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Speaker cables: $3000 or $380. What do you get??

I happened to be patrolling the cables category today to see what was on sale below $600 for speaker cable in VGC. I was not surprised to see speaker cables costing up to $9000 for a 8 to 10 foot single wire pair.

This question has been ask before on this blog: So what do you get for $3000 per 8 foot wire versus $380 pair of speaker wire, say like Anti-Cables Reference 3 or Audio Art SC5E against Audience or Transparent Audio, or even Kimber Kables 3038 speaker wire?? Is there a significant and marked audible difference in the sound?? Does it depend on the speaker, e.g. Wilson's Alexandria III, or Focal's Grand Utopia?? and the ancillary electronics to drive these beast??

Like to hear some opinions from members who have owned some of the higher priced cables, but possibly switched down to cables between $1000 to $1500, or possibly less.
sunnyjim
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
My attitude, is that there is definitely a law of rapidly diminishing returns. Whether a $3K cable is worth it over a $380 cable is entirely up to you, your system, your room, your sense of value. Do I think there is a difference? I consider myself lucky in that my ears are not acute enough to hear them after a certain point. And if I can I always ask myself if the gain is worth it. For me, the sweetspot for cables is about $1K. Anything above that only yields marginal gains to me. Do I think anyone is foolish for spending $10K on cables? Nope. To each their own because I am sure there are folks who think I am nuts for spending $1K on cables or for buying an expensive car...to each their own.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
While I have no experience with $3000 or other expensive speaker cables, from a technical standpoint the response by John (Jmcgrogan2), which I know is based on a great deal of experience, makes perfect sense to me.

I would add that given the system and component dependency of cable performance; the technical interactions that are involved between cables and the components they are connecting, which generally don't have a great deal of predictability; and the general lack of quantifiability that seems to characterize cable "science," I wouldn't rule out the possibility that in some cases the $380 cable will provide better results than the $3000 cable.

Regards,
-- Al
jallen
502 posts
 
The more you spend, the less you get. The question is how much is enough? Only your ears and objectivity will know that Jallen
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Speaker cables: $3000 or $380. What do you get?? "

You don't get either one. The reason is simple; you don't know what you are doing. It would be better for you to get a decent pair of entry level speaker cables ($75-$150). When you can answer the above question yourself, you'll be ready to move up. Otherwise, its most likely you will make a mistake and waste your money.
sonic_genius
528 posts
 
I have owned high priced Nordost Valhallas and Siltech Gen.5 and lower priced cables from Ridge Street, Pure Note, and Morrow. There is a sonic difference depending on your system components and your hearing acuity.

Regarding Price: Most of the name brands sell through dealers with markups are around 50%. The smaller outfits are direct and can offer high quality for half the price.

Bottom Line: You must audition cables in your system to see what works for you.
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