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Budget cable chaos??? Is River Cable the new star?

Sometimes, I wonder that some audiophiles waste more time trying to determine what "budget" speaker cable to buy, than a cables costing 5 to 10 times as much. I include myself in that inglorious lot

Budget cables keep popping up on Audiogon almost daily. And, "The Cable Company" has few to none to loan out for audition in your system.

Let's see to date: there is Anti-Cable Reference, Clearday, Clearview, JW Cryo, Canare, etc, etc.... Now, I have uncovered a new budget cable company called RIVER CABLE an internet company. Their speaker cable looks well made and attractive to display, AND PRICING is ridiculously inexpensive. They basically offer three models: the entry level "Starflex". Flexgyny 6 and Flexgyny 8 (top of their line) The few reviews I found, claim that the latter two speaker cables are very good for the money, but sound distant in the midrange. The Flex 6 model I was informed is a better choice for longer cable runs because of the extra copper used. Not sure what that means or is even accurate. I have garnered that copper based speaker cables tend to sound warmer,and often more musical than the more analytical and cool silver based cables

So again begging the patience of the membership, has anyone auditioned or owned these RIVER CABLE speaker cables, and if so, how do they rank in sound quality with the others in the ongoing "budget buffet"???. I think the industry should put a moratorium on the number of so-called "budget cables" issued each year. There would probably be less buyers's remorse,and suicides among audiophiles

NOTE: Please, don't just respond by saying: "you will have to JUST try them to see what works in your system" Oh, bollocks!!! as the Brits say. The Audio business is not a consortium of roving Renaissance Faires tossing cables to the crowds for personal use. Get Real!! Thanks, Jim

sunnyjim
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,589 posts
 
I auditioned the Flex 8.I think they were 14 ft.long.They sounded absolutely dead in my system.Slow somehow,no dynamics.I had 150 watt ss amps at the time and hoped that the heavy gage copper would work well in a long run but it definitely did not.Also had a difficult time getting a refund after sending them back and ended up filing a dispute with my credit card company.
Others seem to like them just fine and they have gotten good reviews.My experience was not a good one though.
jafant
18,774 posts
 
Jim-

add Snake River Audio to your list of must-demo cables.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I'm not sure I understand what you are looking for here.

"NOTE: Please, don't just respond by saying: "you will have to JUST try them to see what works in your system" Oh, bollocks!!! as the Brits say. The Audio business is not a consortium of roving Renaissance Faires tossing cables to the crowds for personal use. Get Real!! Thanks, Jim "

Ok, but what's the alternative? Are you just looking for someone to tell you to buy them? If River Cable is a fairly new company that has yet to find their place in the market, maybe you should try a different approach. Why not look at budget cables from companies that are more established? At least you'll have more opinions to read about if you don't want to demo the cables first.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
What are you hoping the cable will sound like? Do you want the copper sound? If so you may want to try the entry level cables from known companies as was suggested. At least that way you have a strategy other than what's the cable of the month ?
elvis_cash
76 posts
 
Sorry to break the news Jim but it's not "bollocks" that you need to match your cables to your system. Maybe you are the one that needs to "get real".
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