I need help selecting speaker cables

A general rule of thumb is to spend 10% of your system cost on speaker\interconnects.

Some people rave about DIY speaker cables made from orange entension cords bought at Home Depot. Others spend $30,000 and up.

Let your wallet, ears and piece of mind be the judge.

I went the 10% route

sdz

We need info on what your stereo is. Especially your amp and also musical and sonic tastes.

Email Agon member PhilNYC he knows the speakers very well and can give you the asvice you require.

Happy Listening.

source? amp? at least that much to start. Whatcha got in the way of ICs and power cords? That'll give us an idea where to go. peace, warren

Yes, you definitely need to consider and answer the questions Phil and Warren have put forth. This will help you decide what it is you're searching for, and aid in any recommendations.

The primary performance characteristic that you want from any cable, IMO, is that the cable changes or alters the signal as little as possible. (There is another school of thought, however, that cables should be chosen to modify some aspect of the system's performance -- in effect making them act as "tone controls".) Having said that, the most important electrical characteristic in a speaker cable is low impedance (even if the capacitance is a bit high) -- although ultimately your own ears will have to be the judge of what you like.

There have been a number of threads on the topic of speaker cables, and I suggest that you look in the A-gon archives to see what comments have previously been posted. For now, I will simply share my recommendation for the two best "budget-priced" speaker cables (based on personal experience):
1. the Alpha-Core Goertz MI2 (copper)(see their web site for good info about these cables);
2. the Kimber 4TC or 8TC.
Both of these wires offer excellent performance for their price, and can be used in single wire or bi-wire configurations.

Here are the links to the web sites for both of these cables:
1. Alpha-Core: http://www.alphacore.com/goertz.htm
2. Kimber: http://www.kimber.com/Products/LoudSpeakerCables/default.aspx

Unless you want/need your cables to be tone controls, then (with few exceptions) it shouldn't matter what associated equipment you are using. In particular, I see no reason why the associated power cords makes any difference in what speaker cables to use - as Warren implies.

Check out Audioholics.com's speaker cable faceoff for a different (and some would argue more logical) approach to evaluating speaker cables.

Labtec, the ICs and power cords were to give us an idea on what kind of $$ we're talking about concerning cables. Just a starting point. Don't want to recommend what may be out of the ballpark $$wise....

I think SD's recommendation of the Goertz is top notch (can't comment reference the Kimber).

I was a "no difference" hard sell on pricey cables as I am by heart a cheapskate. I had old fairly pricey Monster that I used for years. Goertz made me a believer in cables.

I have bought some Zu cables and they replaced my Goertz's although it is very subtle and more of a side step than an upgrade. Zu's are a great deal for the money as you can always bid for them both here and on ebay.

Have Fun

I like the Alpha Core Goertz MI2 Veracity as the best all around $200 cable. Very sweet midrange, it honors natural timbers and has an immediate quality. Would work well with Classe gear I imagine...

You need to commit ten years, $4,000.00 of disposable income, and much brainpower to solve your problem. I suggest purchasing about $2,000 of cables off Audiogon. Then, purchase another 2k of cables to compare side by side. Spend weeks, no, months evaluating. Spend a small fortune in shipping costs.
Read endlessly vague, unfruitful reviews and solicitations to purchase said cables.
Give up. Try again, repeat cycle endlessly.
Finally, try Harmonic Technology cables and be happy.
Oh, yes, go to audioreview.com and peruse the reviews. Very helpful. By the way, Harmonic Tech fares very well there. It's where I got my lead on trying them.