Good audiophile cables without breaking the bank

[gsibble]

I'm looking for the best price/performance point in cables. I've followed that idea with the rest of my system (Musical Fideity A5, Paradigm Reference 100 v3s) and it's worked well so far!

So, I'm looking to get some speaker cables that work well but aren't THAT expensive. Read: around $200-$300 or less. Also, they need to be kind of long since my amp is off to the side of where the speakers will be. One cable might need to be as long as 10 feet :(

Also, the capability to order online would be extremely useful considering that I want them soon and Nashville doesn't have many audiophile stores.

-G

[kexodusc]

Let's make sure we're clear what you're looking for...

If you're looking for the best price/perfromance point in cables, probably generic 12 or 14 gauge insulated speaker cable is perfect for you. At 10 feet, even 16 gauge is way more than enough...just get a spool of zip cord, whatever you can find for a good price. Best deals I've found are usually online somewhere....I bougth my 14 gauge wire for $50 for 500 ft or something like that a few years back.

For the record I believe cables sound different and make a difference, just a very small one.

Most exotic cable hounds I know would even agree with that assessment. If you're looking for the best cables money can buy for $300, that's a bit different than the best price/performance point. I'll let the cable guru's help you out there. I like Nordost, myself.

Personally, I think there might be more you can do with $300 and generic (but quality) cables that would produce better sound than a $300 cable would (room treatments, future equipment upgrades) but that's for you to decide, not me.

[gsibble]

What do you guys think of these?

http://www.bettercables.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=81
http://www.cobaltcable.com/pair_speaker_cable.htm

Also, which is better: spade or bannana?

[superpanavision70mm]

I have used both at some point in time....the Cobalt Cables are very well constructed and definitely the best deal....i've seen some comparisons online with them and many other high-end cables and they were the victor in just about all departments. Also, they are very helpful customer service-wise too! Highly recommended!

[gsibble]

I have used both at some point in time....the Cobalt Cables are very well constructed and definitely the best deal....i've seen some comparisons online with them and many other high-end cables and they were the victor in just about all departments. Also, they are very helpful customer service-wise too! Highly recommended!
Cool. I think I'll go ahead and get them. Would you reccomend spades or bannana plugs?

[musicoverall]

Let's make sure we're clear what you're looking for...

If you're looking for the best price/perfromance point in cables, probably generic 12 or 14 gauge insulated speaker cable is perfect for you. At 10 feet, even 16 gauge is way more than enough...just get a spool of zip cord, whatever you can find for a good price. Best deals I've found are usually online somewhere....I bougth my 14 gauge wire for $50 for 500 ft or something like that a few years back.

For the record I believe cables sound different and make a difference, just a very small one.

Most exotic cable hounds I know would even agree with that assessment. If you're looking for the best cables money can buy for $300, that's a bit different than the best price/performance point. I'll let the cable guru's help you out there. I like Nordost, myself.

Personally, I think there might be more you can do with $300 and generic (but quality) cables that would produce better sound than a $300 cable would (room treatments, future equipment upgrades) but that's for you to decide, not me.

I've never really thought of it in those terms but I'd have to agree. The best price to performance ratio would be the cheapest cable possible that does the least damage to the signal. I'm not sure if that would be zip cord but it might be. I guess I'd have someone start there and perhaps later determine if they want to audition some higher definition cables and see if they make a difference. But then we may be getting outside the best price/performance ratio, even though an improvement might be gained. That would be up to the listener, of course.

[JohnMichael]

Check out www.alphacore.com. I really like the Goertz Alpha-Core MI1 speaker cables and the Micro Purl interconnects. They are solid core and well made for the money.

[gsibble]

I ended up ordering cobalt cables with spades on both ends. Should work really well. They look SICK! Thanks for the help guys!

[superpanavision70mm]

Cobalt Cables w/ the spades would probably be the best. I used to use bananas for everything, but then after time I realized that I wanted something that I had more control over in terms of how hard the connection is. The spades can be tightened REALLY well, which is how I have my PS Audio xstreams, which are by far the thickest cables I have ever seen and they need some serious tightening to ensure connection.

I still have my center channel connected via Cobalt and it rocks!!!

[hemidakota]

http://www.guerrillaaudio.com/