How to select a good Speaker Cable


Speaker cables do have a significant role in how our system sounds. Different cables sound different. 

So which one is the right one for you?

The Speaker Cable is an extension of the Amp. and not an addition to the speaker's load. It shall have a certain resistance (low) not to spoil the Amp's DF figure. As so, it can be calculated and there is a formula to do it.

The higher the Amp's DF, the lower the Speaker Cable's resistance shall be. As today SS power Amp's get DFs of 400 and above (Digital Amps go by thousands) the cable of 10 ft (3m) long, gets as thick as 0 AWG.

I can see your eyebrows elevates, when that thick cable is to be deal with. Most Speaker Cable makers skip it because of that. So most cables on the market (regardless of the look or price) are of 14-12 AWG. Way less that supposed to be.

Worst! no Speaker Cable maker, dealer or seller knows the answer, of what is the correct cable for your system. 

So most of us ended up, with a cables too thin for the task.

A conducted test, on this site, about a year ago as well as with some closer friends, shows a significant improvement with a calculated size cable over their previous cable. The results were all positive and preferred the calculated cable.

So, instead of asking: which of two brands, or two prices or two colors of Speaker Cable do I need, you should ask how thick of a Speaker Cable do I need.

I'll be happy to provide you the calculation, for who request it. All you need to provide is:

1). Length (Ft. or meter)

2). The Amp's DF figure.

Thanks


128x128b4icu
Mr. sgreg1

Thanks. I do take length into my calculation. Length and DF.
The outcome is the thickness (# awg).
The thing is, that the Amp's DF and required cable length are a given.
The thickness is the outcome.

None balanced cables (interconnect cables) over 3ft. are a bad idea.
Try to avoid it.


"Yes. But it was 2 years ago. It's time to undust it again..."
Some skeletons are better left in the closet.
Mr. glupson

Says who?
The one that have an interest? Someone who is Making Speaker Cables, a Dealer, a Salesman?
They would benefit from that (If: " skeletons are better left in the closet").

You say: The Audio hobbyist should be treated as mushrooms:
Kept in the dark and feed with crap...

I say: let’s light Speaker Cables issue up, get some sense in it, and enjoy from a way better sound.
All have the right to know the truth and enjoy from it.

As for the skeletons:
Mom say: Johny, you can play with grandma, but when you are done, return her skeletons to the  closet
:-)
b4icu,

What I really meant is that your previous, virtually identical, thread was long enough and, in the end, not useful enough to deserve repeating.

Most of the people who visited did learn that cable has to be too thick to be conveniently connected, has to be short, and that despite all the calculations you provide, it is always like that. Maybe you should dust that thread off by yourself and check what it came down to. An arm-thick cable and some, quite bizzare, methods how to connect it to equipment without damage.