Speaker cables - is gold just bling?

[Danny]

Hi-fi shops have long argued that to you should invest in gold speaker cables and component leads if you want to get the best our of your system.

Is there actually any evidence that these provides a better sound, than a more basic allow lead?

 

[gaz]

If you got a high end system then why not. otherwise there is no point if your components aren't to scratch then cables won't make much difference.

 

[Fab Foodie]

oh noooooooo, we've had this before......

 

[slowmotion]

I bought an expensive second-hand valve amp on eBay a few years ago, and immediately phoned Icon Audio to ask their advice on this issue.

Their refreshingly honest answer was that expensive cables were "a bit psychosomatic"...

 

[Danny]

oh noooooooo, we've had this before......

Sorry if I am dragging up an old chestnut...

 

[Danny]

Oh dear.

And the answer is?

 

[rh100]

Whilst I love music and hi-fi's - I just don't think my hearing can differentiate much between different types of cables. I tend to go for solid looking interlinks and speaker cables, that goes for video too. Get some cable that is a bit more meaty than what you get on a cheap hifi (that thin twin stuff). I use speakers that have screw down connections and it all sounds fine to me, so i'm happy. Make sure though that the polarity of the cable is correct - affects the bass or something - is that right?

the main point though - does it sound lacking in any way? don't get sold something you won't notice the difference on, and don't upgrade the cable above the spec of the kit it is connected to, it will be wasted.

As for 'evidence' - wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it. Hifi mags and reviews are full of BS IMO.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Oh this debate ran and ran, and the wre was something about somebody offering a zillion squid if anybody could tell the difference between cable x and cable Y in a blind test and la de da...
Hi-Fi like many things has snake oil salesmen and smoke and mirrors and suffers hugely from the laws of diminishing returns. However, I'll be bold and say that speaker cables (and other cabling) does have an impact on sound quality, but up to a point, and that point is reached fairly quickly in terms of expenditure.

It's easy and cheap to experiment to see if there are differences with different cables, buy some solid core mains wire from your local B&Q, the biggest diameter that'll fit your speakers and some cheap bell wire.
Can you tell a difference between them?

I've played around quite a bit with this...

I also know that you can buy expensive cables that make your Hi-Fi sound worst than cheap cable too.

 

[Danny]

So in your investigations did you find a difference between

a) Cheap bell wire
Solid core mains wire
c) Dedicated speaker cables

What I don't understand, from a scientific point of view, is why there should be any difference in the ability of different sorts of cable to transmit the sorts of electrical signals generated by a hi-fi system.

 

[marinyork]

Go superconductor, you know it makes sense . Shop around for whatever you do get, people like to rip people off on cables/leads.

 

[Danny]

Go superconductor, you know it makes sense . Shop around for whatever you do get, people like to rip people off on cables/leads.

I was only thinking of setting up a mini system, not the Hadron Collider.

 

[marinyork]

I was being silly to illustrate a point. People argue about chuffing digital set ups and whether different cables make a difference in terms of packet loss so what chance do you have on analogue!!!

 

[slowmotion]

Spend £1 per metre. At that expense, you will feel that you will have tipped your hat to the audiophile people, and it is bound to sound soooo much better than bell wire.

Maybe...

 

[amnesia]

QED Silver Anniversary gets my vote (assuming they still make/sell it) for an average setup.

I once spent many, many hours trying out different interconnects and speaker cables (albeit on a relatively high-end system of Arcam / KEF gear) and there are detectable differences. I spent ~ 10 to 15% of the cost of the components on my cables and it sounds all the better for it.

Don't listen to the "copper is copper" arguments - for some reason (and I don't know why), different cables do sound different, although physics says that they shouldn't.

THAT SAID... for a mini system even 50p/metre of multistrand cable is going to be better than the bell-wire the system comes with.

 

[earth]

I'm generally underwhelmed by hi-fi gear and my system is definitely on the hi side of fi.

CD players seem to all be very much the same.

Speaker cables being longer may be more quality sensitive, unlike interconnects which appear to make close to zero difference. But if you buy more expensive ones then you have a harder job of convincing yourself that you would not have had more fun burning the money instead.