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12 AWG Vs Audiophile Cables

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Urizen said:
I've purchased from that vendor, thanks.
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I've heard good things about their stuff.
I've gone to extremes by using 8 gauge welding cable..it has seven times the strands per dia, compared to normal AWG. Made jumper cables out of this, before. Far superior to store bought cables, really suck the juice out of the battery that's being jumped off. It's all those finer strands that keep it flexible at sub zero temps. Use it for the woofs when bi-wiring two ways. Prefer magnet wire for tweets in that ap. I got end of roll prices when I was at the welding supply..so gave it a shot.
 
Now if someone wants some real speaker wire, here's a DIY shotgun version using Canare Star Quad 4S11 (also available at Blue Jeans Cable) for an aggregate gauge of 8.02 per terminal.

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And yes, I did burn my flooring a little bit applying the heat shrink every 6 inches. :o
 
It is always interesting that cable discussions raise such emotions. I have heard for myself that different speaker cables sound differently. That said, there is no perfect cable since a given cable's impact on different systems will be different, and people have varied tastes regarding the sound they want. Still, I also find it useful occasionally to ask what other people like in comparable systems so that I can at least know what to try out. Then, it tends to be trial and error.
 
Didn't OP say that he was just running 4' of speaker wire to each speaker. 12 AWG is going to be overkill in this case. Seems to be some overthinking here.
 
62sunbeam said:
My daughter made me a set of silver clad copper 10awg speaker cables and they are wonderful but can be a bit bright with certain sources/speakers.
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I also noticed that. When using this cable as a power cord, my desk lamp is much brighter and my TV is so intense that a sunglasses needed. It's insane. It's because these freaking electrons are all too bright and jump all around the place.

I found the solution though.

Just covered the cable with 2 coats of black plastic tubing. Now order was restored. Although 3 coats would be even better.

I have one word - Plastic.
 
I just moved stuff around and replaced 10 ga Dayton audio wire,,,approx 10 ft runs...with 14 ga low voltage wire with 25 st runs. No diff.
 
Markw said:
No, I'm not irate. I just find it incredulous that when one has all the materials to try it for themselves they still find the need t oseek reassurance from others as if they don't trust their own ears and/or judgement.

Do you really need us to tell what what you should hear? Are you incapable of deciding for yourself if there's a difference?

I'm of the school that says "Well, gee. I have both items. Why not try it and see for myself. I don't need anyone else to tell me what I should hear".

Now, if we're talking megabuck items and one doesn't possess both, well, that's a different creature, but how much can a few feet of 12 gauge cost?
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All of your babbling and you could have just moved on to another post.
You're making life hard for yourself.
 
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Have you tried the cables in comparison yet?

The point is when you ask if cables matter you're going to get roughly 50/50 split that they're a big deal, or not. It's been this way for as long as I've been messing with gear. That's been 30+ years. I don't expect that will change during my lifetime, if ever. That's why people are quick to say you need to try it yourself.

Myself? I'm in the cables aren't a big deal group. That, however, is not to say they don't ever make a difference.
 
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coonmanx said:
Didn't OP say that he was just running 4' of speaker wire to each speaker. 12 AWG is going to be overkill in this case. Seems to be some overthinking here.
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I bought a pair of Dayton B652 bookshelf speakers last year from Parts Express and they also sent a pair of 10' wires that were really thin, I think about 22 awg. They told me at less than 10' I won't hear any difference but I didn't feel right about using such tiny wires.
 
Lukey said:
They told me at less than 10' I won't hear any difference but I didn't feel right about using such tiny wires.
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And guess what?

That's as good a reason as any; perhaps better than most. Simply because you wanted to....
 
Lukey said:
All of your babbling and you could have just moved on to another post.
You're making life hard for yourself.
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You have spunk, Lukey! I like it. :D

You got an honest answer from Ken Kantor. Google him, and you'll see why his response carries far more weight than those of the flat-earth crowd.
 
Lukey said:
What do you all use for speaker cable?

I have 2 pairs of Tara Phase II but it's brittle and a pain to connect to some speakers and amps, and I'm always moving my gear around.

I know a guy that has a lot of gear and uses 12 AWG and seems content with it.

Is there really that much difference in sound between 12 AWG and expensive cables like Tara Phase II?
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http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=6564804&postcount=8

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=6564828&postcount=12
 
Markw said:
Personally, I don't think so, but since you alrady have the Tara cables, couldn't you spare a few $$ and try it for yourself?
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Wow, this the original reply.
I think when you ask for opinion..you should be open to an honest answer.
 
Nice detective work, Jimbo.

Lukey said:
OK thanks.

On my main system I have 11' Tara Phase II cables but the speakers are only 4' from the receiver. I swapped them for some 12 ga once, just to see what they'd sound like and the sound quality really seemed to go down a lot. The highs got harsh.
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Lukey said:
I have a pair of Monster Cable RCA interconnects that I don't use. The 2 pair I use are Cardas 300-B Micro that I got from Audio Advisor about 20 years ago. They sound wayyy better than the Monster Cable interconnects I have.

My main speaker cables are Tara Phase II and they were really worth the investment. I don't know but once I heard these I never wanted to go back to 12 ga. OFC. I probably paid about $200 for the 2 pair of interconnects and the 1 pair of 11' speaker cables. These days it may cost more like $300.
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chicks said:
You got an honest answer from Ken Kantor. Google him, and you'll see why his response carries far more weight than those of the flat-earth crowd.
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What do you mean by that? Seems like Ken's answer is pretty flat earth, assuming you mean it in perjorative term regarding not making much difference.
 
Urizen said:
Fair enough. Regarding speaker wire/cabling, what is well-defined and generally applicable?
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That nobody can hear the difference between the cables at this length, without being able to see them.

That fact has been established extremely reliably by countless tests and experiments.

-k
 
ken kantor said:
That nobody can hear the difference between the cables at this length, without being able to see them.

That fact has been established extremely reliably by countless tests and experiments.

-k
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Although we've been thoroughly trolled, please cite credible sources.
 
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