I did TWO Surveys, one in the USA and one in the UK, (links upon request) to find out what percent of their total system cost people spent on ALL Wire and Cable. It was in the 2% to 5% range, again, for ALL Wire and Cable. In the 2% to 5% range but most were around 3%, and system prices ranged from US$50,000 to UK£25,000 on the high end.
Speaker Cables are pretty important, but not as important as you might think and a good guide is the percent of system cost.
Which of these scenarios makes more sense -
- £500 system with £500 Wire and Cable or ...
- £900 system with £100 Wire and Cable?
For myself, I would rather have a £900 with good wire and cable than have a £500 system with great wire and cable.
While some will tell you that Speaker Cable can NOT possibly make any difference, I would be more inclined to say that under some circumstances it can make a difference. But, that circumstance where you can hear the mild subtleties of the Speaker Cable, are when you have a system expensive enough and revealing enough to be able to hear that subtle difference.
There are some basic guidelines for picking Speaker Cable.
1.) Get at least 99.9% OFC (oxygen free) Copper wire. (99.99% is very common)
2.) Get at least 14ga (2.08mm²) or 25mm² cable. Cable of this size will sustain in 300w or more for an extended period of time and will have Peak Working Power in the roughly 2000w or greater range
3.) Get decent quality terminations (Spade or Banana Plugs).
None of these have to be exceptionally expensive. You should be able to get good cable in the roughly £50/pair range or less in length around 10 feet each.
Though this is your money, spend what you want. But £20/meter seems a bit extravagant. Still ... not my money... spend what you want.
Depending on which QED you currently have, even that is likely to be unnecessarily extravagant. Still ... not my money.
Next, how well do you like the QED, and how old is it? If it seems in good shape, not showing any corrosion, it is probably fine.
Again...I repeat... not my money... I don't care what you do, but £20/meter seems unnecessary.
Steve/bluewizard