Is there any real difference between £1 a metre and £15 a metre speaker cable in the real world
I’ve got some new tannoy v4 speakers, and want to get some decent cable, but not convinced /sure about expensive cable for what I need

Only the price!

Only the price!

+1

The majority of big studio and mastering suites use VannDamm Blue Cable which is a princely 6 quid a meter. If it’s good enough for thepeople with the 5k monitors and golden ears that’s as much as you ever need to spend.
Get cable with a reasonable no of strands for a couple of quid a meter and that will do the trick.

VannDamm Blue Cable

I suspect the main difference is sheath quality and flexibility (number strands) rather than any electrical properties.

You need the directional stuff.

Oh no…

Christmas is coming, lots of small children looking at the lights with wonder in their eyes, but you have to bring this up, now?

What’s a reasonable number of strands?

I got 50m of Vandam blue for 75 quid. Ebay
Did all four speakers in the kitchen during first fix.
Wife happy, no cables showing.
Not crazy expensive system, but sounds fab.

Yes, and not just the price…

A few years ago I wired my front room for surround sound and HiFi, chose a decent cable and it sounded great. I’ve just done it with our new house too.

You can hear the difference between really cheap (as in the stuff that comes with speakers/HiFi) and better stuff. This time around I spent less though. Once you’re spending over a couple of quid per meter, its decent stuff – I managed to get mine through an ebay seller at less than half retail.

I have this cable on my hifi speakers and it sounds significantly better than the cheap speaker cable from the local hardware shop that seemed exactly the same as the stuff privided with the stereo.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3685-qed-silver-anniversary-xt-speaker-cable.aspx?utm_campaign=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

I just go into Richer Sounds and do and buy whatever the guy tells me…

Just get some 2 core electrical cable from B&Q or wherever

Studios don’t use speaker cables. Only crap speakers use speaker cables.

I personally think that there is.. and I’ve had the privilege of auditioning a huge variety of cables on some serious kit..

I had a very good friend who worked as an equipment reviewer for one of the most highly respected hi-fi mags..
He very honestly used to recommend upgrading cable as a starting point to any improvements to your system that you might be considering..

I used to find the whole thing quite laughable and a bit obscene until I was able to spend a lot of time around good equipment..
That said, Marijuana is still by far the most cost effective upgrade that anyone can invest in..

Yes there is a big difference !, but like most things, after a certain point you are paying for diminishing returns.

+1 for Rusty Mac with that QED Silver Anniversary stuff… Can’t go wrong imo !

They can’t improve the sound, they can only attenuate the signal. If different cables with sufficient conductor material alter the sound of electronics, then the electronics have a tweaked frequency response and you should get rid of them.

🙄

They can’t improve the sound, they can only attenuate the signal.

If they’re highly capacitive they can induce oscillation on some amplifiers 🙂

+1

That said, Marijuana is still by far the most cost effective upgrade that anyone can invest in..

😛

That said, Marijuana is still by far the most cost effective upgrade that anyone can invest in.

If it weren’t for random drug testing & possibility of loosing my job… otherwise +1

Studios don’t use speaker cables. Only crap speakers use speaker cables.

they use steam then?

I think that you want something with plenty of copper. Hard ware stores and ebay is where I would shop. Richer Sounds is cheap on its bundles but not on its cables

great article here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_cable

If they’re highly capacitive they can induce oscillation on some amplifiers

Exactly. A huge improvent to some amps 🙂

they use steam then?

Nope. 99% of studios use active speakers.

Can make a difference.

You need to look at your whole system tho, possibly not the best area to spend on

A ‘system’ is only as strong/good as your weakest link so yes it makes a difference.

Start with an ‘entry-level’ piece of cable and go from there. Look into proper terminals too.

‘Richer Sounds’ has always been a good place to shop.

JCL

But there is still a cable to a driver. Just because its not a consumer component doesn’t mean its not there

Err, active speakers still need to be connected to the pre-amp and source. Same arguments apply to phono cables too.

I have a hifi system that I’ve run with Van Den Hul gold terminalled speaker cables and QED cheap stuff and you can’t tell the difference.

I’ve got the same as Rusty. Was recommended in what hifi so went with that and happy with it.

Years ago I ‘upgraded’ the bog standard speaker cable that the shop gave me with my separates to some fairly decent stuff and the difference in clarity and bass was vast.

another recommendation for the VannDamm Blue Cable.

Ive got the 6mm for my fronts and centre and 4mm for the rears.

I’m just a bit puzzled by the OP’s choice of forum nicname? 😉

So given the law of diminishing returns, whats the SLX equivalent of speaker cable?

csb – Member
I have a hifi system that I’ve run with Van Den Hul gold terminalled speaker cables and QED cheap stuff and you I can’t tell the difference.

FTFY…was it properly set up etc?…

Speaker level cables are very different to balanced signal cables. The resistance and losses are higher hence another reason why they run active. The whole “studios are wired with this” statement is a load of crap as the priority for studios is that cables are flexible and don’t break. Most studios I’ve visited use Mogami.

Can you still get Cable Talk Talk 3? I found that gave an appreciable improvement to my modest stereo, for little cost.

glupton1976 – Member
You need the directional stuff.

+1 if you don’t by directional cable that is frozen and kept at -270 deg C or lower your’e wasting your life.

Not worth spending the ridiculous amounts some audiophiles spend but that VanDamme stuff is probably worth the money IMO.

Or just get this and cut the ends off. 😉

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLYMO-15Metre-Lawnmower-Grass-Hedge-Trimmer-Mains-Orange-POWER-CABLE-FLEX-/160823767926?pt=UK_Garden_Lawnmowers&hash=item2571d7f376

As long as it is mutistrand and oxy-free then you’ll be hard pressed to tell any difference. It used to be that a rough rule of thumb is to spend approx. 10% of the system costs on cables and interconnects, but now that most interconnects transfer digital signals, i’d argue that is no longer valid. For example there is no sence in spending alot on HDMI cables, just go for something of decent build quality. But with speaker cable, unless you’re comparing with really, really cheap bell wire yo’ll be hard pressed to tell the difference. The human ear is just not that sensitive. I’ve used the QED Silver Anniversary stuff in my current set up and it is no better than the standard Richer Sounds stuff at half the price.

As if happens I have two 3.5m runs of Mogami speaker cable lying around from the sale of my whole system. It made an appreciable difference over the Naim cable I had; not better or worse but definitely preferable.

It’s professionally terminated and cost £100 new (for the pair). If you’re interested let me know.

Thanks for the opinions
Have gone for some cheap stuff at £1.20 a metre