Which Speaker cable to buy from U.S ?

[navinsundar]

I need a pair of 3m speaker wire for bi-wiring Dali Ikon 6, Pls suggest me some VFM speaker cable (other than silver cables, which may sound bright with Ikons). And i am getting it from U.S so pls post the link of the site which sells them, if you know...

 

[magma]

ive heard dinyaars kimbers 4tc and 8tc
i would suggest them ( but i think they do have silver)

 

[unleash_me]

Try the Audio Art SC-5

 

[navinsundar]

ive heard dinyaars kimbers 4tc and 8tc
i would suggest them ( but i think they do have silver)

Is he also using Dali Ikon 6?

 

[navinsundar]

Try the Audio Art SC-5

Even this is silver coated and 3m Pair cable costs me almost 75% of the speaker itself. Any other VFM cables....

 

[navinsundar]

How abt belden speaker cables, has any one used it?

 

[soulforged]

I would second Magma...Kimber 4TC is a very good VFM cable. You can also consider MIT and Tara Labs. They have some 'not very expensive' cables that sound very good.

 

[1000w]

Check this, thats VFM
HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!
-Manish

 

[GeorgeO]

Accessories for less- Accessories4less also carries discounted cables.

George

 

[madbullram]

I have the belden 5000 and am happy with it. If you want u can try a cable from me

 

[tharun]

Belden Cables with Ikon !!!!!!!!!!! You should be Joking. As reddy said try the Nordost or VDH or Kimber . They are available cheaper in US.

 

[venkatcr]

Belden Cables with Ikon !!!!!!!!!!! You should be Joking. As reddy said try the Nordost or VDH or Kimber . They are available cheaper in US.

And why do you think so? Are you aware that Belden is the only company in the world that has the guts to keep one of it's cables in the open outside their factory and guarantee that there will be no change in the specifications of the cable? They have been testing the cable for 25 years with nary a change in it's specs !!

Companies such as Blue Jeans use raw cable from Belden.

You must read 'Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

Cheers

 

[shaizada]

Cables are like tone controls or another equalization method. Depending on how the system sounds currently and what direction you want it to go in, that is the thing that should influence your decision.

You could get very neutral cables, but that might not help out the overall sound if there is a sonic mismatch between components. Synergy is key. But now you must also be realizing that asking for a cable suggestion on a forum would give you ALL sorts of answers when the only real answer can be had by you alone depending on what YOU hear.

The short of it is that you will have to audition different cables and decide accordingly in your system.

Finally, I would strongly suggest you stay with extremely high purity copper, preferably OCC copper which is extremely high purity and each crystal is extremely long with less barriers to the electron flow within the wire. Preferably cryogenically treated to assist further in signal flow.

There are many OCC based wires depending on your budget.

I love Furutech cabling and will suggest you try that. There is also Jena wire that I really liked as well.

By the way, I absolutely HATED Nordost Valhalla cables as they are too edgy and can easily throw off a well balanced system. That cable can be used to wake up an slow and boring system easily!

 

[longshanks]

By the way, I absolutely HATED Nordost Valhalla cables as they are too edgy and can easily throw off a well balanced system. That cable can be used to wake up an slow and boring system easily!

Interesting observation, From the very few times I've heard them being a part of a setup, i felt that they are the most transparent cables ever, which just does not add or take away anything. Nordost cables are pretty damn fast in transferring signals as well.

Could it be because the system was already edgy and due to the Valhalla's transparency it became clearly noticeable? while other cables create a veil and make that disappear?

 

[shaizada]

Interesting observation, From the very few times I've heard them being a part of a setup, i felt that they are the most transparent cables ever, which just does not add or take away anything. Nordost cables are pretty damn fast in transferring signals as well.

Could it be because the system was already edgy and due to the Valhalla's transparency it became clearly noticeable? while other cables create a veil and make that disappear?

Not really. The system was built from the ground up to be very neutral actually. Hence, cables would either be neutral and keep the sound of the system intact with more resolution or detail being passed on further from top of the sonic chain, or err on the side of being warm (could also be read as somewhat veiled), or err on the side of being too cold, sterile (could also be read as somewhat transparent).

See, it depends on the system it goes in, the listening preferences of the listener and software being played. In my setup, I can tell EXACTLY what the mastering engineer had on his plate. Every single record or cd sounds very different and the sound comes through VERY clearly. I wanted to setup something that let the recording engineer earn his keep. I wanted to hear exactly what's on the recording and NOTHING more. If I want to play around with the sound, I can tube roll and get the sound more of what I prefer at that time....but thats a choice I make, not made for me by the properties of the cable or equipment.

The Valhalla is very edgy and razor sharp. Not a presentation I like at all erring on the side of cool.

In fact, my JMW 12.5 tonearm had the Valhalla internal cabling which I got changed BACK to the normal copper cabling for the exact same reason. This is the same tonearm cabling that contributes to the cooler and more sterile character of the VPI HRX I've experienced EXTENSIVELY. It was bringing that same sound character to my VPI TNT-V Hot Rod. I'm intimately familiar with the Valhalla cabling as my whole system at one time (different system not this one) was completely wired with the stuff, power, signal et al. Never liked it in the end. But in the right system, it could be the ticket. Definitely not for a neutral or cooler sounding system. Valhalla is the antithesis of musicality in my books. It is written off after extensive use and understanding it's sound properties.

 

[navinsundar]

Cables are like tone controls or another equalization method. Depending on how the system sounds currently and what direction you want it to go in, that is the thing that should influence your decision.

You could get very neutral cables, but that might not help out the overall sound if there is a sonic mismatch between components. Synergy is key. But now you must also be realizing that asking for a cable suggestion on a forum would give you ALL sorts of answers when the only real answer can be had by you alone depending on what YOU hear.

The short of it is that you will have to audition different cables and decide accordingly in your system.

Finally, I would strongly suggest you stay with extremely high purity copper, preferably OCC copper which is extremely high purity and each crystal is extremely long with less barriers to the electron flow within the wire. Preferably cryogenically treated to assist further in signal flow.

There are many OCC based wires depending on your budget.

I love Furutech cabling and will suggest you try that. There is also Jena wire that I really liked as well.

By the way, I absolutely HATED Nordost Valhalla cables as they are too edgy and can easily throw off a well balanced system. That cable can be used to wake up an slow and boring system easily!

What is OCC? and the Furutech OCC cable is only available in 14gauge is that ok? or should i go with the u4.1 bi-wire.

 

[murali]

I need a pair of 3m speaker wire for bi-wiring Dali Ikon 6, Pls suggest me some VFM speaker cable (other than silver cables, which may sound bright with Ikons). And i am getting it from U.S so pls post the link of the site which sells them, if you know...

I would suggest writing to fatwyre.com (search their website) and one Mr. Robert Stein there is a good person to consult. They sell new as well as used cables of several companies. Mr. Stein is quite helpful if you can ask for his suggestion of options based on your amplifier and speakers as well as mentioning your budget to him. I had bought several interconnects and speaker cables from them in the past. They have a good database of cables used by several people related to amps and speakers.

And a personal word. If you are looking for cables that add least colorations and try to be as nonobtrusive and true as possible, look at Audioquest, Kimber, Alpha Core etc. If you need 'colorful' cables to your sound, try Cardas, Straightwire, Transparent etc. Also, I have gone for several used cables as long as they are in good condition and most of them are as they have no moving parts or electrical components like power supply, transformers, transistors etc.

Good luck.
murali

 

[longshanks]

In my setup, I can tell EXACTLY what the mastering engineer had on his plate. Every single record or cd sounds very different and the sound comes through VERY clearly. I wanted to setup something that let the recording engineer earn his keep.

I firmly believe that no system can completely bring out what the recording engineer intended one to hear, also there is no neutral setup in existence AFAIK.

I do understand and agree that you have highly capable setup which can clearly differentiate between recordings.

The Valhalla is very edgy and razor sharp. Not a presentation I like at all erring on the side of cool.
Valhalla is the antithesis of musicality in my books. It is written off after extensive use and understanding it's sound properties.

From my experience with Nordost cables (from blue heaven and up) with different setups have always made me feel that they open the components and make them reveal their characteristics more than most of the cables are capable of. Have also compared them with many other cables and some were uber expensive.

Have not come across any system which got the edginess in its sonic signature due to nordost cables, but have experienced them revealing bad components.

I am not a big fan of their power cables.

If i do come across any decent setup which sounded bad after the addition of nordost cable then i will definitely share it with you.

Thanks for your insight

Cheers.

 

[reignofchaos]

I second Shaizada on this. The little of nordost that I've heard - blue heaven, red dawn, Tyre and a digital interconnect called Moonglow, they sound very very edgy and hard. Not my liking at all. Music doesn't sound like that in reality and I can never have a cable like that in my system.

Someone recommended Kimber 4TC/8TC. Sorry to be harsh but they are not much better than mx cable you can get for around 100 bucks a meter. Even the entry level QED stuff is better than these. However higher end Kimbers are really good but you need to be willing to spend.

If you can afford it, look for Goertz Alphacore or as Shaizada suggested, look at Furutech. If you are willing to splurge look at ASI Liveline or Einstein Audio. Back home, Solitone X is a very nice cable sold locally at great prices. A lot of how a cable sounds depends on your system. I'd not touch a cable without trying it out extensively in my setup.

 

[Asit]

Back home, Solitone X is a very nice cable sold locally at great prices.

Hi RoC,
Who is selling Solitone in India?
Regards.