Comparing Speaker Cables

I agree with @carlsbad in suggesting listening for a longer period of time than doing only quick A/B testing.

I find cable testing is extremely hard (or comparing any 2 components for that matter), especially when both cables are equally good but different in many ways.  A/B testing sometimes gives you obvious results very quickly, but when comparing 2 equally good cables with different attributes that you like, it does take longer listening sessions to sort it out.   I usually let the cables run continuously with music that I like and just listen casually.  Once in a while, something will catch my attention and I would take note of that.   This approach allows me to feel the musically of the cable and determines which cable draws my attention more and makes me want to listen more.

I'm actually going thru some listening tests myself for different interconnects.  Anyway, good luck with your testing.  

Trust your ears, just remove your eyes from the equation.

This is why cable companies give you 30 to 45 days to live with them. If you don't like what they are bring out of your system just return them. All cables are system dependent. 

@pinwa - you have received some good advice from the postings above, in that you should first select a "baseline cable" - a starting point, and listen to a selection of tracks over a prolonged period and then change to a second set for a comparison.

I’ve found that IF the changes/improvements are not immediately noticeable, then there is likely little difference between the selected cables

Always go back to the baseline cables after the comparison and "re-tune" your ears - or establish your new baseline cable

And NEVER compare more than two sets of cables at a time.

After each comparison you will either

• opt for a new baseline cable
• or have to reset your ears to your previous baseline cable

With most of the cables I have compared, the changes/improvements were noticeable right from the first track.

When I first started auditioning cables, the attributes I listened for

• Base Depth and texture and
• upper range details and clarity
• dynamics

But I now listen for

• Micro Venue Acoustics - those little echoes and reverberations created by the venue and are quite apparent on good systems with good cables.
• They tend to stand out much more on the better built cables
• This tells me much more about the abilities of the cables, because if they can reproduce micro venue acoustics the other attributes are generally taken care of

On any comparison, I choose tracks that offer an uncomplicated production so I can focus on specific aspects of the recording

• nothing orchestral - because there way too many instruments
• no loud rock music
• generally a vocalist and a couple of instruments in a "natural environment" e.g. a live recording. Because it gives a real sense of the space of the venue
• Studio tracks seldom provide convincing venue acoustics at the same level of detail as the real thing - but a few engineers do sometime get it right

So what constitutes a good speaker cable?

1. the type of conductor - I’ve found that solid UP-OCC copper provide great details.
2. the type of insulation - cotton is very good, but not often used in commercial cables
3. and the cable geometry - i.e. how the wires are placed within the cable.

• e.g. Kimber Cable uses a braided geometry whereas Nordost uses a ribbon geometry on their speaker cables

Checkout the following companies for products that really perform well

• Zavfino - uses UP-OCC copper - very dynamic
• In-Akustik - uses an unusual geometry that provides a low noise floor and great details and imaging
• Nordost is one company that is very good at what it does

Many brands of cables will perform to similar levels - there may be slight differences, but they will generally lack the performance level of the brands mentioned above

Any comparison I may undertake generally takes one month to complete

• I start with the baseline - one week of listening
• change to the cables for comparison - two weeks of listening
• and 1 week to Reset my ears if the new cables are not selected

Hope that helps - Steve

@williewonka That is wonderful advice about what to look for and how to go about comparing cables but like most of the responses I have gotten it really has nothing to do with the question I asked.  

Since the primary problem of hanging two speakers cables off my bi-wired speaker appeared to be the risk of shorting out the amp I went ahead with my comparison carefully insulating the open end of the cable with ziplock bags.  I was unable to hear any noise from the second cable acting as an antenna or any other kind of downside.

Having two cables connected at the speaker permitted me to swap cables at the amp fairly quickly so that I was able to remember how the prior cable sounded.  Differences between the four cables I tried were very modest with one cable seeming clearly better than the others, but I'm not sure I would have noticed any change if the cables had been swapped without my knowing.  The winning cable had better bass, separation and microdynamics, and a bigger sense of space while retaining very good high end definition.  It has also been my "baseline" cable for a couple of months now so I know it doesn't contribute anything I don't like to my system.  I didn't do a comparison with 12 AWG speaker cord so who knows, this may all be in my head like so many audiophile tweaks LOL. 

The cable bears some similarity to the Nordost cables but isn't a direct copy or counterfeit of any other cable I am aware of.  I did purchase it on Aliexpress and I'm sure that will earn me at least some jingoistic responses from the haters out there.  There are several vendors selling the cable with different pricing and terminations.  I am going to try and attach a picture for anybody that wants to try and track it down.  My second favorite cable was a Kimber 12TC knockoff.  And I did have a friend who came over a while ago and we didn't hear any obvious improvement with his Silversmith Fidelium cables in our quick test.