cables vs wire?


Oh boy I'm way over my head but hear goes: just bought Totem Staff and NAD bee355 amp. And i'm ready to use plain old speaker wire? What speaker cables do you recommend and does it really make a difference?

I confess I heard a difference of cables in the store but i'm lost and don't really want o spend more money.

thanks

novice who is enjoying his first really good speakers at 60.

Brian
brianwillson
My experience is very limited, but I have heard a very small difference in a listening test between $7 hardware store wire and a $2,000 pair of cables. In my case, I would be far ahead investing the $1,993 on better components that speaker cables alone. There is the possibility that various cable designs will have some impact on the final sound. After a lot of reading I became convinced that the resistance of the cable was the primary factor in most cases so I use 10 awg cables from Blue Jeans Cable.

I don't hAve the ultimate system and can't imaging speaker wires being the difference between it sounding good or bad. I also think there is more placebo and snake oil in cable designs than science, but there is science as well. It is extremely difficult to distinguish between the two.
Congratulations on your purchase. I hope you enjoy the music from it. My
advice is DON'T rush to spend on cables just yet - neither for speakers or
interconnects. Don't know how new your just purchased gear is, but if brand
new, give it time to break in. At the least, give yourself time to get very familiar
with what it sounds like with whatever wire you have at hand. If brand new, both
speakers and amp will likely change the sound they produce over the first 100+
or so hours. Again, let things burn in and let your ear get acclimated first. Blue
Jean Cable offers some good basic, entry level wire. For a little more money,
consider Grover Huffman ICs and Clear Day speaker cables. Morrow Audio is
another possible source. There are many others. You can make yourself crazy
trying to cover all the wire options. I personally don't think you have to spend
megabucks on wire to have something really good. Others will disagree, no
doubt.
I'll second Blue Jeans. Great way to dip you toes into the water without spending big money
I think it is important to distinguish between different and better. Depending on your level of equipment, any money you spend can go towards things like amplifiers, preamps, etc., where I believe you can achieve more objectively real sonic improvements for the dollar. At some level it then comes down to personal preference and small differences that may be improvements.

You really need to figure out your goal for the hobby. There will always be something better out there. I have lost the itch to improve now that my system is at a level where I am never unhappy with its sound. I have heard better systems, but I wasn't unhappy when I returned to my own. I generally buy now out of curiosity rather than a goal to improve.
What is the length of speaker cables that you need?
Since your speakers have bi-wire terminals, are you considering bi-wiring them or a single run of speaker cables with jumpers?
Are you using the factory jumpers or something else?
Also, is there anything about the sound of your system you would like to change slightly, e.g., bass too loose, not enough bass, too bright, etc?
There are several options you can consider that are not expensive and should sound quite good.