Speaker Cable Recommendations

[Crackles]

Can anyone recommend me some speaker cables?

I am using a Sugden IA4 with Harbeth P3ES. Currently using Mogami 2972 but fancy trying an upgrade.

I believe Siltech are excellent with Sugden amps but the higher end stuff is too pricey when bought new and not a lot of it comes up second hand in this country.

So I am after something that will pair well with the Sugden. Play a lot of jazz, blues soul these days and I don't want anything too bassy, but I do like some brightness and lots of detail.

Looking at about £500 budget new or used, but will go higher if need be.

Any suggestions?

[Stranraer]

I have a warm sounding system with Croft valve amps, and find Missing Link cables give a hint of brightness to balance things out.
Goes without saying I have no connection to the business, just like the products.

Not checked prices for some time, mind.

[CageyH]

The length you need may help people recommend a cable for your budget.

[Stratmangler]

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/3882/fisual-s-flex-studio-grade-white-speaker-cable-2-x-4mm-price-per-metre/

[Stranraer]

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/3882/fisual-s-flex-studio-grade-white-speaker-cable-2-x-4mm-price-per-metre/

Ooh, studio grade. Which one, I wonder. Brittania Row, Trident ??

[struth]

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/3882/fisual-s-flex-studio-grade-white-speaker-cable-2-x-4mm-price-per-metre/

thats what i use

[Crackles]

Sorry, should have said. The length I need is three meters.

[Barry]

thats what i use

So do I, amongst other cable types. They are only a metre long, because my monoblock power amplifiers are located directly behind each speaker.

I'm quite agnostic and non-partisan on these matters, but don't think it is a good idea to use cables as 'tone controls'. Decent cables should pass all signal in the audio range equally. So as long as you usedecent quality cable having a loop resistance of no more than 0.1 Ohm, and having a loop inductance of no more than 3uH, you ought to have no problem.

[CageyH]

Sorry, should have said. The length I need is three meters.

I will. E keeping an eye on this thread, as I am also looking for a better cable, but I am not assigning the same budget.
One I would like to try based on reviews from users is Bigman80’s speaker cable.

[eksiil]

this is going to be offbeat, but I'm running Croft amplification into Harbeth SHL5s (& MarkAudio Sota Cesti Bs) via Anti-Cable & am hooked. heft, space, dynamics, midband clarity.

[antonio]

I haven't heard this, but have been doing some research for myself, and everything that I've read, which isn't much, points to it being very good. I have also read that Acoustic Revive shipped their speaker cables without connections, preferring the sound unterminated, it is solid core cable, but you can still use good quality copper banana's or spades if that is your want.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-ACOUSTIC-REVIVE-SPC-REFERENCE-tripleC-Speaker-Cable-5m-5meter-From-JP/171972995093?_trkparms=aid%3D1110002%26algo%3DSPLI CE.SOI%26ao%

[sailor]

I have been using Harmonic Technology Pro-9 Plus cables which I replaced with some 12AWG cotton covered Duelund simply because when I redid the living room were not long enough. I removed the rather bulky HT Pro-9 and used some QED which I did not like at all but was all I had on hand while waiting for the Duelund to arrive. About 4 months later I received the Duelund cables which made a very nice improvement over the QED. When I say improvement I'm talking about an unmistakable change with great tone.

Very happy with this for nearly 2 years but now that renovations are nearing completion just had to do a direct comparison between the Duelund and HT Pro-9 cables.

WOW. As a side observation regarding cable burn/run-in, this experiment proved beyond any shadow of doubt that it is a very real phenomenon and that after a quiescent period need a while to come back on song. The HT cable when first connected sounded better than the Duelund but 2 hours later was stunning and was a bigger improvement than going from QED to Duelund :eek:

About 1/2 hour after hook up my wife came round from the kitchen and said " what did you do, it sounds open and rich. There was no TV last night, we had to listen to this then that and so on. There are some female singers that we love but often had to dive for the volume control when they started shrieking. Dee Dee Bridgewater never sounded better. Heard her live at the International Jazz Festival in Cork so we know what she sounds like. Other albums that we hardly ever played were heard in a new way where although they were poorly recorded came across in such a way that they were now actually listenable. One of these was Jethro Tull that I previously regarded as totally unplayable. There seems to be a lower noise floor that lets fine detail manifest which provides a more solid stage with previously unheard depth. I could go on but will stop now.

What this fat cable has done is more than double the files I can now listen to. :cool:

This is not a disguised sales-pitch as I am no longer selling the HT cables. These are a big fat confident recommendation that are perhaps just slightly on the warm side of neutral as heard in my system.

HT also have a model above this that is called Pro-9 Reference which I have not heard. Check out the link, there a cables available within your budget: https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Harmonic+technology+pro-9+speaker+cable.

[karma67]

van damme or fisual. you cant go wrong imo. just good quality copper cable,

[Barry]

van damme or fisual. you cant go wrong imo. just good quality copper cable,

+1

[Marco]

This: https://www.markgrantcables.co.uk/uk/speaker-cables/van-damme-2-x-6mm-hi-fi-speaker-cable-up-lcofc-terminated/

Knocks many so-called 'audiophile grade' cables into a cocked hat!:cool:

Plus, Mark is such a pleasurable and efficient chap to deal with.

Marco.

[Lawrence001]

That reminds me I must get my 5m pair out again to compare to my latest cable to see if I want to sell it..

[RockAddict]

Taking into account the OP's reference to a bit more brightness, AudioQuest Rocket 33.

In a speaker demo a few months ago (Dynaudio Special 40s), the Rocket 33 cable was initially used by the seller (all other kit was my own). There was definite "brightness" that, for me, wasn't entirely enjoyable. The seller swapped to Rega Quattro (split for single wiring) which gave a noticeably smoother sound with all other kit remaining the same.

As a sweeping generalisation (i.e. not always), silver coated copper cables tend to convey brighter sound.

For a few years, I used Fisual S-Flex Studio Grade cable (OFC; 2.5mm) and, in fairness, they worked perfectly well. However, within the past year, I moved to Van Damme UP-LCOFC (4mm) cable (all copper) which, to my ears, sound tonally richer, albeit not by much - some would say it's just a sideways move; YMMV.

I'm not a fan of "bright" so the above might help the OP to rule out the Quattro, Fisual S-Flex and Van Damme UP-LCOFC but, everyone hears differently so the experience of others may not be the same, even with the same cable.

@Crackles: Hope you find cables that work for you.

[edit] NB: +1 for Mark Grant if Van Damme cable takes your fancy.