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Cable Survey

The idea for this thread came from @sautan 904 op titled “Who thinks $ Speaker cable really better than generic 14awg cable?

My reply:

From op:

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?

Some are, some are definitely not. It really is a matter of discovering what brands out there (and there a lot) offer the best performance for your money. Some are really worth the money and clearly they offer a big increase in sound quality. It seems the dealers you used were not very discriminating about what brands they carry. This does not surprise me since I have found many are not well informed. You really need to seek out somebody who has compared different makes of cable and really believes in what they are selling.

So I thought it a good idea to pool knowledge on this subject and make a list of what people are using and why. This is my current preferences:

Speaker: Hi Diamond 7

IC XLR: Hi Diamond XLR 3

USB: Vovox

Ethernet: AQVOX, Vovox

Power: Belden

The Hi Diamond speaker cable was so much better than other cables I have tried to date. The increase in musicality, depth and detail in bass, increased sound stage and cleaner more detailed top where some of the benefits I had with this cable. The same can be said of their XLR interconnect.

The Vovox I have only been able to compare with some generic cables, and it is much clearer than those. I intend trying some other brands in the near future and I will post my findings.

Ethernet cables I find make a difference and I am currently using both Vovox and AQVOX, compared to various generic makes and the blue Meicord these are both much preferred, opening the sound stage and lowering the noise floor.

Power cables I haven’t so far experimented with a great deal, I’m using heavy Belden cables that are part of a dedicated mains spur arrangement, so that each individual piece of equipment has its own spur. In order to test cable types I will need to introduce a mains block (Shunyata?).

toetapaudio
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,429 posts
 
@toetapaudio,

Not all the cables created equal, their performance varies based on the material and design philosophy. It would be worthwhile to disclose the components associated with your choice of cables.

I have seen from numerous cable threads that we go on debating the merits of expensive or reasonably priced cables. But very few has discussed in detail their reason for picking a brand of cables along with their electronics.

IME, your components plays a vital part in your choice of particular brand of cabling. Based on your component design, they are either well or poorly executed which could make them immune to cable upgrades.

We must keep in mind, everyone perceives or hear changes with cable upgrades differently. So let’s chimed in based on what we have tried in our system instead of hearsay or your opinion about a particular brand of cables.

@grannyring

Thanks for the recommendation. I have been looking to replace my speaker cables for a while. Looks like parts express have Duelund Silver foils cables on sale. I would like to try them out. How many hours of initial burn-in you recommend with these cables?

Post removed 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,467 posts
 
I would not go for the silver foil, but stick with the stranded copper. Try it first.  Amazing cable. Twist the positive and negative run every 1.5 - 2 inches.  Hook up with the bare wire on both ends for best sound. It will not oxidize. Don't let the price fool you. Give it 100 hours of burn in. 
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Take a look at http://image99.net/blog/index.html

It covers the merits of a helix geometry for Speaker, Power and Interconnect cables

I have spent over four years trying different power cables and geometries from...
- bulk Furutech and DH labs cable with good connectors
- braided designs using Romex and Furutech conductors
- and finally the helix design, again using romex and furutech conductors

My conclusions as to why they work may not be 100%, but the fact is they work extremely well

The quality of the conductor does improve sound quality attributes such as dynamic performance and bass control, but other attributes such as imaging, details and clarity are clearly attributable to cable geometry

I also applied the same geometry to speaker and interconnect cables and found they provided significant improvements in sound quality.

Still skeptical? - As @toddverrone - a fellow member that has built and uses all three - thanks Todd :-)

Regards - Steve
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Indeed, the helix cables sound amazing. Plus, they look interesting and are fun to make. I also like the fact that you can customize them to your system.

Want 10 gauge silver plated copper? No problem. 14 gauge rectangular copper OCC conductor? Do it! Silver connectors? Rhodium? Gold? Choose your own adventure..

Now, if you hate DIY and/or need brand name bragging rights to feel good, these are not the cables for you. But if you want incredible sound and a super low noise floor for the cost of a few hours and a few hundred dollars to do all the cables in your system, you’ve found Nirvana.

These guys have good, inexpensive cables to harvest power conductors from: http://www.vt4c.com/shop/program/main.php
But you can use any power cable as a donor, or buy wire in bulk.

Power connectors at a good price from here: https://www.sonarquest.net/

Or here: http://www.acoustic-fun.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=25_29

I like the sonarquest because their attachment system let’s me use Spade connectors on the ends of the cables, which I prefer. But the iego connectors area very popular and well liked on this forum, so again, your choice.

As for ICs, there are so many choices. I went with solid silver conductors from vh audio, which is also where I purchased my KLEI pure harmony RCA connectors.. but again: what do you want?

Speaker cables? Forget about it! You have a dizzying array of materials to choose from. I used cryo’d silver plated copper from take five audio. Really, there are so many choices, I’m not even going to bother listing them. If people have questions though, Steve or I are happy to answer.

Man, we sound like a tag team sales force! Ha! I just love making cables and sharing knowledge and Steve's design is solid.
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