View Full Version : Speaker cable suggestions
vinyljunky
29-05-2023, 08:55
I must apologise in advance I'm gonna talk about the dark art of hifi cables some people think it's snake oil but I'd still like some speaker cable suggestions I now have tannoy xt8f
There's about a million different speaker cables on the market can we narrow it down a bit?
First question - how much money do you want to waste? :D
walpurgis
29-05-2023, 09:58
You should consider what lengths you need, Personally, I'd allow a half a metre at least longer per run than your minimum workable length.
If you are able to put your own plugs on you will save money, terminated cables work out dearer as a rule. Plugs can be screw fixed or solder on types. I prefer soldered myself.
Plenty of decent terminated/unterminated speaker cable on ebay, like Van Damme for instance .
vinyljunky
29-05-2023, 11:12
Approx 2 metres length required dont fancy silver cables always found too bright
vinyljunky
29-05-2023, 11:14
What cable do you use macca
walpurgis
29-05-2023, 11:40
dont fancy silver cables always found too bright
I agree in general and usually avoid silver plated conductors.
What cable do you use macca
This one:
https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?63709-Spotfire-Speaker-Cable-Review
They are big and chunky and look like I'm taking it all really seriously. Plus they are well made with solid connectors to prevent fall-apart. They are no longer available as the cable they are made from is no longer available.
But in truth I do not hear any difference between them and a cheap 79 strand with fisher-price banana plugs I found in a skip (well, that I got off Geoff to tell the truth).
Some cables in some situations might make a bit of a difference. Really thin cables, cables made out of steel or aluminium instead of copper. Cables where the connections are poorly made. Cables with high capacitance or resistance. Cables with little boxes on them full of caps and resistors. All of these can change the frequency response. Not much, but sometimes enough to sound 'bright' or 'dull', 'toppy' or 'bass-heavy.'
My advice is always get a heavy gauge pure copper multistrand cable. Brand is irrelevant. If you want connectors not bare wire then get them put on by someone who knows how to do it properly (if that's not you). Fit and forget. Don't spend serious money unless you're loaded and don't care.
AJSki2fly
29-05-2023, 12:00
I must apologise in advance I'm gonna talk about the dark art of hifi cables some people think it's snake oil but I'd still like some speaker cable suggestions I now have tannoy xt8f
This is not too expensive and is recommended by many https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/duelund-dca16ga-tinned-multistrand-copper-wire-cotton-oil-insulated.html (https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/duelund-dual-dca12ga-tinned-multistrand-copper-wire-cotton-oil-insulated.html) if you are going to bi-wire then used the DCA16 guage as well.
By some decent end connectors make them up and job done.
i oft used fisual stuff . it was pretty good for the lowly price. also made various other stuff up. was good fun
walpurgis
29-05-2023, 13:06
Tried loads and stopped wondering (worrying?) about speaker cables years ago and stuck with my excellent reasonably priced Transparent Audio 'Musichord' that sounds as good as any of the other many I'd used. Don't look for any, you won't find them :). It looks like two core power tool flex, very ordinary.
Tried loads and stopped wondering (worrying?) about speaker cables years ago and stuck with my excellent reasonably priced Transparent Audio 'Musichord' that sounds as good as any of the other many I'd used. Don't look for any, you won't find them :). It looks like two core power tool flex, very ordinary.
I have a cable graveyard in one of the upstairs rooms which is quite shocking to behold. Testament to wasted money. I don't concern myself with cables anymore either.
Tried loads and stopped wondering (worrying?) about speaker cables years ago and stuck with my excellent reasonably priced Transparent Audio 'Musichord' that sounds as good as any of the other many I'd used. Don't look for any, you won't find them :). It looks like two core power tool flex, very ordinary.
Probably it is! (Is the outer insulation coloured orange? ;)
Probably it is! (Is the outer insulation coloured orange? ;)
Apparently not:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb2fge-transparent-audio-musichord-speaker
IF its orange it could be Black and Decker mains cable - won best in show at Himley Hall audio show back in early 80s
I have Van Damme 4mm in the hifi grade here in 2M lengths spare you can have if you decide to go that route Steven. It’s bare cable though, no ends on them. I use the 6mm, excellent stuff, very easy on the ear. It’s a weightier, smoother/softer sound compared to the 4mm. Depends what you need to balance your system. Might have some 6mm too.
+1
Use Duelund DCA16 here and its really great.
Havent thought about speaker cables since I plumbed it in.
Good thing with this stuff is that its recommended NOT to terminate it, instead use it bare wire.
So even more money saved, dont even need to buy connectors for it.
This is not too expensive and is recommended by many https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/duelund-dca16ga-tinned-multistrand-copper-wire-cotton-oil-insulated.html if you are going to bi-wire then used the DCA16 guage as well.
By some decent end connectors make them up and job done.
vinyljunky
29-05-2023, 14:31
Might go for the cable macca got the spot fire only concern is how inflexible it is
Might go for the cable macca got the spot fire only concern is how inflexible it is
I use a SPOTFIRE speaker cable currently but it is very thick and inflexible and very expensive.
However you can just about get the connections into the speakers but very stiff and does cause me a few issues.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52934660426_8ecba06370_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2oDDYk5)6E3E4FC0-A381-48AB-B554-DDA4D6E719FA (https://flic.kr/p/2oDDYk5) by , on Flickr
+1
Use Duelund DCA16 here and its really great.
Havent thought about speaker cables since I plumbed it in.
Good thing with this stuff is that its recoomended NOT to terminate it, instead use it bare wire.
So even more money saved, dont even need to buy connectors for it.
That's probably because the conductors are tin-plated copper, and the idea is to cut through the plating when the terminal is tightened.
walpurgis
29-05-2023, 14:55
Apparently not:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb2fge-transparent-audio-musichord-speaker
First I've seen for sale in years. More than I paid, but everything is dearer now. I bought the last UK stock that I was aware of and have kept a watch for more. It's very good!
[QUOTE=Jimbo;1348967]I use a SPOTFIRE speaker cable currently but it is very thick and inflexible and very expensive.[QUOTE]
I don't recall what I paid but I don't think it was that expensive? It was in the hundreds which I suppose is a lot for wire but given what you can pay out...
It isn't very flexible I agree. There's six separate cores of cable inside. Whatever the case it's massive overkill for a domestic stereo system. There's really no need to use something like that. I got it as a 'final' speaker cable with the promise to myself that there'd be no more.
I think mine was about £60 per metre. It probably is overkill and I have heard other cables I like as much if not better but not bothered to move on.
vinyljunky
04-06-2023, 18:22
Looks like I'm gonna get dnm speaker cable off a mate it's the flat ribbon type bit like nordost not sure on the model he didn't say heard some good things about these cables
Lawrence001
04-06-2023, 19:13
I don't think dnm made ribbon cable they were usually flat because the two cables were separated by a wide plastic bit. Report back if I'm wrong please.
I remember DNM solid core being a flavour of the month years and years ago.
Looks like there is a ribbon one now
http://www.dnm.co.uk/cables.html
http://www.dnm.co.uk/datasheets/AboutDNM_4Conductor_StereoRibbon.pdf
Lawrence001
04-06-2023, 19:39
Thats the one I meant, it's not flat metal ribbon just normal wires seperated by a plastic ribbon. I think the Nordost is a flat metal cable or intertwined wires in a flat ribbon sheath so different to DNM, but I could be wrong.
I have some Cambridge Audio ribbon cables amongst my extensive collection. And one with the wide plastic ribbon in between like you describe but I'm not sure what brand that is. It's a known name but it's not DNM.
The ribbon cables looked very untidy, that's the only impression of them I can remember.
I have some Cambridge Audio ribbon cables amongst my extensive collection. And one with the wide plastic ribbon in between like you describe but I'm not sure what brand that is. It's a known name but it's not DNM.
The ribbon cables looked very untidy, that's the only impression of them I can remember.
There are several flat 'ribbon' cables available. All claim to offer sonic advantages, and all support their claims with spurious, erroneous and largely irrelevant theory.
All a speaker cable needs to have is low loop resistance and low loop inductance.
think i had a set of those. no idea whether i sold them or not tho... think they were telerium or another good name. they were a bit unweildy
walpurgis
05-06-2023, 06:44
The DNM cable is similar in configuration to the flat cable used in FM radio indoor ribbon aerials, a pair of solid copper conductors separated by a few millimetres of flat plastic. I did try the flat FM aerial cable as speaker cable years ago, it sounded perfectly fine.
If I recall, DNM use their same flat cable for interconnects as well as for speaker use. Nordost have done similar things.
The DNM cable is similar in configuration to the flat cable used in FM radio indoor ribbon aerials, a pair of solid copper conductors separated by a few millimetres of flat plastic. I did try the flat FM aerial cable as speaker cable years ago, it sounded perfectly fine.
If I recall, DNM use their same flat cable for interconnects as well as for speaker use. Nordost have done similar things.
Yes, using 300 Ohm aerial ribbon cable for interconnects was a hi-fi fad in the '80s. I think it was John Akinson, editor of Hi-Fi News, who promulgated the idea.
I tried it out, but despite the low cost (the cable is less than £1 per metre) and surprisingly low susceptance to unwanted pickup, I felt happier with the more conventional coaxial cable.
I’ve had cables that retail for £2.5k ( didn’t cost me that ) but I’m now very happy with my £40 Talk cables Talk 3 ( the green ones )
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230609/788d22e2401a7204abbde92717d0a5a1.jpg
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Wakefield Turntables
10-06-2023, 17:42
I've done the speaker cable merry-go-round as well. Tried various Nordost (yes I fell for the B.S), tried thin cables, thick cables, solid core, multiple strands. Presently, I own SAEC Tripple C speaker cables and Duelund tinned copper, happy with both and now I can't be arsed to change.
Enjoyed those with previous systems, great speaker cables.
I’ve had cables that retail for £2.5k ( didn’t cost me that ) but I’m now very happy with my £40 Talk cables Talk 3 ( the green ones )
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230609/788d22e2401a7204abbde92717d0a5a1.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
@Wakefield Turntables, Hi Andrew, may I ask which of your two cables you prefer?
I have both but not tried CCC as a speaker cable. I am however getting excellent results with CCC as interconnect but I'm using Acoustic Revive solid core.
Lawrence001
12-06-2023, 20:11
Yes, using 300 Ohm aerial ribbon cable for interconnects was a hi-fi fad in the '80s. I think it was John Akinson, editor of Hi-Fi News, who promulgated the idea.
I tried it out, but despite the low cost (the cable is less than £1 per metre) and surprisingly low susceptance to unwanted pickup, I felt happier with the more conventional coaxial cable.I got a bag of DIY RCA cables with some gear years ago and some of them were made with what looked like coax TV cable. Was there a similar fad for that you are aware of?
You can hardly bend the cable so I've never tried them.
There's TV cable and there's TV cable. It depends on the diameter.
There was an interest (wouldn't call it a fad as such) in using thesmaller diameter VHF TV cable (with the brown insulation and a stranded inner conductor) many years ago, but it didn't catch on.
I did try it out, along with using the larger diameter UHF cable (which uses a solid core inner conductor), but heard no improvement with either.
Alchris Audio , have a very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cable ..the xl 400, these have replaced my chord epic outperforming them in every way. I was so impressed with the xl 400 I upgraded to xl 600 which again had step change in performance over the xl 400. These are running between my hifi rose ra180 and alchris ar66.
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