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speaker cable - much difference in sound?


21 replies to this topic

#1 daniel price

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 01:54 PM

just wondering how much difference speaker cable makes in the overall sound for hogh end systems. basically comparing standard (decent gauge) cable at roughly $3-4 per metre against higher quality cables available.

from experience has anyone noticed much of an increase in sound (quality or otherwise) when they have upgraded their cables???

thanks for any help, Dan.

#2 Bassaholic

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Posted 02 May 2003 - 02:01 AM

None, nothing, zero, naught, nil, zilch, nada, zip, zippo, didly squat.

#3 STIK79

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Posted 02 May 2003 - 02:08 AM

I wen't from crappy wires that came with the DLS ultimate pros (about 22g!) to decent home audio speaker wire I had laying around and there was NO difference - this thing is, at speaker level you're talking high voltage / low current so the speaker wires don't need to be of huge gauge (well ok small gauage large diameter )

and don't believe any marketing talk of silver mixed with copper being superior allowing for high frequencies to be transmitted better, it's merely that - marketing talk.... krase had and excellent link about cables

#4 Jetstream

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Posted 02 May 2003 - 02:50 AM

Speaker wire is speaker wire, depends if you want the warm fuzzy feeling inside.

So long as the guage of the wire doesnt restrict the flow, there wont be any difference at all.

#5 Subatomic

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 03:13 PM

hmm i used the amp remote wire 4 speaker wire cause i was out of speaker wire does it really matter??

#6 Guest__*

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 03:36 PM

http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

is that the one I have a few ones

#7 nemesis

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Posted 02 May 2003 - 12:15 AM

its been bought up a number of times whether speaker cable diameter will make a difference, whether brands are better than others etc etc. end result was nah not really, usually just gives you a nice fuzzy feeling as Jetstream put it
though that being said i just installed the speaker cable into my car for my front stage, decided i wanted to keep with buying good quality gear and wanted that damn fuzzy feeling while i was at it i opted for Stinger 12ga cable, completely overkill, overpriced and not gonna do diddly squat as nearly anyone will tell you...but i've always agreed with the perfect ideal of removing as many 'weak links' as permissable so spending an extra $10-15 on speaker cable to run something worth 100 times that much in the future doesn't really phase me...up to you really is what im saying, but its just my opinion

#8 Winno

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Posted 04 May 2003 - 08:00 PM

Maybe, but you have to ask if the rest of the details are also taken care of. Even then, you may notice a difference and then again, you may not.

Best thing to do is to try it yourself and rely on your ears instead of someone elses.

#9 Macca

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Posted 09 May 2003 - 12:14 AM

I just bought a 30m roll of speaker wire from jaycar for $20 24 guage, probebley the best value out there, but i havnt looked too hard hehe

#10 Guest_vti-2_*

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Posted 09 May 2003 - 01:07 AM

I think there is a chart or something that shows what gauge cable to use with certain power ratings etc. I can't remember where i saw it but if you follow that chart and use decent grade cable (OFC or whatever) you are bound to have close to perfect sound reproduction. Don't forget, you need to make sure all the other links are of the same quality, distro blocks, connections, earths etc etc are all good quality in order to achieve 'sonic perfection'.

Otherwise, regardless of how much you spend on cable (or any other part of the system), the sound will sound crap anyway.

#11 Blitz

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Posted 09 May 2003 - 01:36 AM

roughly what gauge would you guys say for 80 watts fronts ?

#12 salt3d

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Posted 09 May 2003 - 04:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by SUbaTomIC:
[b]hmm i used the amp remote wire 4 speaker wire cause i was out of speaker wire

salt

#13 claf_43

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Posted 09 May 2003 - 06:03 PM

Wirings is just for showing off, 22g wire will power speakers just as good as 12g

#14 shiny_car

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Posted 20 May 2003 - 11:57 PM

Quote

Originally posted by Blitz:
roughly what gauge would you guys say for 80 watts fronts ?
16awg is as much as you'd need.

#15 Dr DJ Choss

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Posted 21 May 2003 - 12:19 AM

here's a good article for a car stereo mag to do- a test on all the fancy and non-fancy bits and pieces you can get from a couple of bucks to thousands...

imagine the frantic lawsuites and so-on from Stinger and Streetwires (to name two of many) when all is revealed...





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