Paul Speltz AntiCables Speaker Cables

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Buried in the Absolute Sound Editors Choice issue with the $$$$$$$ Cables, are the Paul Speltz AntiCables. I needed 2 8 foot runs. I went on the cheap and bought it from them in bulk. 40 feet for 40.00 including shipping. For this price it is a no brainer. They are directional so you need to cut into 4 pieces and then mark towards the direction of the signal. Then you must scrape the coating off the ends. (For 80.00 they will do this and terminate them for you.) They are almost like a more pliable hanger type solid core cable these can not sound good by the looks, but they are amazing. The low end is absolutely tight and punchy, mids are very focused and detailed, and the high end has no harshness but it is all there. You will hear reverb off of the walls on a good recording, and a nice soundstage also. I was going to get Kimber but they just do not fit real nice into the small Marantz speaker clips on the back of my receiver. These being solid core fit right in. The best thing was this I have a Marantz 2220B 20/20 per channel and these cables make it sound like a beast, it plays as loud and as clean as I desire playing through my B&W 785's.
 
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The Anti-Cables speaker cables and interconnects are excellent for the money. The speaker cables are no-brainer recommendations for anyone looking for low priced cables.
 
DaveElton said:
Serious question here from the ignornant, what makes them directional?
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Usually that has to do with the way they're shielded, but these aren't shielded, they're just magnet wire with a red enamel coating.

I champion the Anti speaker wire all the time as a "cheap" way to get into something better than zip wire, if someone is interested in doing so. In my system I found the Antis had a more natural overall presentation than the Kimber 4TC I had been using.

Their interconnects are very popular. I used to have a pair with the Eichmann Bullet RCA termination option, but I ended up selling them (and, to be fair, almost every other pair of interconnects I owned in favor of the ones I now make). They were good in the sense that the sound was basically neutral with them installed, but I found it a little thin and uninspiring after a while. Some might blame the Eichmann plugs, but I've successfully used those on lots of my own cables in recent years. Never understood that criticism of the Eichmann connectors - they're basically just an extension of the solid copper wire, how could they be responsible for making the sonic presentation too lean?! :dunno:

But the speaker wire, highly recommended, I still have two pairs of it.
 
Mr. Lin,

What, may I ask, are you using for your interconnects now? I have some nice connectors (Vampire Wire) and am looking for some good cable to use with these.

Thanks!
 
reneborg said:
Mr. Lin,

What, may I ask, are you using for your interconnects now? I have some nice connectors (Vampire Wire) and am looking for some good cable to use with these.

Thanks!
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I've used a bunch of different things, but in general I stick with solid copper or silver, and often get it from Homegrown Audio. You might be able to find it cheaper, but their stuff is high quality and they're nice to deal with.

As for what I do with the wire - that's a very long story. Often I use some variation of braiding, and sometimes something based on the VH Audio design, with a core of either solid Teflon (relatively cheap but inflexible) or VH Audio's own "HyperFlex" Teflon (very expensive, ridiculously flexible).

One thing I haven't tried - more on-topic in this thread - is using magnet wire for any of my own designs, but some people have reported great results doing that.
 
I have the speaker wires also. And I also went the "cheap" and decided I could twist the wires myself at Paul's recommendation. Huge mistake. If I could do it over I would order them already twisted or braided because my hands literally began to ache about half way through the process that I didn't get a very good job done. These are very much akin to coat hangers when trying to manipulate them. I needed a bare end set no larger than 14 guage so it fit the bill perfectly, but their stiffness makes them somewhat unmanageable compared to traditional types of speaker cables - hard to describe unless you've tried them.
 
Interesting. I have had good luck with Blue Jeans Cable Belden speaker wire.
Very inexpensive-but doesn't green up like the cheap stuff.
It's also stiff, but not too bad. If you need to terminate-have them do it.
Basic high quality wire that does the job.
I also like their interconnects- and it's nice to be able to get custom lengths.
 
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fender23 said:
I have the speaker wires also. And I also went the "cheap" and decided I could twist the wires myself at Paul's recommendation. Huge mistake. If I could do it over I would order them already twisted or braided because my hands literally began to ache about half way through the process that I didn't get a very good job done. These are very much akin to coat hangers when trying to manipulate them. I needed a bare end set no larger than 14 guage so it fit the bill perfectly, but their stiffness makes them somewhat unmanageable compared to traditional types of speaker cables - hard to describe unless you've tried them.
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You know you're only supposed to twist them together a little bit, not tightly like some interconnects. If you have arthritis, I could imagine that being a problem. They are like coat hangers (although I like being able to control exactly where they go).
 
Mr. Lin said:
You know you're only supposed to twist them together a little bit, not tightly like some interconnects. If you have arthritis, I could imagine that being a problem. They are like coat hangers (although I like being able to control exactly where they go).
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Yes, Paul said some don't twist them at all, but he does offer the service, and there appears to be a synergy having done that. No arthritis, just damn sore hands from the process. My runs are about 10 feet, and I probably put maybe 6 to 8 twists along the way. I wish they were tighter, might lay better along the floor.
 
I have some DIY 12 gauge generic magnet wire speaker cables that I always used as separate leads. I'm going to try them twisted & see how they sound. I wonder if I can figure out which direction to run them? Thanks for a great rainy day idea!
 
The question remains: if it's not a shielding issue, what can make a metallic
cable directional? I do have my idea about this: faith can make it directional.
But I keep my faith for other purposes...
 
electroking said:
The question remains: if it's not a shielding issue, what can make a metallic
cable directional? I do have my idea about this: faith can make it directional.
But I keep my faith for other purposes...
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Some cable manufacturers claim that metallurgy plays a part in the performance of a cable. Discontinuities in grain structure, they say, can mimic microscopic circuits within the conductor, like little diodes, capacitors etc..

If it sounds far-fetched - and I'm not saying it's true - I'll just note I've gotten top-notch results using OCC wire. So if grain structure has nothing to do with it, how is that explained?
 
All I was questioning was how a piece of metal could be expected to conduct
electricity better in one direction than in the other. By the way, Mr. Lin, you
have a beautiful black friend. Take good care of him/her...
 
Mr. Lin said:
Some cable manufacturers claim that metallurgy plays a part in the performance of a cable. Discontinuities in grain structure, they say, can mimic microscopic circuits within the conductor, like little diodes, capacitors etc..

If it sounds far-fetched - and I'm not saying it's true - I'll just note I've gotten top-notch results using OCC wire. So if grain structure has nothing to do with it, how is that explained?
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OCC is just a process for producing ultra pure content of the wire, there is no claim of directionality for OCC, or 'oxygen free' wire. And I don't see anyone really challenging that more pure copper wire would transfer signal better** than less pure copper. How much more or how much less would it take for it to be measurable or for any individual to hear the difference,... well that's all about the fun if it isn't it.

**or at least differently - I would suppose that a blend of copper and silver or whatever, might be better than ultra pure copper, I dunno.

EDIT: Here's a factoid for you... did you know that gold is 25% less conductive than copper? So even if you could afford it you probably wouldn't want to wire up the amp with it.
 
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silver (Ag) - copper (Cu) - gold (Au)

The three most conductive metals at room temperature, in decreasing order of
conductivity. Everyone here should learn this little list. Good night to all.
 
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