Speaker cable choice

[L4dva]

Apologies in advance if this question has been asked many times already!

I'm moving my hifi set up upstairs into a much smaller room, however the placement of my speakers is along a different wall to the amp / turntable so I actually need much longer cable. Also replacing the speakers for some "smaller" sized options.

I currently have Chord Rumour 2 cable - its very old but still in very good condition also its silver plated wire.

I have purchased a pair of B&W 606 S2's, and got £50 towards speaker cable. They recommended QED XT25 pre terminated 5m length copper cable. Copper being a good choice to tame the high treble from the 606's. From what I understand the XT25 is a fairly basic / low budget option. It also looks like 5m is a little short for one side, I need another 50cm or so.

I presume both left and right speakers should be wired with exact same length of cable? or is a small variation ok - 6m on one side and 5m on other? also I feel like at 6m the lengths are very long, do need thicker cable to cope with this or is something like the XT25 fine?

What cable would you guys recommend for a pair of copper 6m cables? My speakers are 606 S2, amp is a Cambridge CXA60.

Thanks in advance

 

[gibbsy]

Nothing wrong with XT25. If they are making it up on the premises then ask them to throw in the extra metre needed. Cable lengths do not need to be the exact same length. The difference is so minuscule as to be unperceivable.

 

[L4dva]

Thanks for the quick reply. if its fine to mix lengths I'll just stick with the XT25 in that case then.

 

[Nico72]

I have used this cable before. It is good quality and does exactly the same job as “premium” brands. Go for 2.5 mm square as a minimum.


Amazon product

 

[Pricy]

I have 5m lengths of XT 25, never had any issues with QED cable, does the job.
I've always stuck to same runs each side but the minimum is supposedly no less than half of the longest run, but as Gibbsy states, it's too small to notice.

 

[hifinutt]

nico suggestion is great . also mark grant cables can be cheaper . copper is great with these 606 . i have 2 pairs of 607s2 . i do use chord oddy with one pair but really like van damme 2.5 or 6mm too

Van Damme 2.5mm Hi-Fi Speaker Cable UP-LCOFC - Terminated | Mark Grant Cables

 

[sha66y]

Second the Van Damme, got them everywhere !

 

[L4dva]

Thanks for the input. I opted for van damme blue in the end from Mark Grant, its actually decent price terminated vs buying your own plugs (didn't want to take a chance on the super cheap plugs that you can get on ebay / amazon).

Went for a 4m and 6.5m lengths so hopefully the difference wont be an issue, Mark seemed to think it would be fine so fingers crossed.

 

[Steve356]

Got all my speaker cable from Mark, also VD Blue. Excellent quality and service from him.

 

[L4dva]

Cables arrived and I'm impressed! Can't say I've gotten excited about speaker wire before but I have to agree with all of the above comments, Mark has put these together very very nicely (crimped plugs, heat wrap etc).

Just plugged in and sounds great - honestly can't tell the difference between these £3.50/m cables and the old Chord Rumour 2 cables (costing maybe 3 or 4 times as much) that I just unplugged - although its only been 10 mins, maybe they will get even better once they "burn in" lol

Look out for a bargain on my old Chord cables in the classified section soon, after I've done a few more back to back comparisons with the van damme's (in interests of science). Then I'll move the speakers to final location in the room and not give speaker wire another thought and get on with enjoying the music!

 

[sha66y]

Cables arrived and I'm impressed! Can't say I've gotten excited about speaker wire before but I have to agree with all of the above comments, Mark has put these together very very nicely (crimped plugs, heat wrap etc).

Just plugged in and sounds great - honestly can't tell the difference between these £3.50/m cables and the old Chord Rumour 2 cables (costing maybe 3 or 4 times as much) that I just unplugged - although its only been 10 mins, maybe they will get even better once they "burn in" lol

Look out for a bargain on my old Chord cables in the classified section soon, after I've done a few more back to back comparisons with the van damme's (in interests of science). Then I'll move the speakers to final location in the room and not give speaker wire another thought and get on with enjoying the music!

It’s not an exclusive club, but those that use VD cables do tend to carry an element of belonging….( and smugness) lol….welcome aboard!