Speaker wire! Worthy upgrade? - Blu-ray Forum

Johnny Vinyl · 07-11-2008, 02:20 PM

In my opinion the answer is absolutely and unequivocably YES!

I see a lot of discussion about the quality of HDMI, Optical and some componant interconnects, but rarely is the subject of my post discussed.

I wanted to bring this to the forefront, because IMHO I beleive that one of the best bangs for your buck is to upgrade ALL of your speaker wire. With a decent setup (componants not HTIB) you will hear an immediate improvement in sound quality and clarity!

I personally beleive that your speaker wire should be roughly 10%-15% of your speaker cost.

I'd love to hear your opinion(s) on this matter and look forward to a lively discussion!

richteer · 07-11-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John72953

In my opinion the answer is absolutely and unequivocably YES!

I see a lot of discussion about the quality of HDMI, Optical and some componant interconnects, but rarely is the subject of my post discussed.

I wanted to bring this to the forefront, because IMHO I beleive that one of the best bangs for your buck is to upgrade ALL of your speaker wire. With a decent setup (componants not HTIB) you will hear an immediate improvement in sound quality and clarity!

I personally beleive that your speaker wire should be roughly 10%-15% of your speaker cost.

I'd love to hear your opinion(s) on this matter and look forward to a lively discussion!

Strongly agree. Like many tweaks, upgrading one's speaker cable won't make much (if any) difference if the rest of the system is wanting, but if the main components are OK, upgrading speaker cables (and the rest) can be a worthwhile improvement.

Your figure of 10% - 15% is about right, too. Buying $2000 of Nordost speaker cables is nuts if you have only $500 speakers! Similarly, using $20 of some random brand 14 guage cable for a $4000 speaker system is also nuts. Long term, any way. Most people need to save for these things, so "making do" with cheap cables while saving for decent ones is fine.

I'm in this very situation myself: the cable connecting my PrimaLuna Prologue 7 monoblocks to my Spendor SP1/2 speakers is uninteresting QED stuff from the UK (though a step or two above their ubiquitous "79 Strand"). I'm saving up for a set of Nordost Frey interconnects and speaker cables, and that won't be cheap...

FIDDYPOP · 07-22-2008, 12:49 AM

What is imho? what does that mean, stand for?

Johnny Vinyl · 07-22-2008, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIDDYPOP

What is imho? what does that mean, stand for?

In My Honest Opinion

Johnny Vinyl · 07-22-2008, 01:05 AM

I think I may have started something that is becoming quite technical, which I didn't mean to do.

I personally believe that you should buy good quality cable, as it does make a difference. I don't think , that we should be overly concerned about length of cable. Sound travels so fast over just about any medium of your choice that we wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway. However, in a perfect world, that certainly would be ideal (however impractical).

I think that your FRONTS and your CENTRE should be of the same type/length/grade. Your rears and sub are less critical. I would still suggest buying a better grade cable though. However, it is so impractical to run the 3/4" cable I use now for my fronts/centre along the floor to my rears and sub. So I opted for a lesser quality there.

My cables at the front-end are worth about $500...not the best, but they work and trust me, I noticed the difference.

richteer · 07-22-2008, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIDDYPOP

What is imho? what does that mean, stand for?

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion; sometimes you'll see IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion).

bhampton · 07-11-2008, 02:49 PM

Hey,

I made my own out of Auto-Motive jumper cables.

I think they are good enough.

(Sorry,.. just kidding...)

-Brian

Pelican170 · 07-11-2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingLeerUK

Unless you are coming from 22 gauge "in the box" wires I don't think upgrading your wiring will yield an appreciable difference on most consumer systems.

I agree. Unless you have some super serious receiver and speaker, but most people are talking Onkyo's and such...

Intamin · 07-11-2008, 03:00 PM

I would agree with the op. While guage is not as huge of a factor, I do believe the quality of components used in the wire will make a difference. I myself could easily hear the improvement in sound quality when I went from crappy best buy dynex cable to Audioquest cable.

twoboyz · 07-11-2008, 03:00 PM

I went from using 12g wire to Monster M2.2 cables and there was a difference in bass responce. I do belive that the clarity of the sound is better but only at higher volumes.
EQUIPMENT

DENON AVR4308CI
DENON DVD3930CI
PIONEER ELITE BDP 95FD
SAMSUNG 5084 1080P
DEF TECH BP 7002's, CLR 2500, UIW BPZ/A (2), UIW 94/A (2)
RICHARD GRAYS s600 POWER CONDITIONER
MONSTER HTS 5100 MK2

Barnum · 07-11-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoboyz

I went from using 12g wire to Monster M2.2 cables and there was a difference in bass responce. I do belive that the clarity of the sound is better but only at higher volumes.
EQUIPMENT

DENON AVR4308CI
DENON DVD3930CI
PIONEER ELITE BDP 95FD
SAMSUNG 5084 1080P
DEF TECH BP 7002's, CLR 2500, UIW BPZ/A (2), UIW 94/A (2)
RICHARD GRAYS s600 POWER CONDITIONER
MONSTER HTS 5100 MK2

That is the area that you will see the difference. The lows suffer with ceap speaker wire. I see to many people use that thin wire (some call it zip wire) with speakers. Big mistake. Nice setup there by the way. I have the 3808ci and love it.

I've never heard the Def Tech speakers did you compare them with B&W's? I am just curious what you compared to. I have the B&W 600 series and love them.

jomari · 07-11-2008, 03:40 PM

i do agree on the speaker wire recommendation. although i believe that 16 gauge or larger is definitely a good idea to start with.

think of it as a hose. The bigger the hose gauge, the better response and lesser resistance than a smaller one.

twoboyz · 07-11-2008, 03:52 PM

I compared them to the B&W 600 series side by side and the High end polk LSi series. I am probably 90% movies and during movie playback the Def Techs were by far the best. For music playback I thought the LSi series were better. But because I watch more movies the DT's were the best choice. Plus I do not need a sub with these. They are cabable of below 20Hz with there built in 300 watt 12" subs. They are awesome for movie playback.

07-11-2008, 02:20 PM	#1
Johnny Vinyl Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:At the crossroad of Analogue Dr & 2CH Ave Home Theater Gallery:19 Blu-ray collection:205 DVD collection:7 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:8	Speaker wire! Worthy upgrade? In my opinion the answer is absolutely and unequivocably YES! I see a lot of discussion about the quality of HDMI, Optical and some componant interconnects, but rarely is the subject of my post discussed. I wanted to bring this to the forefront, because IMHO I beleive that one of the best bangs for your buck is to upgrade ALL of your speaker wire. With a decent setup (componants not HTIB) you will hear an immediate improvement in sound quality and clarity! I personally beleive that your speaker wire should be roughly 10%-15% of your speaker cost. I'd love to hear your opinion(s) on this matter and look forward to a lively discussion!

07-11-2008, 02:49 PM	#7
bhampton Blu-ray Count Member since:Aug 2007 4K collection:981 Blu-ray collection:2537 DVD collection:67 Blu-ray reviews: 6 Trading Score:18	Hey, I made my own out of Auto-Motive jumper cables. I think they are good enough. (Sorry,.. just kidding...) -Brian Last edited by bhampton; 07-21-2008 at 06:50 PM.

07-11-2008, 03:00 PM	#9
Intamin Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Houston Home Theater Gallery:38 Blu-ray collection:318	I would agree with the op. While guage is not as huge of a factor, I do believe the quality of components used in the wire will make a difference. I myself could easily hear the improvement in sound quality when I went from crappy best buy dynex cable to Audioquest cable. Last edited by Intamin; 07-11-2008 at 05:34 PM.

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07-22-2008, 12:49 AM	#3
FIDDYPOP Expert Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Chi-Town Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray collection:444 Blu-ray reviews:1	What is imho? what does that mean, stand for?

07-22-2008, 01:05 AM	#5
Johnny Vinyl Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:At the crossroad of Analogue Dr & 2CH Ave Home Theater Gallery:19 Blu-ray collection:205 DVD collection:7 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:8	I think I may have started something that is becoming quite technical, which I didn't mean to do. I personally believe that you should buy good quality cable, as it does make a difference. I don't think , that we should be overly concerned about length of cable. Sound travels so fast over just about any medium of your choice that we wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway. However, in a perfect world, that certainly would be ideal (however impractical). I think that your FRONTS and your CENTRE should be of the same type/length/grade. Your rears and sub are less critical. I would still suggest buying a better grade cable though. However, it is so impractical to run the 3/4" cable I use now for my fronts/centre along the floor to my rears and sub. So I opted for a lesser quality there. My cables at the front-end are worth about $500...not the best, but they work and trust me, I noticed the difference.

07-11-2008, 03:00 PM	#10
twoboyz Member Member since:May 2008	I went from using 12g wire to Monster M2.2 cables and there was a difference in bass responce. I do belive that the clarity of the sound is better but only at higher volumes. EQUIPMENT DENON AVR4308CI DENON DVD3930CI PIONEER ELITE BDP 95FD SAMSUNG 5084 1080P DEF TECH BP 7002's, CLR 2500, UIW BPZ/A (2), UIW 94/A (2) RICHARD GRAYS s600 POWER CONDITIONER MONSTER HTS 5100 MK2

07-11-2008, 03:40 PM	#12
jomari Moderator Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Home Theater Gallery:18 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:2	i do agree on the speaker wire recommendation. although i believe that 16 gauge or larger is definitely a good idea to start with. think of it as a hose. The bigger the hose gauge, the better response and lesser resistance than a smaller one.

07-11-2008, 03:52 PM	#13
twoboyz Member Member since:May 2008	I compared them to the B&W 600 series side by side and the High end polk LSi series. I am probably 90% movies and during movie playback the Def Techs were by far the best. For music playback I thought the LSi series were better. But because I watch more movies the DT's were the best choice. Plus I do not need a sub with these. They are cabable of below 20Hz with there built in 300 watt 12" subs. They are awesome for movie playback.

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