Hi, I need two 50 foot cables for my stereo. (Amp is Rogue Tempest tube and speakers are Audio Physic sparks.) Does anyone have recommendations for something affordable? Ideally less than $500, if thats feasible. Thanks a lot!
That is a very long distance, if you are asking about speaker cables. Especially so when wanting something good for under $500.
Given the extreme distance, I recommend Audioquest cables with the DBS. Unfortunately, I doubt you will score a pair used at your desired length, but I think the DBS will be something that will aid in signal degradation- something that will occur at such extreme lengths. I have tried Transparent and found them lacking, and also super expensive, compared to AQ.
Thanks for all of this. I could potentially drill a hole under our floor, run them under floorboards and instead they'd be 25 feet. Worth that instead?
Hello, With respect to your price range, I would highly recommend Belden 1313A speaker cable. This is a 10awg cable with oxygen-free copper and low capacitance and resistance, you should be able to go the whole 50'. I must admit though, that I am not familiar with Tube Amps. That said, for the distance you are trying to cover, this stuff should do the trick!
Rogue's manual gives no spec on output impedence, but most tube amps are higher than most SS amps in general, meaning less damping is applied to control the woofer of your speaker. Longer cables add series resistance, which effectively reduces damping further, so minimizing that is an object of interest. Belden 1313A is a good generic twisted pair 12 ga. wire, well under your stated budget. You could go upscale and get Transparent HP122 for (just)
within your budget, but only if you go
under the flooring to halve the length.
Its main difference is the extruded jacket that maintains the uniformity of twist of the conductors far better than the tubing used by most jacketed wire. Later, as an upgrade, you can get a pair of their network modules ("Bricks"). Drill, Baby, Drill!
I would use Canare 4S11 speaker cables from Ram Electronics. A 25 foot pair with termination will run you $139.00 for the pair. These blow away my $1500.00 pair of speaker cables.
@OP, You might get lucky searching Ebay for used cables. 25 feet is long, but I scored a set of AQ Rockefeller cables a while ago. They were the real deal and AQ cut them down and had them reterminated when I moved to monoblocks. Also, check Hifi Shark. Use the filters to narrow down your search. A little patience, and some luck should allow you to find a pair of cables. (Just keep in mind, there are counterfeits out their, so do your due diligence. -That is try to find sellers who can provide a receipt of purchase from a dealer, if possible). Bob
+1 Miller. However, I would do everything possible to knock down the length of those speaker cables. Even 25 feet long is crazy and IMO probably will have some negative sonic effect.
"Even 25 feet long is crazy and IMO probably will have some negative sonic effect." I have been using 25 foot long speaker cables since 1992. Let me assure you their is no sound degradation. I spoke with McIntosh the manufacturer of my amp and was told there will be no sonic degradation of sound. I checked with my speaker manufacturer(s) and Sandy Gross from GE told me there is no sonic degradation of sound, lastly I have a EE degree and know there is no sonic degradation of sound.
My speaker cables are 11 gauge and 25 feet is nothing for a 300wpc solid state amp. I wonder where everyone gets their information from? For fun, I moved my speakers next to my amp and tried 5 foot cables and trust me, there was no difference between them and the 25 foot pair of the same cable. If there was, do you think I would have 50K of equipment in my listening room if the cables degraded the sound?
+1 Miller. However, I would do everything possible to knock down the length of those speaker cables. Even 25 feet long is crazy and IMO probably will have some negative sonic effect.
Thanks, and if it turns out he only needs 25 feet just coil the rest and pile it in with the rest behind the rack. It can't make any difference. stereo5 said so, and he has 50K of equipment.
Use a set of RCA to HDMI coverters and run a 50 foot pair of HDMI cables. Probably want to use an HDMI signal booster as well. Should take care of any rca cable issues.
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