Best budget speaker cable

[rick57]

Supra and Van Damme OFC appear braoadly similar; the price of Swedish Supra here in Oz and VD in the UK is very similar too, but o’course with freight the Supra is less A$.

To fulfil my megalomaniac multiple active class A/ tube amp system dreams I need about 25 pairs, so I think I’ll go for Supra Rondo 4*2.5 www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?I...rd2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID (4 x 322 strands). More than 75 m, A$ 6.25 per m = US$ 2.60 per foot.

That’s not much more than Belden 89259 at Percy, and less than Cardas Crosslink four conductor 120 strand at US $3.50 per foot.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Cheers

 

[dw1narso]

solid core cable?

Hi Rick,

I use this kind of cable...

I bought a roll of 1.5mm solid core industrial electrical cable.

For one channel, each: cut a length of my need x 2. Twist them together... tightly... then untwist them... (so that they become single core curly cable)... then I use one curly core for (+) and the other curly one for the (-)... from amp to speaker...

I don't know the theory behind... but they sounds good...

Previously, the same cable, I use straight (not curly)... sounds dull. The same when I use them twisted (not yet untwisted)... sounds dull too... so my founding above is an accidental found actually... 🙂

It is surely cheap... I bought a roll of 100 feet cable for $6

How good is it?... better than my Supra 4.0 Classic.... 🙂

Regards,
---
David

 

[Scottmoose]

Many like Jon Risch's cables.

You might also take a look at Michael Percy at percyaudio.com. He offers some bulk speaker cable as well as chassis hookup wire that can be used as speaker cable as well. I tend to be partial to the Cardas, but cost is low enough that you can experiment.

Whether you hear cables making a difference is to some degree system dependent, experience dependent, and whether you can separate out a cable's signature or not. Some cannot, and seem to take it personally, resulting in vehement posts. But keep an open mind, perhaps pre-biasing by not expecting much or anything. And remember, it's your ears, your hobby, your musical tastes, and your money. Ignore those who would tell you how to enjoy your hobby, regardless of their orientation.

Oh I agree with you 100%. It's odd that something as utterly prosaic as cables results in people taking things personally. I suspect it's not so much the products as the nonsense that surrounds it, as if the dratted things were some mystical object removed from the boundaries of science (I'm not aiming this at anyone here BTW: I throw it out as a general observation, with reference in particular to the lies propounded by the marketing types.) They are not. They work according to the laws of physics, like anything else. And what upsets me (and it does you know) is to see people throwing away their hard-earned money for no good reason. Hifi is full of charlatans who, if they tried these sort of tricks in any other industry, would have Trading Standards come down on them like a ton of bricks. It's not just cables that are surrounded by drivel either. Look at 47labs Gaincard amplifier. It costs a fortune, there are some outrageous claims made for it, but what actually is it? A couple of opamps and some other relatively cheap components, total value circa £100, give or take, in a fancy box. I don't doubt it sounds good. I've buit a couple of clones myself. It's the way products like this are marketed that makes my hackles rise. I've no problem with profit, but when it's such a gigantic mark-up based upon utter nonsense, I start to feel uncharitable.

Some wires do sound different to others. But this is down to their basic electrical properties, and their interaction with your system, and you are best approaching it with a specific goal in mind. To provide a personal example, I usually use 12AWG zip cord with most of my systems. However, my big, Terry Cain design folded rear-corner horns, which I regularly hook up, with their extremely sensitive Fostex FF165K full-range drivers would be massively over-damped by my SS amp unless I did something to prevent that from occuring. I could buy a low damping factor amp. I take the cheap route: I just use 30AWG magnet wire. The additional series resistance brings the bass, which would otherwise vanish, nicely into line. I could add a resistor instead to my usual wire, I just took the easy way out.

JR's cables do have a good reputation, though Rod Eliot if memory serves shows in one of his articles they don't quite match Jon's performance claims. Still not bad though and probably worth a shot. I'll stick with my zip cord or studio stuff generally though. It's already passed through it after all.

Best
Scott