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Can anyone identify this speaker cable?

Hello and thank for your help!

I tried to insert a picture here, but I could not figure out how to do it, so I will explain the speaker cable as best I can.

I recently received two 15' runs of cable as a gift, the previous owner found them stashed away and has no recollection as to what they are. I measured the cable to be 16 AWG Gold plated copper maximum twist wire, the insulation is clear and almost seems to be nothing more than a very light coating of something covering each wire of the twisted pair. I measured the resistance end to end and it came out to be 0.0005 ohms, the same as shorting my meter leads together. Lastly, the wire is fairly stiff.

I have not yet inserted the cable into my system because it would be a major pain and I'm not sure 16AWG wire is a sufficient interface between my Krell Amp and Sonus Faber speakers. I am concerned about this light of a wire handling the current demands at elevated listening levels. 

Any ideas as to my description? Can anyone tell me how to get a picture in here? Is this a good cable?

Thanks! 
grm
grm OP
149 posts
 
Hello,

Yes, the wire is very stiff. What is magnet wire? The original owner of the cable said he purchased it on-line from some cable place?? It was so long ago he does not remember the manufacturer. And yes I agree, the terminations suggest garage enthusiast manufacturing.

Is this decent stuff worth the hassle of trying??

Thanks to all!
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,868 posts
 
If you live in any kind of urban environment, this cable will act just like an antenna and pickup every stray wave. The negative is your treble sounding hard and possibly dry (lacking sweetness).
This is also true around a military base.
I always use shielded speaker wire.
dill
2,579 posts
 
I would use speaker cable that has a larger gauge than 16 AWG, especially if you are using a powerful amp and a distance past 4 or 5 feet.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,783 posts
 
Looks like ELF cable to me:

http://elfcustomcables.com/super-helix-gold-spk.html

Mapleshade is a great guess, but it's a different color and a little thicker.  I've owned some.
grm OP
149 posts
 
Mofimadnss, you nailed it - thanks!

I actually do require 15' runs of cable for my system. I checked out the link you provided and for a 15' pair of cables they want $880, I think this is a bit overpriced, especially since it's only an 18awg cable.

Mofimadness, you mentioned you owned a similar cable, did you like it and would you recommend it? My only concern is the cables ability to handle potentially high currents. Right now I am BiWiring my speakers, I'm using a 10awg cable for the low frequency driver and a 15awg for the high frequency driver. The low frequency cables are Belden 1313A and the high frequency cable is a simple AQ type 4, this combination sounds pretty good. Do you think the Super Helix Gold may have a place in my system? Perhaps the high frequency driver? Your or anyone else opinion is most appreciated! 
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