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the subject of much discussion. However, I think any good quality cable of sufficient gauge works well. Good quality 12 gauge wire for a run under 60 feet into speakers which can dip down to 4 Ohms should be just fine.
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#thetruth
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
That said there is a guy on the Emotiva Lounge forum making custom speaker cables for very reasonable prices. Might want to check that out.
the general rule about cables is that after the first big jump in quality (which you have achieved), further improvements come in smaller increments at much greater cost. imo at this point in your audio life, cables should not be a big priority.
Your system sounds a lot like mine...In my case 10-15% is devoted to cables and power..
While I do believe power cables matter, I cannot see spending more than $100 each for power cables in my system...I have a $100 PS audio cable into my amp, two $50 PS audio cables to my CD transport and Dac.
I believe speaker cables have the biggest effect and have a bit under $500 worth of Transparent cables there. My interconnect is also Transparent and cost a few hundred. I have a $90 glass toslink cable from my iMac to the DAC and an ancient Audio Achemy digital transport cable between the DAC and the transport.
All told I would guess I have maybe $1200 in cable costs.
The total cost of my system not including the iMac or the cables is $5200 retail.
I got most of my cables in trade up deals with the makers over time so my actual cost was closer to $800..
I strongly recommend Transparent cable speaker cables and also recommend you try the used cable dept at the Cable Store. You can get a lot of cable for a big savings there.
I really wouldn't want to spend $500 on speaker wire only to find out that it made a marginal difference. I've heard the difference in SQ with digital interconnects, so I was mainly curious if that applied to other cables. From these posts, the little I've read elsewhere, and what my dealer told me, it seems like for speaker wire, noticeable improvements come with high price tags. I'll probably just stick with what I have for now.
Either way I still do need XLR, and not sure how that fits in with what I know from the digital interconnects and assume from the speaker wire. If I wanted to limit myself to a budget of $100 (which unfortunately excludes the Transparent stuff), is there something that would be worth that full budget or would I be fine with some Cables-to-go sort of thing? I apologize in advance for asking you to guess what I'm sensitive to.
Also JIMV, when you say similar might you also own a DAC1? I'd be curious to know what you think about the power cable on that if you've done comparisons.
Yes I have a DAC1...really like it. I am using a PS audio power cable into it and have found a minor change in the sound. I plugged it in more because I had it than in expectation. I had a bigger change with the amp using a $100 power cord, deeper black...more silence.
While I believe power cables do make a difference, I believe they make a bigger change in better systems. The only cable that made an immediate and easily heard change was the speaker cable.
Now, how much of a change...In my system the change was bigger than any tube rolling I have done.
I believe cables make cumulative change..add in a tiny bit here and another there and by the time you are done the system simply sounds better...
Like a few others, my rule of thumb is around 10% of the system cost. I use almost all Audioquest stuff. Not there cheapest, but close to it. I can't ever seeing paying $1000 for speaker cable no mater what the rest of my system cost, but specialty cable DO make an obvious difference. Their power cables made a jaw dropping difference with my CD player and previous Creek integrated, but not as much on other gear or my Krell integrated now. Like alot of things: it depends. Try used cables on Audiogon (not too used though).
The old rule "You get what you pay for" applies - if you're careful, and within limits. Here is what matters in my humble evaluation:
1.) Impedance. Many studies and reports have shown that within the relatively low frequency range of audio signals, this translates to resistance. Conductor configuration, conductor materials, and insulation properties are almost insignificant. Conductor size matters more than anything else by orders of magnitude.
2.) Termination quality. Most important factors here are the material quality (gold is best) and mechanical design. You want low resistance, high contact surface area, and a rigid physical connection.
3.) Appearance. There, I said it. Really now, who isn't willing to pay a little more for a set of cables that just plain look really good?
I've tried MANY cables over the years and spent thousands of dollars. My favorite by far are from Neustadt Research (www.neustadtresearch.com). They're not cheap but they are not at all exhorbitant either. Each cable is handmade and the quality, fit, and finish are fantastic. The cables are thick, have a beautiful woven sheath and the best sawtooth banana connectors I've ever seen.
I sat down and figured out that 18% of my systems total cost was cords , cables and interconnects . Thats based on a system thats worth a whisker over 6 digits .