the cable.
My speaker cables cost about 1/4 the price of my speakers.
"Do you think a 10K speaker will sound best with $100 cable?"
No, didn't say that.
But If I had a $10K budget to spend on speakers/cables, how would I split that up? $9900 for the speakers and $100 for the cables will give you better sound than $7000 on speakers and $3000 on cables.
Bigbucks, are you saying you would buy 9900 speakers and spend 100 on cables? Your benchmark is less than %2 of speaker price for cables?
I think better speakers deserve better cables. If an expensive cable can make the speaker sound measurable better to the buyer why not spend bigbucks on cables. Do you think a 10K speaker will sound best with $100 cable?
As I mentioned before, cables are components and should be treated and budgeted accordingly.
My Wilson Sophia 2's have a used 600 set of Au 24's connected. At this 600 price it would take 25 pairs to equal the speakers' price. (Speakers were bought new.)
Ryder, you can contact cable company or go to their website www.fatwyre.com and get their phone number. Give them a call. They have a lending library, a huge selection of cables. You can actually borrow any speaker cable that costs more than your speakers, including the Valhalla, and give these cables a try in your own system. This way you don't have to rely on someone elses opinion. You'll see it first hand if it's worth it and what kind of improvement you gained with these cables. The only downside is that the borrow comes in at 5% of the cost of the cable and they keep the money until you buy something from them, which is when they will credit this summ towards your purchase. Hey, if you want to spend money on speaker cables that cost more than your speakers, go ahead. Whatever floats your boat. I personally would have the money go towards a good source component. Ooops...suggestion again....sorry budd....
Using MSRP as the price, my speaker cables are 0.6% of the speakers. At the price I paid, they represent 1.3%.
25% and 30%?...that's CRAZY!
Better off to spend that money on better speakers than expensive cables.
Does ANYONE really believe that cable dollars give you more sound improvement than the same dollars spent on upgrading the speakers?
You really think that $3000 cables and $7000 speakers are better than $100 cables and $9900 speakers? (assuming same speaker manufacturer so that you are moving up in their line)....C'mon!
I would look at a cable like any other component and would not compare to a speaker based on a price. If your system can benenfit from a cable and it happens to be expensive but you can afford it then you buy it.
When I moved up to Audioquest silver speaker cables the improvement was so profound that I never thought negatively about it because they were more expensive than my speakers. No different than if I purchased an expensive cd player that made a big improvement.
"revealing/unforgiving cables"...quite a statement since whatever differences anyone seems to find in cables is still masked if done in a blind test. Just a frame of reference, please continue to enjoy our hobby.
The thought that anyone allows their financial commitment in cables to limit their choice of speaker is obsurd though. Pick you speaker with zip cord, then change cabling as you like.
The primary purpose of this thread is to know if there's anybody who had their speaker cables more expensive than the speakers itself, having no specific liking or preference for the brand of wires and nothing else. Obviously none from what I see so far.
There seem to be little confusion for I'm not particularly seeking advice over here as some people might have suggested. THe suggestion of Valhallas is merely an example that they would be more expensive than the speakers in my case. That can be said with other type of wires and not only Nordost.
Audphile1, there is no particular reason I'm not using Nordost I/c. I am not a die-hard advocate of Nordost.
one thing to keep in mind is that with more revealing/unforgiving cables, be it the ICs or the speaker cables, you will reveal the flaws of your electronics and speakers. Just try to keep the cabling on the same level as the rest of your system. FWIW, my speaker cables cost around 25% of the price of the speakers and I am very happy with their performance.
P.S. You'll probably notice bigger improvement if you upgrade IC from source to pre than you would notice by upgrading speaker cables. Is there a reason why you're not using the Nordost ICs?
You are seeking advice on a somewhat controversial topic: wire. On the whole, I agree with the previous post -- it makes little sense to buy the Valhallas UNLESS you have done an extended audition with your current speakers and system and are absolutely convinced that no other speaker cable will do.
Personally, I believe that there are a number of excellent speaker cables available for far less money than the Valhallas (look in the A-gon archives for the many opinions on this subject). If you really have an excess of money in your budget, I think you'd be best advised to buy substantially better speakers, since the cables are the "frosting on the cake", and then (maybe) upgrade to speaker cables that complement your speakers.
Ryder - that strategy makes no sense at least to me. While Valhalla is a very good cable, it certainly won't work well with every speaker, and therefore you run the risk of limiting yourself speaker selections because you invested a small fortune in wire????????? For example - suppose you heard a pair of Maggie 20's and fell in love with their presentation - Valhalla would definately not make the top 20 list of cables for these speakers, so what do you do - not buy them? Even more interesting, suppose you wanted to use Merlins, but the length of you hideously expensive speaker cable was just right your present speakers, but the binding posts on the Merlins require almost 24" of extra length due to the fact that they are 1/2 way up the back of the speaker. BTW - my speaker cables cost about 35% as much as my speakers and the level of performance I get from my setup with them makes it worth it to MEwith this system. I know the cables I currently use would not be ideal on some speakers, but if I wanted the new speakers, I would just have to figure on the cost of new cables into the "how bad do I want them" arguement. John
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