There is definitely differences between different cables and even between different lengths of the same cable. That does not however necessarily mean that the more expensive cable always sound better in a given system when compared to a cheaper one. It does not need to be "the shorter the better" either as the stability of the amp is dependent on the impedance of the load. In the worst case scenario using inappropriate cables can even turn your amp into a powerful high frequency oscillator blowing it and/or your speakers to smithereens. In particular the Rotel RB-890 is prone to spontaneously self destruct in this way but almost any amp can be turned into an oscillator by connecting an unsuitable load.
I have done a lot of installations and have found that any good 2.5mm2 (AWG13) OFC speaker cable with (preferably) PE insulation works well for general purposes up to at least 30m (100'). It's a good compromise between performance and price. Thinner cables restrict the bass and thicker is not so much better that it justifies the higher cost.
For serious HiFi where one has spent $10K+ on amp and speakers one should of course consider spending a little bit more on cables but always on a try-before-you-buy basis. Just because one cable is more costly to manufacture than another it does not automatically make your system sound better.
It can, in fact, even make it sound terrible! One must always try cables out and then (only if they sound better, of course) ask oneself this question: Is this improvement worth the higher price? If the new cables you are testing are cheaper it's an easy decision: Keep them and sell your old overpriced cables to some sucker…
Don't EVER take it for granted that a higher price is equal to better quality! The HiFi-industry is littered with overpriced products and some of them are just crap. I don't want to mention any brands but I have compared expensive IC-cables to cheap ones and found the cheaper to be better as well as a CD-player costing $6K sounding truly awful when compared to one costing only $2K so beware that there are people out there trying to rip you off. That's the way it is and you have to use your ears and common sense to decide who is gonna get your hard-earned money.
Dizzy Gillespie once said: "If it sounds good it is good..."
His concern was the music, not the equipment used to record it!
He was of course right! What the musicians are playing is far more important than "the sound" of different cables, amps etc…
A sobering thought! :-)
Happy New Year everybody!
I have done a lot of installations and have found that any good 2.5mm2 (AWG13) OFC speaker cable with (preferably) PE insulation works well for general purposes up to at least 30m (100'). It's a good compromise between performance and price. Thinner cables restrict the bass and thicker is not so much better that it justifies the higher cost.
For serious HiFi where one has spent $10K+ on amp and speakers one should of course consider spending a little bit more on cables but always on a try-before-you-buy basis. Just because one cable is more costly to manufacture than another it does not automatically make your system sound better.
It can, in fact, even make it sound terrible! One must always try cables out and then (only if they sound better, of course) ask oneself this question: Is this improvement worth the higher price? If the new cables you are testing are cheaper it's an easy decision: Keep them and sell your old overpriced cables to some sucker…
Don't EVER take it for granted that a higher price is equal to better quality! The HiFi-industry is littered with overpriced products and some of them are just crap. I don't want to mention any brands but I have compared expensive IC-cables to cheap ones and found the cheaper to be better as well as a CD-player costing $6K sounding truly awful when compared to one costing only $2K so beware that there are people out there trying to rip you off. That's the way it is and you have to use your ears and common sense to decide who is gonna get your hard-earned money.
Dizzy Gillespie once said: "If it sounds good it is good..."
His concern was the music, not the equipment used to record it!
He was of course right! What the musicians are playing is far more important than "the sound" of different cables, amps etc…
A sobering thought! :-)
Happy New Year everybody!