Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
Decware Audio Forums
04/19/24 at 09:09:13 




Pages: 1 2 3 
Send Topic Print
Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables (Read 105058 times)
will
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 2919
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #100 - 08/20/14 at 23:26:07
 
Cool....I am glad to hear you verified the tizzy thing, at least with those wires and drivers.

That is great the Dave's 17 gauge cables do it so well! They sound just right in your system. I would guess a bigger gauge might be necessary for less efficient speakers, but Morrow and especially Mapleshape seem to have defied that theory, at least to some degree. But in your case, the 20 AWG from Dave's was not near as good as the 17, right?

One thing that occurs to me in terms of comparison of your three cables beyond Dave's being really good quality wire, is the braiding. Every cable I have tried was more revealing if the composite gauge was made up of smaller wires twisted or braided. I think this really works for bringing out subtleties and at not masking them with smearing, apparently a condition of bigger wires like the styx.

Not always the best sound, but always more clear in my experience. Dave seems to have the combo of wire and geometry for the best sound, revealing all nicely.
Back to top
 
 

All Modified: PSA-P5>DIY Strip/Shunyata Defender>RevolutionMacMini/Amarra-KTE Singxer/Gustardx20pro/ZBIT/CSP3>OldChen 300B/845, Torii IV>Omega S-A-H-O monitors/SVS Micro3000>Pi PCs-DIY PCs, ICs, USB, I2S, Speaker-SR and aluminum w ball bearing feet
  IP Logged
mark58
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 5647
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #101 - 08/21/14 at 00:43:29
 
I thought I'd add my two cents.  In both my primary and secondary systems I've been using 10 ft Zu Audio Libtec speaker cables that have been doing a great job with all my speakers...HR-1s, Zu Audio Souls and Omega Super Alinco 7 XRS speakers.  They are no longer available from Zu's site since they have simplified their product line but they are still made and sold via ebay auction.  The most recent pair I bought cost $152.50.  You can have any terminations you'd like after winning your auction.  The overall gauge is 11 AWG and you can see on the cross-section in the pics it's made up of multiple smaller strands.  It's got a copper core but with some silver component...not sure how it works but there is none of the tizziness with these.  I even think you can return them if you don't like them after a 60 day trial as stated in the auction write up.  Anyway, check out the listing and read some reviews.  Let me know if anyone else ends up using them. Mark.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zu-Audio-LIBTEC-10-foot-3-0m-matched-hi-fi-or-mastering-...
Back to top
 
 

"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare
  IP Logged
beowulf
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 1447
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #102 - 08/21/14 at 02:31:22
 
@ Will, yes I would say if your speakers have a lower sensitivity and/or crossover and generally require more than a couple watts to drive them you may need a larger gauge, but I don't think it would hurt to try the 17g to start off with.  The cool thing with Dave is you can ask him to toss in a couple different runs and then decide which you like best after a few days of listening.

Dave's an Omega Speaker owner himself and been experimenting for quite a while with gauges and different styles of braiding and I believe that the braiding really gets it right with this speaker/cable combo.  I haven't tried them with my Rega Brio-R yet, but I'm liking what I'm hearing so much with the Decware/Mac combo that I just don't want to experiment with the solid state Rega right now. Cool

Yes, the UPOCC 17g were better in my system by a fair margin and I'm not sure if it's just the larger gauge or a combination of the braiding and gauge that made it so, as I only had those two gauges and the 17g was already braided and I couldn't take them apart (as I would have never been able to re-braid them like that again Grin).

That being said even though my old OFC cables are an even larger gauge at 14g ~ they are not on the same planet as the 17g braided cables.  In tune with that ~ the OFC 14g are quite a bit larger than the UPOCC 20g is, but are still not as good as the 20g, although the differences between the OFC 14 and UPOCC 20g were not as drastic.

@ Mark - yes I was actually thinking about the Zu cables at one point and thought they seemed especially good bargain.  I also like that connection point of Zu Speakers to Zu Cables.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
beowulf
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 1447
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #103 - 08/24/14 at 09:50:10
 
Video Review of Dave's Cables (aka ZenWave Audio).  The first part of the review focuses mostly on the interconnects, but at the end he talks about the speaker cables.  Overall, its a pretty good review and inline with what I thought about the DD and D3 interconnects as those are the ones I got a chance to demo.

In the end I purchased a set of his DD interconnects (not because I needed to smooth things out as the review indicated, but because they had a beautiful tone to them that my girl and I really took a liking to after several listenings).  The wire in the DD is made by Dueland Audio, which are most famous for their caps, resistors, etc.. but they also make a wire that is made of a pure silver with oil impregnated silk sleeving.  Although this wire is not as neutral compared to his D3 interconnects, it has incredible tone to it, I love it on my Rega DAC source, but it was too much of a good thing on the Preamp to Amp where I still preferred the Decware Silver Reference or the D3.  So I'm using a combination of 2 different interconnects Dave's DD from source to Preamp and Decware Silver Ref from Preamp to Amp, however I will be purchasing a ZenWave D4 for that position later on.

Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
Lonely Raven
Seasoned Member
****


Jack of all Trades,
Master of None

Posts: 3567
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #104 - 08/24/14 at 16:25:22
 

I like the mini-video at the end of the review.  :)

You guys are making me want to try out some really high end interconnects and see what happens. But for the cost of those D4 XLR 1m, I could probably get a CSP3.

Back to top
 
 
WWW Lonely Raven   IP Logged
Lon
Seasoned Member
****


"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
Philip K. Dick

Posts: 23459
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #105 - 08/24/14 at 16:47:24
 
The cost of interconnects are just insane. Like power cables. And speaker cables.  I just came to a realization that because I have these amazing Decware components and a fantastic source or three I love what they can do for the whole system, and have to bite the bullet and realize they are as important as component choices and if I have to pay component prices. . . I can't forget what they can do and I just have to shell out. (I've done a bit of DYI in audio, but I don't want DYI stuff in my system, not sure why exactly, I just like a whole system with that bit of "polish" that I can't "do myself" as well).

That said, buying used is the way to go for the most part. Sometimes you have to wait a LONG time to find the used ones you want.

I decided that the PS Audio AC-12 worked the best wieth every component I hooked it to and was as high up the food chain as I could ever afford to climb with a clear conscience, so I eventually cornered all I needed in the used market, and a few new but discounted heavily.

I found VooDoo Cables and found that they really work best for me of all I've tried in the interconnect world, and patiently I've found two used Ultralinear ones, which are just amazing to me, and also Evolution ones, which are not quite Ultralinear but almost. In time if I can find Ultralinear used at prices I want to pay  I may have an all Ultralinear system. Having Ultralinear from DirectStream to CSP2+ and from CSP2+ into Torii Mk III. . . wow, best sound ever.

I think it makes sense for me to investigate VooDoo Cable speaker cables. .. but I really really want to be done trying things out in the system! (Though realistically, will that ever happen for any of us?) I'm very happy with the Mapleshade Double Helix Plus though, really happy with them, they work well with all the cabling and character of the system, and don't really think of replacements/experimenting.
Back to top
 
 

HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
  IP Logged
kengler13
Verified Member
**




Posts: 5
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #106 - 10/09/14 at 19:48:24
 
I recommend the last gen of ZU Audio cables, that can be had on ebay from Zu Promos. Brand new cables they are selling at auction. Typically you can get their Wylde interconnect at 1m for ~$75 and their Ibis speaker cable for ~$150.

I switch to all Zu cabling this way for really cheap, and couldn't be happier. Really excellent cables. Switched from Virtue Audio Nirvana ic's and speaker cables. Definite improvement. I am however using Zu Soul Superflys.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
will
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 2919
Re: Suggestions 10' Speaker Cables
Reply #107 - 10/09/14 at 22:20:23
 
The descriptions sound good too!
Back to top
 
 

All Modified: PSA-P5>DIY Strip/Shunyata Defender>RevolutionMacMini/Amarra-KTE Singxer/Gustardx20pro/ZBIT/CSP3>OldChen 300B/845, Torii IV>Omega S-A-H-O monitors/SVS Micro3000>Pi PCs-DIY PCs, ICs, USB, I2S, Speaker-SR and aluminum w ball bearing feet
  IP Logged
Pages: 1 2 3 
Send Topic Print