Speaker cable for Nad 7050 and KEF LS50


I've been using cheap speaker cables to connect my LS50s to my NAD D7050 and they sound great for my uneducated ears. I have never really invested in cables, but I was wondering if anyone can recommend/suggest any (not very expensive) cables that could make a difference.
tvfreak

Showing 2 responses by almarg

How long are the present speaker cables, and (if you know) what gauge are they?

Regards,
-- Al
08-02-14: Tvfreak
I believe that the cable is a QED Silver Anniversary XT. They are about 1.5 meter each. I am not sure about the gauge.
Despite its low price, based on its description your present cable seems to me to be worthy of respect. And FWIW I note that it has won several "What Hi-Fi?" cable product of the year awards.

It can be calculated from the indicated specs that it is equivalent to about 15 gauge, which is adequate for the relatively short length you are using. Inductance (which stands some chance of being an audibly significant parameter with your particular speakers, due to their low impedance in the upper treble region) and capacitance are both reasonably low.

The relatively low impedance of your speakers in the mid-bass region and throughout most of the treble region, as shown here, will tend to increase sensitivity to cable differences. But the relatively short length involved will work in the opposite direction, as nearly all speaker cable effects are proportional to length.

My suggestion is to first make sure that all of the contacts involved are both clean and tight. Consider buying a good contact cleaner, such as Caig DeoxIT Gold (formerly ProGold). Beyond that, if you want to try different speaker cables I suspect that you'll hear some differences, but I doubt they will be major, and they might not be for the better.

Finally, in addition to the particular makes and models that have already been suggested, this cable is another fairly inexpensive candidate to consider, which I have used with good results.

Regards,
-- Al