[coolwater]

Building my 1st hifi system, I've figured out most of my audio components except cabling everything together.  *sigh*, shopping cables and figuring out what I need is turning out to be the most difficult part.

As a 1st time hifi builder, there are some rather large gaps in knowlege so I apologize upfront for the newbie questions.

What is an interconnect?  From what I could find on the net (which wasn't much), its used to connect audio components... I'm guessin for example a receiver and a cd player.  I take it I will not use it to connect to my speakers ie I'll use speaker cables to connect my receiver to my speakers (hence speaker cables, duh!).

Speaking of speaker cables, any recommended cables for the Omega XRS?  I don't wanna break the bank but I'd like something better than monster.  Any ideas on a nice compromise between performance and price?

[Jampot]

Don't get bogged down with it!

You don't need to read very far on AC to realise that cables of all sorts are a difficult subject

It's a couple of years old now but have a look at this thread-

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=15085.0

And if you have any inclination at all to even try to understand the tech stuff, try this -

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/c3.htm

Not sure whether Jon Risch is a member here, but he is credited in a number of circles for his knowledge. You may not need power conditioning if you run the super T off batteries but his name crops up on that subject as well.

I am using simple cat 5 (just a twisted pair each channel, stripped out of some cat5 computer network cable bought in bulk) to connect my RWA Clari-T with a pair of stand mount Super 3s and its fine - couldn't hear an improvement when we tried 'branded' products.

I think the tripath chips seem to tolerate the cat 5 better than conventional SS amps, an experiment with a conventional amp (QED SA240) was a disaster - sounded terrible and got so hot I thought the cat 5 would melt!

There are recipes all over the internet for home brew cables. Have a read here -

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/diycables.html

Even if you don't fancy braiding your own, the reading may help broaden your understanding.

Enjoy your new system.

Jim

[RonB]

go to "audioholics.com" & check out the cables they recommend...blue jeans cables,meteora cables, & all the others that advertise with them...they have tons of articles based on science & not snake oil...happy listening!

[Bwanagreg]

I can recommend the Blue Jeans interconnects (both digital and analogue). I recently built a second two channel system around an older Omega model (the TS-1) using these cables (plus a Cardas speker cable set I already owned) and am getting great sound.

If you want to make your own stuff, the speaker cables are the place in my experience with Omegas where experimentation can really pay off. They really like simple twisted magnet wire cables, for example. Since you are new to the hobby you might want to get a commercial set first anyway to have a benchmark for any future experiments.

I vote to get the cheap BJ stuff, invest in some room treatments, and save the rest for software!

[coolwater]

My thanks to everyone for their posts.  Really great info.    Wow, I had no idea cabling was such a diverse and confusing topic. 

Think I may try my hand at DIY cabling... purchasing a spool and clipping on banana plugs.  From what I read, it sounds like thicker wire (ie lower gauge wire) is better... lower resistance, better conductance.  (Apologize if I'm getting any of this wrong... my head is swimming w/info.)  So, would I be better off going w/10AWG vs 12AWG? 

I've seen a couple different style of banana plugs (screw-down plugs where you insert the wire thru a hole in the side, and the other you stick a bare wire thru the bottom, splay the wire, and screw a cap on).  Is any style better?

Been looking at speaker cable spools from Blue Jean (5T00UP), Impact Acoustics Velocity Cable, and Sound King 12AWG cables.  What do you think of these or do you have any recommendations?

Again, my thanx to everyone for the links, opinions, and info.

[bgewaudio]

From what I read, it sounds like thicker wire (IE lower gauge wire) is better... lower resistance, better conductance.

It never hurts to go with a lower AWG wire, thus keeps resistance low, which is an ideal trait.  The only problem with any wire, is lengths that exceed 50 ft or more start to exhibit a significant amount of increased resistance and greater capacitive and inductive loads.  Others have said that if you go with a lower AWG wire that is lower than what is recommended in relation to amplifier current capabilities and speaker impedance, then whats known as the "Skin Effect"(when higher frequency signals ride the outside of the conductor) tend to cause audible effects, which I don't think is enough to worry about.

So, would I be better off going w/10AWG vs 12AWG? 

Personally you wouldn't have a problem going with either, may cost a little more for the lower AWG, but the heavier cable will not impose any negative effects until the latter discussed becomes an issue.

I've seen a couple different style of banana plugs (screw-down plugs where you insert the wire Thur a hole in the side, and the other you stick a bare wire Thur the bottom, splay the wire, and screw a cap on).  Is any style better?

It doesn't matter what type of termination you decide to use, it is more or less what type of connection your amp or binding posts will accommodate.  As long as you have a tight, clean, properly terminated connection, with no strayed wires you should be fine, just don't opt to bare wire as this will eventually degrade signal intelligibility.

Hope this helps

Barry

[kbuzz3]

I can personally reccomend....and use and continue to use both reality cables and Tom at hudson audio cables.  Louis and Tom often show thier wares together at shows.

[Louis O]

Many thanks for the great tips and hope this helps Coolwater.

If you want to try making your own I would give 18 AWG solid core a try and have it spaced apart just like DNM. This works great too.

Thanks again,
Louis