2. cables
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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
zavato's avatar
zavato
1,410 posts
 
I'll second Blue Jeans. Great way to dip you toes into the water without spending big money
mceljo
1,357 posts
 
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.
mitch2
4,192 posts
 
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.
stewie
187 posts
 
A third vote for Blue Jeans Cable. Great cables, prices and service. No voodoo. My entry- and exit-level cables, and everything in between.
runnin
397 posts
 
Brian, I was in the same boat as you when I began to suspect that speaker cables might not be all the same. I didn't want to spend a lot, and let's face it, the prices can be plain crazy. A regular on another forum I frequent suggested a different type of cable. One made from solid core wire, not strands of copper. Audioquest Type 4 would give me a good noticeable improvement over the Oxygen Free Copper fine strand 12 gauge I had.

I wasn't sure, but thought that for 5 bucks a foot(buying in bulk on the cheap) it would cost me about $120 for 2 12 ft lengths, and I could handle that. Well to make a long story short, I was quite impressed at the improvement. I didn't know that I was missing anything, but the new cables gave improvements.

The music sounded more focused or accurate. Again, I didn't know what to listen for or what I was missing. But the stranded cable definitely was inferior. A problem with this forum is you can dozens of responses, each different and it's hard to winnow it down to a course of action. The help I got was on another forum, and I only suggest it because it really made a difference.
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