Speaker Cable Recommendations - Under 2k

Call Joe Abrams at Equus Audio for great advice.  If he has something that might work well for your system he will give you a 30 day trial!

Grinnel +1. Kimber select might work , they like tubes.MIT  ma series I think TMRaudio.com has them ? You have 15 days to try them.

Amazing how so many put a cable in resulting with sound coming out and think that's the answer and all one really needs.

2K speaker wire?

spend 50$ nice 8-10ga ofc wire. Use test money get booze, music, new tile in bathroom. 
 

enjoy

i use 8ga ofc stranded speaker wire, works a charm.

pits,speaker wire,

u wanna boost sparkle a bt, get so,e silver solder. 

This is the best cable I have tried in the last 40 years. Anti-cables may be right.

Zavfino cables are awesome

Yep...Furez 14-4 twisted together with bare ends, no terminals   

@tko956

+1 back at ya’

I made a pair of 14-4 using BFA bananas and am very pleased indeed. Unfortunately, the 12-4 and 14-4 are hard to find now since Furez is out of business.

I just found some 14-2 for another experiment and depending on those sound, I might double the run. This is a quick, fun, and rewarding project for me. As I said; ROI.

I simply cannot justify spending large on cables whether made from magical wires or not. But, I CAN hear differences. The questions for me is are those differences better or worse and what the price of admission is.

@ps +1

Furez 12/4 or 14/4 are great cables.  Pair them with Furez pure copper spades or bananas and you've got something.

If you'd like to do a very inexpensive experiment try finding some Furez 12 or 14 AWG and assemble a pair yourself.  Talk about ROI....

@audioguy85 

+1

Iconoclast. They are hard to beat for the money.

@bstakston 

Audio Advisor buys Audioquest bulk speaker cable and terminates them with decent ends. They don’t come with the battery pack, but they cost about a third off retail price.  I know they go at least as high as the Rocket 88 cable.

All the best.

Why would you need anything more that say Audioquest type 4? Works great for me. 

Stay with what you have you can't best Morrow sp7 I am currently using them and they're excellent. I know how you feel in your relentless pursuit of audiophile perfection but the grass is not greener on the other side. I was once like you wasting tens of thousands of dollars but no more. Dr Tannis audiophile 45 years.

Just a reminder that wires are not better for all… like there is poor quality to good quality and this applies to everyone. While this is generally true with really inexpensive wires, it is not true with mid to high end wires. It depends on your system and your values. In my systems Cardas has been the savior and destructor, depending on my components… Nordost as well, the best and worst I heard in my system.

i don’t want to be over dramatic but, “the best” I have heard in my system is not an appropriate endorsement that it will be the best in your system.

Someone mentioned “beefy”. DH Labs has a nice discount on the Q-10 Signature series (multi conductor 10 awg equivalent) thru February. Haven’t heard them but am interested for subs given my other positive experiences with DH in terms of high quality and total customer sat.

Another vote for Fideliums...

Silversmith Fidelium. Someone earlier praised these. I've tried them and they are outstanding. Also, check out Greg Weaver's review on EnjoyTheMusic.com

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1120/Silversmith_Audio_Fidelium_Loudspeaker_Cables_Review.htm

I went from Audioquest Volcano, $3500 back when they were made in the US, to Silversmith Fidelium, $1000 when I bought them a couple years ago, and have not looked back. Patiently awaiting Fidelium interconnects.

With the Morrow 7 cables why would you need better cables  ?  You have a lot of money invested in cables now. Keep the Morrow cables.

@mihorn 

"It is impossible to find a great sounding gear you want in merry-go-round in audio since there is none. Only I know it because I am making better sounding audio systems. "

Thanks. That's the funniest thing I have ever read on this forum.

"Any $20 PC speaker will be fine to hear the sound quality difference of YT videos."

What if I listen to $20 PC speakers submerged in my bathtub?

My experience with Silversmith Fidelium has been excellent. They were better than previous cables from Tara labs, harmonic tech, nordost. They offer a 30 day free trial so nothing to lose trying them. 

I’m just beginning my tinned copper journey after reading Jeff Day’s various articles so perhaps others could offer advice to @bstakston regarding Duelund and Harbeth. 

There are a lot of recommendations here which goes to show that tastes vary greatly.  There are a lot of great cables out there and I'm sure some with a lot of hype and exotic metals, insulators, etc.  I have had several types of cables over the years and settled on Audio Envy for both interconnects and speaker cables. I have worked with and discussed my cable needs with Cap the owner/designer and he’s always been eager to help. His cables work very well and are really affordable. I believe he still has a return policy. His cables have low capacitance compared to some others on the market as well. I personally really like them and can’t see spending so much money for cables when these really meet my needs. Highly recommended and reasonably priced ! John

Spend. baby spend. Amd ,maybe you'll get an improvement over your SP7s; but maybe not.  I got rid of my PAD fire hoses and went with Morrow a couple of years ago; happy as a clam.

I ask again, what improvements and sound characteristics are you looking for?  Otherwise you’ll just keep getting recommendations that other people like, which may have nothing to do with what you like. 

The OP should just run away. No one is taking you serious now. 

And there’s the SoundGuys January 2023 revived coathanger test that is an interesting read. Try it and smile 

Cheers 

Buy used! I went from monster to Bi-wire BlueJean 10 gauge cables for my speaker wire. I then purchased AudioQuest Oak Bi-wire, Bi-amp cables. They were 6K retail and I got them for $1800. Huge difference in smoothness and balance. 

I am not saying that these are the best, but purchase high end used and chances are you will be happier than 2k of new. 

@mihorn , Now that’s cheep, promoting his own crap on an audio discussion form. Bye-bye buddy..

I recently upgraded to Anti-Cables Level 4.2 flx, they blow away my old Audience AU24 and Wireworld shotgun biwire cables that both cost many times more, the Anti Cables were like $550 and I think they have a trial period

The nice thing is they are easy to manipulate and thin, best bass I've heard, most live and real sounding... And it won't cost you anywhere near $2k

While I have no doubt re the poster (@akg_ca) suggesting Nordost sounded bright in his system, the bottom line is that cables are highly system dependent. Indeed, the description of his system would lead me to the conclusion that Nordost might not be the best bet for him.

That said, his full-cable-loom experience partly mirrors my own, with the major exception that my loom is Nordost (variably and according to need from Blue Heaven to Frey 2.  

What this confirms to me is that to get the best value from your investment you need to try a few different brands and once you find the brand that works best for you/your system maybe a couple of different options from that brand. It takes a bit good ones are) but it is worth the effort and the process can be quite enlightenting.

Thanks to everyone for your recommendations.  I appreciate your various perspectives.  I know selecting cables is system dependent but your insight will really help when developing a list of cables to try.  I’m looking forward to the auditioning process. Keep the recommendations coming!  

I have had fantastic results with Transparent Audio speaker cables. Synergy is key in any system so its best to demo whatever cables you want to try. Hopefully you have a transparent dealer in your area or a seller that takes returns. My system is on a similar level with yours and I found the Transparent Supers to be a perfect match. The MM2 version sounded more open than the G5s in my system but both can be found used in a 3 meter for less than $1K. I am running a clear audio performance DC with a cadenza black through a Manley Chinook to a Manley stingray 2 into Wilson watt puppies. The MM2 TA supers are a perfect match but had to demo several cables before I was happy. 

By far and away the best I’ve tried are Lenehan Audio FoiFlex cables which use a roughly 2" wide lacquered copper foil. Never have I used a more detailed and nuanced cable, yet it’s also utterly natural sounding with deep solid sounding accurate bass. Timbres seem to be more accurate than my previous cable choices also. I’m now running the FoilFlex RCA’s and speaker cables. I’d go as far as to say they’ve made the most significant improvement of any component in my sound chain which was rather unexpected.

FoilFlex - High quality hand made audio cables. – Foil Flex (foilflexcables.com)

OMG. To the OP, sorry this thread turned USELESS

juanmanuelfangioii

@mihorn LOL Sound of a video on YouTube going through chitty speakers on an I pad or laptop. Gotta love it. What a joke

YT sound is good to understand the sound quality. Iphone and most laptop speakers are OK too. Any $20 PC speaker will be fine to hear the sound quality difference of YT videos.

Listen to below videos with your PC. Can you hear their sound quality?

MoFi S10 Loudspeaker w/ $600,000 Of Electronics

Sonus faber EXTREMA Loudspeaker

Sonus Faber Venere S

Wavetouch audio - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

Alex/Wavetouch

Take a look at Darwin Cables.  I use them for my ICs and SCs. They just get out of the way of the music. Check out the Darwin Specials section for what could be a great discount. Great guys to talk to.

All the best,
Nonoise

@mihorn LOL Sound of a video on YouTube  going through chitty speakers on an I pad or laptop. 

Gotta love it. What a joke 

jeffstrick      Yep all others, jeez. @mihorn  

• other brands cables sound veiled, glare, and unnatural because they are made by people (and machine) who don't know how to make audio cables

Yes. All others. Have you heard any audio system sounds more real than the sound of my videos in this thread? Alex/Wavetouch

bigtwin

@mihorn In the future, I would think it appropriate for all of your posts to begin with the clear disclosure "I HAVE A VESTED FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THE PRODUCTS I AM RECOMMENDING"  I have no problem with anyone joining forums looking for business, but I do find it disingenuous for you to be repeatedly contributing to discussions only to covertly recommend your own product.   IMHO. 

Yes. I will be clear about the disclosure. Usually, I write I make cables and speakers on my posts. But my post in this thread was not clearly disclosed. Thanks for pointing out!  Alex/Wavetouch

Yep all others, jeez. @mihorn  

• other brands cables sound veiled, glare, and unnatural because they are made by people (and machine) who don't know how to make audio cables

If you’re happy with Morrow, why not stick with Morrow? They have a trade up program that’s second to none and every few months they offer 50-60% towards trade ins.

I had used Cardas Golden Reference for a long time with good results, mostly with B&Ws. When I changed speakers to Joseph Audio Pulsars, the GR suddenly exhibited bass bloat and the top end sounded veiled. So, after doing some research, I got a set of Audio Envy SP12s. It’s a flat cable made from OCC. It’s been only a few weeks, but my system sounds terrific with the SP12s. In particular:

1. The top end is crystal clear, with a lot of air surrounding instruments.

2. Soundstaging is three dimensional, front to back. In particular, I can hear the resonance of the recording space. Also, the placement of musicians is obvious, and I feel as if I’m sitting somewhere around 3rd row center.

3. Bass has gravitas, yet is firm, taut, and not muddy or boomy.

4. Instruments sound like they should. Cymbals have sparkle and snare drums have snap, crackle, and pop.

5. Lots of micro-detail.

6. Very balanced across the spectrum ... no one element is emphasized or over-emphasized.

These are great cables for not a lot of dough. With a 45 day trial period, you have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain as far as system enjoyment is concerned.

Audioquest type 4 is all you need....

I also have Harbeth 30.2’s - all details in my virtual system.

I recently switched almost everything to Zavfino. Build quality is top-notch. I have Nova speaker cables ($390 for a 2.5m pair) - no further interest in changing. Happy to see the Nordost Purple Flair’s gone.

The step up from mine are the Prima’s at $719.

Both OCC copper. Spending more than the $900 Morrows doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a better result in your system.