Tired of Expensive Speaker Cable. Alternatives?


I'm once again changing speakers, so I'll need two sets to shotgun biwire. I'm tired of seeing the prices asked, and the recommendations made, for multi-thousand dollar products.

I don't know if I'm interested in going the Home Depot extension cord route either, though.

What about low-moderate priced wire that sounds good without the high price tag? Something full, big sounding, extended without being bright, with a good soundstage?
saxo
I tried several different expensive wires, Audioquest, Kimber select, Cardas Golden Cross, and one or two others, and ended up liking Cardas Cross (NOT Golden Cross), especially in the "not bright" department. Cardas has a reputation for being warm (at least with the "Cross"-related lines), and I think there's some truth to that. The Cross wire is not inexpensive, but it is not in the thousands (unless you get a long length)-- I would say it's in the "sweet spot" of the Cardas line, several layers down from the expensive stuff, and yet actually more pleasantly balanced, for my ear.

I tried the different Cardas wires through the lending program of the Cable Company, and found those folks very easy to work with.

Good luck.
I use AlphaCore inductor 14AWG. I then unwind them into long strand of cables. I then use Scotch tape as insulator between the + and - . The sound is just slightly warm but overall not bad.

Here where you can by the Alpha core inductor:
http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=134&products_id=21
The .1mh should make plenty of cables.

Here is a pic of my finished product:
http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f169/andy2_v/?action=view¤t=Rear.jpg
I am using the anticables now and love them...cost effective and sound fantastic

www.anticables.com
Check out Alpha Core. You should be able to get the MI-2 Veracity at a very reasonable price.
why not try HD stuff,,,it's so cheap you have little to lose. I read that Xindak cables are a great deal,,,particularly used!
Don't know if I can top the string suggestion.

Wire is a religion, dontcha know? Can't talk about it... Like trying to describe GOD. Get ready for the holy wars to start.

But I HAVE had good success with magnet wire, available through surplus stores. Not very expensive, works well with planar speakers. Similar to what Paul Speltz uses in his "anti-cables"

Magnet wire has a thin coat of enamel baked onto the outside, so it has no thick jacket or insulation, which is a benefit in some systems. It tends to be stiff, but pliable, so you bend it into place. I believe the copper is also high purity for most magnet wire, so it's technically sound as well.

Actually, any good quality 12 gauge, high purity copper would probably do just about as well. Some expensive speaker cables actually have high resistance. This lessens the damping factor of the amp it's connected too. It can cause frequency response changes especially with speakers that are difficult loads. If you have an ohmmeter, just measure the resistance of high end wires you have around. You might be shocked to see what you're forcing your amp to drive.

In fact, you don't have to spend a lot. For instance, Look at this link at the bottom of the page for silver-coated braided wire:
http://www.horizonmusic.com/catalog/Hrzn_Cat_pg69.htm

The flat 12 gauge works well and is easy to use, altho it has a sticky outer surface and so you should put it in a braided cotton sheath or something. Sounds fantastic with dynamic speakers. BTW, Horizon is manufacturer of wire for several high-end brands, who mark the stuff up astronomically.

Magnet wire or braided solid copper wire is cheap enough that it's worth a try. I don't skimp on connectors, usually use Cardas solid copper, or if possible, crimp the wire directly to the speaker driver elements.

Speaking of which, I'm a big fan of long interconnects with short speaker wires. Tried both ways, and I like the sound much better when the length of the speaker wire is so short that the brand/type/composition is largely moot. How long does a wire have to be before it has an audible impact? With real short lengths, the termination is the biggest sonic factor, and as I said, I prefer none, just a straight crimp or clamp. In fact, on my bedroom system, I've bypassed both the speaker terminals and the amp terminals, so the wire is clamped directly to the output leads of the output transformers (tube amp, obviously), and to the speaker driver elements at the other end.

The whole wire thing is kinda funny. The wire you use DOES matter, but the foo-foo dust and fractured physics used to explain its effects is just too funny. Like Ben Franklin said... "Experience is a hard school, but a fool will learn by no other"

Hope this helps!
You should look at Supra cables. They are around $3 a ft but sound very good.
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