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Please Help Me Choose a Speaker Cable

I need to replace my existing speaker cable setup with something more wife-friendly. I am currently bi-wiring with Audioquest Type 4 (tweeters) and Aperature 16 (woofers). About 20 years ago I bought the wires off a spool and had them built w/ banana plugs. You can see a pic of the offensive cable setup on my system page (https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6318). I put a nice jacket over the cables hoping that would be enough to clean up the messiness.

What I want is something of equal quality that will also fit inside my VTI speaker stands. The stands have a 3/4 inch opening and the 4 banana plugs don’t fit through. I want to continue bi-wiring but would go single if the sound was just as good on a different set of cables. A bi-wired cable terminated with two spades at the amp side would fit through the stands (2 banana plugs might fit also).

I don't want to spend more than $600 and need a 10-12 ft. pair. There appear to be a lot of options on Agon right now. I see names I know are pretty good like Audioquest and Kimber. If I were to pick one I would probably go with the Audioquest Rocket 88 or CV-8 or maybe the PS Audio Xstream. Maybe there are better options for less? Will the cables in this price range be good as or better than what I have? If not, maybe I should try terminating the two cables into one set of banana plugs on the amp end to see if that fits.  I guess I would prefer spades because they would be more flush to the speakers, thus a little cleaner looking.  

Thanks.
treebeard1
treebeard1 OP
148 posts
 
@joey_v 
I have not but will keep an eye out for my second system.

@bassdude 
I have heard good and bad about anti-cables and blue jeans.  Probably due to the controversy around cables. I don't know what to believe but the anti-cables are about the same as the AQ CV-8s on Amazon.

So I pulled the trigger on the CV-8s for $360.  Seems very reasonable considering the brand, where it fit in the AQ lineup (retail $900), and number of great user and industry reviews.  Thanks to everyone for your help.  I have the same set of cables (AQ Type 4/Aperature 16) on my second system in the basement so it will be very interesting to see if I can tell a difference. If I can then I can explore more cable options for that system.
erik_squires
15,646 posts
 
Those are line-level, not speaker level cables, but yes, they make good one's across the range that are flexible, compact and good sounding.
4425
861 posts
 
Just a thought. The entry level Transparent cables are said to be very musical. That was my experience a few years back. They were inexpensive and punched well beyond their price. Just an idea. Think it was called Musicwave. I know the absolute sound mag gave great reviews and still recommends them. Good luck on the journey. Cable is critical IMO. 

bassdude
455 posts
 
treebeard1...

Those look interesting - hadn't seen them before.

Do you have to replace the batteries every 5 years, or so?  Or just the cable - when the batteries die?

toderone...

Yes... the "magnet wire" is stiff and hard to work with... but... you don't need cable stands / lifts to insulate from the floor / carpet.  Same is true for the Anti-Cables.
bassdude
455 posts
 
OK...

Ordered a pair of the AQ CV-8's, also. Will try and compare them to my Anti-Cables 3.1’s and let you know how they compare. We’ll see.

And... I did discover you just replace the batteries, when they die.
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