Question Speaker cable question

[rocky raccoon]

Hi guys
I have been using the same speaker cable for the last 20+ years - Namlely (Naimly?) Naim NAC05.
My 1m long runs are fitted with gold plated spades soldered on both ends. My question is this -
Has anyone had this cable and found better ? If so, what are you using ? I know for a fact cables do make a difference, but all my efforts have so far been devoted to line level - not speaker cable.
I do not intend to spend buckets of money and I'd prefer to terminate them myself - but has anyone spent sensible money and heard a difference - especially over such a short run ? (my power amps are next to the speakers).
The system is pretty revealing and the room has had a fair bit of attention paid to acoustics - with no compromise in speaker positioning etc.
Just wondering if the longest surviving component could be bettered !
Cheers - rr

 

[bencat]

At that length I doubt any changes will make any difference , enjoy your music .

 

[garn63]

You've got nothing to lose by trying ? Only a couple of metres.
NVA cable is reasonably priced & you have a month to see if you like it.
Good luck.

 

[rocky raccoon]

At that length I doubt any changes will make any difference , enjoy your music .

Haha - Cheers Bencat. So far, everythng else I have done, from speakers to sources, has been perfectly obvious with the ol' Nac 5 so no need to replace or faff. There was a plan afoot to muck about with some silver wire. Silver co-ax interconnect upstream with WBT phonos is now standard in the household. For speakers, the old gaffer has quite a bit of silver strand kicking around. I might have a go if there's enough to do two 1m runs with 4 mm cross section. I was just wondering about commercial alternatives as I suspect geometry/dialectric is perhaps more important than the conductor itself in a high-current situation with so much going on between Amp and Speaker.........

 

[tuga]

The cable ‘dance’ is a tail-chasing exercise that will only serve to waste money and lose precious music listening enjoyment time.

If you read reviews all cables sound different and more expensive cables sound significantly better, the reason for it being that reviews exist to sell gear and there’s a lot more margin in cables than there is in equipment.

Solution: stop reading reviews,

 

[bencat]

I was being very serious . A change in interconnect of that length would be noticeable and in many cases different . But for something in speaker cable I would doubt there would be much difference at all . I have tried silver cable and in all honesty could not get on with it but your ears and system are different . If you have the option and can try it out then go for it and just enjoy the experience of listening and exploring things , but dont take it too serious your cable has been in place for quite a while it is doing what it needs too . A clean up of the plugs and sockets in use will give you as much change as the cable itself and is worth doing every six months or so .

 

[tuga]

I have compared (sighted) very different IC topologies (braided, coax, spaced-paralel) with distinct LRC characteristics and felt that the differences were obvious to me. Speaker cables seemed to make less audible difference. I will only change cables when I need longer runs or if my wife wants speaker cables to match the carpet.

 

[StingRay]

1m sounds too short, how far apart are your speakers?

You can try some from Future Shop, they have 30 day returns on their cables.

 

[Nestor Turton]

@rocky raccoon NAC A5 is a decent cable especially if you have Naim kit (though from your profile you have different kit). What I didn't like about it was it was very stiff and not easy to install neatly. If this is not a problem for you then I'd keep it.

I use Van Damme speaker cables with my Chord kit. I use Rega Duet, which is very easy to route around my fireplace and wainscoting, bit like flexible NAC A5.

I'm not one to spend much on cables and although I'm not saying everything sounds and measures the same, I would say I have never found an expensive cable (tried a few) that made my system more enjoyable.

Some years ago a manufacturer exhibited at a HiFi show. However, he'd forgotten to pack adequate speaker cable in his van. In desperation, he went to a nearby B&Q and bought a reel of mains cable. He duly wired up the speakers. Punters were impressed with the results, but he was bemused by the most frequent question, which was to ask about his exotic orange speaker leads and how much he was selling it for. [If I recall correctly the company was Quad, but I may be wrong].

 

[Nestor Turton]

1m sounds too short, how far apart are your speakers?

You can try some from Future Shop, they have 30 day returns on their cables.

IME, you need to make sure if they sell you a cable at full price, it is new and not one somebody else has tried out. They are not a bad shop by any means, but I bought some leads from them, which I thought had obviously done the rounds. I returned them and got a full no quiblle refund.

 

[awkwardbydesign]

Solution: stop reading reviews,

Real solution: stop listening to those who say there is no difference.

 

[StingRay]

IME, you need to make sure if they sell you a cable at full price, it is new and not one somebody else has tried out. They are not a bad shop by any means, but I bought some leads from them, which I thought had obviously done the rounds. I returned them and got a full no quiblle refund.

Yes I have heard that also, but if want to buy them, you can request them to send you some new ones, if not return the used ones and just buy from elsewhere.

 

[bencat]

So long as you get a reduced price on them does it matter if a speaker cables have been used ? Obviously if they are badly marked or the connectors and poorly done but if in good condition there are no moving parts so what is the issue ?

 

[JANDL100]

After decades of trying different speaker cables I've settled on Van den Hul CS122.
It's the best for me that I've had at any price.
It's not expensive used and there's always some on eBay.
I'd suggest you try some.

 

[savvypaul]

Make sure that the speaker cable you select has the appropriate electrical properties - capacitance, inductance, resistance - for the amplifier that you are using. The manufacturer of your amplifier is the best place to ask.

Better quality copper / silver plating, better connectors and better insulation materials do make a difference, ime. More expensive is not always better.

Get a home trial / sale or return agreement on whatever you buy.

All that said, 1 metre is a very short length for a speaker cable, so if you do hear night and day differences it's probably because your original cable was either a bad electrical match for your amp, or the cable was broken.

 

[Nestor Turton]

So long as you get a reduced price on them does it matter if a speaker cables have been used ? Obviously if they are badly marked or the connectors and poorly done but if in good condition there are no moving parts so what is the issue ?

Paid full price on their site for an aerial cable and expected new factory sealed, but it'd been opened and untidily put back in the box. I'd bought one previously in sealed factory packaging. Had the shop sold them as used or ex-demo with a discount I'd have been fine. To me they were sold as new, but weren't. No problem, I asked for my money back, which I got. Everything was amicable.

Afterwards, I bought the same from a different shop; it came in sealed factory packaging and looked immaculate. I doubt it gave better sound, but I'm a fussy so-and-so.

 

[rocky raccoon]

1m sounds too short, how far apart are your speakers?

You can try some from Future Shop, they have 30 day returns on their cables.

In fact, the mono amps are next to the speakers so the speaker cables could be even shorter. There are longer balanced silver interconnect cables from the pre amp to the power amps - with the pre amp and all the other gear as far from the speakers as is possible.

 

[bencat]

I had guessed that but thought it a bit cheeky to presume.

 

[StingRay]

In fact, the mono amps are next to the speakers so the speaker cables could be even shorter. There are longer balanced silver interconnect cables from the pre amp to the power amps - with the pre amp and all the other gear as far from the speakers as is possible.

OK, I understand now.

 

[rocky raccoon]

I had guessed that but thought it a bit cheeky to presume.

About 30 years ago the old gaffer made up some long cables so he could have the pre/sources behind the listening position and the monoblocks bolted to the back of the BC1's. It sounded bloody brilliant. Colin, from University Audio came to visit, with preconceptions about the dear old BC1 and he was observed to sit bolt upright ! I think this is the best way to set up a system. Gear away fron the speakers and short speaker cables {if you have the luxury of mono power amps)

The OG used the industry standard screened signal cable (RG85CU?) from RS with nice connectors. This stuff is good into the MHz. You find it in Labs for connections to ocilloscopes etc. It makes a very good video cable. Later on he went nuts and bought a roll of silver co-ax, made up new runs and swapped those in. With a run of about 10 meters (he has a big room) the differences were bleedin' obvious. Well that was it. All interconnects were made out of this stuff (RS no longer sells it) with WBT connectors - for his system and mine. That was when we knew that single ended connections benefit from exotic metals and screened geometry.

Years later, we are still using silver but with balanced gear. He no longer needs speaker cable because he as Active loudspeakers from a certain company in Gloucester. I am still running a passive system with monoblocks so I have the good 'ol Nac5.

I've had a big performance-hit with acoustic treatment (I have been mucking around with it for years but new materials and construction methods - plus a complete freedom do do whatever the hell I like in the room) and that led to the speaker cable question because I just wondered if anyone had had a real hit with speaker cables. I tend to trust the opinions of enthuisiasts rather than reviewers and, being handy with a soldering iron, as well as a skin-flint, I thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks to everybody who pitched in. I think I have an experiment to conduct (pardon the pun!) It will involve silver and it will be a short run (70 cm or so) from amps to speakers. And it will be DIY.