Cable Survey


The idea for this thread came from @sautan 904 op titled “Who thinks $ Speaker cable really better than generic 14awg cable?

My reply:

From op:

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?

Some are, some are definitely not. It really is a matter of discovering what brands out there (and there a lot) offer the best performance for your money. Some are really worth the money and clearly they offer a big increase in sound quality. It seems the dealers you used were not very discriminating about what brands they carry. This does not surprise me since I have found many are not well informed. You really need to seek out somebody who has compared different makes of cable and really believes in what they are selling.

So I thought it a good idea to pool knowledge on this subject and make a list of what people are using and why. This is my current preferences:

Speaker: Hi Diamond 7

IC XLR: Hi Diamond XLR 3

USB: Vovox

Ethernet: AQVOX, Vovox

Power: Belden

The Hi Diamond speaker cable was so much better than other cables I have tried to date. The increase in musicality, depth and detail in bass, increased sound stage and cleaner more detailed top where some of the benefits I had with this cable. The same can be said of their XLR interconnect.

The Vovox I have only been able to compare with some generic cables, and it is much clearer than those. I intend trying some other brands in the near future and I will post my findings.

Ethernet cables I find make a difference and I am currently using both Vovox and AQVOX, compared to various generic makes and the blue Meicord these are both much preferred, opening the sound stage and lowering the noise floor.

Power cables I haven’t so far experimented with a great deal, I’m using heavy Belden cables that are part of a dedicated mains spur arrangement, so that each individual piece of equipment has its own spur. In order to test cable types I will need to introduce a mains block (Shunyata?).

toetapaudio
I have previously discussed my use of MG Audio Design interconnects and speaker wires.  First I fond out about MG Audio Design from the writings of Arnie Nudell.  I latr found outthat Paul McGowan of PSAudio also used them.  But at $1600 for a one meter pair of their top of the line interconnects were too much for my budget, but that theysold half meter pairs for $900.  Far, far better than $1800 Audioquest and also Audience AU24se interconnects.  Not just better, but much, much better.  Spposidly the Colorado Society compared them to top of the line Nordhost, and Nordhost came in second.  As for MG Audio Design speakerwires, they are another story.  Previously I was using a single Jenna Labs 18 gage hook up wires for speaker wires.  At the time I also obtained a one foot pair of then Shunyata's top of the line speaker wires.  I connected the Shunyata speaker wires to my speakers and four 18 gage Jenna Labs hook up wires betweeen the Shunyata wires and my Rega Orisis integrated amplifier.  It worked.  The Jenna Labs 18ngage hook up wires-MG Audio Design combination really worked.  The Jenna Lab wires allowed the Shunyata wires to do their work.  I later doubled up on the Jenna Labs hook up wires and the sound was again even bettr.  Finally I added 4 more Jenna Labs hok up wires to the total.  That is 12 of them total.  With the third Jenna Labs hook p wire attached to each of the four MG Audio Design wires I was then able to have a sound that is close to what I would have if I only was using the MG Audio Design wires alone.  BY the way,  the one foot MG Audio Design topof the line speker wires goes for $900.  Considerably less than the $4800 for a six foot pair.  The Jenna Lab Wires are $6 a foot.  I have the equilivant of a 14.5 foot pair of speaker wires.  Total price under $1800.  In conclusion. these are not just an affordible pair of good speaker wires.  To achieve their equal would be cost wise out of the question or most.  I have been involved in high end audio for over 45 years.  Oh yes, I have positively no financial or other involvement with these products.  And I also know that Jenna Labs and John Curl are very good friends and have even worked on projects together over the years.
Personally, I think interconnects are more important. If your speaker wire is a large enough gauge, I haven't been able to tell a huge difference in speaker wire, as long as the length is within reason. 
handymann:   I totally agree.  In fact speaker wires were the last and final part of my audio system to attend to.  I myself had been using a single Jenna Labs 18 gage hook up wire per channel-4 in total in place of regular speker.  It was not ntil  got a one foot pair of the Shunyata speaker wires and combined them with the Jenna Labs 18 gage hook up wires that I started my speaker wire project.  But believe me, if you ever had the chanch to try out ssay the speaker wires that Michael Fremer or Jonathan Valin use, you would notice the diference.  It is just the obnoxious price of the really great wire products that reates the problem.  I guarentee that if you evr heard my speaker wire system in your audio system you would notice the difference.  I just obtaine a one meter pair of MG Audio Design interconnects for half price and hooked up my McIntosh Mr74 tuner to my Audio Research LS27 tube preamplifier.  On a total MG Audio wired audio system.  Audio magic.  Oh yes, my speaker wire combo starts $900 for the first foot and $72 a foot.  And I guarentee it would cost you thousands to even come close to my set up.  After all, an audio system can only be as good as it's weakest link.  That is a fact.