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Speaker cable reviews faceoff

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WATCH RELATED VIDEO: GR Research speaker cable vs $80 speaker wire (a/b test sound clip)

Signal Cable Review​


Is the price of speaker cables swallowing your hi-fi budget whole? How do you decide how much to spend on cables? Man, there's just no easy way. Any cable will get sound from your amp to your speaker, even a plain or gauge cord you cut off a table lamp.

And both the lamp cord and the high-dollar stuff do exactly the same thing- no matter how fancy they are, they're still just wires, with no extra features, no automatic gizmos, no knobs or switches, no nothing. To make matters worse, every one of the dozen or so major cable manufacturers has some sort of technical spiel to explain why their cables are far better than anyone else's. And although some of these guys spew gobs of easily dismissed quasi-religious BS that makes about as much sense as a Yanni record or the sayings on the posters in those New Age Crystal stores, most prefer to talk sound engineering theory- namely, the basics of inductance, capacitance, and resistance LCR, as it's known in the biz -so they're hard to argue with.

That's why we decided to pit a pack of cables from today's leading manufacturers - against each other in a blind panel test. We figured it was high time to find out just how the many cable technologies out there actually compare in performance.

For our cables' termination, we chose the only speaker-cable connectors that we think don't suck: banana plugs. Spade connectors actually provide a better electrical connection than bananas or Deltrons, but be cause there's no consistency in the size of either spades or binding posts, no spade connector we've seen fits every binding post perfectly. All spades tend to work their way loose, and none of them fit the collar-style binding posts found on many receivers and inexpensive amps.

We also rejected those little gold pin connectors, because they never seem to fit securely in the binding posts. And of course, we didn't use un-terminated bare wire-not only can it give you a bad connection, but it can even give you a short circuit if you don't get all those little copper hairs in the binding post. So all the cables wore bananas, and all measured 10 feet long.

But the similarities ended there. Straight Wire's stuff didn't make it in time, and Cardas and Canare didn't make a cable in our price range. Canare Star Quad is one of the most popular interconnect cables for recording studio and sound-reinforcement use. This system sounded pretty bright, so we decided to conduct a second session with a mellow-sounding rig, swapping out Sonus Faber Concertino speakers and a Sun fire amp for the NHTs and the Acurus. What'd we find? Well, based on our tests, we've come to the conclusion that almost everything you've read about cables is wrong.

On one extreme, you have the guys who swear up and down that there are no audible differences between cables. On the other, you have the guys who talk about how one cable or another "transformed" their system, and go into exhaustive detail about the sonic characteristics of the cables they review. They're both wrong None of our panelists had any problem hearing differences between these cables, but none heard the dramatic differences we've seen many reviewers write about.

We were seldom able to settle on a solid favorite, and seldom found a cable we just hated. And we also found much to disagree about- one guy's pick was often the next guy's pan. But we all ended up with a list of cables we definitely preferred. We sorted them into three classes-the best earned the coveted "python" rank, good performers made the "rattler" class, and the merely OK cables ended up in the "garter" category. So are we deaf, or are the other guys just making stuff up? Try a couple of these cables in your own system and see for yourself.

Sometimes stock items just won't do. In order to achieve optimal results, you have to break the mold and come up with your own solution to a problem. I'm talking here about banana plugs.

AudioQuest designs their own version of the banana for audiophiles who opt to use their cable, because they feel that they can do it better than anyone else. AudioQuest's banana connectors are a slim design which are fastened to spade lugs. They fit into amp or speaker-binding posts at a right angle to the cable.

This design makes it fairly easy to connect the cable to a speaker. The cable itself consists of two gauge and two gauge solid-copper conductors which are insulated and then encased in a heavy PVC jacketing.

It's a good thing that the design of the bananas makes for an easy connection to a speaker, because the heavy construction of Type 4 does not allow for much physical flexibility in the cable itself.

The Type 4 received a rattler designation from our panel, hovering around the middle of each panelist's ratings.

Nevertheless, in commenting on the AudioQuest cables, Robert managed to dip into his florid audiophile lexicon to characterize their sound as having a "warm, honey-baked sweetness. Less-eloquent panel members commented on the slightly forward, but overall nicely balanced sonic quality of the Type 4, although one panelist felt that the bass performance was slightly less impressive than a few of the cables that received the coveted python rating.

These sturdy banana plugs and Ultra-Cable Premier's think brown jacket impressed the panelists. Picking his way through the cables, he was immediately drawn to Esoteric Audio's Ultra-Cable Premier, which features a translucent tobacco-brown jacket and the best-designed set of banana plugs in the bunch. Ultra-Cable Premier's sound was OK, but it didn't really excite our panelists-they ranked it in the garter class overall Terry and Al thought it produced a pleasant, average sound.

In fact, Terry said the cable was very good, and cited it as one that, for him, typified average performance, although Al thought it sounded a little dull. Robert echoed Al's feelings in saying that the cable sounded soft and too smooth.

I thought it sounded big and bold, but like Terry, I thought it sounded too bright. Go figure. Given the disparity of our opinions, we'd suggest you give this cable a listen in your own system if you can, especially if you change speakers or amps a lot.

This stuff looks like it could last forever. The only braided cable in the bunch, 4VS uses a simple but sturdy set of heat-shrunk bananas. There are many materials in this world which readily lend them-selves to braiding.

But as far as speaker cables go, the only braided one that I know of is Kimber Kable. The impulse to braid at Kimber Kable must be pretty powerful,. Of course, the reason for all the twisting is scientific, rather than aesthetic.

The 4VS utilizes eight conductors. Kimber believes that braiding conductors is an effective method for reducing RF interference, which can create unwanted noise and signal distortions, particularly in lengthy cable runs. The difference between the budget VS and entry-level PR series is that the VS cables implement Kimber's VariStrand technology, which groups strands according to specific size ratios, and is supposed to lessen mechanical resonance and increase bandwidth.

Among our panelists, the sound of the 4VS proved controversial. I instantly became a Kimber Konvert upon hearing these cables: To my ears they distinguished them-selves as being the most transparent and detailed of the lot. Terry, however, begged to differ, noting that the 4VS overemphasized the treble and under emphasized the midrange in the music we listened to. Perhaps if we braided his hair he'd feel differently.

The plastic Y-connector and rubber-sleeved connectors give MCX-2s a high-end look. I've heard several people say they started the high-end cable industry, but I think the guy who really did it is Noel Lee of Monster Cable. Lee was taking his cable around California in the trunk of his car back when I was still listening to one of those plunger style Panasonic 8-track players.

That's why Monster is the cable maker so many people recognize. It's also the only one of our Face off contestants that really looks like a high-end cable-it's a half-inch-thick design tipped with slick-looking plastic Y-shaped thingies and rubber-sleeved banana plugs.

Inside, the MCX-2s has two separately insulated conductors. Each conductor comprises dozens of thin copper strands and one stiff, thick copper strand, all wrapped around a transparent strand of plastic.

Monster calls this "multiple bandwidth high-resolution speaker cable. MCX-2s ranked in the middle-performing rattler class, earning good marks from Terry and Robert. I thought it sounded great on both systems, with a very neutral and pleasing sound that lacked just the slightest amount of highs. Al, on the other hand, thought it lacked a lot of highs, sounding very dull. This well-made cable's definitely worth checking out in your system, especially if you need to tame a slightly bright-sounding amp or speakers.

Although it looks like it came out of a computer, Flatline's right at home in home theaters. Flatline uses tour flat conductors per side, so it can slip unnoticed under rugs. With its eight separate, flat copper conductors, Flatline sure doesn't look like something you'd use to hook up a speaker.

If you know something about electrical engineering, though, you won't be surprised that Flatline sounds good. Because only a couple of its conductors are in close proximity, and those conductors are very thin, its capacitance is very low. And because it's flat, with no twist, it has no inductance. Flatline's only about as thick as a piece of construction paper, which gives you lots of great options for installation. It's easy to run under a rug, and I'd imagine you can easily make it invisible by drywall-taping it to the wall and painting over the tape.

Nordost terminated our Flat-lines with unusual but very functional cylindrical banana plugs rolled from gold-plated sheet brass. There's one aesthetic problem with Flatline, though-if you move it a lot, it tends to get kinked up. Every panelist ranked Flatline in the rattler class, citing a fairly neutral competent sound. In both systems, it seemed to slightly emphasize the highs or perhaps de-emphasize the bass ; Terry found that the high-frequency emphasis made the noise in recordings more noticeable.

Robert said he didn't care for it at first, but grew to like the sound; Al liked it, but noticed a hint of midrange coloration. This cable's well worth checking out, especially because its flat design gives you more options for that difficult cable run to the surround speakers. We tested a biwired pair of Klaras, with a separate set of wires for woofer and tweeter.

TARA Klara. It's a name that rolls off the tongue like poetry. Aside from having the most lyrical name of any of the cables featured in our Face off, the TARA Klara had several other attributes which make it recommendable.

Tara decided to. Many audiophiles believe that running biwire-which gives the woofer and tweeter their own cables- delivers big sonic benefits. But your speakers need to be biwire-compatible with two sets of binding posts to use this option. Pressure stranding ensures that the individual copper strands of the conductors are very tightly wound to protect against performance-degrading oxidation and approximate the construction of more expensive solid-core cables. TARA Lab's formula for the Klara is obviously a success: The biwired Klara received a python rating and elicited several enthusiastic comments from our panel.

Seasoned audiophile Robert declared the Klara to be the best cable of the lot, noting a warm, seductive quality which brought out the space between instruments in a recording.


Speaker Cable Reviews - Faceoff 2

Tellurium Q has a range of speakers cables out and about, nowadays and all colour-coded and tweaked. So, roughly half the price of the Ultra Blue II designs then. Of course, the Ultra Blue II cables should be superior but were they and, if so, by how much? The QEDs offer great value for the price.

4 hours ago Speaker Cable Reviews - Faceoff 2. by Gene DellaSala — August 29, After almost two years of objectively writing about speaker cables for.

Monster Cable 2.2 Speaker Cables


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speaker cable reviews faceoff

Is the price of speaker cables swallowing your hi-fi budget whole? How do you decide how much to spend on cables? Man, there's just no easy way. Any cable will get sound from your amp to your speaker, even a plain or gauge cord you cut off a table lamp.

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Ultra Blue II Speaker Cables From Tellurium Q


LOG IN. Far, far more high frequencies come through but not at all harsh or shrill. Everything at the top end has opened way up. Sound is immersive with instruments fully formed in 3 dimensions. Bass is incredible - lots of low end growl and detail as well.

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The speaker cables I use have no connectors, they are bare wire all-audio.pro

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RELATED VIDEO: What type loudspeaker connector is the best?

People have found affordable ways of getting better sound with a little bit of elbow grease and a soldering iron. Requisite Audio PC I Lowes. The higher mass bass frequencies create a magnetic field in the center of the cable while traveling through the conductor, which impedes those lower frequencies. Speaker Cable Reviews - Faceoff 2.

RCA to 3. Cable s touch on the true passion of the audiophile hobby.

Best speaker cables review

View Full Version : Raise your hand if you're convinced that speaker cables make no difference to sound q. Raise your hand if you're convinced that speaker cables make no difference to sound quality. Can I respectfully keep my hand down depending upon the circumstances? Low grade thin gauge versus good quality thick gauge, yeah, you should hear a difference if your system is up to it. Like so much in Hi-Fi, it is all about diminishing returns,,.

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Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys. Cable Asylum Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords.




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  1. Ridgely

    Sometimes there are objects and worse