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
Hi, I am using 15' of cable to each speaker. Right channel 15' and left channel 15'. As I mentioned, I am Bi-Wiring my speakers. Each speaker has a run of Belden 10awg 1313A speaker cable for the low frequency driver and Audioquest 15.5awg for the high frequency driver, again all of them are 15' in length. Thank you! |
Thanks https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm For 15’ (4.57m ~ 5m), and for a DF 100 (106): a #4 awg cable is recommended. The Bi wire of #10 awg (equals to 2x #10 awg in parallel) is: 1 ohms per 1000 ft, each so it equals* to 0.5 ohms for both. But a #4 awg (as required has a resistance of 0.25 ohms!) So now you have only half of the recommended conductivity. *: Bi wire never did the Job. It’s a good trick to make double the money over speaker cables :-) but not good for anything. They invented a BS theory for it, most fall in. An analysis with Spice simulation SW shows (used by all analog design engineers), that the single 0.5 ohms (per 1000 ft) does a better job than two of 1 ohm in bi wiring. Thats, because most of the current goes to the low Fr. (woofer) and only a small portion to the High. So now, with the Bi wire, only 50% left for the low, while most of the current flows there. A single wire of 0.5 ohms would hold better that current, than a 1 ohms cable. I would say, if you go for a #4 awg, drop the bi wire. |
