Question Does Higher Price Mean Better Quality?

lettuce

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Does paying more money for speaker wire yield superior audio quality?

I have 10 meters of 2.5mm speaker wire which is just your generic transparent insulation type that cost me approx £6, i have looked at some Fisual S-Flex 2.5mm wire which while looks more professional its about £23 for 10 meters worth but surely the copper strands are the same type of copper used in all speaker wire or is there actually a difference

So does spending more money on a branded wire give superior sound quality or is it much of a much-ness?
 
As long as the cable is copper (oxygen free) and of sufficient thickness (2.5mm often recommended) then there is no difference in spending more other than a fancy looking outer casing.
 
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Ok thanks for the input then, so the reason stuff like Fisual S-Flex or Van Damme is more expensive is just because of the outer casing used when compared to just generic transparent casing?
 
Ok thanks for the input then, so the reason stuff like Fisual S-Flex or Van Damme is more expensive is just because of the outer casing used when compared to just generic transparent casing?
And copious amounts of snake oil.
 
Be careful of clear jacket copper looking stuff. There is loads of it on Amazon and its NOT always copper but actually Copper plated aluminium. This I would avoid as it cheap and nasty.
 
Ok thanks for the input then, so the reason stuff like Fisual S-Flex or Van Damme is more expensive is just because of the outer casing used when compared to just generic transparent casing?
S-FLEX and Van Damme Blue are double insulated. That is, they have two insulated wires covered by a third layer of insulation. In some circumstances, that round, as opposed to flat figure-8 wire, might have some appeal. Much of the round double insulated wire is CL2 rated to be fire resistance and to burn with low toxicity.

But at the core, copper is copper. There might be some aesthetic reasons to buy nicer cable, but there seem little real value beyond cosmetic.

There are TWO camps on this. One that says, no measurable parameter of wire can possibly have any effect in the audio range, on the assumption that is it reasonable length, and of reasonable size. The second camp, which included many professional reviewers, claim that wire can sometimes make a difference, but being professional reviewers, they deal with some very expensive equipment, and likely that expensive equipment could potentially be revealing enough to hear a difference in wires. However, neither side has proven its case.

But once again, if you run the math on any measurable parameter of the wire (Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, Skin Effect) unless the lengths are approaching or exceeding 50ft, none of those parameters effects the audio range. At long lengths, Inductive Resistance does start to trim away at the high frequencies, so Total Resistance at a long length could have a measurable result. But for that measurable result to be hearable, it would have to be pretty extreme.

Generally, for common lengths, as long as the wire is 16ga (1.31mm²) or more, it will serve the needs of a vast majority of people.

However, because the price difference is so small, most people will buy either 14ga (2.08mm²) or Euro 2.5mm² wire. Those who buy 12ga (3.31mm²) or Euro 4mm, are wasting money, as this is excessive and would only apply in the most rare of circumstances. That said, because the price difference is so small, on my current system, I use 12ga (3.31mm²) which is unnecessary overkill.

Here are tables to help you determine appropriate wire length for a given Percent of Loss, Speaker Wire size, and Speaker Impedance.

Cable Length as a Precent of Speaker Impedance Table

5% loss is considered acceptable, but it is not hard to be well under 5%.

These charts use Gauged wire because it is very difficult to get specifications on Euro wire, but there are close enough equivalents.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Guys the link is to CCA which is not copper cable its Copper Clad Aluminum. I would totally avoid that stuff.
 
Guys the link is to CCA which is not copper cable its Copper Clad Aluminum. I would totally avoid that stuff.

Agreed. You need Oxgen Free Copper (OFC)
 

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