What speaker cables can complete with Audience 24e or 24e SE for less $$
Looking to replace my Harmonic Technology Pro 11 + speaker cables whose girth and size are too awkward for my current living space.
Therefore, I have considered Audience 24e or the 24e SE speaker cable, but even the used prices for 6 ft pair with banana plugs is over $1100 on Used Cables.com and more on AG
Therefore, I need some recommendations for less bulky speaker cable that offer the same quality of sound of the Audience cable, or close to it for less money. Obviously, I will only buy used to expand my dollar range
Speakers are Golden Ear Technology model 7's:
Pre-amp: CJ PV-14L SE;
Amp: BAT VK 200 ( 100RMS)
Thank you, SJ
.
I have a pair of Golden Ear Triton 1 and use Belden 5T00UP speaker cable, purchased from Blue Jeans Cable https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm I think you will find the cost to be considerably lower than $1100. |
Hi Jim, Go to ebay and search for "WE 10ga wire" Find wire offered by tajacobs, which is still available in various lengths for less than $4/foot. This wire already comes as a twisted pair and provides a full 10 awg to each pole. The twisted pair is fairly small in diameter and is quite flexible. The wire is stranded, tinned copper that you can connect directly to your binding posts, without connectors, or you can add your choice of soldered or crimped spades or bananas. If you need a visual upgrade, simply put the pair inside 3/8-inch techflex and finish with a piece of heat shrink at each end. I run two twisted pairs of this wire to each speaker in a bi-wire configuration. I occasionally compare this wire with other double-run, bi-wire cables I also own, which include Furutech's OCC stranded cables, the same OCC HT Pro-11+ (and Pro 9+) solid core cables that you currently have, DYI solid core copper in cotton cables, and Homegrown Audio's X-32 solid core sliver cables. Each time I do this, the WE wire remains in my system after the comparison. Some folks dis this stuff as not being a serious cable since it is not boutique, doesn't cost much and wasn't designed as an audiophile-specific product....how could it possibly sound as good as something costing $1K or more? IMO it does nothing wrong, provides an even-handed presentation without being hot on top or too loose/boomy in the bass, while offering perhaps the most tonally musical midrange I have heard from a cable. Give it a try...what do you have to loose? Just buy the cable and hook it up before you spend time adding connectors or tech flex. I suspect will be pleasantly surprised and not just "for the money." |
Dude, Goto Morrowaudio.com and get some awesome cables that don’t cost a lot. They sell used and they have sales everyday! You can call or chat with them during biz hours and they will make anything you need custom too! Lots of options to pay as well :-) I have 4 friends and me that use these cables in there hi end set ups and swear by them. Matt M |
To mitch2, Thank you for the recommendation, I will check out the cable as soon as possible on e-bay. To Matt Miller: I did own a Morrow MP-3 interconnect used between a Rega Apollo CD player and different combo of separates about 9 years ago. I was not impressed. I switched to a Chord Cameleon IC which made an audible difference with the Apollo. That said, I never tried their speaker cables which could be Morrow's major product strength . It is worth serious consideration The major mags treat Morrow like the company has the plague, I have never seen a review of their lines in either TAS or Stereophile Can you inform us as to what your set-up is??? Thanks, SJ |
To jafant Thank you for the advice. I read an article in Stereophile by I think Art Dudley about experimenting with a Nordost "loom system" He outlined the pro/cons of the system in general, that is, some cables in the loop may not have the synergy with particular interfacing components Correct me if I am wrong, but I never seem testimonials by cable manufacturers endorsing the "loom" concept, maybe Nordost, possibly a few others. Sure any cable manufacturer would love customers buying their "full loom", and not their first tier line stuff either. To Nordost's credit, they display the cables within a tier, or model by model of the same tier level and show the differences in price as you move up the line |
If you have good equipment and good synergy then this should not be a matter of critical concern. Any decent 16 gauge braided copper wire should do for a short 6 feet. Frankly, there is no technology in speaker wire relative to all the technology in speakers. Spending as much as you have done or plan to do on a minor tweak like speaker wire is not effective especially when said wire is approaching the cost of your speakers / in such a case, a modest speaker wire coupled with a speaker upgrade would bring a lot more benefit. apologies if this does not answer your question - just felt compelled to warn you of diminishing returns. As significantly higher cost bits of wire are still fundamentally bits of wire. A better speaker with higher cost drivers and good design and construction presents a huge opportunity for improvement. |
Thanks to those who responded in the last two days. To shadorne. Again, good points especially about upgrading speakers as long as you have good basic speaker wire. I did not want to start a new thread regarding the following comments I have often heard from members: "Don't try to tailor the sound quality of a speaker with either speaker cables and/or interconnects between key source components" That might quality as "good common sense" advice, in some instances, but I can characterize the sound of several different brands of speaker cable I have owned since 1988. that made "notable" improvements in the sound quality, and they were not necessarily big bucks wires or ICs. There were no night and day differences, except for "switching out" my long term " GO TO" interconnect, the Audiomagic Spellbinder II interconnect (used first between amp and pre-amp, and then consistently between pre-amp and a Rega Apollo CD player)... with the CHORD CAMELEON IC. Every CD sounded smoother with much less glare and digital artifacts. I can also tell the improvements in coherency across the board using two previous generations back, Harmonic Technology Pro 11+ speaker cable. My other speaker cable I occasionally switch to is Grover Huffman Z series speaker cable ( I don't know its generation history) Unlike, the HT Pro 11+ the GH speaker cable is more dynamic, forward in the midrange, with deep bass, yet a touch of zingy but non-fatiguing highs. I don't switch out these cables to "TAILOR THE SOUND" but because I like what each offers separately. However, I do prefer the overall balance of the HT Pro11+ Therefore, I don't subscribe to the "school of thought" claimed in the above paragraph # 4 We all search for the sound quality we want to hear by different paths..... Cheers. SJ |
Whatever you buy/try, get someone, or better some people, with a good ear(s) and have the courage to do a double blind comparison, especially if you try the "WE 10ga wire" option. I did something like that and the surprising consensus was Auvio 12 g premium speaker cable that I picked up on sale at Radioshack for about $1/ft. This stuff is 50% POCC and 50% silver coated POCC. Unfortunately, I don't think you can get this exact brand any longer. Here is an interesting measurement article: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?14134-When-12-Gauge-Wire-is-not-12-Gauge! |
Plenty of great suggestions above. I have tried lots of speaker cable, albeit modestly priced, and the Blue Jeans Belden cable is excellent. I current have Mogami 3103 cable which is wonderful and affordable for the 25' runs need. I recently auditioned several IC's from The Cable Company and their recommendations were outstanding. They have a "lending library" of cables you can try at no cost unless you keep them. I have long been a denier of anything but modestly priced cable, but my new IC's have complete changed my thinking on the matter. You have outstanding components which will likely benefit from moving up the "food chain" in terms of speaker cables. My best advice is to contact Steve at The Cable Company and try a few of their vast array of cables. |
If you really want an economic solution for small diameter, flexible cables that would sound great with your speakers, three options come to mind. Your HT Pro 11+ cables are IMO pretty good sounding. They are made from multiple, bundled, small gauge, solid-core copper wires that are individually insulated with PE (which I believe sounds better than Teflon). The bundles are encased in plastic and interwoven with damping materials. This whole business is then covered with a flexible rubbery type covering which is then covered with a thick PVC outer casing and then covered with Techflex. Your problem with size is that there is a lot of "stuff" surrounding the wires themselves and I particularly do not like the thick PVC outer covering. If you really like t sound of the HT Pro 11+ cables with your speakers, one option would be to carefully remove the outer casings and damping materials, and then place the twisted pair of encased conductors inside of black Clean-Cut Techflex with a piece of heatshrink at each end. Your favorite cables would then be much smaller in diameter and very flexible. I have removed the coverings on several HT cables to harvest the wire and while you need to be careful and use very sharp/new blades, and pulling the coverings apart takes some strength, you can do this without damaging the cables. Your cost for this option would be Techflex and heat shrink. Parts Express is a convenient source for economical Techflex and heat shrink to finish your cables at a cost of around $20 or less. I find the discussion of BlueJeans cables interesting in that they simply use easily available Belden or Canare bulk cables and terminate them for folks that are uncomfortable doing so. The Canare 4S11 cable uses annealed, 14 awg stranded copper conductors in irradiated PE insulation that can be cross-connected so that each pair creates an 11 awg conductor, the same as your HT cables. The cross-connected geometry reduces inductance, which is beneficial for speaker cables and power cords. They are flexible and a single run to each speaker should be all you need for your single-wired speakers. I don't like the spades offered by Parts Express (because they are brass) but Sonic Craft or Partsconnexion each have better solid copper spades or bananas as well as the Techflex and heat shrink. Markertek offers the 4S11 wire for $1.35/ft. If you need two 6-foot cables, that is a whopping $16.20 for wire plus maybe $30 for Techflex, heat shrink and spades, so your total cost is around $50. Another option is back to the WE 10 awg wire I mentioned below. On e-bay, there is right now a per-foot option (for a twisted pair at 10 awg per wire) at $3.95 per foot or a 16-foot length for $60, both being sold by tajacobs. There is a well-known American cable maker that has received excellent reviews for their speaker cables and power cords, which I believe are made from this very wire. If you need 12 feet of the wire, for two 6-foot cables your wire cost would be about $48, or buy the 16-foot length and cut it in half for two 8 feet long cables.. To finish them off, add $30 for coverings and spades so you are at about $80 for wire that has received rave reviews. If you want to spend more money on AU 24 cables then go ahead. You will not have to construct anything and you can always sell them if you don't like them. But if a lower-cost option is desired, then consider the three options above. My sonic preference would be the first or third options. With options 2 and 3, you may actually save money by selling your HT cables and using the proceeds to fund your new speaker cables. Good luck and let us know how your choice compares to your HT cables. |
Sunnyjim, I have owned Harmonic Technology 9+ Pro cables that I didn't particularly care for--I missed the transparency and upper end clarity of my previous Speltz Anticables. After several tries at upseeding the Speltz with other good for the money cables including various Morrow cables, Crimson, DNM, I tried a pair of MG Audio Planus III copper ribbons. They totally messed with my perception of what speaker cables could do for the sound. I bought these at $900 used several years ago. Their sound was WAY above what I'd ever had in my system prior. But I did not like their bulky and fragile nature. Philip of Amadi Cables let me try the Amadi Maddie Signature silver cables which are only about 3/8" in diameter and came in 8 ft. vs. 6 ft. lengths of the MGs. They had all the good points of the MG with even better high end clarity with no harshness plus even deeper bass. The fact that Philip was selling these for $600 new and they were even decently flexible were more pluses. My speakers are very detailed and dynamic, VMPS RM40s with all their options other than the outboard crossover. These are ribbon based speakers with 40" of ribbon drivers. The rest of my system is at least the speaker's equal or better. These speaker cables are dynamic, transparent, lucid mids, ethereal highs, with textural deep bass, and I could go on and on with the typical adjectives, but you get the idea. Philip will let you try these in your system with a generous return policy to really get a handle on the sound in your system. He has ads on Agon monthly that you can reply to. He will set you up. His ICs are also very good--not just good for the money. They will end your quest for better ICs and SCs as they have done mine. His power cords are quite a bit stiffer but sound good. |
To whitestix:..... mitch 2;.... dorkwad Thank you for the extended comments I need to study your comments recommendations carefully. Today is not good, because last night there was a religious festival about 200 yards from my apartment complex which was accompanied by up by a drum and, bugle band playing music that sounded like a bad Santana rendition. The thunderous drumming, and horn playing continued until 4:30 AM when I had no choice but to call the police who ended the racket To soix, Thanks for the comment, I actually considered AZ Satori, but opted for their Hologram 2 which was even thicker than HT speaker cable. The AZ H2 was very nice sounding, but awkward to connect and lay out When the "dear" wife, and, later, even the cat tripped over it a few times, I put it up for sale on AG.. However, I might check out the Satori because it is much thinner and manageable. SJ |
Yahoo! another opportunity to vote for canare 4s8... 13awg single wired, or belden 10awg if you need the heavy gauge, or canare 4s11 if you bi-wire. Low cost, and no worries. Dress them in techflex for good look. You could also consider canare 4s6, 17awg single wired, if you have only 6ft. Very thin & elegant cable. |
A member on this thread recommended Grover Huffman new "Empress, The Ultimate" speaker cable. Is anyone currently using this new model??. If so , what is your thought on the sound quality and overall musicality??. I still own an 8 ft pair of Huffman's "EX" series which is very good sounding speaker cable which a tad bright and forward, but more dynamic than the Harmonic Technology Pro-11+ speakercable I mentioned above in the thread. Thanks, SJ |
Jim, I recommended the Empress. I use Purist and Huffman Empress ICs and can say that the $400 Empress is very close to the $800 Purist. The Empress sonic signature is transparent, laid-back, dynamic, with smooth highs. I first inquired about the EX cables, but then spoke to Grover directly and he asked me what type of music I would be listening to. I told him 90% classical and he recommended Empress because their sonics were very open with no brightness. I feel that I'm hearing the true sound of the music, where the Purist adds some warmth. I would imagine that the speaker cables have similar sonics. |
To lowrider57, I sent Grover Huffman an e-mail about the Empress cable and also if he could re-terminate his EX speaker cable I bought about a year ago on AG before buying the Harmonic Technology cable. I am not sure how old the EX cable I have, or more importantly, if it was the latest version Nevertheless, the Empress cable at $75 per foot is not cheap even for 6 ft pair with GH's banana connectors which are $10 a connector. One point you made that you listen to 90% classical music; I would say I listen to about 20% classical and 80% classic rock and rock/jazz fusion. Nevertheless, I have yet to hear from Huffman about both series, and if the Empress speaker is worth money compared to the EX series. Thanks, SJ . |
Jim, I'm pleased you're keeping us updated. At $75/ft, his cables are not cheap, but as long as you get the return policy, it may be worth it. As far as listening to different types of music, the sonic signature of the cables will still provide open, dynamic sonics. And no brightness, except during burn-in. I also listen to jazz fusion and often to the great guitarists...Jeff Beck, Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny. |
shadorne: "If you have good equipment and good synergy then this should not be a matter of critical concern. Any decent 16 gauge braided copper wire should do for a short 6 feet." Frankly, there is no technology in speaker wire relative to all the technology in speakers" Where do you get this stuff? Are you serious? Dave |
