Speaker cables: $3000 or $380. What do you get??

Sunnyjim,

I just re-read my post from before. It sounds really mean. I didn't want it to come out that way, I was in a hurry when I typed it out.

"You don't get either one. The reason is simple; you don't know what you are doing."

Let me put that in context. I mean that literally and not anything negative. Audio is a hobby, that, like many other hobbies, takes a lot of learning and experience to be successful. When you get into more expensive cables, you really need to know what you are doing. High end cables are one of the more advanced challenges you need to deal with as an audiophile. I believe that inexperience is why so many people become very frustrated/negative when it comes to cables.

Relying on reviews and other peoples opinions, is like an accident waiting to happen. Its possible you may make a lucky guess. Aside from that, though, there really is no easy path to take. If you want to do it right, you need to learn and gather experience on your own. If you are not sure about something, its no big deal. Its better to just take your time and make a purchase only when you feel you are ready.

Jallen.. You know what you are doing. The more you spend, the less you get is right when it comes to wires. But... if one has the funds, why not experiment?

I'll expand on Zd542's post a bit more.

Experience is the key. That is, when you have heard enough gear in your home and know exactly what type of sound and presentation you like and what you hope to gain with a step up in class/price (for lack of better reference), then you're ready to consider it.

Also, as you're gaining experience don't look at at cables as a solution to a problem. See them as refinements. Consider your components first.

I have not been in this hobby since 2006, but am considering a return...dear god. That year I owned Acoustic Zen Hologram II, Audience AU24 and Ridge Street Poiema speaker cables at the same time and was constantly comparing them. At a certain point I thought, "this is frickin' ridiculous!" So I never spent above that level.

And now I want to do this again?

Here is what a noted engineer and speaker designer has to say on the subject: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm.

It's your money and you will have to decide for yourself.

Here is a better link from Effischer's post above. I clicked on it and got a 404 message.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

I don't think it is a bad thing to ask people about their experiences with cables to get an idea of performance. This audio hobby is pretty rough if you can't get to a dealer who has all sorts of speaker wire for you to audition. I've done my share of buying and trying and then re-selling and it took a toll on my listening as well as my wallet. Trying to remember and document findings when certain changes and wires were put in began to suck the joy out of listening to music. One guy I met got so burned out with noting changes with cables and tweaking he stopped listening to music and his system for 2 years.

I've stopped wondering what makes a cable more expensive than others. If you have a set of speaker cables in your system and your system sounds good just sit back and enjoy. You can drive yourself mad trying to figure out what makes certain cables more expensive than others. Lots of cable manufacturers have all sorts of costs and other factors that go into their pricing. If you can find a cable maker that shows cut-outs of what their cables look like inside in addition to details about cable construction that can give you some insight into what can make the cable so pricey.

Also SunnyJim why not try meeting up with Stewart Ono (unclestu) or Walter Liederman (Underwood Wally) in your neck of the woods? They have lots of experience with selling all sorts of cable etc. They could give you insight to your query.