Speaker cables price varies greatly whether you want 3 feet or 6 feet.
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I have 30.2XDs. I've used a few different speaker cables including Nordost and landed with Zavfino OCC cables (a Canadian company). Their conductor cleaning and break in process is unique, and they sound great right off the bat. I use their Nova cables. $390US for 2.5M pair (1/2 what the Nordost cables cost me and much better). You could step up from me to the Prima MK II's and be well under budget. |
I have used a # of under 1k speaker cables with my 30.1's including Audioquest and for the money I like the little known and much maligned Mapleshade speaker Cables. I don't like all their stuff but the cables are real bright sounding. I use some after market bananas and for the money I just keep coming back to using these. I happen to have the mid-rangy ones. |
Morrow Audio SP 6 ($1,000) or SP 7 ($1,500)…..I have the excellent SP6……50% sale now cuts price in half. I currently am running Anti-cables 4.2 Flex $460 a pair, but not yet broken in…..but showing to be a great match with my Denafrips stack and Buchardt Audio S400 MKII speakers. Also have a pair of Zavfino OCC cables I’ll start to roll in a few months out….yeah it’s a audiophile sickness |
So few companies hint at why their cables are different than the competition so there’s almost no way to establish value based on manufacturing difficulty, material scarcity, labor, R&D, etc. I’d feel like a fool if what went into a $100 cable is basically the same as what into a $1000+ cable!! Too much price variation from a really basic technology to feel like it’s any more than gouging….. |
Please share which $100 cable has the same stuff that is in $1,000+ cables. I would love to buy this cable and save a bunch of money. I am assuming that's the magic cable you use? What are your current speaker cables? Thank you!
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@boostedis , Agreed. I’m not saying cables don’t sound different. But I’ve cut open and have seen several cut open/disassembled cables and it’s hard to justify some of the prices charged. I changed bananas to spades on a set of Analysis Plus cables that I like. The parts quality and wire appeared high quality. $600 more quality than brand x? Hmmmm. But if four figure cables are in the budget, just enjoy. |
@audiocanada If you've spent any time at all on forums like this reading about speaker cables, interconnects, etc. then you know the debate regarding expensive versus inexpensive or moderately priced cables & interconnects is the quickest way to start a fight in an empty bar. Bottom line (based upon scientific measurements & double-blind studies): One needn't spend lots of money on speaker cables to obtain the best audio fidelity. Just determine the length you need, which will determine the proper gauge that should be used, and select a quality made product from any number of great cable manufacturers out there. AudioQuest, Monoprice and Monster are 3 I've used, over the years, that have been just fine. However, there are many more. |
@audiocanada P.S. Make sure you have quality, tight-fitting connectors at the business ends (e.g. gold). Personally, I much prefer spades over bananas at both ends, if possible, and I also prefer soldered (i.e. high-quality solder) ends. |
@oldaudiophile Notice did not mention sound quality as I believe that is the starting point for the bar fights! My response has nothing to do with if you believe or not, but rather did the company that made the product need 5 figures to come up with a decent cable? I’m not going to bring up the SN word but at some point you have to feel you’ve been had! If money is no object then spend to your heart’s content, but these companies should at least be able to say what methodology they used to develop their products beyond just basic resistance, capacitance, inductance, etc….. |
@mihorn Whats their secret?! There are a LOT of companies working on this problem, so what is their secret sauce?! |
I am using Soundstring Gen1 Tricormaxial cable and could not be happier. They are now defunct but you can try locating a brand new old stock which was what I did or get them second hand. Very musical and non fatiguing. My local dealer still use them for their demo setups despite carrying much more expensive brands, that really speaks to their quality and value for money. I used to rock Belden Studio 814 for my main setup which was also very good and punched way above their price points. They are now serving my secondary setup consisting of a pair of cheap NHT C1s. The Belden adds more lushness and weight to the sound though this is at the expense of slightly smaller soundstage compared to branded offering. I believe they would sound great with Harbert 30.2. I've heard the Harbeth and did think they could benefit from more body in their sound. |