The Audiophile/reference music thread.

[Let's Ride]

Just make sure you buy speaker cabling made of copper and not aluminium.

[DR ◣◢]

I am sorry but I don't agree with you at all on this.

 

Firstly, Monster is ****. It's not worth the packaging it comes in. I have some stupidly expensive Monster RCA cables lying in my cable box never ever to see the light of day because they are boring and flat sounding. A basic Skytronic RCA made up with QED plugs sounds a million times better.

 

Any speaker or interconnect cable can't add anything to the way something sounds but it can and will take away from it. The biggest difference can be heard with your interconnects.

[DR ◣◢]

Just make sure you buy speaker cabling made of copper and not aluminium.

 

Very valid point. CCA or Copper Clad Aluminium is very common with cable manufacturers. A simple way to test is to strip a small section of the insulation off the cable and scrape it with a sharp knife. The copper cable will shine up whereas the aluminium will turn silver in colour.

[Let's Ride]

I don't bash the products as each person has there own opinion but I can tell you this, I have never used Monster cabling before as it's way to expensive. You paying for the name brand.

[DR ◣◢]

For you to make that statement about not bashing other brands speaks a big deal about your integrity as an installer. Respect to you.

 

Thank goodness I don't have to stick to the same rules I have tried anything from R10/m to R1000/m and at some point you do reach the point of no diminishable return. I find that point to be around the R70/m mark.

 

To me the biggest competition in the cable market is in that price point. QED, Audioquest, Ecosse, Van Den Hul, etc etc etc all bring out excellent product. Try to mix and match to find something that suits your system.

 

For me that balance was running a Boschmann 12AWG cable on my low range speakers. Sub and midbass. Midrange received a very fine stranded QED or Ecosse cable where as the highs were taken care of using a solid core Ecosse cable. It created the perfect balance for me without taking anything away from the sound.

 

I can go on and on about combinations you can try. At the end of the day try and spend around 10% of what your total system costs on cables. Should be perfectly fine.

[zeabre]

Cables....the audio equivalent of 26 v 29...For what it's worth, running Qed Silver anniversary in the ht system, vd hul 102 in the stereo system with Furutech balanced interconnects.

[gummibear]

Ive had my B&W 683's and Rotel Amps and all new in storage for About 3-3.5 years now.

 

I have now decided to unpack and install.

 

Please assist with the following;

 

1. Speaker cable

2. RCA Cable

 

I should use for best performance

 

Thanks

 

Depends on what you want from the speakers.

A multistrand cable will smoothen the tweeter but loosen the bass.

A solid core cable will pump up the trebble and tighten the bass.Solid core is more accurate

I use Monster XPHP cables on my home theartre system and use Van Den Hul Snowline cables for my stereo system.

[Andro]

Thanks for all the reply.

 

I know that i need to run my Low and High from two different cables, something like a four core cable.

 

I know about going for copper.

 

Will find out about some cable that I can get here in CTN, its a four core retail at about R170/m.

 

 

 

I dont need the "bananna" plug, but would these plugs increase the quality of sound on the system, cause my system can work with or without them?

 

Will get the name and let you know before buying.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Andro

[kosmonooit]

Always pondered about the electrical dynamics that relate to these posh speaker cables. The main factor in driving them 'cones is the current right? so phat cable means less resistance, more current for a given voltage, (Ohms Law).

 

But then there is active electrical characteristics such as Capacitance and Inductance and (was it) Maxwell's equations applies (?). Things get a bit messier but its sinusoidal waves and over such a short distance I struggle to believe active characteristics can come into play in any significant way. And its relatively low frequencies (<22kHz) so no Radio Frequency (RF) issues.

 

Perhaps you can point me to a paper or tutorial that puts some substance to the subject of expensive speaker cables? In the meantime I will continue to follow my intuition that, like a lot of other audiophile kit, is more about looks and salesperson make-believe.

 

btw, in high voltage power lines, an aluminium core is used to save weight and money, because it can be shown that the current in such circumstances travels on the outside of the conductor. That's where that comes from, don't think it applies to low voltage conductors

 

I might have to get Prof Landy out of retirement to clear up some of these issues.

Edited September 25, 2012 by kosmonooit

[Wyatt Earp]

My source components.

All custom Valve Audio.

 

The turntable power supply is on a wall shelf to the left of the pic.

 

[gummibear]

My source components.

All custom Valve Audio.

 

The turntable power supply is on a wall shelf to the left of the pic.

 

So much sexiness

[DR ◣◢]

Im going off like a cheap garden sprinkler at the moment. NICE NICE NICE NICE!!!

[Wyatt Earp]

Cables....the audio equivalent of 26 v 29...For what it's worth, running Qed Silver anniversary in the ht system, vd hul 102 in the stereo system with Furutech balanced interconnects.

 

Hehehe, couldn't have said it better.

 

That VDH D102 is a silver coated cable if I am not mistaken.

 

I use silver cables for all my interconnects, except for my tone-arm cable.

The tone-arm itself has been rewired with VDH silver litz.

For the cable from arm to amp I use the Hovland Music groove.

 

Speaker cables are Audioquest Mont Blanc which is a copper cable, the silver version is just way too costly ,around R 90 k for 2.5 metres a side.

 

I am running double 72 volt DBS packs on the speaker cables and 72 v DBS packs on the Cheetah interconnects.

[VincentBikes]

Always pondered about the electrical dynamics that relate to these posh speaker cables. The main factor in driving them 'cones is the current right? so phat cable means less resistance, more current for a given voltage, (Ohms Law).

 

But then there is active electrical characteristics such as Capacitance and Inductance and (was it) Maxwell's equations applies (?). Things get a bit messier but its sinusoidal waves and over such a short distance I struggle to believe active characteristics can come into play in any significant way. And its relatively low frequencies (<22kHz) so no Radio Frequency (RF) issues.

 

Perhaps you can point me to a paper or tutorial that puts some substance to the subject of expensive speaker cables? In the meantime I will continue to follow my intuition that, like a lot of other audiophile kit, is more about looks and salesperson make-believe.

 

btw, in high voltage power lines, an aluminium core is used to save weight and money, because it can be shown that the current in such circumstances travels on the outside of the conductor. That's where that comes from, don't think it applies to low voltage conductors

 

I might have to get Prof Landy out of retirement to clear up some of these issues.

 

http://www.soundscap...m/cable_ar.html

 

 

http://www.silveraudio.com/papers1.html

Edited September 26, 2012 by FeO

[dev null]

I have lots of respect for Van Den Hul cables. My favourite interconnect is still 102. Better than the stupid Audioquest I have now, unfortunately my mistake for buying it after my previous system with 102 were liberated from me on a weekend away. Audioquest products have grown too expensive for my taste anyway now.

 

For speaker cable I prefer to make up my own using Cat 5 network cable. There is an article on the net on how to do it. You would need lots of patience when twisting though. Most Cat 5 cables have high quality copper beating some high priced speaker cable crap some dealers want to shove down your throat.

 

Dangle, you do realise that by opening this thread you have re-awoke the urge for me to finish my DIY Audio Krell Clone KSA50 project. Just ordered some components from RS. Damn you, now I will have less money for cycling. The damn toroidals and caps are gonna cost me over 5K. That is why last time I just packed away the PCBs until I have some money available.

[Wyatt Earp]

I have lots of respect for Van Den Hul cables. My favourite interconnect is still 102. Better than the stupid Audioquest I have now, unfortunately my mistake for buying it after my previous system with 102 were liberated from me on a weekend away. Audioquest products have grown too expensive for my taste anyway now.

 

For speaker cable I prefer to make up my own using Cat 5 network cable. There is an article on the net on how to do it. You would need lots of patience when twisting though. Most Cat 5 cables have high quality copper beating some high priced speaker cable crap some dealers want to shove down your throat.

 

Dangle, you do realise that by opening this thread you have re-awoke the urge for me to finish my DIY Audio Krell Clone KSA50 project. Just ordered some components from RS. Damn you, now I will have less money for cycling. The damn toroidals and caps are gonna cost me over 5K. That is why last time I just packed away the PCBs until I have some money available.

 

Which Audioquest do you have ?

 

I met old A.J. what a nice man, he even commissioned Schalk to build him some amps.

 

Glad I re-ignited your hunger to finish that amp