Good value speaker cable advice please.

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  • Avoriaz
    Avoriaz Posts: 39,110 Forumite
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    Hammyman wrote: »
    Err, no. That's your brain convincing yourself that you've not just realised how stupid you've been buying expensive cable you didn't need……Lets look at it from a technical point of view.…..
    There is more to it that cost and technical points. There is emotion, psychology and other factors too.

    About ten years ago I bought a fairly high end Hi-Fi. After some research and auditions I bought Meridian 502 and 557 amps and Ruark Solstice floor standing speakers. List price would have been about £7,000 but I bought ex dem/display kit for about £4,000. I was given a set of Nordost cables with the ex dem Ruarks but they were not quite long enough. I have a big room and need about 3 metres for each speaker.

    I could have used 2 core mains cable as I have done in the past and saved myself a bit of money but I bought enough QED Silver Anniversary cable at £4.99 a metre to tri wire the speakers at a total approaching £100.

    Have I wasted nearly £100? Possibly.

    But I had spent £4,000 on the amps and speakers, a load more on the various front end CD and deck etc and maybe £10,000 on my huge collection of CDs and music DVDs.

    I listen to music for many hours every day. It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction.

    If I had used cheap mains cable I might have had a permanent nagging feeling that I wasn’t getting the very best out of all my expensive hardware.

    £100 was a cheap price and a tiny proportion of my overall budget to avoid that.

    I am still very satisfied with my system after ten years and I do not regret a penny of my spending. I do not feel in the slightest stupid spending £100 on speaker cables.

    But horses for courses and if you and others are happy with mains cable then buy that and use it. It is YOU and YOU alone that needs to be happy with your purchase. :)
  • jamesperrett
    jamesperrett Posts: 1,009 Forumite
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    Two core mains cable is perfect for speakers. There's a story going around about a major hifi magazine who were doing a demo at a hifi show. They had been sponsored by various hifi manufacturers and had put together a complete system but only realised at the last minute that they were missing some speaker cables. One of the team went down to the nearest B&Q and bought the thickest orange 2 core cable they could find. They ended up with one of the best sounding systems at the show!

    James.
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    The point here is that this site is supposedly devoted to money saving.

    There is not a shred of technical evidence to back up the vast majority of the "lore" that has built up around HiFi equipment (and especially cables) so suggesting that it it necessary to spend several pounds a meter on specialist cables for speakers where given the impedance and frequency range involved the technical requirements are minimal needs some reference to proof that it will make a difference. And that means proof beyond some posts on the AV Forum.
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741 Forumite
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    kwikbreaks wrote: »
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    ????


    Pedantic much

    I noticed 'RFI' in the midst of it so intrigued I read that part
    :idea:
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741 Forumite
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    LC OFC van damme 2.5mm can be had for about 2 quid a meter
    Considering a similar priced cable would cost a ton more, I dont think is too bad a saving
    If people want stock cable then buy some at 80p a meter or whatever. I couldnt care less
    :idea:
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    aliEnRIK wrote: »
    I noticed 'RFI' in the midst of it so intrigued I read that part
    ..and you are calling me pedantic!!!

    I don't for one second believe hammyman thought that any RF pickup would be reproduced by the speakers directly and he didn't actually say it would be yet you picked him up on that while completely ignoring the main point of his post.
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741 Forumite
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    kwikbreaks wrote: »
    ..and you are calling me pedantic!!!

    I don't for one second believe hammyman thought that any RF pickup would be reproduced by the speakers directly and he didn't actually say it would be yet you picked him up on that while completely ignoring the main point of his post.

    Ive heard it all before. Why should I read something that bores me?
    :idea:
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    Yeah why worry about boring facts?
  • Richie-from-the-Boro
    Richie-from-the-Boro Posts: 6,945 Forumite
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    dxg280.jpg
    :beer: comon folks be nice to each other :)
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
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    Compared with some past discussions this is rather restrained. I think we are both only going through the motions out of boredom....
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