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Who thinks $5K speaker cable really better than generic 14AWG cable?

I recently ordered high end speaker, power amp, and preamp to be installed in couple more weeks. So the next search are interconnect and speaker cable. After challenging the dealer and 3 of my so called audiophile friends, I think the only reason I would buy expensive cable is for its appearance to match with the high end gears but not for sound performance. I personally found out that $5K cable vs $10 cable are no difference, at least not to our ears. Prior to this, I was totally believe that cable makes a difference but not after this and reading few articles online.

Here is how I found out.

After the purchase of my system, I went to another dealer to ask for cable opinion (because the original dealer doesn't carry the brand I want) and once I told him my gears, he suggested me the high end expensive cable ranging from $5 - 10K pair, depending on length. He also suggested the minimum length must be 8-12ft. If longer than 12ft, I should upgrade to even more expensive series. So I challenged him that if he can show me the difference, I would purchase all 7 AQ Redwood cables from him.

It's a blind test and I would connect 3 different cables - 1 is the Audioquest Redwood, 1 is Cardas Audio Clear, and 1 my own generic 14AWG about 7ft. Same gears, same source, same song..... he started saying the first cable sound much better, wide, deep, bla...bla...bla......and second is decently good...bla...bla...bla.. and the last one sounded crappy and bla...bla...bla... BUT THE REALITY, I NEVER CHANGED THE CABLE, its the same 14AWG cable. I didn't disclosed and move on to second test. I told him I connected audioquest redwood but actually 14AWG and he started to praise the sound quality and next one I am connected the 14awg but actually is Redwood and he started to give negative comment. WOW!!!! Just blew me right off.

I did the same test with 3 of my audiophile friends and they all have difference inputs but no one really got it right. Especially the part where I use same generic 14awg cable and they all start to give different feedback!!!

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?
sautan904

Showing 4 responses by bpoletti

bpoletti
1,530 posts
 
I'm in the low cost club.  NOT necessarily the anything works club.  There are inexpensive 12ga and 14ga cable solutions, but they are not all created equal.  And there are 10ga and 8ga solutions that sound very good but most are impractical and, in some cases, just dangerous do to their inflexibility. 

The biggest keys to inexpensive speaker cable are to use stranded, untinned pure copper (never anything else), never terminate, keep them short, experiment with how many twists per foot of one conductor around the other.  If the cable absolutely must be terminated, use crimps, never solder.  IMO, NEVER USE SILVER IN ANY AUDIO CIRCUIT.  I think it can cause a brittleness and brightness in the treble.
bpoletti
1,530 posts
 
joey_v

Maybe that's why they make different kinds of cables.  But my opinion stands.  I have never heard a silver cable I could live with.  YMMV.
bpoletti
1,530 posts
 
Opinion....

I have wondered for some time whether silver contributes to a resonance in conductors that results in it’s particular coloration that I hear. It may not interact with equipment I haven’t heard. Some may like what I think is a coloration due to silver.

But it’s not for me. I’ll stick with pure, untinned, unterminated copper, 12ga stranded, single conductor wire twisted at about three twists in two feet of cable pair run.
bpoletti
1,530 posts
 
There was an article a few years ago in (IIRC) Stereophile or some audiophile rag that tested several high end speaker cables.  They also tried a few "underground" solutions including a pair of 10ga (or was it 8ga) stranded copper THHN cable (petrol-resistant hard insulator) conductors twisted around each other.  The underground solution equaled or bettered the performance of the other speaker cables in the test.  I tried that and it was VERY good.  But not as good as the 12ga stranded copper cable I was (and am still) using.

It's clear that some cables sound better than other on a specific speaker - amp combination.  That same cable may not work well with other combinations.  It also seems that very short cable runs work best and provide the least signal filtration / distortion.

There is something going on beyond just conducting a signal. 


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