speaker cables for B&W 704 floorstanders...

[slick]

i purchased the 704's on tuesday (on order, should be here next week).
i will be connecting them to my marantz sr7500 7.1 channel reciever.
i used to have a 5.1 setup that i liked, but i wanted something more for music as i didnt care much for 5.1 after a while, so 2.1 it is with higher quality speakers.
i used 16 gauge speaker wire to connect all my old speakers, should i get a couple short runs of high quality cables?
i really dont know a budget for this, but i cant really spend hundreds of dollars just for cables. its not that i dont have the money, its that i just cant, in my head.
for a $100, a couple 6 feet cables. something that looks nice to, cable with techflex or whatever on it and banana plugs and such.
even though i dont want to spend an awful amount of money, it just doesnt seem right to have $2000 speakers connected to a $1000 reciever with $5 cables

nice looking, quality cable for as under $100 as possible.

 

[JWFokker]

Seriously, you can't beat braided Cat5e cable for speaker interconnects. Anything fancier is a waste of money and you're buying marketing.

 

[slick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWFokker Seriously, you can't beat braided Cat5e cable for speaker interconnects. Anything fancier is a waste of money and you're buying marketing.

how exactly would i use cat5 for speaker cable (i have a lot of cat5 laying around

)? would i use 4 of the 8 wires for positive and the other 4 as negative?
is there reasoning behind this? i never heard of using cat5 for speaker cable, it honestly sounds wierd to me, but i am game to try it.

 

[RnB180]

http://www.geocities.com/RnB180/diy.html

if you want pretty cables, you can do my diy

BTW you should read about cables, Ive heard a noticeable difference swapping speaker cables, more so then interconnects.

JWfokker is a strong believer in using the cheap stuff and still attaining the same performance, though ask him what he is basing his comparison on what what equipment he uses, which amounts to

a $20 sonic t amp

and

Headphone Inventory:
Sony EX71, Sony MDR-CD380, modded Grado SR60s, Etymotics ER6i

definately not B&W speakers.

though the cat 5 diy has been a popular cable mod, but I doubt its the best as he says it is. JW have you ever made a cat5 cable before? what did you use it with and what cable did you compare it with, to come to that conclusion? Im not doubting its a great cable, Im doubting your experience and knowledge with anything cables

if I had $2000 speakers, Id personally drop $200 in parts and make DIY cables. a $200 diy would probably be equvelant to cables under $1k a pair

thats the beauty of DIY.

btw Cat5 cable mod not much to look at, Id recommend hiding it with techflex.

though I must agree that the point of diminishing returns come quickly with cabling. once you hit that point then you just pick which cable looks coolest to you.

 

[morphie]

Personally for my Dynaudio Audience floorstanders I went for Moon-Audio.com's DH Labs speaker cable with banana clip ons. They are very well made cables for a very reasonable price considering the build quality imho. I am very happy with them

 

[Old Pa]

I remain enamored with LAT International's speaker cables for B&W loudspeakers. I'm running a bi-wire cable system they built for me and it remains the best I've heard. I used to be a wire-is-wire guy (and remain so for many ostensibly "high end" cables), but the LAT International cables and interconnects have improved my #1 system too much to deny.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick i purchased the 704's on tuesday (on order, should be here next week). i will be connecting them to my marantz sr7500 7.1 channel reciever. i used to have a 5.1 setup that i liked, but i wanted something more for music as i didnt care much for 5.1 after a while, so 2.1 it is with higher quality speakers. i used 16 gauge speaker wire to connect all my old speakers, should i get a couple short runs of high quality cables? i really dont know a budget for this, but i cant really spend hundreds of dollars just for cables. its not that i dont have the money, its that i just cant, in my head. for a $100, a couple 6 feet cables. something that looks nice to, cable with techflex or whatever on it and banana plugs and such. even though i dont want to spend an awful amount of money, it just doesnt seem right to have $2000 speakers connected to a $1000 reciever with $5 cables nice looking, quality cable for as under $100 as possible.

I would check places like audiogon for some cheap used cable, you can get good stuff at your price point easily, buying speaker cable isn't as simple as you make it up to be, different cables offer different sonic signatures, and will alter the sound slightly, I use audioquest cables with my Paradigm Studio 40s, I've always liked their sound, I have also tried kimber cable braided, and some homemade stuff (forget what it was made of), and your usual 16 guage home depot stuff in my days. Audioquest cables look nice too

Just find any decent cable used on audiogon for your price range and go with it, you should be happy with the results.

 

[Asterix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo I would check places like audiogon for some cheap used cable, you can get good stuff at your price point easily, buying speaker cable isn't as simple as you make it up to be, different cables offer different sonic signatures, and will alter the sound slightly, I use audioquest cables with my Paradigm Studio 40s, I've always liked their sound, I have also tried kimber cable braided, and some homemade stuff (forget what it was made of), and your usual 16 guage home depot stuff in my days. Audioquest cables look nice too Just find any decent cable used on audiogon for your price range and go with it, you should be happy with the results.

I used Audioquest speaker cables for years. Cheap and functional, but in my experience there are better cable companies than Audioquest.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asterix I used Audioquest speaker cables for years. Cheap and functional, but in my experience there are better cable companies than Audioquest.

Never said they were the best, he was looking for cheap eye pleasing cables, audioquest fits the bill

But, what would you recommend? I'm also looking to try new cables, I havn't tried new cables in awhile, and was thinking of trying some different brands for bi-wire comparisson.

 

[jjcapurro]

I'm personally not a cable hype believer so I use Blue Jeans Cable... I use their 10 guage speaker wire and it's great quality without the maketing hype, and for about the same cost as DIY. Not quite as pretty as some of the high end offerings, but very well made, and a bargain basement prices (A 10 foot run of 'BJC Ten White' terminated with banannas will run you $32.70 as of this post) $70 with shipping total - you're done.

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[slick]

seems like this is not a question with a simple answer.

those audioquest cables look nice, and there is a local dealer i can go to to check them out and get prices, i might try them because they are different.

if i can get the money (and will) to do it, i might buy and try a couple different cables, to test the sound, but i dont know if i have an ear thats discerning enough to tell the difference.

thanks for the help, if you have more links and info, that would be great, i'm not set on the audioquest.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick seems like this is not a question with a simple answer. those audioquest cables look nice, and there is a local dealer i can go to to check them out and get prices, i might try them because they are different. if i can get the money (and will) to do it, i might buy and try a couple different cables, to test the sound, but i dont know if i have an ear thats discerning enough to tell the difference. thanks for the help, if you have more links and info, that would be great, i'm not set on the audioquest.

Going to your local dealer and auditioning some cables would be a great idea, i'm sure they carry a few brands to compare against. Let us know how you make out.

 

[RnB180]

take the cables that you are currently using, and head on over to you local audiophile stereo shop, ask them to hook up your cables listen, then swap them with a cable in your price budget, most shops will have plentyof demo/loan cables for this type of thing.

 

[slick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 take the cables that you are currently using, and head on over to you local audiophile stereo shop, ask them to hook up your cables listen, then swap them with a cable in your price budget, most shops will have plentyof demo/loan cables for this type of thing.

i think i will give that a try.

i wont be able to go to the store that sells audioquest until monday, so i guess i can cut a couple pieces of the cable i have and put banana plugs on the ends and take them there on monday.
i wont be able to hear the cables with the 704 at the store though, the place that carries audioquest does not carry B&W. the store i bought the 704's from only carry kimber cable, i dont think i am worthy enough for that brand yet.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick i think i will give that a try. i wont be able to go to the store that sells audioquest until monday, so i guess i can cut a couple pieces of the cable i have and put banana plugs on the ends and take them there on monday. i wont be able to hear the cables with the 704 at the store though, the place that carries audioquest does not carry B&W. the store i bought the 704's from only carry kimber cable, i dont think i am worthy enough for that brand yet.

Dosnt' mean you can't go listen

I'm surprised they didn't try to sell you some when you got the B&Ws, or did they?