Speaker wire to pair with my Marantz/ b&w?

Mike K New member Username: Alacious Post Number: 1 Registered: May-06	Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 16:39 GMT Hi guys, I am attempting to figure out what kind of speaker wire/cable I should get for my system, because right now I am using some awful 14 guage Home Depot generic wire. It's bad. I'm afraid I'm fairly new at this, just a punk kid with too much time to listen to music.. so I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking for. Right now my setup is fairly modest: Sources: I have a Denon DCD-425 (meh) PC w/ Audiophile 2496 soundcard Sansui sr-2050c turntable Amp: Marantz 2245 receiver in beautiful shape, but I will be upgrading in the next couple of weeks to either a Marantz pm7200 or a NAD c352. I am leaning towards the Marantz. Speakers/Interconnects: B&W dm302 speakers DH Labs Silver Sonic BL1 Series2 interconnects Any suggestions? I'm not looking to break the bank, so something reasonably priced would be good.
Stu Pitt Gold Member Username: Stu_pitt Irvington, New York USA Post Number: 1242 Registered: May-05	Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 19:38 GMT What makes your speaker cable awful? Is their something physically wrong with it? Surprisingly, the Home Depot zip cord you have has gotten very good professional and user reviews. Maybe it's not thick enough? Refer to the chart here to determine if it's appropriate - http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable Personally, I don't think speaker wire makes any difference in sound, unless it's not the appropriate guage. Their's some good info on the subject in the article. If the receiver is up to spec, I'd look into your sources first. PC's and DVD players don't make the best sources IMO. I haven't heard your TT, so I can't comment on that one.
Mike K New member Username: Alacious Post Number: 2 Registered: May-06	Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 21:35 GMT Hey, thanks for the reply. The cable is physically quite frustrating, it feels really cheap and it's too thick (well, the thickness was MY fault). Possibly I have different stuff than what has gotten good reviews? I'm in Canada so possibly the stock is different. As such, I wanted to replace it and was thinking to get something a little nicer if I was going to be going through the effort to do so. Since I am intending to upgrade my CD player and my Receiver/Amp, I didn't want any of the wires or interconnects holding the system back either. And I agree with the PC being a poor source (although the soundcard I have sounds quite nice, considering). The Denon is actually a CD player, though, but it strikes me as sounding kind of 'thin'.. if that makes sense
Mike K New member Username: Alacious Post Number: 3 Registered: May-06	Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 21:38 GMT Oops. Thanks for the article, I'll read through it and see if I can't gain any insight You don't think the wires make much difference? Honestly I haven't really ever compared different wiring setups (besides interconnects between components) so I'm unsure what kind of difference to expect, if any. Thanks
Art Kyle Gold Member Username: Artk Albany, Oregon USA Post Number: 3213 Registered: Feb-05	Posted on Wednesday, May 03, 2006 - 01:31 GMT Actually the heavier guage Home Depot (black and Orange) extension cord received the thumbs up from a couple of audio publications for use as speaker cable. I use Liberty Cable which works fantastic and is cheap. https://secure.libertycable.com/ecomm/catalog/cat_page.php?group=305 I use the 12 gauge.
ctanaka Bronze Member Username: Musicluvr Post Number: 60 Registered: Apr-05	Posted on Wednesday, May 03, 2006 - 06:00 GMT Mike, Here's a couple of pictures of the Home Depot extension cord that I've been using with very good results. It isn't zip cord, but rather it is sold as outdoor AC extension cord. It sounds good, but I'll leave it to you to judge if it's ugly. For more info do a Google search on "Home Depot HD-14 speaker cable". Art, Good link. You could bi-wire with 4 conductors in a single jacket, and the cable configuration looks similar to the HD-14.
Frank Abela Gold Member Username: Frank_abela Berkshire UK Post Number: 1350 Registered: Sep-04	Posted on Wednesday, May 03, 2006 - 13:50 GMT Mike, In my view, wires make a lot of difference, and not just because of their gauge, but also because of the materials from which they're made as well as their configuration (e.g. twisted pair etc). That said, I would NOT buy any cable until you have made your next purchase. You say you are considering a change of receiver at the moment. If so, you should match the cable to that, rather than your current receiver, so you get the best synergy, rather than another potential mismatch. Regards, Frank.
Stu Pitt Gold Member Username: Stu_pitt Irvington, New York USA Post Number: 1250 Registered: May-05	Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 17:19 GMT This is probably the only area I disagree with you Frank. Not that I have anywhere near the exposure and expreience you have with equipment, but I haven't heard differences in speaker cables when they were appropriate guage for length and impedence load. My experience is limited to a very few expensive speaker cables vs Acoustic Research and everyone's favorite - Monster. And if their are differences, he should spend the money on components at this point as I believe you were saying.
Mike K New member Username: Alacious Post Number: 4 Registered: May-06	Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 20:49 GMT Hi guys The info you all have provided has been really helpful. Mainly I was curious to see if I was really lacking or missing anything by having kinda substandard wire and if so what I should use to replace it. I am still unhappy with the wire I have, but I think that's mostly a physical issue and some of the suggestions for cabling you guys have provided look snazzy. I will replace it eventually, once I've changed amps (I'm leaving work early tomorrow to cruise the Vancouver hi-fi shops! Hopefully I can find the units I want to demo.. am having trouble finding the Marantz PM7200.) But either way, I've learned a lot. Thank you
Mike K New member Username: Alacious Post Number: 5 Registered: May-06	Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 20:32 GMT proud new owner of Arcam A65+
Bbb34 New member Username: Bbb34 Post Number: 5 Registered: Nov-05	Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 03:16 GMT I have to agree with Frank, speaker cables do make a difference, haven't personally tried Home Depot extension cords, so I can't comment on those. Kimber 8PR doesn't break the bank and is pretty good speaker cable and IMO looks pretty cool as well. A bit of pain to strip and setup ;-), but once hooked up, it's totally worth the pain. Here are some reviews that might help you decide, review for Kimber 8PR is here as well. http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/archive/perl/4_catlist.htm
Bbb34 New member Username: Bbb34 Post Number: 6 Registered: Nov-05	Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 03:21 GMT Ooops, correction, review for Kimber 4PR is on the link I posted
Hammers Bronze Member Username: Sackohammers Post Number: 18 Registered: May-06	Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 22:30 GMT http://www.speakerworks.net/speaker_wire.html http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/access/cable/speakcable.html

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