Who makes budget speaker cables which are truly “good” or “exceptional” in quality?
A dealer of mine convinced me into buying Analysis Plus speakers cables that I have enjoyed for a few years now. I noticed some other companies making speaker cables for many multiples of $1k and wondered how many truly good companies are making budget speaker cables nowadays? Who are they? What are the prices? I had Blue Jean speaker cables some years back and thought they were as good as the Analysis Plus brand I have now. What is your brand? .
I guess that this is open to anything if cable deniers are welcome. There is such a thing as Fire Alarm cable.
It is bare (good) solid copper (good) with polypropylene insulation (good) and a PVC jacket, which it would be better to remove to lessen the capacitance. It comes in gauges like 18, 16, and 14. It has the scientific characteristics that you would want in a hi-fi cable, at zip-cord prices.
It costs about a quarter a foot. You just have to find cable that is polypropylene (some of it is vinyl) and a distributor that will sell you less than a full roll.
Hi, I have tried about six different speaker cables across a wide price spectrum, including the OP's Analysis Plus cables. I spent a great deal of time researching speaker cables and found it to be quite frustrating, noting there are two camps, one that says there is nothing special about speaker cable with the exception of resistance, and the other pointing out why very special designs and materials can and will make a difference. During my testing of different cables I found myself in-between the two camps. Different speaker cables DO SOUND DIFFERENT! Solid core, high strand count, low strand count, silver plating, braiding, super special copper, dielectric, etc.. The most important thing I learned was that price was NOT correlated to performance! In fact, the most expensive cable I tried did not perform well in my system, there was a lack of bass. My adventure led me to select either a Kimber 8TC or Blue Jeans 10 White made by Belden for Blue Jeans, 5T00UP. The choice was simple, the Blue Jeans cable for around $50.
I will close by saying during my testing of different cables it was a bit frustrating because the differences in SQ that I noted were small. In some cases very small. I would also like to note that companies like Kimber and Belden post the specifications of their cables and don't hide behind any claims of suspect technology. So, yes, I would recommend Blue Jeans cable 10AWG/White cable if your priority is price vs. performance.
very happy with Blue Jean Cables - even made in US - Seattle - I have a pair of their RCA interconnects and locking banana plug speaker cables - I save a ton of $ on the latter by terminating them myself. Great banana plugs and online instructions.
Anyone else tried Knukonceptz Karma 8 guage with their bananas, they sound great to me and very low cost for what you get. Their interconnects also work very well.
I made myself a pair of cables using DH Labs Q-10 bulk wire and DH Lab's locking banana plugs (nice quality). They aren't dirt cheap, but a pair of 8ft cables is under $400 with DH Lab's 10% coupon. These were a big improvement over the Audioquest and Nordost cables I was using. The Q-10 cables won't be a match for every system, but in my system (Parasound JC-5 and Goldenear Tritons) they provide a nice smooth sound with excellent bass and great imaging. A step up in clarity compared to the Audioquests (Mammoth) and a much fuller, richer sound than the Nordost (Red Dawn).
I replaced my Cardas Golden Reference ICs with those from Audio Envy. The difference is highly palpable ... the Audio Envy ICs are very well-balanced and lack the mid-bass bloat of the Cardas GR.
I have tried all the usual suspects under about $1500. Best buys are Clear Day for rock/pop and AudioArt for acoustic music . AudioArt harmonics are good at any price .
Never having spent big $$$ on cables, I would state that going from your usual twisted copper ala Monster etc. to belden 9497 hook up wire made an easily audible improvement. Tinned stranded copper in a twisted configuration similar to the Deuland wire mentioned on the first page.
To try this will cost you next to nothing! Go to a store like Big R and buy say 40 feet of 12 ga solid core furnace wire , cut them to to 10 ft each, (this is very stiff solid core wire) kinda ugly poor man james bond thing here, however to date i have not heard a better pair of stranded wires out there that sounds as good, considering this test will only cost you 13.00 -15.00 ? why not try it, im running them on rogue stereo 100 amp/ rogue perseus magnum preamp (rolled to nos holland amperex bugel boys) and morrow ma-1 solid core interconnects for playstation 1 ( cd duties ) and morrow ph-1 solid core 24 ga from a vpi scout 2 w/ AT art 9 mc cart, im done trying to improve sound, im very pleased with this system and can finally relax and listen to the music for what it was intended , enjoyment ! not evaluating, always evaluating for the next big giant killer. just my 2 cents on speaker wire world of sports.
I've currently got speaker cables from Wireworld, Totem Acoustics and Audioquest.(IC's from Morrow, bluejean and Signal Cable) Originally when I discovered the benefits of good cables I gravitated towards the smaller internet direct companies, thinking that they could give me the same performance for hundreds less. That was my bias.
But I've found that while the Blue Jeans, Morrow and Signal Cables etc of the market place do make good cables, they also make cables that are nothings special with their entry level stuff.
I just bought some speaker cables that are the best I've ever had, and they were well under $1000. I've never even heard cables that go for big money, but if the Audioquest Rocket 44 are any indication, the expensive stuff must sound amazing.
After only a few days, the 44's are very impressive. The pinpoint imaging puts the vocal in a single point source instead of a generalized area of about 18 inches. The detail, imaging and SQ all took a big jump over the old cables, Wireworld Oasis 7. The speakers are not really expensive, Totem Rainmaker, and I wasn't sure what the point would be of getting higher end cables for a budget speaker. I should mention the 44's are biwire, so I took the jumpers off the Rainmakers.
I actually bought the 44's because they were sold off by a dealer who was closing down, and I paid less than half of retail. I thought I'd try them out then flip them for a tidy profit. But these cables are going nowhere.
So they've kind of reintroduced me to what the traditional distribution/retail brands can do. For around $440 for an 8 foot pair, the Rocket 44 are worthy of consideration. And they don't take 500 hours to break in as the Morrow cables I've got do.
I bought Clear Day Cables Double Shotguns about 6 years ago and absolutely loved them. Then, recently I decided to try Dueland 14G wire as I had heard good things and they are relatively cheap. At first I thought they were better than the Clear Days, but after a few weeks of listening I realized they lacked the air and bloom of the Clear Days. I have now switched back and will not be going back. Contact me if you want to buy the Duelands from me.
I second a recommendation for Blue Jeans cable. Fantastic value for what you get. Have their speaker cable, digital and interconnects and couldn’t be happier. Are there better cables out there? Of course, but you would be spending quite a bit more to best the sound.
@dynaquest4 And then they upgrade to the next more expensive offering, and after the recommended burn in time...even more amazed and shocked at how awesome their system sounds cause of freakin wires. I'm not doubting difference in sound but the hype is top notch.
travbrow sez: "The problem I see is manufacturers trying to BS...audiophiles..."
As you can see from the hundreds, if not thousands, of posts throughout this forum, praising the "jaw-dropping" improvements to be has from exotic cables, the BS works.
If you don't mind dealing in BS, there is plenty money to be made.
I'll admit I enjoyed experimenting with cables especially the DIY cables I made. The problem I see is manufacturers trying to BS people or take advantage of an audiophile's pursuit of improvements. The never ending more expensive "upgrades" these cable manufacturers push. Some with hard to believe claims plus the 200 hour burn in baloney.
I have a test CD that plays a tone to demagnatize the cables. I play it every once in a while and not sure if it does anything. Also it's not hard or doesn't take exotic material or designs to reject noise in my opinion. Also, don't forget all your recordings are made with plan old cheap shielded pro cables. I find it hard to believe much can be gained from over the top expensive cables vs common sense aproach affordable types.
Thats just what I think, right or wrong, some would agree some not so much.
“Now if I feel like tweaking, I’ll mess with room treatments, speaker position tweaks and room correction tweaks. Stuff that’s scientifically sound. If you think a length of wire makes significant difference to you, more power to you.”
Trouble is not only does the type of metal, purity of metal, thickness of the metal, dielectric material, or whether the cable is cryod, but also which direction the cable is inserted into the system. Infuriatin’ ain’t it? “Stuff that’s are scientifically sound.” Good one! English major, right?
@travbrow - Your last post was quite reasonable. My point above in response to your earlier post was simply that, as JGH used to say, "if you haven't heard it, you don't have an opinion." Every system, room, ears, and brain is different. YMMV, so I try to avoid statements like "this Radio Shack wire is better than any other wire ever made in the history of electronics." And there is a lot of science to wire technology, although not all claimed wire science is good science. Rejection of RFI and EMI alone is a good reason to invest at least a little in well-designed wires, IMHO.
If you can justify the expense of trying exotic cables and enjoy it there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s your time and money. I have some "budget" VH AUDIO cables and DIY stuff and did try some more expensive stuff and decided my budget stuff is good enough for me. Half my gear has stock power cords and don’t feel I’m missing out.
Now if I feel like tweaking, I’ll mess with room treatments, speaker position tweaks and room correction tweaks. Stuff that’s scientifically sound. If you think a length of wire makes significant difference to you, more power to you.
Isn’t Mogami cables designed and marketed for Pro Audio? I certainly don’t want to get into or start a debate on cables used for Pro Audio vs Home HiFi. In same context, I bet @travbrow wouldn’t be able to discern any audible differences between audio cables from Monoprice outlet and Mogami?
+9(?) for Signal Cable. I'm running the Silver Resolution all around - XLR ICs and speaker cable. Truth be told, I like them more than a well known 'big name' cable at more than two or more times the price.
I happened to make the observation last week that of the 800 or so listings for pre-owned cable products on US Audio Mart, only one of them was for a set of the ICs. Granted, market share needs to be factored, but methinks that says something. Make of it what you will.
chrisr; 10awg solid core is in the (minimum) area where it starts to happen, the amp seems to grow or open up, specially in the low end. Bi- or tri- wiring improves the top end further.
Have tried many different brands of cables in my system but the ones I like best are some made with Western Electric 16ga. Wire. They have a nice smooth sound. I use these on my Infinity IRS Betas.
I just put my belden 5t00up 10awg back in my system after toying with some 13awg starquad for a few weeks, and wow wow, the sound is more dynamic, open, clear, just as if a little more amp power and control capability just got unleashed. Wire length is in the 10-11ft neigborhood. Speakers are 6 ohms nominal. Quality copper and heavy gauge is hard to surpass!
I discovered (step by step) how to make the ultimate no-loss speakercables back in the 90`s. The thruth is so simple that most "educated" audiophiles will not believe it. this also made me rebuild my powerap, replacing the trafos++
Thick(!) clean solid-core copper all the way is the solution and cleaner, opener 3D and a lot better Dynamics are the result.
None of the "high-end" cable companies are even close to do this right.
Cables are a simple matter. If you can hear a difference, you can then decide what you prefer and how much or how little you are willing to spend.
If not, stick with Monoprice or the equivalent.
I once auditioned Magnepan 1.7's at a high-end audio salon. The speaker cables they were using cost in excess of $5000.00. The salesman told me "If you think this sounds good, wait until you hear the $35,000 versions of these cables."
Steven at Straightwire! Great customer service, honest and superb product. Endeavors to know you and your system and what you listen to. Always use them in future.
You're very welcome. I'd try them myself but I can't used spades on my integrated due to the 5 way binding posts (can't get a decent grip) so bare ends and bananas are all I can use.
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