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speaker cable prices

I read plenty of articles on the demise of high end audio and have been an enthusiast for 40 years and worked at a high end retail chain for ten years back in the 90's. I still own several systems and buy and sell gear to keep tweaking my systems. Nonetheless I'm pretty shocked at the prices of cables in particular- I look for a decent pair of speaker cables to run from a Pass amp to a good pair of speakers and can hardly find a pair of 8 ft cables for less than $1000- most are commonly 2-3k for a pair of cables. 

Is it me or is this ludicrous? 

What are people buying for an average pair of cables ? Can a pair be had for $300?
128x128cowan217
samac's avatar
samac
499 posts
 
These are fantastic, made well and right in your budget; Cullen Cable Crossover.

http://http//www.cullencable.com/crossover-series-speaker-cables/

Cheers,

Scott
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
stereo5
I feel for you. I need 22 foot pairs of speaker cable and the cost is more than my first brand new car. I paid 2500 for my first brand new car in 1971. 47 years later, that 2500 would be more like 5-6K.

Whoa! Maybe move the amps closer to the speakers and/or move the speakers closer together. Or look around for a more cost effective speaker cable. Perhaps consider making your own. There are many ways to skin a cat.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,602 posts
 
Please check out Signal Cables. They are well made, neutral sounding and offers amazing value. 

http://www.signalcable.com/speaker_cables.html


dill
2,542 posts
 
When I had Pass gear, these are the speaker cables that worked best for me: Zu Libtec, Clear Day Double Shotgun and Supra Ply 3.4, all are available for under $1,000.
jsm71
141 posts
 

I separate cable pricing into:

Entry level - a step up from stock cables but noticeably better

Value - probably up to limited hundreds of dollars. Bang for the buck.

Quality - this is a wide range but where most audiophiles getting serious play. Maybe up to a few thousand dollars. Hard to truthfully get better than these.

Status - there are legit offerings here mostly seen at audio shows, but this category and the prior is where the biggest growth has occurred over the years relative to the "early days" of hi-fi. Clearly bigger profit margins.

I’ve participated in all but the last category including stock/consumer cables for many early years. My cables today are a mix of value and quality. My gear doesn’t justify spending into the status level.


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