Who thinks $5K speaker cable really better than generic 14AWG cable?

This is covered well at <roger-russell.com>.  Short version :
expensive speaker wires are just good marketing. Most 
copper wire is pure. Bigger wire s better due to line loss.
Keep connections tight. I use low voltage landscaping 
wire from Lowes...lots of copper and good insulation .
I have been at this since 1967 and do own stereos that
costs as much as a nice new car. I maybe wrong but
have no excuses.
   
Leads from phono cartridge are a different story. I just
use stock in SME and VPI. work fine. So does wire in old Dual
1019 come to think of it.

I recently downgraded

From:
Krell KPS-25sc
Shunyata Aries XLR interconnect
Classe CAM-350 mono amps
Audioquest speaker cables (mid-range, not expensive model)
B&W Matrix 801s2 w/Northcreek Crossovers

To:
OPPO BDP-105
MIT XLR interconnect ($500 model)
Proceed Amp2 150W
14AWG cheapo speaker wire
NHT VT1.4 speakers

What stayed the same: the room: 18’W x 24’L x 12’H, with the speakers on the 18’ wall. A nice room for two-channel audio.

When I was building the high-end system, I definitely noticed a significant improvement between the Shunyata interconnects and a few others that I tried at the time. So in that sense, I can say that cables matter. However, in my new, much cheaper system, I’m amazed at what the Proceed/NHT combo can do for under $1000 (used). I’m perfectly happy with the cheapo speaker wires and have no plan to upgrade.

Good analogy paieta. I can see both sides, but there IS both sides. To say that cables do not matter is to say that one is satisfied with compromises. Nothing at all wrong with that as long as it is acknowledged and understood.

I love listening to 60’s/70’s/80’s rock on my vintage system with Monster 12 gauge speaker wire and a Pioneer 10-band EQ. It sounds awesome. But when it comes to reproducing music with the intent of creating realism, I hold no pretenses as to its limitations.

Dave

Once I was at my dealer and we made tests with some interconnects and speaker cables of the same company we started with their cheapest one and ended with the most expensive one and the results of this test was very clear the expensive ones were much better ,the difference between the most cheap cable to the most expensive one was like a day and night.

IMO it’s  wrong to jump to a conclusion that there is no difference between cables just because a dumb dealer that clearly doesn’t have a clue what he is selling and just want to make $$$ .

There is definitely differences between different cables and even between different lengths of the same cable. That does not however necessarily mean that the more expensive cable always sound better in a given system when compared to a cheaper one. It does not need to be "the shorter the better" either as the stability of the amp is dependent on the impedance of the load. In the worst case scenario using inappropriate cables can even turn your amp into a powerful high frequency oscillator blowing it and/or your speakers to smithereens. In particular the Rotel RB-890 is prone to spontaneously self destruct in this way but almost any amp can be turned into an oscillator by connecting an unsuitable load.

I have done a lot of installations and have found that any good 2.5mm2 (AWG13) OFC speaker cable with (preferably) PE insulation works well for general purposes up to at least 30m (100'). It's a good compromise between performance and price. Thinner cables restrict the bass and thicker is not so much better that it justifies the higher cost.

For serious HiFi where one has spent $10K+ on amp and speakers one should of course consider spending a little bit more on cables but always on a try-before-you-buy basis. Just because one cable is more costly to manufacture than another it does not automatically make your system sound better.

It can, in fact, even make it sound terrible! One must always try cables out and then (only if they sound better, of course) ask oneself this question: Is this improvement worth the higher price? If the new cables you are testing are cheaper it's an easy decision: Keep them and sell your old overpriced cables to some sucker…

Don't EVER take it for granted that a higher price is equal to better quality! The HiFi-industry is littered with overpriced products and some of them are just crap. I don't want to mention any brands but I have compared expensive IC-cables to cheap ones and found the cheaper to be better as well as a CD-player costing $6K sounding truly awful when compared to one costing only $2K so beware that there are people out there trying to rip you off. That's the way it is and you have to use your ears and common sense to decide who is gonna get your hard-earned money. 

Dizzy Gillespie once said: "If it sounds good it is good..."
His concern was the music, not the equipment used to record it!
He was of course right! What the musicians are playing is far more important than "the sound" of different cables, amps etc… 
A sobering thought! :-)

Happy New Year everybody!