Any speaker cable's sound quality just blown you away?


Among all of the tons of speaker cable out there, which model has stood out in your mind as the best that you have ever heard, and why? If you remember the audio system (especially the speakers) that you heard them with should prove to me most informative. What was the configuration (i.e. single run, shot-gun, bi-wire, or tri-wire), and the length? We know most are looking for a great cable at a little price, while we all dream of the ultimate cable in our audio system. And with so many companies out there making good stuff, it seems that more offen than not, the best sounding cable, though definitely not the cheapest, is not the most expensive either. What is your experience?
wenterprisesnw
sdcampbell: i have found myself in agreement with you more times than not. i can't, however, embrace a "reviewer" like richard hardesty. he says, without foudation, *most of the mega-dollar cables are really bad and should be avoided.* that sentence may stand as an exemplar for the logical fallacy: post hoc ergo propter hoc. it is most disturbing to see that inane generalization following a statement that makes perfect sense: *don't buy an expensive cable product without carefully listening to it in your own system*

yes, wire is the most hyped and over-priced "component" in the world of highend. yes, some inexpensive wire sounds as good, and better, in some systems as the highest-of-the-high-priced stuff. but not all high-priced stuff is crap. and kimber doesn't work well in all systems. i've tried many speaker cables in my setup (jrdg modified model 8 > avalon eidolons), from inexpensive to insane. for me, tara' "the one" sounds best. it retails for about $4k per 7 ft. pair. i paid less than half that for a like-new demo pair. i think that a bargain. -kelly
One speaker cable is not going to be "magic" for all systems. Read Dick Olsher's Tip #22 "In persuit of the perfect conductor" at: http://www.blackdahlia.com/tipindex/tip_25/tip_25.html
While there always seems to be an inappropriate amount of controversy connected with speaker cable, interconnects, etc., there's still no substitute for trial and more trial. Just like a good woman, a good speaker cable is hard to find. And because it's so system dependent, once you find it don't change your amp or speakers, or you may need to change your speaker cables too.
To keep cost low and evaluate the difference in cable try building your own... it takes time and patience but done right (hard to screw up, but easy to fix if you do) you'll end up with a really nice pair of speaker cables and you'll learn along the way.

The recipe on this link set me up with nice sound for little money... http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/rjmaudio/spk.html

You can also check out...
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/tweaks.html
caveat here is that the text is translated from Italian so sometimes the picture the writer paints may not make much sense, but he does go into more detail than the first site.