Solid core Versus Stranded Speaker cables
Ok for starters I have never tried a solid core Speaker cable until recently. I was very skeptical of the solids performance but I'm glad I tried it. As a matter of fact I tried it and found it to be the best cable I have ever used to date. After much searching, getting opinions from fellow audio enthusiasts and trial and error I happened upon a seller here on Audiogon, JW Audio who offered a 30 day in home trial period with full money returned, no questions asked and took a shot in the dark. That shot hit the bullseye dead center. After receiving the Cryo Nova 12 foot long cables, I was somewhat stunned when I seen the cable, it was nothing like I expected but I connected it anyway. Holy S....t did it make an immediate difference and it keeps getting better. My entire system (Krell) opened up like peeling the skin off a banana. Highs, lows, detail, soundstage, depth, clarity and details that I was missing were revealed. ( and I thought what I had was really outstanding )
Which brings me to the point of this thread. Not knowing what makes a solid core or a stranded speaker cable more desirable aside from the obvious flexibility issues I'm curious to know what my fellow audiocrazies use and why they prefer one over the other or if they even tried both. Anyone willing to give up their opinions on the pros and cons of solid versus stranded speaker cable? I will start that I am a convert to at least this particular solid core speaker wire and unless someone can better it with the 30 day free trial period I do believe it is here to stay.
There was a time when I switched to solid core speaker cables and was quite pleased. A long-time Vandersteen dealer showed me the cables and told me that although Richard didn't publicly endorse cables these were the ones he often used. Amazingly, the price point was significantly less than others I was considering. Long story short, I tried them out and preferred them despite the fact that they were a third to half the cost of the others I auditioned. A win win! I have subsequently switched to wound cables again but for fairly priced, high performance cables I highly recommend these solid core cables. There is a decent explanation on their website, too: http://www.goertzaudio.com/contents/en-us/d16_MI_Speaker_Cables.html |
I believe cable performance is system dependant as well as personal taste. I have had success with several different combinations. cousinbillyl if your still in copy, and anyone else interested. Did you have a chance to check out the Kimber website? It has a great illustration of the internal view of the 12 vs series cable. 12 negative grey and 12 positive black windings coated with polyethylene. "Within each of those, are (7) different guage copper conductors. They are twisted together-touching- bare copper on bare copper..... N |
AQ is my first choice, Always! The reason? They weld wires to DIN/RCA, eliminating wire-solder-metal interfaces. Solid core works to me but on the other hand "golden ratio" from Cardas sounds even sexier, plus Cardas headphone wires are fantastic with my HD-650... For speaker wires I have it easy because Naim Audio insists on using NACA wires for NAP250s and although I did buy a few dozen feet of AQ speaker wires, it is still on my "to do list" to actually try them. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it sooo much easier to just follow the suggestions from your favorite manufacturer than going thru the pains of constant doubt and swapping, not knowing if its the wire or solder joint or skin effect, or non-WBT bananas :-) Depends on the mindset, of course. I still have some fond memories of living in a society where everybody knew what is right and which direction to look (all together in one direction of course). I "laughed my evil laugh" reading an article in my wife's mag (ART Today or such) that it is liberating for The Artist to have some defined boundaries, set by (totalitarian) society, that somehow it "channels" productive genius! Funny how real life crashes such theories. My point here is: I guarantee there is not a single person on this Planet who tried Nordost Valhalla interconnects resoldered for Naim's DIN plugs! I am free to check if they can beat Naim's Hi-Line, but am I going to pay for this non-returnable freedom? Sorry, but No |
