Midrange heavy speaker cables, any recommendations?


It's fair to say that most all of my components are of good quality, are properly isolated and have a quite neutral personality. However my newer loudspeakers are a little on the bright side compared to my previous Dynaudios; and rather than swapping out components that have served me well I've changed speaker cables twice in an attempt to restrain the smoothly accurate, but somewhat abundant, top end. Rather than continuing cable experimentation I thought I'd throw the matter out there and get some feedback from my brothers out there the HiFi cosmos.

Any recommendations for reasonably priced (under $500) cables that have a more prominent midrange without compromising transparency and top end performance?

morbius2130aol

Except for convenience why terminate speaker wire?  Aren't you just adding two additional connections into the stream?

If your constantly swapping wire I can see it but for me speaker wire is set it and forget it. Do terminal ends improve sound quality? 

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. In response to the issues you've raised; my current loudspeakers are Quad L22 towers and a Mirage BPS150i sub. And yes, the Quads are more transparent and more revealing than the Dynaudios were. Overall, they blend well quite with my system. I'm not looking for a dramatic suppression of the top end, just a slight decrease in output. I have over a 1000 hours on the Quads.

I'm currently using Wireworld Oasis 8 cables which replaced the Morrow bi-wires I ran for 500 hours. The Morrows' were a bit more open and transparent, but I found the to be overly revealing high frequency-wise somewhat at the expense of midrange presence.

My initial thought before I posted this query was that my next step was either Cardas or MIT cables. Having used both brands before my thoughts were that both brands would bring me closer to the midrange bloom and top end attenuation I was looking for.

I will consider all the options you have provided me and I thank you for your valued opinions. Other perspectives and opinions are more than welcome.

 

 

I would try single runs of solid core copper.

 

I use 26 gauge for <12’ runs, but you could go down to 20-22 gauge.

 

I couldn’t find Neotech in 22 gauge (which I would like for a spare bedroom system I plan on putting together), but PC has 20 guage in stock (2 single runs per speaker).

 

There should be other less expensive option (just to try out).

 

 

 

DeKay

 

PS:

 

Just found it @ Sonicraft

 

https://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/neotech-solid-upocc-copper-in-teflon-22-awg-red-p-1587

 

If my finger would hold up for more than 15 minutes at a time, I’d do it for ya.

Somebody help jetter out here. :-) Let me think

OK.. BUT the terminal ends are actually the most important part. I have two mom and pops in China I’ve used for a few years. 5-14 days to make and ship. I change the terminal ends though. I get them at a different place.. My combo works pretty good to tell the truth.

red copper terminal ends and pick a cable, I cold weld or use screws NO Solder.
Add armor if you like (I don’t usually) check for the way the wire went through the dye, add an arrow, add shrink tube and cook the heck out of the whole shebang for 2-4 weeks.

 

You can give them a shot without changing the ends too. they are still pretty good. Better than eatin’ bugs.. Though my chickens might disagree!

Regards

@oldhvymec The speaker wire that you have provided the link for looks interesting, but I wouldn't dare to try to terminate it.  Is there a link that you can provide for a speaker wire you would recommend that is already terminated?  Thanks

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It's very likely that your new speakers are more revealing and the issue lies somewhere upstream.

Can you try a different pair of speakers?

It could even be down to your USB cable or interconnects or a component.

You may find better, I'd really doubt it though. Ribbon there are several I use. 1-200.00 at the most.. 3 meters

How new are your speakers. Brand new?. 300 hours let the bass drivers break in a bit. Add a little deeper quicker response. Where are you at on hours OP?

A Good OCC/teflon weave 16 strand (NO silver clad) will sure help. 125-200.00 usd for a pair. Or buy your own and terminate. I'm listening to a pair right now I paid 150.00 for the pair 3 meters long. I cooked them for 14 days. Perfect with planars and ribbons.. I'm cooking 2 pairs of ribbons, they are silver clad. I cook them for over a month, then 3-500 hours of playing. Best I ever heard for 200.00 a pair.

2. Lamp cord it's a real close second.. :-)

3. Purist

4. Odin

5. ESP, that is pretty warm too. LOL

Cable is not a tone control, ok, sure can be though. I use tone control for a reason. I have a way of getting where I want to be. Sure not with a Line pre amp though. YUK. I've had a few too. Their in the pile somewhere. VTL, CJ, Dodd, Krell. SST I wound up using a Manley tube super EQ. I went back to tone control every time. 

I like to many kinds of music you have to have a way to EQ. Leaves way to much music out. Indian music and a lot of the South American and Caribbean music..

Jazz, Rock and Roll, and Country, there is just a tad more out there. Me singing in the shower, too. :-)

Cardas. They are all a bit warm… The Clear Reflections sound like the ticket… but honestly this is symptomatic relief… if you think it’s a tiny bright… it’s too bright.

Need some help reading?

Electrical parameters are in the realm of measurement, not SQ.

 

morbius is correct .Analyss Plus  Oval 9 or Oval 12  if  9 is too$ .A lot are sold 

and a used is fine ,

No, a speaker cable is not a tone control but they, like all electronic elements, all have a personality specific to their design, materials and construction. This becomes more obvious when fewer components, shorter signal paths and elimination of unnecessary components that compress dynamics and color and degrade the signal are introduced into the system. I have always been a proponent of the "straight wire with gain" principal of sonic reproduction. It has been my experience that less is more; and the more pure the signal the less the distortion. The simple changing of a power cord, interconnect or speaker cable can often have an immediate and obvious impact on system fidelity.

Get an equalizer (Schiit). Use it. Speaker wire is not a tone control. No matter how much wishful thinking hopes it is so!