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Please Help Me Choose a Speaker Cable

I need to replace my existing speaker cable setup with something more wife-friendly. I am currently bi-wiring with Audioquest Type 4 (tweeters) and Aperature 16 (woofers). About 20 years ago I bought the wires off a spool and had them built w/ banana plugs. You can see a pic of the offensive cable setup on my system page (https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6318). I put a nice jacket over the cables hoping that would be enough to clean up the messiness.

What I want is something of equal quality that will also fit inside my VTI speaker stands. The stands have a 3/4 inch opening and the 4 banana plugs don’t fit through. I want to continue bi-wiring but would go single if the sound was just as good on a different set of cables. A bi-wired cable terminated with two spades at the amp side would fit through the stands (2 banana plugs might fit also).

I don't want to spend more than $600 and need a 10-12 ft. pair. There appear to be a lot of options on Agon right now. I see names I know are pretty good like Audioquest and Kimber. If I were to pick one I would probably go with the Audioquest Rocket 88 or CV-8 or maybe the PS Audio Xstream. Maybe there are better options for less? Will the cables in this price range be good as or better than what I have? If not, maybe I should try terminating the two cables into one set of banana plugs on the amp end to see if that fits.  I guess I would prefer spades because they would be more flush to the speakers, thus a little cleaner looking.  

Thanks.
treebeard1
bassdude
498 posts
 
Well... I must admit... the AQ CV-8 speaker cables are pretty impressive. Just received them and hooked them up to compare to my Anti-Cables 3.2 speaker cables.

Premature first impressions:

Great soundstage and imaging, very airy - maybe a bit better than the AC’s
Great clarity and resolution of detail - maybe a bit better than the AC’s
Great extension in treble, lots of fine detail (brushes on cymbals, etc.)
Treble balance maybe a bit greater compared to bass and mids - brighter sound
May be a bit cooler sound, not quite as warm, rich and weighty as the AC’s
Bass may be a bit better defined and textured... and maybe a bit less prominent
Mids are very clear also - voices are very life like.

The CV-8 seems to have a sound a bit more like silver cables - which is good, if your prefer the lighter, airy sound of silver.

The AC’s, of course, sound like high-quality copper cables - which is also good, if you prefer the warm, rich sound of copper.

Although premature... I like the AQ’s a lot, because I like the sound of silver cables, which these remind me of.

I’ve always been a bit skeptical that there was much difference in the sound of cables - except that silver cables always seemed to have a bit greater clarity and resolution of detail. And, while there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference in the sound of the AQ’s over the AC’s, others might think there’s quite a noticeable difference.

I would recommend either, depending upon your preferences - both are great values.
bassdude
498 posts
 
Oh... and... almost forgot... the AQ CV-8 speaker cables seem to make the speakers more efficient - they're louder at lower volume levels on the pre-amp POT - by maybe... 15%+.

Not sure I understand why... but... that's the case.
treebeard1 OP
148 posts
 
@bassdude 
Thanks for the review. As you know,  I had to send mine back. The replacement cables should arrive early next week and I should have thoughts by the end of next weekend. 
gdnrbob
4,456 posts
 
Treebeard, where did you get the CV-8? I'd like to try them myself.
Bob
hifimusicdai's avatar
hifimusicdai
3 posts
 
I would suggest you have a look at Morrow Cables (online). They have a range of differently priced cables and have had some excellent reviews.
(I use them myself and am pleased) They offer pre-used by those who are upgrading to one of their more expensive cables (as you can do also when you are able)
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