Golden Rule on Speaker Cables???

[naturalhigh]

Does it "always" hold true that the thicker the cables the better the sound output generated from your speakers??? Which is better, copper or silver??? May gold ba (gold plated) Brand??? DIY, after-market, or branded??? Local or imported??? Is there a specific measurement/gauge of how thick or how long a cable should be in order to get outmost efficiency from your speakers??? Kailangan ba mamahalin or pwede na yung available sa raon??? Banana plug, clip type, or RCA??? Are cables really that significant even if you have efficicient quality speakers and amp??? Thanks!!! God bless!!!

[audioslave]

calling AVphile... kindly educate us here!

[jagner]

naturalhigh said:

Does it "always" hold true that the thicker the cables the better the sound output generated from your speakers??? Which is better, copper or silver??? May gold ba (gold plated) Brand??? DIY, after-market, or branded??? Local or imported??? Is there a specific measurement/gauge of how thick or how long a cable should be in order to get outmost efficiency from your speakers??? Kailangan ba mamahalin or pwede na yung available sa raon??? Banana plug, clip type, or RCA??? Are cables really that significant even if you have efficicient quality speakers and amp??? Thanks!!! God bless!!!

Ahhhh, the never ending discussion on cables. Here's my take on this, as a DIYer of course

::)Hmmm... where to start: Copper or Silver - well conductivity wise, silver is better than copper because silver has less resistance than copper. Gold is not a good conductor since it's resistivity is higher than copper (higher resistivity = less conductivity ) But gold does not tarnish easily, therefore is quite useful for connectors and plugs. So the question now is which is better to use: Silver or copper: A single wire of silver is always better than a single wire of copper, but expect to pay a lot for a silver wire. However, given a good configuration, multiple wires of copper may duplicate the conductivity of a single wire silver, at a lesser cost

Thick or thin wires: talking about wire sizes, for better conductivity, especially in long runs, a thicker gauge wire is always better than a thinner gauge wire, but this is only applicable to wires of the same material.

How long a cable should be to get utmost efficiency from your speakers? ::)Honestly, If you want your speakers to be totally efficient, it has to interact with the room. Proper speaker positioning is the key for maximum efficiency. Speaker cables are just links. Therefore, IMHO, the length of the speaker cable will depend on the position of your speakers. ;D

Mamahaling cable ba o yung sa raon: tough question: depends on your budget and the overall cost of your equipment. I got my speaker cable and interconnect materials from Raon

Are cables really that significant even if you have efficicient quality speakers and amp - they are significant, kasi kung walang cable walang link But if you're talking 'bout costs, just ratio it out. In my case, 'though am only a DIYer, 5% of my total cost for my audio equipment was spent on cables (mahal ang silver wire ). Looking at the percentage, medyo mataas yan. If you can bring down the percentage further while maintaining your desired performance, ther better it is.

I'm not an expert, but I hope this helps.

[<-94dB]

Hi!

Before spending big bucks on speaker cables. Try opening your speaker and have a good look inside and ask yourself this question "My speaker already sounds good with just copper wires with tin/lead solder inside, does it make sense to use gold or silver?"

All your audio components(excluding the exotic $k stuff anyway) use ordinary copper for the wires and printed circuit boards(PCB) inside. There is really no audible benefit of using silver or gold other than a thinner wallet. It's the placebo effect, i.e. it's all in the mind sad to say. There's a lot of claim about the benefits and this are all BS. I always believed that if it can't be measured then there's no benefit.

I've nothing against high-end hi-fi dealers selling those high end oxygen-free copper(OFC), silver, gold plated, directional speaker wires(?) etc. stuff. What I'm trying to say to most of you budget concious guys who are new to this hobby is that your money could be spent elsewhere. Just look for the thickest wire with the most strands that will fit your amp and speaker connector. Consider replacing the speaker's internal wiring with the thickest but most practical you can find. The efficiency should be a lot better for longer wire runs.

My 2 centavos worth ;D

[sandawa]

i'm into this hobby for over two decades now and i agree with this observation. however, there's no harm hooking a system with good-looking and expensive cables. in my case, i'm the typical budget- conscious Pinoy - practically all my active pairs of speakers are hooked using a P150 to P200/meter 16- and 14-gauge Monster Cable round and flat wires, which to me are decent-looking and priced reasonably compared with the cost of my gear.

[joedvd]

one time a group of audio enthusiasts met to do a blind test / review / audition of some expensive and cheap brands of speaker cables... the result: the group's liking i think swerved to a certain brand and that is the cheapest of them all.

[JohnE.]

buhayin natin...for it would depend on your budget. if you can afford thicker speaker wires go for it. if you can afford silver speaker wires go for it but not to the extent that your speaker cables are much expensive than your speakers. aesthetically those thick meshed wrapped cables look good but sounds the same as the guage 12 speaker wires or dahil kaya mura lang din ang mga gamit ko kaya ganun