Speaker cables, you DO get what you pay for!

mrk

mrk

mrk

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Well, I originally had generic thick speaker cables and thought they were fine but after some years of usage the clear sheathe started going yellow and I noticed the structure of the cable feeling less rigid than it used to. Obviously the cable wasn't aging well so I got some NVA LS2 solid core cables which I've had for some years now and been very pleased. I bought them base don user reviews and the Nene Valley Audio team's no quibble money back claims.

The LS2 cost me about £25 for a pair of 2metre cables terminated on banana plugs.

Today arrived a pair of 2metre QED XT cables terminated on QED Airloc plugs and right out the box they have a wider sound than the LS2, playing Cowboy Bebop OST's 'Gotta knock a little harder' track is an excellent track to show the difference and I am fully behind the maker's blurb that this cable delivers a wider more free sound.

Details are slightly more present too, more at the front than in the middle - if I close my eyes whilst playing some Bebop tracks I get a better sense of being in front of the musicians if this is an easier description to use.

Yes it was double the cost of the LS2s but my speakers now sound better and will continue to improve as the cable settles in no doubt!

I got them from this eBay seller (mods please remove if not allowed!) and he was fast at responding to my questions about specific lengths and prices should anyone else be wanting to check them out :D

av_NAD_rear_plugs.jpg


:cool:
 
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You see the problem is it sounds better to you and you know you've changed them *and* spent more money. Of course you're going to think they sound better.

Incidentally how does a cable "settle in"?
 
It does sound wider than the LS2 - I have switched between the two and have listened to the LS2 for years so know exactly how they sound.
 
Essentially yes, you tend to get what you pay for but final results ultimately depends on the cables synergy with your system. Cables, as you know, connect components. All cables will have an effect on sound and will delete a certain amount of information. A lesser system will send less information so on such a set-up it can be difficult to tell the difference between cheaper and more expensive cables.

For a few years I thought i'd a Hi-Fi bargain as i was using cables which cost approx 3% the value of my system.

I then upgraded some of the components, and although it sounded better in terms of bass, mid and treble it was much less musical than before and fatiging to listen to for long periods.

I then started listening to better (more expensive) cables and purchased cables which would cost approx 10% my systems value.

Result - system is now much better and more musical than before. Upon reflection i now know that the improvemnets i made to my system were exposing faults in the cheaper cables.
 
Yeah pretty much the same, the components of my system have not changed much (other than PC soundcard and a sidegrade on the NAD amp and speakers) so I've spent well on the cables really over time listening to the older cables they replaced!
 
metamorphpwner said:
i find cat5e to be cheap and great quality speaker cable, not bought proper speaker cable for a few years now.
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I've tried this and I've found it can't take the current once you start pumping out over 200W...

Fine for bookshelf speakers tho. :)

Expensive cables = snake oil, they look pretty but that's about it.
 
Perhaps it was the speakers then burning in over the period I had the LS2s who knows....either way as it gets used daily whatever settles in settles in and gives a more neutral sound after x time. Not like you're going out of your way to do it either so no harm done.

The qed definitely has a wider sound though, compared them again and indeed on good music tracks (Cowboy bebop is excellent) it's pretty clear..
 
I've never messed with Hi-Fi units but I have messed with PA systems.
When James Randi set up his competition to prove expensive cables were better I tried an experiment with my band PA.
I got hold of very cheap speaker cable, the standard mic cable I use and some much dearer ones my mate uses.
I then put the band through the PA listening to everything separately & together and went through all 3 sets of cables with other mates listening.
We heard no difference.

I can also say that over the last 39 years I have never heard a guitarist say that he has adjusted his tones because his speakers have settled in.
 
Airlocs, YIKES, that's one way to throw money down the drain.

I haven't any real difference in speaker cable, thus have stuck with my £2.50 ixos stuff, and some van damme costing under £2pm for my rear speakers. I'm a firm believe that you should spend a little more than peanuts to get well built cables with plenty of copper in, then you will be done on cables, but anything from these brands with their snake oil and fancy weave is overpriced, especially those airlocs :p

Save the money for a real upgrade such as new speakers, amp, maybe source, or plenty more music and other bits.

MikeHunt79 said:
Not even when running pink noise thru them for 1000 hours to rearrange the structure of the copper molecules? ;)
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Christ what are you on about, its the free radicals you have to worry about these days, molecule rearrangement was soo last year ;)
 
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Albums are always on the cards but the only problem is the lack of decent music these days :D
 
Do you get what you pay for....No, do cables make a difference yes ... do they settle in over time, quite often yes....
Cost is not a measure of quality, listen to them and decide works best, then look at the price.... Each will have an effect on the signature of the system, that doesn't always mean better, if means different.
CAT is not that nice, it's lean, and hard sound with a sharp treble. Lacking weight and warmth in the bass. BUT sometimes a soft overblown loose system can be flattered by the effect.
Funny how every time someone finds something they like there is the snake oil gang trot out the same old rot about nothing makes any difference..bla bla bla..... Often based on the view from using some low end so so kit........ It's all relative, no point putting a £10/meter cable on a £100 amp.... but don't **** it off on a £2000 amp !!!......
Amazes me why those that say everything sounds the same and we are all mad for paying more than 50pence, bother reading and posting on a HiFi forum/thread that is discussing and looking to find and share improvements !!!
 
9designs2 said:
Do you get what you pay for....No, do cables make a difference yes ... do they settle in over time, quite often yes....
Cost is not a measure of quality, listen to them and decide works best, then look at the price.... Each will have an effect on the signature of the system, that doesn't always mean better, if means different.
CAT is not that nice, it's lean, and hard sound with a sharp treble. Lacking weight and warmth in the bass. BUT sometimes a soft overblown loose system can be flattered by the effect.
Funny how every time someone finds something they like there is the snake oil gang trot out the same old rot about nothing makes any difference..bla bla bla..... Often based on the view from using some low end so so kit........ It's all relative, no point putting a £10/meter cable on a £100 amp.... but don't **** it off on a £2000 amp !!!......
Amazes me why those that say everything sounds the same and we are all mad for paying more than 50pence, bother reading and posting on a HiFi forum/thread that is discussing and looking to find and share improvements !!!
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Sorry chap, but there is absolutley no evidence whatsoever to back up either these or the original posters claims.

This topic has been covered in great length over the years but the simple fact is that no-one has ever proved that anything sounds any different as long as the cable is thick enough to carry the required signal. There is also no scientific reason to suggest otherwise either.
 
I've had 3 cables now and whilst each of them have been great, they have been great at giving a specific sound/feel of sound (if that makes sense!).

I agree with you there that it's not a a "better" sound but more a different sound.

NAD amps are generally open and lively in their sound and my speakers are similar too so I am happy i've found a cable that suits that combination nicely now :)

I don't agree with the comments saying that a cable is a cable, sure if it were a digital signal then what cable you use has little difference on the output but as I have found from using both one after the other the qed gives a slightly wider sound which is more pleasing and works great with certain music styles (Yoko's tracks in Cowboy bebop was my example).

Also, anyone want a pair of NVA LS2? :D
 
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mrk said:
I've had 3 cables now and whilst each of them have been great, they have been great at giving a specific sound/feel of sound (if that makes sense!).

I agree with you there that it's not a a "better" sound but more a different sound.

NAD amps are generally open and lively in their sound and my speakers are similar too so I am happy i've found a cable that suits that combination nicely now :)

I don't agree with teh comments saying that a cable is a cable, sure if it were a digital signal then what cable you use has little difference on the output but as I have found from using both one after the other the qed gives a slightly wider sound which is more pleasing and works great with certain music styles (Yoko's tracks in Cowboy bebop was my example).
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It does make sense because what you are experiencing are well known psychological affects, whether it's the placebo effect, expectation bias or whatever, when you were listening to those cables back to back (if you were at all) then i strongly doubt that you were removing the possibility of these side effects, and the most logical conclusion is that your experiences were down to this.

On the other hand, your ears could be so sensitive that they can pick up differences between speaker cables - which vary be about 0.1db across the frequency range, which would make you super-human.

The simple fact is, if there were a different sound, there would be some evidence backing this up. There isn't. I welcome you to try and find some - I have looked, but there is nothing out there other than that you need a cable made out of a good conductor of reasonable thickness, as stated above.
 
cables DO settle in, as do most amps cd players etc.....usually 1-200 hours
f knows why, but they do. as for me i use cheap naim nac a5 speaker cables. none of my hifi is ever turned off. yeah digital is digital but you tell me a cheap n nasty cd player sounds the same as my naim cds2 and i'll eat my hat.
 
Oli, Well I have no reason to make up random stuff out of thin air and I'm a regular hardware changer and only settle with stuff I'm happy with so am quite used to noticing differences.

The new cables have a slightly wider sound on certain musical materials, that's all to be honest!

cheap n nasty cd player sounds the same as my naim cds2 and i'll eat my hat.
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You know I didn't mean cheap cd players and stuff when I said that but at the very least, half decent sources and outputs :p
 
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