Speaker Cable

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ksmitty, Feb 13, 2003.

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  1. ksmitty

    ksmitty Senior Member Thread Starter

    I purchased some Speaker cable from a independant type dealer and was curious as to if anyone is familiar with the company. The name of the company is SIGNALCABLE. I had been seeing ads on Audiogon and a few other Audio sites and decided to take a chance. Anyway, I purchased a couple 12 ft lengths biwired with spades. I am hoping that I have made a
    Sensible buy as They swear that their cables so better than others twice the price. I paid 144 bucks shipped. So... Has anyone had any experiences with this Company or am I Buying a lamp chord project? They have a web site which is signalcable.com .
     
  2. Claviusb

    Claviusb A Serious Man

    What do your ears tell you, ksmitty? Do you feel you hear any differences between the Signalcable and your previous speakers cables, if so, what were they?
     
  3. DaveD

    DaveD Member

    I have emailed the Signal Cable guy, I forget his name. If you buy from him you get a 30 day trial. He seemed helpful, and his prices are very reasonable. The markup on name brand cable products is very high. I think he is a DIY'er who has decided to try to market his best stuff. Could be a great way to get a good sounding cable. Trust your ears, and always pay attention to the Fun Factor.

    DaveD
     
  4. ksmitty

    ksmitty Senior Member Thread Starter

    Signalcable

    Thank You Dave for your reply regarding my previous post. After speaking with Frank at Signal I did feel comfortable with the purchase but sometimes still feel somewhat suspicious when ordering from unknown sources. Also there are quite a few feedbacks on the Audiogon site that give high ratings on the company. I just wanted to post here to see if anyone actually had any experiences with the company. I know there are many out there that believe cables do not make much difference in the sound quality. I could agree if someone was using mass market electronics but I do feel that good cables do help with the soundstage and imaging on even mid-fi systems which I own. Anyway ,Thank You for your input.
     
  5. Casino

    Casino Senior Member

    Location:
    BossTown
    I'm one of those who are skeptical that cables make much difference, as long as you are using cables of sufficient gauge for the length you're running. I don't use lamp cord myself (I use Monster) but nor would I spend big bucks on cables, either. I rather spend the $ on the equipment, where it makes a bigger difference. Nonetheless, trust your ears - if you think you hear an improvement with what you've bought, you're golden.
     
  6. Michael St. Clair

    Michael St. Clair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Funkytown
    I use home depot copper 12-gauge. I'm a moderate cable believer, but I find interconnects to make a much bigger difference than speaker cable.

    Your milage may vary, of course.
     
  7. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    I've noticed that Parts Express has some 10 and 11 gauge speaker wire. (Might be OFC copper.) It's reasonably priced, so I'd be willing to try it. The Monster equivalent is more than twice as much money. I doubt I would ever hear the difference between the two.

    One thing I used to do in the past when I couldn't afford to upgrade my speaker wire was double up on the lamp cord stuff. So each speaker terminal had two physical "wires" running to it.

    I have always wondered what equivalent wire gauge I would get by combining two 16 gauge, or two 12 gauge, wire runs. I suppose I could approximate it by stranding the two together and measuring the conductors...but I wondered if there was a formula for it.

    In one location, I'm using a wire that I got on clearance at Target, of all places. It was a 12-gauge *flat* OFC wire sold by Recoton. I'd always associated that company with cheap, disposable hi-fi accessories, but this wire is very nice. The copper has a braided appearance, and it's flat. The insulation is also heavy, but very flexible. Very easy to route. For what I paid, I'm more than pleased with it.

    What--nobody uses 22-gauge "zip cord" anymore for speakers? ;)
     
  8. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    If the only speaker cables you have ever used in your system are variations on the non-insulated multi-strand geometry (zip cord, lamp cord, Monster Cable, Vampire Wire) you should try an experiment with a solid core cable.

    I am not suggesting that something as heavy gauge as Romex would be a sensible alternative, but will give you an idea of how multi-strand cable reduces the musical impact of a recording. And it's so cheap that you can just throw it away when you are done.

    If you can find some of the original Tara Labs Space and Time (single strand, 18ga., PTFE insulation), even better.

    It's my experience that non-insulated multi-strand speaker cable geometry is easily bettered.

    Regards,
    Geoff
     
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