Speaker Cables...Opinions....

Interesting insights....Thanks all...

I don't see how a manufacturer can specify a minimum and maximum cable length with out knowing anything about the gauge and capacitance.

Dave

Put the monoblocks behind the speakers, with the rear of the amps facing the speakers. The idea is to get the binding posts on the amps as close as possible to those on the speakers, allowing you to use as little speaker cable as possible. If the binding posts on the speakers are near the ground, you may be able to get away with only a few inches of cable.

I've taken this to the natural end and modified my tube monoblocks so that the output transformer is wired directly to the speaker binding posts. Hence my "speaker cable" is non-existent. The best cable is no cable.....

Avguy, I was wondering about possible improvements to my front end. I know these are dated. Glad to hear there is significantly more possible. I was onsidering a one box solution. Maybe esoteric? Although I beleive my transport is still viable so maybe a DAC is the way to go...Thanks

When you get around to it you will find your digital is dated---I owned those dcs pieces you have 7/8 years ago. Then I bought Audiomeca Enkainthus(dac/only) put lots of money back in my pocket,when I sold the dcs stuff. That was a pretty huge step forward. I have since gone higher up the dig. chain and it gets so much better. A speaker can only sound as good as the source you feed it.

Thanks, Tvad. I'm glad I sought advice here. Good info...

Muralman, Not sure what the the ribbons are and where to get them, anxious to try. Bob R., Good suggestion to contact Plinius. Thanks Everyone....Ed

I agree with Koegz. If you have monos, back them close to your speaker terminals, and use ribbons. You needn't use silver. Copper sounds great. The cost should be below $25 a pair. No commercial wire will surpass a short wide thin ribbon.

Two very different and interesting opinions. Thank you both. John, I am in the process of investigating your suggestions for Jade and Stealth. Both options could work but Dreams are way over my budget. Possibly the Petites. The Jades are within my budget. Koegz, I always like to try the DIY approach. What sources exist for this wire?....

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rcabl&1200714157&read&d14&zzlDcstep&&

i don't know what cables have to do with music taste. but i have 800d's powered by mono krell evo 600's and i have found nothing that sounds better then 4(each channel) strands of 23gage 99.9995 pure silver wire with striped ends(no connectors, just siver treatment if you like), run bi-wired with a strand to each post. mine are 24inchs in lenth. i have listen to many $5000.00 plus speaker cables(including the new synergistic tesla) none sounded better or more powerful. not that it matters, i listen to mostly classic and new rock. don't get caught up in the hype and give it a try, then you can put your money where it realy makes a diferense, like an RCM.

I'd recommend Jade Audio Vermeil speaker cables. FWIW, the designer, JD MacRae is also using a pair of Plinius SA-102's in his reference system.
If you are looking for something more in the mainstream, I'd recommend a pair of Stealth Hybrid MLT's, these are also excellent cables, and you'll have a better chance of finding a used pair.

As for bi-wiring, I think it offers some benefit if you can afford it. In my experiences though, I have found better performance from a single pair of higher quality speaker cables than by splitting the cost on two lesser speaker cables. In other words, I'd go for a single pair of Stealth Dream Petite's before I'd consider bi-wiring with a pair of Hybrid MLT's. If you have even more to spend, I'd go with a single pair of Dreams before bi-wiring with the Dream Petite's. If you can afford to bi-wire with Stealth Dreams, go for it dude!!

Of course, as always, YMMV.

Cheers,
John