[audioman999]

I have recently entered into the world of SET amplification.  I am the proud owner of a Mastersounds 845 Compact integrated amplifier.  My source is a Bryston BDA1 fed by various other sources.  My speakers are Pioneers S-3EX which have an 88 sensitivity.  The new amplifier coincides with new speaker placement and my old cables are no longer appropriate.

So the hunt for new cables starts.  I had heard that SET amps require or sound best with specific types of cables.  Is this correct?  If so, what type of cable should I be looking for?  Cable length is 12' and I am open to biwiring or a single run with jumpers.

Not sure if the RCA interconnects to the SET amp also need to be a specific type or not.

Any guidance or recommendations is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[lokie]

The first thing you should do for speaker cables is start out with White Lightening (google  6 moons article) and spend $14. Then borrow, buy used or demo cables to try to beat them.  So far they have taken all comers in my sytem and I have moved on to other "issues".

[rollo]

  Congrats and welcome to the SET club. It seems that 88db sensitivity maybe low for an SET. How much power does the amp put out ? Assuming all is cool many SET owners like silver cabling for its clarity and neutral presentation. Others like myself like copper as it retains the body or soul. if the amp is realy rich in character try silver. if it is a modern day SET design leaning towards neutrality try copper.
   Not a fan of bi-wiring. Jumpers of the same wire as the main will suffice. You can try copper on top and silver on the bottom or visa versa. If Mastersound makes cabling by all means try those first. Have fun trying.


charles

[Quiet Earth]

After I switched from a lifetime of push pull amplifiers to the land of single ended triodes I really gained an appreciation for solid core speaker wire. Solid core wire is complementary to the single ended sound and supports clarity, contrast, pace and rhythm. No confusion like heavy bundles of stranded wire.

After getting the hang of that I fell hard for litz wire, which is really just an assembly of finer solid core wires that are individually varnished so they do not have strand interaction. This is the bee's knees in my book, but it is more expensive.

There's a lot of solid core speaker wire out there so you will probably get a lot of suggestions as to which is the best. What is your budget?

(PS to Zman, aka, John.  I think your reply was in poor taste.  )

[rollo]

After I switched from a lifetime of push pull amplifiers to the land of single ended triodes I really gained an appreciation for solid core speaker wire. Solid core wire is complementary to the single ended sound and supports clarity, contrast, pace and rhythm. No confusion like heavy bundles of stranded wire.

After getting the hang of that I fell hard for litz wire, which is really just an assembly of finer solid core wires that are individually varnished so they do not have strand interaction. This is the bee's knees in my book, but it is more expensive.

There's a lot of solid core speaker wire out there so you will probably get a lot of suggestions as to which is the best. What is your budget?

(PS to Zman, aka, John.  I think your reply was in poor taste.  )

   Me too me too. Excellent suggestion about Litz and solid core.


charles

[rockadanny]

I have a pair of powerful SET monoblocks driving my 87db speakers (minimum 6 ohms; no large woofers to drive). I am very happy with my pair of Harmonic Tech Pro-9 Plus speaker cables (good bargain if you can find a pair used like I did).

Hmm ... white lightening? I made these for my TV speakers and speakers in my barn and they seem fine. Never thought of trying them in my main rig though. I wonder ... ?

[Pez]

Hmmm, perhaps someone can shed some light on what type of cables one would avoid with SET... This cable thing is news to me regarding the necessity to use only certain types. 

[Mark Korda]

Audioman,I have not yet gone into SE amps,I'm push pull Dynaco.I went with the solid core.I bought 2 spools of Radio Shack solid core copper 18 guage.I twisted them around each other every half inch in a helix fashion.I think it cuts down on radio frequencies by doing that.I went with red and black so you can always find positive and negitive with ease.Maybe you high price guys might put your noses up at this,but a few years ago Stereophile had this way of cabling in their most recommended  list,not in class A,but it did make the list.With old screw terminals like on my Dyna-35,theres no better or easier way of getting a nice tight clean connection.Take care...Mark Korda

[lokie]

Hmm ... white lightening? I made these for my TV speakers and speakers in my barn and they seem fine. Never thought of trying them in my main rig though. I wonder ... ?

Maybe not the end of your search but for $14-  not a bad place to start.

I am also a fan of sold core cable and prefer copper and gold over silver. My most dramatic ah ah moment came with a very simple design of solid core copper non filtered, non shielded power cords.

[rollo]

Hmmm, perhaps someone can shed some light on what type of cables one would avoid with SET... This cable thing is news to me regarding the necessity to use only certain types. 

  A necessity no, a preference yes. Solid core does the bass a bit better overall and adds some weight. No rules just an oberservation.


charles

[Quiet Earth]

  A necessity no, a preference yes  . . . . . .   No rules just an oberservation.


charles

+1   

[audioman999]

I am not familiar with solid core cables.  To date i have been usually some home depot copper wire.  Do manufacturers sell solid core cables or is it more DIY?

Thanks

[Pez]

You can buy spools of the stuff to DIY but you can also but solid core stuff from a lot of manufacturers. Off the top of my head Audioquest makes the stuff.

I got some solid core Kimber Kable speaker cables with solid high purity copper and stranded silver. That is not something anyone can get from them though. in my system I use a mix of bolder cable and kimber. And also I use SET.