Canare 4S11 Star Quad Cable..

[marantzfan]

Maybe it's just me, but these cables SUCK! I have muddier midrange and a flabbier bottom end then I had running cheap Ratshack Monster cable. WTF?? I bought this stuff from Blue Jeans Cable, so I know it's the real thing. Even got it terminated in Bi-Banana's (For Vandersteen 2ce) on the speaker end and unterminated on the amp end. So far, I've listened for about 5 hours, and I am far from impressed.

I've heard the theory of "burning in" cables, but after this burn-in process will they be that much different then they are now? Honestly, my Vandy's sound like someone threw a towel over each of them now. Should I just send the damn things back and invest in a different cable??

 

[hpsenicka]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with this product.

My first thought would be to contact BlueJeans to describe your predicament and ask them for ideas or suggestions before throwing in the towel.

Personally, I have considered using a star-quad style cable for DIY interconnects, but for some reason (perhaps cost?) it has never occurred to me to use star-quad as a speaker cable.

 

[Mark W.]

A suggestion listen to a Album with these new cables then as quick as possible switch back to what you were using before. That should give you a good idea of how if any the sound has actually changed.

 

[Maron Horonzakz]

StarQuad was origionally designed for microphone cable...I never would use it as speaker cable,,,pretty thin stuff,,,wrong application.

 

[JimJ[VT]]

pretty thin stuff

The 4S11 I have is four twisted runs of stranded 11awg...if that's "thin" for speaker cables, what do you run? 4awg welding cable?

I've run the stuff for about two years now, and I've never noticed a problem. My cables were homebrewed instead of commercially bought, got them on Ebay a while back.

 

[defilamintkid]

marantzfan

I have been using the BlueJeans Belden based ics and Belden speaker
wire from BlueJeans...I had been using Monster cable...

Bluejeans Belden based has been a huge improvement for my system
....Belden mfgs for recording studio..rf and other markets with the goal of
minimal signal loss and highest possible signal propagation speed through the
wire.. w/o using silver.

Perhaps there may be a reversal of polarity (phase reversal) contact
BlueJeans they warrant their products and good to work with.
They will help...

Best wishes

 

[marantzfan]

Well, this has been insightful. I didn't know that the star quad cable was not designed to be a speaker cable, since thats the way it's marketed both by blue jeans and on other sites.

When I first noticed the low end rolling off, I thought that maybe I had switched polarity, but I checked it twice and everything was correct. I most likely will send these back, as they are definately not my idea of a high end cable. BTW, defilamintkid, these are Canare, not Belden cables. BJ cables sells both, but I needed bi-wired cables, thuse the canare was their best option.

So, any other suggestions for cabling? I looked at Guerilla and they are a bit too pricey. Maybe Zebra Cables?

 

[hpsenicka]

Marantzfan... is it possible that the cable was terminated with incorrect polarity by bluejeans? Did you verify with your DMM?

FWIW, a star-quad style cable isn't necessarily inappropriate for speaker cable... as long as the gauge of the wire is appropriate to the length of the cable run.

 

[JimJ[VT]]

An out-of-phase condition would definitely cause what you're hearing.

The IASCA competition demo disc has a test track that has a voice in phase followed by one that's out of phase, it's helpful for determining phase issues as well as illustrating how much of a difference there really is.

 

[defilamintkid]

I tend to concur with hpsenicka that perhaps BJ may have per chance
mis wired these...

Currently my speaker wires are the Belden type 5000ue grey 12 gauge
running 2 pair bi-wired per speaker...about .38/ft very good value.

Belden does not really need prolonged burn in they are good right out
the box. Run time on them does improve them.

BTW have you removed the speaker strap from your speaker terminals
that would link the mid and tweeter drivers to the woofer terminals.
Just asking b/c removing the straps is critical to achieving the benefits
to be gained by bi-wiring. If no then plz do so you'll see what I mean

When your situation get righted around you won't go back to what you
had before they are that good!

Hope this helps http://bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm
Best wishes

 

[marantzfan]

Well, it's highly unlikely that it was terminated out of phase. The cables are colored, i.e., red, white, transparent red and transparent white. Color wise everything matches up like it should. I guess I can try switching the polarity on both just for shits n' giggles.

 

[marantzfan]

Also, vandersteen's don't have a jumper between the two sets of binding posts, so thats not an option either.

 

[defilamintkid]

Best get in touch with BJ I'm certain they can right this around for you.

Just one more outloud thinking here ...try moving the cables around
while the system is playing to see if you hear any reaction in the
speakers while moving the cable around...could indicate an internal
wire problem. Something could have dinged them damaging the wires
themselves...This happened to the Monster ic 400 I had the microfibers
were too delicate even sensitive to moving the wire around would change
the presentation even increasing the grain...I dissected a one and found
that the internal weave was subject to movement inside the rubber jacket.
No more Monster for me !

Again best wishes

 

[hpsenicka]

Well, it's highly unlikely that it was terminated out of phase. The cables are colored, i.e., red, white, transparent red and transparent white. Color wise everything matches up like it should. I guess I can try switching the polarity on both just for shits n' giggles.

If the color coding is that obvious, then you are probably right. I was imagining that the banana plugs themselves were color-keyed, and perhaps installed on the wrong wires.

 

[marantzfan]

Just for the hell of it, I switched the positive and negative at the speaker terminals. They were DEFINATELY in the correct phase.

That's dissappointing considering the good things I had heard about these cables. I don't fault BJ Cables for it, they did their job, I just don't personally like these cables.

So, now what....At one time I had kimber kable, and I was satisfied with it, but not blown away. Where are the great "bang for the buck" cables at these days?

 

[RichPA]

Interesting thread. I use the Canare in bi-wire configuration in one of my systems (and for those at the Fest, it was what I had there for the ACI/Dynakit system used in the DAC shootout), and I'm very happy with it. However, I will say that for whatever reason I like it better with my ACI speakers, which have a simple first-order crossover, than with my Paradigms, which have a more complex crossover. So, maybe it is a system-dependent thing. I do like the Kimber 8TC cable and the DH Labs cable, both better than Monster, but there's a lot of stuff out there I haven't heard.

 

[AlleyKat]

I think that there may be some problems with the cable as supplied to you. I use Canare 4S11 Star Quad Cable with my Vandersteen 2C's and am very pleased with their sound. The bottoms are tight and mid ranges crystal clear!

 

[marantzfan]

Now thats very interesting alleycat. I'm using my Nikko Alpha I, which is 220WPC. How many watts are you driving your Vandy's with?

 

[marantzfan]

Well, after another 3 hours of auditioning, I have decided to send them back. I got some Zebra Cables on order, both biwire speaker cable and interconnects.

 

[Tangent]

I've heard the theory of "burning in" cables, but after this burn-in process will they be that much different then they are now?

When I burn in cables, the harsh shrill high end goes away....

Glad you resolved your problem!