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How important are speaker cables to the sound emanating from the speakers?

Hello. I was just wondering what your opinion is about the importance of speaker cables to the sound coming out of the speakers, and, of course, the sound the system altogether produces? Also, what are your favorite speaker cables to use in your system?
warmglowingtubesart
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Some points to keep in mind:

1)Nearly all speaker cable effects are proportional to length. That is one of the reasons monoblock amplifiers can be advantageous -- they can make it possible for the speaker cables to be very short.

2)In general, speaker cable effects will tend to be greater if the impedance of the speakers is low, or if the impedance of the speakers dips to low values at some frequencies.

3)Amplifiers which use significant amounts of feedback, have low output impedance, and have wide bandwidth may, at least in some cases, tend to have greater sensitivity to speaker cable differences than amplifiers that don't. Solid state amps are more likely to fall into those categories than tube amps.

Regards,
-- Al
jl35
3,921 posts
 
Speaker cables can be very important, and many do sound  different from each other. Modest priced cables that I like include Discovery Essential and Kimber 8TC. Both will hold their value if you decide to sell. There are some great deals now on the Transparent MM2 series now that the Gen 5 series is out.
68pete
991 posts
 
I have found that speaker cables make a bigger up grade to the sound, more than changing  interconnects of the same level
williewonka
3,067 posts
 

Warmglow - another factor in speaker cable choice...

  • speaker cables having a high capacitance, can cause "SOME" solid state amps to oscillate resulting in poor performance and in the most severe cases resulting in internal damage.
  • For those amps - a capacitance below 35-40pF/meter is a really safe choice

A friend had to repair two very expensive amps that got "fried" just because of his very expensive Cardas speaker cables - OUCH!

My favourite cables?...

  • KLE Innovations gZero2 on my A/V system
  • KLE Innovations gZero6 on my 2 channel system
  • Van den Hul CS-122 and D352 prior to the gZero's 

I've found the gZero6's to offer the best performance to date, having...

  • the deepest and most controlled bass performance
  • outstanding clarity
  • extremely fast dynamic performance
  • most expansive 3D and holographic image

Regards...

freediver
1,011 posts
 
IMO if your system isn't capable of resolving the tiniest differences it is unlikely you will hear any difference in cables below a certain price point although copper & silver/silver over copper comparisons may yield results.Of all the cables I have tried(several Audioquest mid level,Nordost entry level,Signal & Marrow)The Zero Crystal Copper Zen Acoustics got my $.
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