Canare 4S11"G" now available!


I’ve been a HUGE cheerleader of the Canare 4S11 speaker cable for years now.

I have wanted try the "G" version (Oxygen Free Copper) for quite awhile now, but the minimum order was 328 feet, so I never got to try it. It is now available by the foot.

https://www.performanceaudio.com/products/canare-4s11g-ofc-oxygen-free-copper-star-quad-speaker-cable-14awg-grey-by-the-foot-1

The guys at Canare claim it’s 4S11 "kicked up a notch"! Man I love that cable.

I’m going to buy enough for my shotgun setup that I use and see how they compare.

Stay tuned...

128x128mofimadness

@mofimadness I assume you connect the two red wires together and the white and clear wires together for a speaker cable?  Have you had the opportunity to compare to any higher end speaker cables?  

Thanks @mofimadness

I also use the Canare 4S11 and will be interested in the results of your comparison.

In the bigger picture of things, I don’t really understand how being "oxygen free" can impact sound one way or the other.  Is the idea that an oxygen molecule/atom/whatever somehow blocks or distorts part of a music signal?

@pinwa...I twist all (4) conductors together for a single stick that runs JUST the positive OR JUST the negative of ONE speaker only.  So you need (4) sticks total.  I've tried it just putting another normal run on top of each other, but this way is totally better sounding.  It produces around a ~8 gauge wire.

I was in the high-end audio business most of my life, so yes, I've owned/sold/listened to many, many, many brands.

@jetter...I not really sure why it's supposed to sound better?  It so inexpensive that it's easy to try.  We shall see.

@mofimadness 

If it is used as you describe, can all four conductors be connected to one banana plug?

@roxy54...yes, but it has to accommodate an almost 8 gauge wire.

After massive research years ago, I found WBT and Furez.  The WBT's are expensive, but the Furez are really nice and decent priced.  I think ViaBlue also has some connectors that will work.

I know we've had other threads about this cable and IIRC, one of threads had a couple of other choices for large gauge connectors.

Interesting I have used the 4S11 in the past and have found it to be a great value and will not take away or add any color to a system, great neutral speaker cable and cheap. 

I use 4S11 as well and it’s an excellent value. Doesn’t do much wrong. Yes it is not as good at resolving inner details as some of the more expensive cables I’ve tried but for the money, probably impossible to beat. I might try the OFC version when I work up a craving and time to build it. Thanks for the heads up OP!

Pangea xtreme is able to take some wire...descent build in both spade/banana.

What he said.^^^^..last thing i need is another pair of cables🙈

Canare 4S11 user here too, and with the estimated over 400 hrs burn-in, not terribly excited about going through the same thing with the G. 

 

Canare 4S11 user here too, and with the estimated over 400 hrs burn-in, not terribly excited about going through the same thing with the G. 

I still recommend 500 hours, (Canare recommends 200, but it needs more).  I totally understand your thoughts about break-in.  I have a separate system that I use strictly for cable break-in, so it will go into that system for 21 days.  No harm , no foul...

The story I heard was that the presence of oxygen promotes oxidation/tarnish on the strands of wire. So, OFC is the way to go. The fact that the ends get cut, allowing oxygen to enter, was not addressed.

I guess it never ends. Oxygen free, then why not OCC, and while they're at it, could they make the insulation PTFE? I'm not being sarcastic, but all of these details have been felt by users to yield sonic benefits over the years, and it's tempting to wonder how far the basic design's performance could go. As it stands now, I guess the fact that there is a lot of copper wire in there is part of what sounds good, and the affordable price makes it a good choice for those of us (myself included) who aren't wealthy. I think that I'm going to give it a try. 

Thanks for the note, @mofimadness . Always nice to have options from a first class source like Canare..

As I understand it, oxygen changes the crystalline structure of the copper cable. OFC has fewer crystal boundaries for the signal to cross.

I suspect that the OP would be better off by running both positive and negative terminals in the same cable. As I understand it, the whole point of the star-quad configuration is to minimize both broadcasting of an EM signal and receiving an EM signal. I don’t see how that happens if you use one cable for positive and another cable for negative.

Also, running one side in each of two cables is going to considerably increase inductance, which will attenuate high frequency. That’s fine for woofers, but not for full range.

IMO.

For the money it’s a good value , theNew one is OFC Copper

lookat Wire world Eclipse for example 7-9 pure  ,and they have their patented dielectric 

,my point is when you start spending more monies the construction,gets better 

and do yourself a favor go on Amazon and buy gold over Copper , or solid Copper 

spades , 2x a year use isopropyl alcohol to clean ,especially power cords ,

brass is bright and has 2-3 x less conductivity , = more resistance and noise 

go to  VH audio you can get  connectors for around $160 name brand high purity  it truly counts if you want a more natural presentation.

I like the way Pinetree Audio does their speaker wires that have the four 9 GA wires twisted , then two for positive and two for negative Then they solder the two wires into a heavy duty Nakamichi locking banana connector

Audioquest trains salespeople to their cable ideology. The “Metallurgy” phase teaches that higher purity metal (lower oxygen) has fewer crystal junctions per unit of length. The Ohno linear crystal drawing process is the end state of this spectrum. The more you pay in their line, the closer you get to that. Plus improved dielectric and geometry. None of their products use finely stranded copper…they are strictly a solid conductor company, except for bulk custom installation products. 

@baylinor.  I hate breaking in wires of any kind.  It would be nice if the manufacturers would offer a burn-in service.

Alot do offer run in.Regular canare 4s11 easily 500 hrs for burn in.Ofc be the same.After burn in things really do sound dam good for the $.I went from 1200.00 just to see what hub bub was about with all the reviews.Was kindo shocked at how good they sounded right out of the gate.Good connectors do put it all together.

I sold the expensive wires and made a couple other "bargain" wires.

•The 4S11G has a 99.96% pure OFC conductor.

•4s11 uses copper with a purity of 99.9

 

The characteristics of the cables are exactly the same. The difference is so insignificant in purity, in my opinion, it will not be noticeable at all by ear. Those who already use 4s11g instead of 4s11 write that the resolution has improved a little, there is a little more air and naturalness. All of the above can be attributed as self-hypnosis and should not be taken seriously. These changes are ephemeral. )))

 

● Answer from a Canare representative.

Hi Sergey,

4S11G feature OFC co­nductor with 99.96% purity.

4S11 feature tough-p­itch copper which is the most commonly used for conductor wi­th 99.9% purity.

The higher the purity of copper gives be­tter conductivity.

Thank you.

 

@roxy54 "I guess it never ends. Oxygen free, then why not OCC, and while they’re at it, could they make the insulation PTFE?"

Actually this cable has a better insulator, polyethylene, than PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene, with a lower dielectric constant plus makes a better softer jacket. I know I’m over a year late to this discussion but I was looking something up on a current thread and saw this one. For what it’s worth, 4S11G a veritable bargain for what you get. Blue Jean Cable can always knock out a pair with a welding process you’re not typically going to have at home unless your a manufacturer or just a fanatical audiophile, and you know, we don’t want to be called that.