New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Speaker wire

post #1 of 9
12/17/05 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
How much does this actually improve the sound of speakers? Is it worth replacing the thin wire that generally comes with speaker (floor standing).

If so, what kind is good/cheap?
Reply
post #2 of 9
12/17/05 at 6:15pm
Well it all depends on the rest of your setup as well. For me I find it makes a big enough difference to consider upgrading. You could look into stinger wire for car audio for something thats cheap and sounds ok. I am comparing it to some cable Talk Speaker cables I have now and it handles the extremes better, but loses out in the midrange where the Cable Talk sound fuller and richer with a bit more dimensionality to the music. I am using the cable Talk cables now, but would have no problem switching back to the Stinger stuff if I had to.

You can also go the DIY route and check out the Canare Star Quad cables that I have read quite a bit about. I think it is the 4S11 or something along that line. Another thing I have heard about, but you may have to do a search for is some wire that is sold at home depot, that is supposed to be very good.

All worth consideration and all should be affordable. It may be worth you listing you system, listening habits, music liked and budget for people to get an idea of your setup and prefernces and would more than likely give worthwhile suggestions knowing these things.

Hope I was of assistance to you!

D
Reply
post #3 of 9
12/17/05 at 6:31pm
Thread Starter 
Yamaha HTR-5540 receiver-->Sony speaker wire (came with speakers)-->Sony SS-MF750H speakers

Thanks!
Reply
post #4 of 9
12/17/05 at 11:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BodiesOfLight
Is it worth replacing the thin wire that generally comes with speaker (floor standing).
I've asked before about thickness' importance in a speaker cable and had multiple people (trust worthy types! ) say anything less than 12-14 gauge was audible to them in a bad way. Not quite as simple as that I know but...
An exception being the very affordable Anti-Cable some guys here like a lot. I think it's a thick gauge cable that's compressed into a smaller diameter?

There has to be many inexpensive thick cable makers out there including the already mentioned Home Depot. The only under $100 speaker cable I've had was by Signal Cable which replaced a more expensive skinny cable and I liked the Signal more. Current flowed, dynamics increased, volume increased. I put the Signal in my son's stereo rig. (Good lad, he's too sensible to bother with fancier wire).

There are so many reasonably priced cable makers out there.
Reply
post #5 of 9
12/18/05 at 2:00am
read through this

my opinion on "better" speaker wire is similar to something one guy in that thread says - the best way to measure the difference between expensive speaker wire and a spool of Home Depot speaker wire is to look at your wallet after the fact - it will be considerably thinner with the expensive stuff.

Reply
post #6 of 9
12/18/05 at 3:44am
It really comes down to your gear...I feel that all cables are a matter of tweaking the sound...not changing it. If there are 3 basic levels of gear: budget, performance and audiophile levels...then only performance level really starts to expose the difference one might attain in wires. For instance my system was sounding a little bright, so I changed the character by dulling the sound (warmer) by trying different wires...it didn't change the sound more than 2 to 3%...but it made the difference between enjoying the system for an hour to being able to listen to my hearts content.
Reply
post #7 of 9
12/18/05 at 5:02am
Siegfried Linkwitz (the guy who co-invented the Linkwitz-Riley filter used in most loudspeakers) suggests keeping the speaker cable resistance to less than 0.1 ohm for the roundtrip path of the current:
http://linkwitzlab.com/orion-faq.htm#Q10

Basically, that means if you're running a 15 foot length of speaker cable, you should use 12 gauge speaker cable or better. Fancy, expensive cable can make a difference, but its effect is often wildly exaggerated online.
Reply
post #8 of 9
12/18/05 at 7:00am
eyeteeth: as I understand it, the gauge is one of the least controversial things about cables, just about everyone seems to agree you need a wider gauge for longer length runs. So for a pair of fronts close to the receiver 16 is probably fine, but you're going to want 14 or 12 for wider fronts, or rears. Since Radio Shack 12 gauge costs the same as 14 and only a bit more than 16 I don't think it can really hurt to buy 12 gauge even if you're going cheap. That's what I did.
Reply
post #9 of 9
12/18/05 at 2:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eyeteeth
...
An exception being the very affordable Anti-Cable some guys here like a lot. I think it's a thick gauge cable that's compressed into a smaller diameter?
The anti-cables are actually 12 gauge cables, but because they only have an enameled covering and no other insulation, they look much thinner. You can check on Paul speltz's SITE

I also agree with others that your mileage may vary depending upon the resolution of your rig. The Home Depot wire gets a lot of good press at many levels and sells for about $30 for 100'. I believe this is the 14 gauge outdoor rated cable HD-14G. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home