eth2 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 As someone who is new to all of this can someone explain what the differences between speaker cables are, or what difference cables from the amp to the preamp make? What could possibly justify a $9,000 cable? I have seen cable from $500 to $10,000 on AudiogoN. Just can't imagine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 You would become somebody's hero here if you paid $9K for speaker wire. I'm not sure who that person is exactly but they must be here somewhere. I like common lamp cord myself. One interesting but kinda cheap idea for exotic cables is to twist CAT5 data cable and use that for your speaker wire needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 He'd be my frigging hero if he bought some cables from me for $9K! That said, I can't argue to those who say they hear a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 I just wanted to understand the difference cables/wires can make and why. I am not looking to spend $90 on cables, let alone $9,000. and I certainly do not want to be anyone's "hero" (except my son's and that never seems to happen) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Coytee, you are my HERO already so don't even think about impressing me with speaker wire LOL. There is all kinds of great Voodoo/snake oil/magical speaker wire out there. I think 99% of it is (as PWK would say) BS! So IMHO there is no noticable difference in the crazy expensive speaker wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 More to audio reproduction. Ignore all of the above and just go live and happiness may follow. Unless of course you become one of those who think music should be massaged to your own particular ears. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Thanks, I understand. I am as much an equipment junkie as anyone no matter what I get involved in, and have often got sucked into all kinds of new fads...but even I am immune to wire addictions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 You have opened a can of worms here !!!!!!! I will be watching the sparks, till amy closes it DOWN The theory behind different cables is the same as the theory behind different amps, pre-amps etc... However it is a hot subject for some, There are 2 basic camps on the subject, Camp 1 cables make no difference in sound, Camp 2 cables do affect sound. at there best in my opinion cables are a last piece of the puzzle for fine tuning a system and at best you will hear a subtle difference in sound So your ? why have a 9000.00 cable........Someone who has invested 50,000.00 dollars in a system and feels they have topped out gear wise, and has plenty of money to spend may feel the HIGH END cable will add that last ENTH to sound quality and find it worthwhile Most of us cant afford to do this, Me personally I can find much better things to spend money on, Cables DEFINITELY FALL INTO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Actually Mark's comments on the various fields of thought are pretty accurate, and surprisingly unbiased given his dalliance with the last camp. But then again, his adherence to that camp may be just his campy coming out. Monoprice has nice speaker wire, but I'm no longer a fan of their cables. If you try to squeeze rca males, they have a very strong tendency to break off a tang or two. Not recommend for that reason. Now on to more important stuff. Speaking of broken tangs on my male cable, I was putside Paris in 1977 and there she was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 More to audio reproduction. Ignore all of the above and just go live and happiness may follow. Unless of course you become one of those who think music should be massaged to your own particular ears. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." Every piece of gear we buy equals massaging playback to our tastes / ears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 More to audio reproduction. Ignore all of the above and just go live and happiness may follow. Unless of course you become one of those who think music should be massaged to your own particular ears. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." Every piece of gear we buy equals massaging playback to our tastes / ears That's what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Keep in mind I meant "live" as in "live in concert" not live as in "not dead." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I remember reading a review of a mid-priced ($600-800) AVR in a magazine that was also testing some $40,000 cables, Tara Zero (the ones with a partial vacuum inside them), IIRC, at the same time. The $40,000 figure may have included some interconnects along with the speaker cables. Just for fun and curiosity, they hooked up the expensive cables to the inexpensive receiver, and reported that the sound was much improved, although the writer acknowledged that the cost/benefit ratio made it a ridiculous idea. As for me, I'd fall into Mark's "ICR" group. I think I can hear the difference with better cables, bigger is better, and twisted pair is better than straight side-by-side, but I won't pay crazy prices. KnuKonceptz is my supplier of choice. However, as joessportster pointed out, if someone has already spent buckets of money on their system, and wants to gild the lily a bit more thickly, and has lots of money to do it with, why not just go for it? You never know, there might actually be some R&D in those high-end cables that could eventually filter down to regular consumer cable, and that would benefit the rest of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I just wanted to understand the difference cables/wires can make and why. I am not looking to spend $90 on cables, let alone $9,000. and I certainly do not want to be anyone's "hero" (except my son's and that never seems to happen) Check out the blue jeans web site, I would not spend anymore on any dam wire than they ask for there. The main reason I prefer blue jeans is the quality of the construction and the double braid, nothing touch's them for the price and they are made to order, any design you can come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) I was using standard 14 Ga. lamp cord but came across a REALLY good deal on a set of MIT's. Definitely heard a positive difference from the beginning. But if they weren't on sale I probably wouldn't have bought them for MSRP. Pretty much the same thing happened when I went from some low-mid range Monster interconnects to Kimber Hero's. Edited March 27, 2014 by Mighty Favog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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