Do Vandy subs benefit from better cables?


Hi,

I'm the proud owner of a pair of bouncing baby Vandersteen 2wq subwoofers. Love 'em, and love what they do for the system.

Currently, I'm using the stock speaker cable that came with the 2wq, between the amp and the subwoofer.

Would the 2wq benefit greatly from having upgraded speaker cables? I thought I read somewhere that because of the nature of the signal, it really wouldn't matter much.

And yet, everywhere else it seems that improved cables make a big difference.

Thanks,
rhanson739
The speaker cable provided by Vandersteen seems rather light. At least the sub has a fixed power cord, so I won't have to trial and error the PCs.
The speaker cable provided by Vandersteen seems rather light.
That is because the input to the sub is the input to its amplifier, which has a specified input impedance of 100,000 ohms, and therefore draws negligible current and power. So heavy gauge speaker wire is totally unnecessary.

That said, I express no opinion as to whether an upgrade of the stock cable might result in a perceptible difference. If it does, however, the reason would not be the lower resistance that a heavier gauge would provide.

Regards,
-- Al
Thanks, Almarg. I believe that was the explanation that I first heard. I was speaking with my audio dealer guy yesterday, and when I asked how much of a difference better cable would make, he said, "Ehh, not much."

Evidently, the cable supplied by Vandersteen seems light, but is of very good quality.
I think you get about 25 feet of cable per sub.
Once you have the ideal spot for your subs set up , you can shorten the length of the cables. That will make an improvement. Placing the spikes on the bottom of the 2wq will also help improve the quality of bass response. You can also upgrade the crossover to the M5-HP.
If you have not already done so , these three things will make a more of a difference than trying different cables at this time.
The 2WQ sub is a great sub. Congratulations on your new pair of twins!!
Thanks, Timo62.

I'm still working on the placement. That said, the cable is way longer than I need, so I may cut it down today, still leaving room for a variety of placements.

Can't spike yet until I know where they're going.

And I got the M5-HP crossovers at the beginning. I didn't even try the stock crossover, although I did try the setting above and below the input impedance of the amp.