Best speaker cables

Yanomami, to expand on what Cornfed and Trcnetmsncom mean by audition is: Listen to some cables, get used to the sound they produce, then get another set of cables and put them in and compare the sound. At that point, decide which of the two you like better and move on to another cable. This can be a long and grueling process but the effort will pay off in the long run. Eventually you will put a cable in the system and instantly know "this is it". Keep in mind after listening to several cables it is probably wise to come back to the first one and give it another try. Dealers in your area should be willing to lend you different cables for auditions. If not, try the Cable Company (www.fatwyre.com) they carry most cables on the market and have a loaner program. Good Luck, Doug

You won't be able to listen to 2' cables before buying, but you could listen to 8' pairs, decide which particular cable you enjoy the most, and then order a 2' pair of that particular brand. I'd put Cardas, JPS, and Coincident on your list.

re: cable lengths. I heard that the optimum length, sound wise, is 128cm -- or multiples of same... anyone on to this?

Gregm, the optimum length for a speaker cable is "as short as you can make it." The shorter the speaker cable, the less shunt capacitance, less series inductance, and most of all, less series resistance.