Speaker cable differences

[Macca]

I avoid deliberately weird cables as well, they make no logical sense to me. Problem is I sometimes hear a difference between conventionally measuring cables too.

[nthall]

I have that problem with the RCA jacks on vintage stuff quite a bit. Theyre too close together and they pick up noise from each other with new cables. They actually sound better with the old cables sometimes.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

[RichB]

Hi Rich,

Firstly, we don't all necessarily like the same presentation (tonal balance) probably based not just our preferences but also the types of music we primarily listen to.
Secondly, you're assuming all sources and amplifiers are strictly neutral.
Thirdly, even if all speakers were neutral, their interaction with the room will require some matching to get back to our preferred tonal balance.

I understand the concept that every component *should* be neutral. It's a lofty ideal but they're not due to design/budget limitations and being voiced to the designer's own preferences.

In the absence of tone controls I think most people balance their systems with sympathetic cables.

Sorry I think you have me misunderstood. What I was getting at was that if your system doesn't sound balanced to your tastes then you'd be better off looking at your components rather than your cables. I know that all components are not neutral, indeed that's why we do hifi as a hobby instead of just buying pro gear. Kit which makes music is one thing, kit which connects you with it is another.

[JohnJo]

Fair enough but if you can get to where you need to by swapping out a cable for another you have sitting on a shelf why wouldn't you rather than change gear.

[walpurgis]

My system sounds great, but I can make it sound bad just by swapping some nasty speaker cables in. So obviously cable matching to a system is worth looking into.

[nthall]

My system sounds great, but I can make it sound bad just by swapping some nasty speaker cables in. So obviously cable matching to a system is worth looking into.

If you have enough headroom you can hook speakers up with jumper cables. It wouldn't be the best idea on a pre-amp, even worse on a phono pre.

[RichB]

Fair enough but if you can get to where you need to by swapping out a cable for another you have sitting on a shelf why wouldn't you rather than change gear.

Nothing wrong with that but if your system doesn't sound pleasing to start with then it's unlikely any kind of speaker cable is going to make much difference to that.

[Floyddroid]

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[Arkless Electronics]

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Room for one more in the cheap seats?

[Haselsh1]

I have been using NVA LS5 loudspeaker cables for quite some years but then fairly recently decided to use Van Den Hul Teatrack biwired cables. The difference in my system is massive with the Van Den Hul cables being hugely superior. I have also tried Mark Grant VDC cables, the 4mm ones and they too are hugely superior to the LS5 cables. Due to the things I have heard, I am in no doubt that loudspeaker cables have a big influence on sound as do interconnects.