good cables

[harley .guy07]

I have been using XLO speaker cables from the mid 90's and they do sound pretty good with what I am running as far as amp and speakers but I am always wondering with all the cables out there now what is the best bang for the buck cables out there. I want to know what brands of cables that would be right for the system that I have and would be a good price match for my setup. I do know that cables do make a huge difference in overall sound but since I don't work in the audio world anymore I am not around the newer cables to find out what the best are. A little help will be appreciated.

[Mr Peabody]

Harley, try the BlueJeans cables. They are a good "bang for the buck". The higher end cables are better if you want to spend twice the price. I found them a good match in my Adcom system.

I have some of the BJC LC series RCA's(about $35.00 a pair but depends on length). They are nicely balanced with no certain area standing out. Compared to an entry Transparent the Transparent had better frequency extension on both ends but I have to say the BJC had a slight edge in the midrange. I really like the BJC mids.

So you can certainly buy better if wanting to spend the money but BJC is pretty much the agreed value cable around here.

[02audionoob]

I've been very pleased with my Straightwire Rhapsody S interconnects for low bucks. I've got that on the DAC and Blue Jeans on the phono.

[harley .guy07]

Harley, try the BlueJeans cables. They are a good "bang for the buck". The higher end cables are better if you want to spend twice the price. I found them a good match in my Adcom system.

I have some of the BJC LC series RCA's(about $35.00 a pair but depends on length). They are nicely balanced with no certain area standing out. Compared to an entry Transparent the Transparent had better frequency extension on both ends but I have to say the BJC had a slight edge in the midrange. I really like the BJC mids.

So you can certainly buy better if wanting to spend the money but BJC is pretty much the agreed value cable around here.

I think you have mentioned blue jean cable to me in the past. I went to their website and checked them out and their price point is very close to what I was looking at spending. They have their 4 conductor biwire speaker cable that caught my eye and I think I might try it for biwiring my newly modified Paradigms to see if I can get an even better improvement on them. Very impressed with them after replacing the tweeters with the 1 1/8" soft domes. Cleaned things up quite a bit, plus I can listen for hours and hours without the normal metal dome (my ears are bleeding) fatigue that some metal domes are known for.

[jrhymeammo]

I will not be answering what you seeking, but hope you can take it as a valid advice.

We are not sure how your system sounds, but if you think you have one of the ultimate systems you can ever afford, then cable upgrade will be the upgrade you may want to consider. But if you can easily benefit higher fidelity thru different gear such as CD player or amps, then I would hold off on spending money on cables, especially speaker cables.
As long as you are not using some thin non-copper wires from your local hardware store, then whatever speaker wires you have should resolve more than 99% of the system’s capability. What do you not like about the sound of your cable or system?
If XO cables are acting as antenna and introducing noise to music then that will be another story, but as long as they are not harming your system, I would save money and allocate the funds towards items I had suggested above.

There will always be other opinions, but if you are absolutely determined to upgrade your system with cables, then I would change cables between your source player and preamp/integrated amp/receiver. Speaker wires to me has less influence on sound than cables from the source (CD player, TT, etc).
I’m not sure of the situation you are in, but if I was upgrading speaker cables then I’m being wishful and just eager to spend marginal sum.

If you are looking to spend less than say $300, then the best upgrade for you is to introduce room treatment, assuming you haven’t already done so.
Other members will tell you the same, but your system can only play as good as your room allows.

Getting back to your topic, here is a link to speaker cables that have received nice reviews. They are priced moderately.
http://www.rivercable.com/flexygy.html

These have received nice reviews as well and price is very attractive.
http://www.anticables.com/

I personally use 12 awg Kwik Kables by Kimber.
I have banana plugs terminated on one ends for my integrated amp because my amp’s terminals do not accept bare wire connection.
They sound as music should and I stripe off about 1-2 inches every 6 months to avoid oxidation of copper.


Best Regards,
Hayase