What Speaker Cables Are You Running?

SteveFord · « **on:** 10 Nov 2010, 11:14 pm »

I've been curious if there aren't any trends here.
I've tried a few and settled on Kimber Kable 8TC.
Perhaps Santa will get me some 12TCs (if I buy them myself)!

jaywills · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 12:53 am »

I had 8TC's for my Quads awhile back. Good cables. I'm now using a pair of Speltz's "Anti-Cables" (no affiliation), which sound pretty good to me. Given their relatively low cost, you might consider giving them a try if you don't mind their stiffness. Of course, YMMV. Good luck. Cordially,

GaryArthur · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 01:38 am »

Currently using DH Labs "Silver sonic Q10 Signature" on my Martin Logan CLX's. These are destined for my Los Angeles system but at $250 for a 2 meter pair I have been pleasantly surprised at their open sound as I test them on my main system in Las Vegas.

http://www.silversonic.com/docs/products/Q10.html

Woolz · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 01:46 am »

I am using Teresonic Clarison cables. I was using the Speltz Anti-Cables, but after trying the Teresonic the grain and coarseness of the Speltz was quite clear.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 02:18 am »

Zu Audio Julian cables on my Maggies. The best so far in my rather limited run of speaker cables. I am perfectly happy with them and can't fault a single aspect of their presentation, but I'm always window shopping so it's great seeing all of the different cables used and the first hand descriptions of their sound. Especially since it's pretty much the same for everyone, at least on the receiving end being all planar speakers.

Jazzman53 · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 02:22 am »

Since I'm bi-amping and I'm always broke (ex wife to support) I have a pair of el-cheapo 14GA flat-braided copper cables from Rat Shack feeding each speaker and the setup sounds just fine to me. I opted to not go with high-end ($$) cables after reading about some blind listening tests done by McIntosh Labs in this article: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Am I missing out on higher fidelity?

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 02:50 am »

Quote from: Jazzman53 on 11 Nov 2010, 02:22 am

Am I missing out on higher fidelity?

Yes.

Okay, I'll try not to be a smartass and actually answer. You don't have to spend big bucks to get a taste of something much better than Rat Shack. There are about a zillion small cable manufacturers, many on this site, that will get you a good product for a reasonable price. I like Zu Audio, they run deals on eBay all the time, WyWires, AntiCable, Blue Jeans, and many others have low priced offerings that may beat the big bucks cables. Try someting better with a money back offer, if you don't hear an improvement, send 'em back.

denjo · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 09:14 am »

Auditorium 23s. Sounds good with my Harbeth SHL5 speakers. No desire to change speaker cables. Cables are very pliable and easy to work around tight corners.

BaMorin · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 06:06 pm »

Same set of Monster cables I bought in 78 when i got my first pair of MG-1's. Bought a second set for my MG 1.4's The 1.4's are hooked up to the TV via GAS Grandson amp. the 3.6's have the original monster cables.

soundbitten1 · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Nov 2010, 06:17 pm »

MIT Terminator 4. These were my first serious cables (have had them for about 12 years). Never been motivated to change them.

DTB300 · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Nov 2010, 01:55 am »

Zu Audio Libtec

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Nov 2010, 04:25 am »

Was going to DIY with some Neotech high end stuff but now headed toward XLO cabling.

twitch54 · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 01:09 pm »

Quote from: Jazzman53 on 11 Nov 2010, 02:22 am

Am I missing out on higher fidelity?

maybe.......maybe not.....cables, power cords, etc should be the last area of 'tweaking'. Example....... A good solidly connected 14ga pair of cables combined with prudent acoustic treatment of ones listening room is light years ahead of the knucklehead who thinks he can 'tune his room' with esoteric 'wire' !

Now with all this being said and the fact that this is posted in the 'Planar' section, I do look at speaker cable specs as the relate to resistance, inductance and capacitence for with Logans (which in themselves act as a giant capacitor) it's prudent to keep relative cable values on the low side.

For the record I use Frank's 'Signal Cable' Ultra, copper speaker cable.

tabrink · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 02:41 pm »

Nirvana cables by Virtue Audio.

I like them. They are warm. One of the very best values in my kit.
They look and sound full of life.
http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/vrtu-sc-nrv-2spd.htm

Photon46 · « **Reply #14 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 03:51 pm »

In the last few years I've used Analysis Plus Oval 9, Kimber 4tc, Sonoran Plateau, $1 a foot Monster Cable from Best Buy, Furutech FS502, and DH Labs Silver Sonic Q10. It's been an interesting experiment comparing the effects of speaker cable with various amps and it's led me to the conclusion that in my system, speaker cable might be the least effective means of gaining improvements for the dollars spent (at least among this group of cables.) The DH Labs Q10 is the one I've settled on as it has the best balance of traits I enjoy at a price that's remarkably sane for the quality it provides. FWIW, I also found I couldn't put up with the hassles of super stiff cables like the Sonoran Plateau. I was always worried about snapping off binding posts every time I moved a cable to vacuum around them.

DougSmith · « **Reply #15 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 04:12 pm »

Dayton 12g from Parts Express... ~$0.60 per ft when I got it. Overkill on the gauge, but seriously, guys, wire is wire.

dangerbird · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 05:57 pm »

MIT Terminator II Gray Box's

shep · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 06:10 pm »

KCI's... a prototype made by John P. Replaced solid core. BIG improvement.

BPoletti · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 06:18 pm »

This is going to sound strange, but I'm using old Rat Shak 15-1540 A/V interconnects for speaker cable. I won't go into the construction details. The cable runs are very short from the amps to external crossovers, very short runs to the speaker box itself. I voiced the speakers using this wire, the system sounds pretty good.

That said, I will be getting new speakers and will use the cable that the designer used to voice these speakers. (I expect to have all the upstream components he used. Lots of system changes.) IMO, that's really the best way to determine which cable to use.

eclein · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Nov 2010, 07:31 pm »

Wywires here all around.. I find them well made and they sound excellent to me!