Speaker Cable for Vandy 3A Sigs - Suggestions

I would like to thank all who responded to this thread. All great suggestions and I am going to follow through on all.

Steve

I will only say that if you decide to go with the AlphaCore Goertz cables, PLEASE use a zobel network at the speakers whether you think you need them or not. I've gotten a few emails from people that were told that they did not need to use impedance compensaton networks by their dealer and ended up smoking their amps. One of those emails came from a friend of mine that is out of State. I had previously warned him about this aspect of performance when using these cables, so he was fully aware of the consequences. The dealer that he purchased the cables from didn't think that he would need them and now he has to replace all of the outputs on one channel of his amp.

Don't get me wrong, they are great cables and i love them, but i think that many of the people that don't like them and have had problems with them might have had VERY different results if they had simply installed the zobel's in the first place. The zobel's can not hurt you and may actually help. Many of the aftermarket "black boxes" that attach to speaker cables or are deemed "cable networks" are simply nothing more than a zobel in a fancy, expensive package. Sean
>

Well, I have the same setup to. OK, here it is. The guys at Audience seem to have something. I had the "C" cables (and about 5K$ of others) and the key word is had. These Audience pieces are not high priced at all but they do something very special. To give you an example I had to turm down the subs about 1-2DB after 24 hr breakin of speaker cables. I have an ARC power amp and Wadia pre and only use 1 set of IC's. I have ordered the same for my subs. By the way, try by-wiring the subs. It adds about 6 DB if needed.

I own Vandy 5's and double run Pure Note Epsilon speaker cables. They will terminate the cables with spades to fit the barrier strips. Do a search, other folks seem to like them.

I have seen Alpha Core Goertz M2 endorsed enthusiastically for use with Vandersteen 3A's. I have a similar setup -- 3A's and a pair of 2WQ's -- and have had pretty good results with some fairly modest cables. Personally I think you would be overspending at $1200....

I have the same set up and use Tara Lab Master generation II speaker cables. They are smooth and detailed. I prefered these to a lot of other more expensive cables. They do have a slight, and I do mean slight, leaness in the upper mids but, to me, it matches the voice of this speaker well. The only way to know for sure is to compose a list of cables you think might work (like suggestions you receive) and try to listen to the ones you're interested in. Trust me, nobody can say what cables to use in your room with your tastes. You've GOT to do that yourself. Make sure you bi-wire. It does make a difference. Since you have silver interconnects, be careful with matching silver speaker cable. By the way, Vandersteen suggests running the same speaker wire you use for the mains to the 2WQ. I really don't know about this---makes things pricey. Try to get a home trial. I bought and sold a lot of used wire before I settled on one. It was the only way I could demo a lot of different wires. Good luck.

Richard Vandersteen told me Audioquest uses Vandy 5 to voice their cables. I did not ask him about 3A Signature but since it is very similar to model 5, you might want to borrow some Audioquests and give them a home trial.