Speaker Cable Help

Witterings

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I'm currently using this which I bought a reel of several years ago but have just upgraded my speakers


Will I notice any difference by going to say QED Classic 42 ... OR ... 79 Strand and again what difference might I notice between the 42 and the 79 as the 42 will be "easier to lose" where it's got to run in the crevice of a window sill.

Also is here any advantage to buying custom lengths with banana plugs fitted as opposed to me just using some of these .... in fact is there any advantage to plugs at all or might you just as well use the wire straight into the speaker?

Amazon product ASIN B013P36KRU
If there was any advantage to soldering alternative plugs on I'd be happy to do that myself but would need pointing in the right direction what to get?

Alternative suggestions for speaker wire also appreciated, don't mind spending more than the QED but only if it'll make a noticeable difference, one stipulation it must be available in white.
 
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Depending on how far you have to run the cable then either of the QED will be fine. The QED will be oxygen free but I don't know about the cable you've linked. It's the distance that you need to run, a different make of OFC cable will not make an iota of difference to the audio.

I have been using those Fisual banana plugs for a good few years now with no problems at all.
 
I always use banana plugs (the same fisual as above and the right angle variant on my surrounds) as I just hate bare wires, fraying strands etc. While I do not regularly disconnect everything, I do so sometimes for cleaning etc and bare wires just don't handle re-use very well and having banana plugs make disconnection for cleaning easy.

As for cable type - the objective is to keep the overall resistance of the wire low enough for the needs of your amp + speaker. For most people 2.5mm^2 copper will be good for short lengths. Past 10m, or even past 5m if you have low impedance speakers then 4mm^2 could be considered however the much thicker cables can be more awkward to route and so be more trouble than they are worth.
 
Depending on how far you have to run the cable then either of the QED will be fine. The QED will be oxygen free but I don't know about the cable you've linked. It's the distance that you need to run, a different make of OFC cable will not make an iota of difference to the audio.

I have been using those Fisual banana plugs for a good few years now with no problems at all.

Cheers for that ... the longer cable / further speaker will be 5.5m ... any idea what the difference is between the 42 and the 79?
 
As the numbers suggest the 79 is the thicker of the two and would be my choice. You'll find that the thicker the actual metal the easier it will be to get a good connection on the banana plugs if you decide just to screw them down.
 
There’s not much information on the website. If it’s pure copper then it will be fine (It probably is), If it’s copper clad aluminium (CCA) then find a pure copper on instead.

I recommend these banana plugs instead - much easier.
Amazon product ASIN B01MXJIEV9
 
Cheers for that ... the longer cable / further speaker will be 5.5m ... any idea what the difference is between the 42 and the 79?
I'm open to correction but always thought it was advisable to keep both cables the same length, I'm ready to be told I'm wrong
 
I'm open to correction but always thought it was advisable to keep both cables the same length, I'm ready to be told I'm wrong

Very interested point .... I'd never gievn this consideration before ..... until weirdly as I measured the distances and posted the thread I wondered if there may be any latency between the shorter 2m and longer 5m cable.

I think as you get older you look at things in a more analytical way.
 
Very interested point .... I'd never gievn this consideration before ..... until weirdly as I measured the distances and posted the thread I wondered if there may be any latency between the shorter 2m and longer 5m cable.

I think as you get older you look at things in a more analytical way.
Any difference in the audio timing from amp to speaker will be extra ordinarily miniscule over the varying lengths and should not concern you.
 
Any difference in the audio timing from amp to speaker will be extra ordinarily miniscule over the varying lengths and should not concern you.

Totally off the wall ... I knew some at school who's nickname was your addy ... don't suppose by any chance in a million you played bass guitar and violin and had a boxer dog?
 
I'm open to correction but always thought it was advisable to keep both cables the same length, I'm ready to be told I'm wrong
No latency (the speed of light is pretty quick), but longer cables will have greater resistance and different capacitance. Probably insignificant if you go for the heavier cables. Those QED ones are very long in the tooth, though probably nothing wrong in that.

I've just today been introduced to Mark Grant cables. Mark Grant Cables | Mark Grant Cables

He makes all sorts of cables for pro studios and his prices seem very reasonable. He seems to favour Van Damme speaker cable. Very good price and used by the mile in studios, but not in white! I have used Odyssey from Chord Cable in the past which is white but a bit pricier as it's aimed at the gullable audiophile buyers and mostly sold via high-mark-up dealers!

PS - you can always use white shrink covering to change the colour. Various diameters and lengths - this sort of thing

Amazon product ASIN B081YMQKBY
Peter
 
I thought cables should be approx same length so their properties were similar and no chance of being slightly different. Obviously being an electrical signal the speed of the sound reaching speakers isn't an issue. I was thinking more resistance and that, but seems I was wrong which is ok too
 
I thought cables should be approx same length so their properties were similar and no chance of being slightly different. Obviously being an electrical signal the speed of the sound reaching speakers isn't an issue. I was thinking more resistance and that, but seems I was wrong which is ok too
I think that's what everyone is saying in an ideal world. In the real world (particularly if not used with £100K+ equipment), the sound won't be noticably damaged by different lengths of speaker cable, particularly if reasonably thick, so that differencies in resistance between L and R channels is minimal..
 
Capacitance and Inductance are minimal with speaker cables - to the extent they can be disregarded. The difference in resistance between a 5M and 10M cable is so low that it would be tricky to measure any difference in speaker performance, let alone hear it.

None of this is the case with low level signal cables, but some people do try and apply the same rules to speaker cables, which is neither helpful or relevant.
 

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