Who makes budget speaker cables which are truly “good” or “exceptional” in quality?
Beside the excellent low-cost heavy 10-12awg proposed by Van Damme, Belden, Monoprice, Douglas,etc... I would say Canare 4s8 is a best buy. It is 13awg, so a little more resistive, but it seems, it feels like it makes my LS50s sound a bit smoother, for the better. Impeccable quality of construction, PE insulation, starquad, flexible, made in Japan. |
For years I was quite happy with Auvio 12 AWG premuim speaker wire ($0.48/ft; but, alas, no longer widely available). My weakness is that I spend too much time on these forums and eventually give in and buy something of questionable value. Recently I bid $80 on a $1,200 pair of Zu Lubtec cables. I think the improvement is worth $80. I'm glad I didn't spend $1,200! |
Blue Jeans Cables Belden 5T00UP 10 AWG (white or gray jacket) with their Locking Banana plugs that are Ultrasonic welded which allows it to literally fuse the copper wire to the brass banana plug body without using the heat of conventional gas or arc welding, for a tremendously strong physical connection, low contact resistance, and low susceptibility to corrosion. Custom made to your length requirements its the best value in cables out there. |
I use the lower level Morrow Audio for my interconnects. I’ve used Kimber Kable in the past and really likes those as well for both interconnects and speaker. My current speaker cables I made and I’ve been very happy with them. Purchased the stretch sheathing to jazz them up and they look and sound really good. |
Cables do make a difference and I can usealy hear the difference...the problem is I cannot decide which one I prefer. After a while the benefit aquired tends to minimise and the start noticing that I have lost something...there is always a compromise somewhere....I prefer the one's that does,t add or remove something and those are usealy standard mid priced ones.... |
To me and my opinion, cables are very important , depending on speakers and equipment . Simple rule high end equipment require high end cable , cheap equipment you won’t hear a thing . And depends what kind of sound do you prefer, because cable in the system are like tuning the instrument . I like acrolink or esoteric, of course you might not like that sound . best regards Mark |
Signal Cables - all of their stuff sounds great, and beats competitor products costing over 5x as much. I have used their interconnects, speaker cables and power cords. Most recently, I swapped out my PS Audio AC-12 (a $1,200 power cord) for their best power cord (which cost about $250.) I also use their connector for my massive REL sub. Their speaker cable is my favorite product; it's the best value I've ever seen. |
Last week, I went to pick up a subwoofer from a guy that I had bought it from via an online forum. He lives in a huge huge mansion in an exclusive neighborhood. He makes a living by designing hi end cable for the Pentagon. I thought he he would be the perfect person to pop the question: are expensive speaker cable and audio interconnects worth the money? He said that for high frequencies in military applications that are beyond what the human ear can hear, yes. For home audio, they make no difference. Cheap Radio Shack cable is fine. |
Pick up some oxygen free 12 gauge at Monoprice http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2747 and lay them in the Listening Room along with any other manufacturer’s cables and if you don’t hear the difference then put the money you save towards better speakers, or back in your pocket. |
Tried many speaker cables over the years but only in the past twenty years did I begin to take notice that there are differences. Nordost where OK but I moved to Supra after a couple of years which I liked better. However after trying Clear Day that settled it for me I went straight too a purchase of their Double Shotguns ......... never looked back and have no intention to look beyond |
Look up Douglas Connection. www.douglasconnection.com. Talk to Doug who is a Vietnam veteran. He made and supplied all of the cables for my high end sound system. He is very knowledgeable and can provide recommendations for whatever your budget can handle. |
In my limited experience, Kimber 4PR offer a good value for the price. I have been using them since 2001 (first on Vandersteen 1Cs, now on Ohm Walsh 2000s). But I cannot really compare them since it has been so long since I tried anything else. I will also be looking to upgrade at some point. My chief candidates are Kimber 12TC, Morrow (not sure which model yet) and Audioquest (again, not sure of which model). But I am in no rush as the 4PR speaker cables seem to be doing a good job. |
I made two pairs for bi-amping my speakers using the instructions from http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-speaker-cable.html that I found in another thread. I am pleased with the sound quality improvement. |
douglas_schroeder I cut the ends off a set of cables to "upgrade" to WBT Next Gen Banana plugs (bad mistake). Bryston, I believe, epoxies the banana plugs to ensure no vibrations enter the cavity where the conductor meets the plug. Anyway, I found four 12AWG(measured) conductors are used. Two are twisted for the plus side and two to the negative side. I am not sure who makes the cable for Bryston, but on one site, it was suggested Wireworld does the actual manufacturing. For further info just call 1 800 632 8217 for a Bryston rep. |
Anticables! Speaker, Interconnect, and Power cords Check out their testimonials and reviews. Paul Speltz does not advertise; depends on word of mouth. I have used many very expensive cables in my system, but Anticables have, to my ears, easily bettered all of them. You can buy a cable, put it in your system and if you don't like it, you can send it back for a full refund. Some say these are simply magnet wires--totally untrue. But again, very reasonable prices and a money back guarantee. How can you lose?? Lots of good info on their website to ponder. |
I use Mogami 2921 in a biwire config for speaker wire for both my systems with quality copper banana BFAs. I also use Mogami 2549 with KLEI copper harmony RCAs or Furutech 126g RCAs. Take5 Audio or Douglas Connection built my RCAs and I got the 2921 bulk from a pro audio store and had my local stereo shop terminate it. I would like to try the Clear Day cables. |
Any quality cable of consistent construction and sufficient thickness will do. The companies foisting 1K+ speaker cables are simply scammers. On Audio Asylum someone was seriously recommending the purchase a machine that burns in speaker wire and interconnects, and determines the proper direction of hookup. When I commented that it was counter to common sense I was vilified. |
After some of the usual agonizing 😫 I just sprung for an Audioquest Carbon HDMI Cable for my new LG Smart HDTV and LG Blu Ray player. The Carbon has 5% silver connectors and controlled for directionality. Oh, my! The Carbon cost 5 times more than what I paid for the LG player, which was almost new. Was that wrong? 😳 |
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I have purchased from Signal Cable http://www.signalcable.com/ both balance (XLR) and RCA . prices very good for high quality cable. Also can do custom.. use em with my bryston 4bsst2 and Marantz AV7701 |
I had Speltz Anticables ($70) for many years and always returned to them after using Crimson, Morrow MA-4 & 5, DNM, even Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ at $1400. The Speltz was always more live sounding and transparent until MG Audio Planus III (at $1495). They were truly transformational in my system. Later on Amadi Maddie Signature had slightly deeper bass and airier highs for even cheaper $600. I now use Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme with their jumpers. I get even more powerful bass and more dynamics and a fuller sound. They are about $630. The more expensive cables were bought on Agon for about 1/2 price. The Dueland 16 ga. are used by a couple of friends that used to have very expensive cables. The Dueland's are about $120. |
Audio Art makes great speaker cables. You order it direct and can specify different connectors. Here is a tip, the least expensive connectors sound just as good and keep the price down. I use them in an all McIntosh system and are very happy. In my main rig I use Groneberg Quattro Reference speaker cables. You can order these from Klaus at Odyssey. He makes them to order and also uses it in all his higher price products. |
The best cables I have found were my Kimber PBJ's. Over the years I have tried about 6 or 7 different manufactures. Not a whole bunch but they were all budget IC under $100 a pair. I believe the PBJ may have slightly more as they are priced today. I purchased mine approximately 15 years ago. There is a difference for sure but we all have our own tastes. Order 3 or 4 cables on Amazon,try and keep what you like. The only draw back is they do not carry many of the small cable manufactures. Nothing wrong with cables from the big manufactures though, like Audioquest, Kimber, etc. You may find cable companies who will allow you to return cables if you do not like them. Good luck! Have fun doing it! |
