I support my cables with Faberge Eggs.
They run in the $12K - $15K range.
DeKay
They run in the $12K - $15K range.
DeKay
Speaker Cables and Carpet
I have a situation where I’m covering up my speaker cables with carpet to give a neater, cleaner look. It goes (from bottom to top): carpet, rubber matting, speaker cables, rubber matting, carpet. The rubber matting is there because I wanted to avoid interactions between the wire and carpet and figured that would help, but maybe not?
The issue I seem to be having is a decrease in dynamics. The drum slaps don’t seem to have the same weight and punch, although the system overall sounds pretty good with great instrument separation and soundstage (something I didn’t expect). The treble seems a bit tamed for some reason, but still pretty good sounding.
I’m wondering if the change in sound I’m hearing is from electrical interactions with the carpet and/or rubber. Perhaps one or both are robbing some energy from the signal in the speaker cable. Does that seem to check out?
If so, I’m wondering what my solutions are. One thought is adding more runs of speaker wire between the amp and the speakers. Is this called biwiring or shotgunning? I’m thinking that if the carpet is robbing energy, then I can make up for it by adding more copper and reducing resistance.
But maybe I just need to get the cables away from the carpet. Are there any good rules of thumb for how far cables need to be kept away from carpet?
The issue I seem to be having is a decrease in dynamics. The drum slaps don’t seem to have the same weight and punch, although the system overall sounds pretty good with great instrument separation and soundstage (something I didn’t expect). The treble seems a bit tamed for some reason, but still pretty good sounding.
I’m wondering if the change in sound I’m hearing is from electrical interactions with the carpet and/or rubber. Perhaps one or both are robbing some energy from the signal in the speaker cable. Does that seem to check out?
If so, I’m wondering what my solutions are. One thought is adding more runs of speaker wire between the amp and the speakers. Is this called biwiring or shotgunning? I’m thinking that if the carpet is robbing energy, then I can make up for it by adding more copper and reducing resistance.
But maybe I just need to get the cables away from the carpet. Are there any good rules of thumb for how far cables need to be kept away from carpet?
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- 28 posts total
mkgus I would guess that your carpet and rubber layers create a static charge in the speaker cables that are down there. You need to get them out of there and run them in the wall if you’re overly concerned with cosmetics or else just exposed but supported above the floor with any non conductive material. Your idea of running more speaker wire is not good; and if you did run more wire, you would have more electrical resistance, not less. Magic chickens are a last resort, and only result in defeat. |
While anything that raises the cables certainly will improve things, the very best solution is to use something specifically designed to prevent electric charges moving along the surface getting from the floor to your cables. There's a whole industry devoted to this exact subject so its no surprise the best performance by far is to use one of these insulators. Turns out there's a whole cottage industry of collectors so you can if you want hunt around and find some that you like. Or you could hunt around and find the manufacturer, which is what Cable Elevators seems to have done. Either way this is by far the best way to go. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Vintage-Ceramic-Porcelain-Insulators-Brown-White/183480810613?hash=item2a... The ones here are exactly the same as mine. Cable Elevators basically slaps a sticker on the side and a rubber foot on the base. Even at their inflated price they are well worth the money. |
All of the above is correct but will not exactly give the "cleaner look" you are after. One solution is to run the cables under the floor (assuming we are not talking a concrete slab). You can actually then get a nice drape and few if any points of contact. You will need nice solutions to get in and out of the floor of course -- suppliers to clean rooms and industrial facilities are helpful in this regard. I did something like this in my prior install https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5111 |
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- 28 posts total