2. cables
  3. 184733-96626

Why Do Cables Matter?

To me, all you need is low L, C, and R. I run Mogami W3104 bi-wire from my McIntosh MAC7200 to my Martin Logan Theos. We all know that a chain is only as strong as its' weakest link - so I am honestly confused by all this cable discussion. 

What kind of wiring goes from the transistor or tube to the amplifier speaker binding post inside the amplifier? It is usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper. Then we are supposed to install 5 - 10' or so of wallet-emptying, pipe-sized pure CU or AG with "special configurations" to the speaker terminals?

What kind of wiring is inside the speaker from the terminals to the crossover, and from the crossover to the drivers? Usually plain old 16 ga or 14 ga copper.

So you have "weak links" inside the amplifier, and inside the speaker, so why bother with mega expensive cabling between the two? It doesn't make logical sense to me. It makes more sense to match the quality of your speaker wires with the existing wires in the signal path [inside the amplifier and inside the speaker].

 

 

kinarow1
emergingsoul
954 posts
 

I hate shopping for speaker cables it's horrifying.

jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,594 posts
 

+1emergingsoul

asctim
445 posts
 

@ieales

Cables make a difference. I’ve said that for over 50 years.

What is not guaranteed is that any particular cable in any particular system will effect a change or be an improvement to all. Regardless of all the marketing claims.

Advising someone to try what you own has an even chance of being bad advice. AND I NEVER do it.

This has been my experience. It is very possible that an extremely excellent speaker and amp combination will be best served by plain zip wire of adequate gage for the cable length. If a special cable is needed, it suggests that something unusual in terms of standard engineering practices is happening between the amp and the speaker. I talked to a guy who hooked some Wilson speakers up to a high end amp he had (can’t remember which) with some fairly expensive cables and the combination made a lot of noisy distortion - like really obvious noises coming from the speakers. He got a pair of very expensive cables that had a box with some secret circuit in the middle and it stopped the problem. Most consumer grade speaker / amp combinations would not have that kind of thing going on.

A lot of my experience with high-end audio gear has been that it is fussy stuff with unusual issues.

emergingsoul
954 posts
 

Mogami good.

Had a guy out in the desert in California somewhere do customized Mogami interconnects.

Highly recommend

 

Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,542 posts
 

@gladmo 

Best post of the year so far.

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2567236 

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