Audioquest BedRock Speaker Cables

[nightflier]

I know I'll probably get blasted for these comments, but lately I have been using the less expensive Audioquest (Type2/4) or Monster speaker cables if I wasn't just using zip chord (I also have some home-made ribbon & Cat 5 cables).

A colleague of mine at work is selling a pair of used 12' AudioQuest Bedrock cables. I've never heard these, but they are in very good condition from what I can tell and a pretty beefy cable to boot. So I thought I would given them a shot.

- Are these well regarded cables?
- How would one characterize their sound?
- What previous generation line do they compare to (Granite, KE-6, GR8, ...)?

[Tony_Montana]

I've never heard these, but they are in very good condition from what I can tell and a pretty beefy cable to boot.

- How would one characterize their sound?

Choosing cables by how they sound might not be the right approach in selecting cables.

Given that best cable are "soundless" and should be as transparent as possible (draw no attention to themselves), then if cable have a sound that can be characterize, it is not transparent and should be discarded.

So it might be more fruitful in finding the right cable by looking at cables' shield, geometry, materials, connecters and integrity rather than how they sound.

After that long lecture , some of AQ cable use PVC as insulator/dielectric in their cables which is not best material in the world for that application (PE and Teflon are better). So you may want to check that out first before purchasing cables.

[JohnMichael]

Choosing cables by how they sound might not be the right approach in selecting cables.

Given that best cable are "soundless" and should be as transparent as possible (draw no attention to themselves), then if cable have a sound that can be characterize, it is not transparent and should be discarded.

So it might be more fruitful in finding the right cable by looking at cables' shield, geometry, materials, connecters and integrity rather than how they sound.

After that long lecture , some of AQ cable use PVC as insulator/dielectric in their cables which is not best material in the world for that application (PE and Teflon are better). So you may want to check that out first before purchasing cables.

I believe that a soundless cable can still effect a system due to it's electrical characteristics. It would be nice if there was a cable that was designed to be universal. The best way is to buy them and try them in your system with a money back return policy.

[Tony_Montana]

The best way is to buy them and try them in your system with a money back return policy.

That is good suggestion, but how one know which cable is most transparent by listening alone.

Before you answer, I would suggest to read this thread from AA also:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?...na&r=&session=

[nightflier]

After that long lecture , some of AQ cable use PVC as insulator/dielectric in their cables which is not best material in the world for that application (PE and Teflon are better). So you may want to check that out first before purchasing cables.

Well I was hoping to avoid a whole conversation about how speaker cables affect the sound (there's plenty of these all over this list)...

- Does the Bedrock cable use PVC? It doesn't say so on the AQ website, but then again, PVC could have all sorts of different names.

I was merely trying to get some input from people who have Bedrock cables and who have compared them to other cables in this price range. I also noticed that Bedrock cables seem to be on sale everywhere. Are these bad cables that everyone is trying to get rid of?

[JohnMichael]

Well I was hoping to avoid a whole conversation about how speaker cables affect the sound (there's plenty of these all over this list)...

- Does the Bedrock cable use PVC? It doesn't say so on the AQ website, but then again, PVC could have all sorts of different names.

I was merely trying to get some input from people who have Bedrock cables and who have compared them to other cables in this price range. I also noticed that Bedrock cables seem to be on sale everywhere. Are these bad cables that everyone is trying to get rid of?

For more info on the Bedrock go to Audioquests site and select the Bedrock page and when you are there click on PDF and a more detailed page of info about the cable will download. It has all the info about geometry and insulation.

[nightflier]

JM, here's what the cross-section looks like:



It shows that only part of the cable is PVC. Is this good or bad?

By the way, anyone out there have AQ bedrock cables? What do you think of them?

[daviethek]

[By the way, anyone out there have AQ bedrock cables? What do you think of them?[/QUOTE]
I know its late fot this response but,

I've had em in my system for about 6 months now. I like them. I was a cable skeptic but I purchased a system that was very revealing and man, I could really start hearing the differences between cables, mainly that some of the cheaper cables were just not sufficiently separating the sound tracks or voice got mixed in with higher instruments or the upper end was too bright which made long term listening a problem. Bedrock was the best thing I tried. It is a quiet cable and noticeably better than type 4 which is not a bad cable either. Way better than all the cheap cables, most of which I tried. My opinon only.
Cable quality IMO is highly system dependant. I had a system once that sounded just fine with monster.

dk

[daviethek]

[By the way, anyone out there have AQ bedrock cables? What do you think of them?[/QUOTE]
I know its late fot this response but,

I've had em in my system for about 6 months now. I like them. I was a cable skeptic but I purchased a system that was very revealing and man, I could really start hearing the differences between cables, mainly that some of the cheaper cables were just not sufficiently separating the sound tracks or voice got mixed in with higher instruments or the upper end was too bright which made long term listening a problem. Bedrock was the best thing I tried. It is a quiet cable and noticeably better than type 4 which is not a bad cable either. Way better than all the cheap cables, most of which I tried. My opinon only.
Cable quality IMO is highly system dependant. I had a system once that sounded just fine with monster.

dk

[Greekguy]

I know I'll probably get blasted for these comments, but lately I have been using the less expensive Audioquest (Type2/4) or Monster speaker cables if I wasn't just using zip chord (I also have some home-made ribbon & Cat 5 cables).

A colleague of mine at work is selling a pair of used 12' AudioQuest Bedrock cables. I've never heard these, but they are in very good condition from what I can tell and a pretty beefy cable to boot. So I thought I would given them a shot.

- Are these well regarded cables?
- How would one characterize their sound?
- What previous generation line do they compare to (Granite, KE-6, GR8, ...)?

Hey nightflier, I've had my Bedrock cables for a little while, and I think they're fantastic. They tend to be a little dark at first, but once they've broken in, they sound very neutral and really help to tighten the bass as well. I did a lot of research before buying mine, and every review I read about them said nothing but good things, and I don't regret buying them at all.

Depending on what he's charging you for the pair, I'd say go for it, Bedrock is a great all-around cable and I'm sure you'd be pleased. I tested many cables before settling on these, even some in the $1,000+ range and they couldn't hold a candle to them. A lot of it will depend on your setup too, but assuming you've got a good setup, they'll benefit you nicely.

Compare what he's charging you to the prices online, they can be had on eBay for about $160 or so for a 12' pair, or slightly more through Audio Advisor.