For 40+ years I've been using 12 gauge landscape lighting zip-cord style wire for all my audio work. It has both low resistance and capacitance and the price can't be beat. My original roll cost $0.08/foot, today it's under $0.50/foot.
Go buy a spool of 12 gauge enameled copper magnet wire. Cut 2 pieces to length and twist them together for each channel. Strip the enamel off the wire ends and stick them in the amp and speaker posts. You will be very surprised how good they sound if your system and ears are resolving. From my experiments magnet wire sounds better than any of these cheap options up to $1000/pr AQ speaker cables. And when I say "better" I mean more tonally accurate and excellent soundstage and imaging.
Speakers have huge inductance and capacitance. Even the tolerance on that will be less than any cable. There is no way that any reasonable cable, i.e. not designed specifically to be bad, will make any difference whatsoever.
Great cable ideas and some good tips. I've been using the Mogami 3104 for a while, but I had trouble finding bananas that fit the gauge when twisted so this is fantastic! They are great!!
I think you missed the opportunity to tap into wholesale stranded cooper cables, which is 100% available for everyone locally at 1/10 of the price of your recommended cables. Hell, you could even get some extra shielded special earth cables for the same price.
Maybe I'm a little sensitive to unwanted background noise! But it's taken me years of trial and error to get rid of all my noise (noise floor) or should I say cable interference noise. From my listening position, I don't pick up on any noise anymore. Just to make it clear. Nothing to do with grounding / distortion or any kind hiss or buzz. What I'm referring to is the sound of the room! In fact, I would imagine the vast majority of HT owners are probably not even aware of the faint background signal noise, and that's ok. And there are probably a few who are aware of it, and yet it doesn't bother them, and that's ok too. But for me, getting rid of the background signal noise has been a journey within itself. After all, it's not as if one can pinpoint where the noise is coming from. It's almost as if there's a faint electrical current sound buzzing around the room. (Poor description) Even after I auditioned three separate mid-priced AVR's, the same unwanted noise was still present. It was only after I changed my cables for a third time. My noise floor came down to such a level, my sensitivities we're finally satisfied. I'm running an arcam avr20 with a couple of matching high-performance 4 channel power amps (front stage/Atmos) which are driving my Sonus Faber speakers in a 5.2.4 configuration, which also includes a stereo pair of Rel subwoofers for my 4 × 3.5m (13 × 11.5ft) livingroom. I have to say it was only when I purchased quality shielded speaker & RCA cables. The room became exceptionally quiet! My room is now so quiet their are occasions without opening my eyes, I'm actually unable to differentiate whether the system is switched off or if it's switched on. The room is really that quiet. If one is looking to get rid of that so-called ambient sound of the room. IMO, shielded cables are the only way to go. And btw they don't necessarily have to be expensive. Bear in mind this is coming from someone who's changed his setup and cables multiple times. It was annoying at times, but hey, isn't that part of the journey 😁
Works for me. My runs are no more than 30ft. If you have to make runs of 100ft, maybe something better would be in order. Personally, I would get shielded cable, for that. To connect my computer sound outputs, to my stereo, I used 40ft of GS6 shielded instrument cable, which is 18AWG, just to avoid interference.
I saw a RUclips channel that talks about HIFI (he sells the amps, speaker and speaker cables). He crowed that he got a great deal on $1,500 cables (used), they were 10' each. That's $75 a foot. They saw you coming!
great work. i can't believe what some companies charge for speaker Cables.. some even cost more than an Amp or CD player !!. ridiculous . thanks for sharing.
This know-nothing audiohead has made and used, 12-14 gauge pure stranded copper wire since the vinyl bug bit some 50 years ago...SFSG. I'm still using them, the only thing I've done is make them shorter and replace the connectors, twice.
I hate my banana plugs not matching. I also hate having different interconnects. I hate my basic bitch speaker wires. It all adds up to self-loathing. I must fix these egregious errors in connecting my equipment. To Amazon I go!!!!
Good work Matt , personally I feel cables do not contribute on quality , as you said we really don’t need 500$ or 2K$ cables , just a decent ones does the job.
its just aesthetics right? technically you wont hear a difference between this and just a 18 gauge RCA with good material unless you run them for 100feet or something
I've used the Viborg banana plugs on some custom cables that I've made. I was thinking of making some Canare cables for myself and a friend. Your video has inspired me to go ahead. I really appreciate the links to all the materials. I was having a tough time deciding on the sleeving.
Love or hate them years ago my first experience with speaker cables was Monster cables. I had a cheap pair of Radio Shack cables and I replaced them with Monster cables that were on the economy side. When I turned the stereo back on all of sudden I noticed things in the music I wasn't hearing before 😮 much to my suprise. I became a believer and today I use Blue Jean speaker cables and World's Best Cables interconnects. Good quality without the crazy price.
I'm no fan of monster cables... but they did do one thing worthy of note... At roughly 14ga, they got us beyond the 20 and 22ga wire most stereos came with. Wire that thin has enough resistance to affect sound quality.
Nice guide. The only suggestion I'd make is to invest in automatic style wire stripper, they aren't that much more and so much easier to use. I made some similar cables with bulk two conductor in wall 14 awg Belden and Preffair banana plugs which are similar to your mid-tier ones but slimmer and more minimal looking. I wrapped the cable with 1/4" Techflex which fits over the entire cable run and 1/8" red and black Techflex on the individual plus / minus conductors. Also heatshrink where the conductors exit the cable and red / black heatshrink over the banana plugs (cable pants look cheap to me). Looks and feels high-end but about the same price as you pay for pre-made cables on Amazon.
Paul Klipsch used to pass out BS awards at the hifi trade shows back in the early days. You left out two of my favorites, regular big box store SO electrical cable, or 12 AWG lamp cord. 10 AWG copper is designed to have 1.02 ohms per 1000 feet. or that is .0102 ohms at 10 feet and .0153 at 15 feet. That is not a lot of signal loss in the cable considering the speaker is about 400 times higher at 4 ohms resistance than the cable. I will concede the banana plugs are convenient and probably provide the easiest and lowest resistance connection. There are copper jumper cables at Wal Mart that will work as well.
Thus the comment that Klipsch does not use premium components, even though I saw in one pic the biggest, baddest crossover, only open-core inductors and polymers caps. Oh, you mean they are not "audiophile" certified? Doubling the cost of the speaker?
I’ve done this with my in-wall cables and bi-wired speakers. I’m under no delusion that it makes any difference but to look cool and I spend more time just listening to music.
Likely not much performance wise as long as what is being advertised is accurate. Things like cables are the sprinkles on the cake, the cake still tastes good without but sometimes you just want them. The nice thing about the 2 premium builds where I knew exactly what I was getting using the Canare and Mogami cables.
😊Can you Show us how to Vantablack(World Darkest Black) coating on Aluminium foil sheet & wrip around your Cable can!.! 100% RF frequency blockage & 100% 0 interference😮 Video Have. Best of the Best in Sound😊
barewire then solder silver solder on it for harden solid connection. All connectors suck as it deducts 70% iacs conductivity out of brass or lower metals. tellurium connectors if you want iacs conductivity of 90%
Wow Matt, you are quite the craftsman! I never worry too much about speaker cables, I just buy 14 gauge wire and put some two screw banana plugs on and I'm good. The late great Roger Russell of McIntosh recommended 18 gauge wire up to 20 feet. He said the extra resistance helped with the amplifier's damping factor. He always talked about the wailing, the rending of garments and the gnashing of teeth over a device made to short circuit the output of your amp to the input of your speakers. LOL
Great video. I've never been a cable guy, but I did invest in some lovely SKW cables from China. Mainly because they look beautiful, but also because they come with three different high quality, screw in termination types. Spades, and two different banana types. Also, they are very reasonably priced. Building your own looks like fun. I do love playing with shrink tubing.
Yes. I've seen those SKW's on AliExpress and Amazon. How do they sound? I have a couple pairs of XLR's from China. No name brand. Good build. How do they sound? Good. Can't really hear a difference between those and Kimber PBJ or MIT's.
@@jayem1826 They sound fine. Ivwas using Chord company interconnects before and they are certainlyvas good, but look a lot better and are better constructed. I actually bought them for a second system abd moved thrm to my main system. I dont believe cables make a big difference once they meet a basoc construction standard, but these are very satisfying to own and look at, and the triple connectors are a genius idea.
@@GeirRssaak Absolutely no placebo effect here. Now, let me just have a slug of homeopathic flower remedy before I go online and buy some audiophile quality fuses...
Matt, thanks a ton for this video. It helped me save time. I went with the mid tier option with the 3/8" Canare 4S11G to pair with Mission 750 bookshelf speakers, which is overkill, but looks great and will take me forward into my HiFi journey when I upgrade. Happy listening!
Hoping to use this tutorial to build some custom bi-wire cable. For the Canare 4S11, can you twist the whites and reds into one wire to connect to an amp?
I have built miles of speaker cable for professional use and I take real care in doing so. The only connectors I’ve ever used are multi-pin Neutrik and I am partial to soldering them if possible. As to EMI, a cable with a source impedance of .01 ohm isn’t going to even notice if you run it across the top of a utility transformer down the street. I keep the ends clean as much as is practicable even using a dummy connector. Proper connectors wipe their own contacts on insertion.
This is the way, neutrik connectors and soft cables are so nice to work with. How do people even consider building cable with those stupid ass stiff garden hoses.
I bought Monoprice 16 AWG oxygen free cables at $100 per 300'. Bought the Mediabridge connectors, all went well, and the 16 gauge wire is plenty thick enough for the job. I have had thicker and more expensive wire in the past, I could not hear any difference. My system is a Marantz NR 1605 7.1 surround, Klipsh Cornwall II (1976) front left and right. Definitive Technology center and left and right mid-speakers with a pair of Polk rear speakers.
Auvio 12awg not audio “Auvio” branded wire is amazing stuff when you can find it. Also I’d suggest using marine grade shrink on all your connectors, also remove the screws and soldered the wire to the actual banana plug.
Great and informative video, thank you for your work. Is there a difference in sound whether the cable strands are made of oxygen-free copper strands or whether the individual cable strands are made of oxygen-free solid core copper?
My only added key point is, after tightening down any of these connectors, light pull and wiggle on wire, wait up to a day for the copper to relax then re-tighten screws. I know, sounds cooky AF but test it yourself b4 coming back at me. (Actual electricians and electrical installers worth their salt will probably confirm this, this was protocol at the factory I worked at previously, we only worked with calibrated screwdrivers)
I bought some AudioQuest Wel Signature knockoffs for what it would cost to make a good set and I love them. I got a cable identical in design and geometry but using copper instead of silver and I did not need to pay snake oils prices of $10k.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 yes. ITS a Telephone cable. I Put 12 cores together in + and 12 cores in - and banana plugs on each end. The Sound ist much more Open, more Details, more Air in my unison max 1. Try IT , These cables are Not expensive. There are many different types of this cable, with 6 , 8,10 cores, in different diameters, but Always Solidcore 🤝👍
@@klunatsch Don't need to ... cables, no matter what kind are not tone controls and they cannot improve a signal... but, the bad ones can easily sabotage a listening experience. From your description, it is more likely that you are dealing with "Mid-Field Cancellation" a listening phenomenon where moving your listening position or your speakers even half an inch can make a real difference in what you hear. See my top post above ....
Excellent, clear and concise tutorial, thank you! To complement the clip, and having built my own cables, here's an "expose" regarding the plugs *(sorry for the length, I've pasted from my own notes)* : the materials that are used, their impact on electrical transmission, and in the end on overall sound signal - on the hearing (having a background in engineering, it's a little research that I've done before "crafting" my cables). I'll begin with Rhodium (the most resistant and durable), then Gold (the safest choice), and finally silver (the best for my personal context given my amp+speakers). Copper connectors must be protected from oxidation via some plating. Since they're end point/junction transmitters (between the amp and the cable, then between the cable and the speakers), different platings can have a slight impact on the sound signal. Consequently, the choice could also depend on the combination of speakers, the amp, and the type of sound one is looking for (sometimes to compensate or add clarity to frequency levels between an amp and a speaker). But for a casual listener who doesn't have a trained "audiophile" ear, they shouldn't render much difference. In which case the clip's 1st and most affordable solution, or the second one (for less interferences if there are numerous sources of such - as mentioned in the clip), along "all-around" gold plated copper plugs, would be safe options. Keeping in mind that what follows is barely distinguishable for an untrained/casual ear (if at all), here are some details... *Rhodium plated is good in a harsh environment, e.g. for outside speakers, cables you'd carry around for parties or whatnot.* It's more durable and resistant to tarnish, wear, and tear, also being the best option against oxidation. However, it has a relatively much lower conductivity: half as good as gold, lesser when compared to copper, and one third as good as silver: - Silver: 62.1 x 10^6 S/m (siemens per meter) - Copper: 58.7 x 10^6 S/m - Gold: 44.2 x 10^6 S/m - Rhodium: 23 x 10^6 S/m - Brass: 15.9 x 10^6 S/m Much of the signal will be transported by the copper core/plug body and then through the rhodium interstice. Hence, pure OCC or OFC copper plugs plated with rhodium are better than rhodium plated brass plugs. More over, Rhodium's electrical resistivity is _relatively_ much higher than gold or silver plating, although this shouldn't have much impact on the audio signal (a very residual effect) since we're talking about an interstice rather than a core transporter (the third solution with a thicker cable would compensate for the resulting resistance anyways): - Silver: 1.59 x 10^-8 Ω/m (ohms per meter) - Copper: 1.72 x 10-8 Ω/m - Gold: 2.2 x 10^-8 Ω/m - Rhodium: 4.3 x 10^-8 Ω/m In short, and although its higher price could give an opposite perception (it only reflects its rarity), *Rhodium is not an ideal plating for electrical connectors and terminals, unless used in a harsh environment.* Hence, if such cables were meant to stay home (without much handling), I'd always favor gold or silver plated copper. *Gold plated brass/copper, sounds a bit fuller and smoother with slightly more emphasis in the mid-range and bass.* With gold plated brass, the music is a bit more recessed (only by way of comparison) and there is a little less musical separation, for an "easier listening". Gold having a relatively much higher electrical conductivity than brass, it will have such impact on the main signal. On the other hand, Gold has less conductivity than copper (but higher than Rhodium): most of the signal goes through the copper body and only traverse the Gold interstice of the connection toward the rest of the line. Gold plating is the second best protection against oxidation after Rhodium. *Silver plated copper sounds somewhat brighter and more detailed with better musical separation with slightly more emphasis on the upper frequencies.* The soundstage moves a little forward. A bit more "exciting listening" and (fortunately) not too bright with the particular setup I'm using them on. Silver does not readily oxidize but it reacts with sulfur containing compounds in the atmosphere, to form silver sulfide (Ag2S). This is the primary tarnish observed on silver. However, silver sulfide is a semiconductor with a similar band gap as the oxides of copper which are also semiconductors: it can actually protect the connector even more, and can add chatoyance to the sound - although barely noticeable. *Final note:* the above impact on the audio signal, are much more audible when talking about the cable itself, its core and shielding material. For instance, instead of twisting two 14 AWG resulting in 10 to 12 AWG end cables, one could use a silver or copper breaded shielding over the two 12 AWG end cables, in order to reduce interferences (in my case, silver for an aesthetic reason).
Excellent video. I plan to buy Canare 4s11G and two folks who i’ve asked said the G is “better” than regular. Do you agree? If so, is it b/c the Cu is oxygen free? If so, what sound qualities does G provide over regular 4s11? And my question does presume an audio system which is more than resolving enough to pass thru any sonic differences in the wires. Thank you
Theoretically it should be better because OFC is always cleaner copper than regular. As for sonic qualities they might be about the same. I still have not seen such comparison between 4S11 and 4S11G.
I’ve done this myself, problem I’m having is that the banana plugs I've purchased off of amazon keep coming apart and getting stuck inside my speakers :-(. I’m going to try the Viborg plugs, they look like they won’t come apart.
You shouldn’t unless it’s a very poor cable, speaker changes first if you want to make the biggest impact. I feel all three of these sound the same honestly but I still enjoy a nice cable like this, and at the very least you know you’re not missing out on anything.
The one that comes with the amp is just fine unless you plan on replacing all the romex to your breaker box, the copper service drop to the local transformer, and then the aluminum high voltage transmission lines to the power substation and then generation station.
That could easily turn into the kind of overkill that kills. Assuming you mean car jumpers, they would be heavy and stiff enough to actually break the connectors, killing themselves in the bargain.
@@raymondbunkofske4702 I've never understood the need for these horse dong sized cables to begin with. At 16ga you can handle up to about 800watts with no problems, the resistance is going to be less than 0.1 ohms for most reasonable lengths... beyond that you're just wasting the extra copper. Now I get the idea of using a sleeve or wrapping for decorative reasons, but there really is no reason for welder cable sized wire.
@@raymondbunkofske4702 that’s why I said old. Before we started to use cheap copper plated junk. Just like the expensive cables the final lead can be thinner and more flexible.
Are you serious. Was it the one with the level on top haha. I hope they sorted it, funny story I recall hearing about the amazon warehouse sending multiple people the SVS PB16 Ultra when they ordered a simple 5.1 setup, too bad you didn't run into something like that instead.
Just the sort of advice audiophiles neeed, but rarely get. Make your own, as long as you need, but no longer. Not to sure if interference is a real issue with speaker cables, though. But a 'star quad' does lower inductance (at the cost of higher capacitance). which might give ever so slightly less HF attenuation. Though I would recommend anyone young enough to hear the difference to get an adult to help with the heat gun.... I also prefer solder joints for longevity and reliability. Deltron make some really nice bananas, and practically give them away. I chose Klotz LY225 for my project, 2.5 mm2 twisted pair in a round sleeve. Looks good in an understated way.
@@MattCoykendall1 Take a look at your video ... see the moments when you were twisting wires together? That's when you solder. Tin the stripped ends before you put them in the plugs. If you get out of the audiophile stuff you will also find instrumentation plugs the same size that are designed for solder connections.
Or you can just get some nice looking cables from china for not a lot of money. You'll not have the fun of making them yourself of course. I do believe cables matter, but they are complementary. You should carefully pick them according to your set ups needs (or not when you don't really care but do want them to look nice).
Matt got it right when he said to stay away from snake oil. There's a lot of misinformation about audio and it's getting worse all the time. The biggest lie of all: "These cables will make your system sound so much better"... No they won't, unless there's something wrong with the cables you are currently using. No cable can improve a signal... only degrade it.
😵💫😳The Year End silliness has begun. I sent a link to this vid to a friend/client of mine and he sent me back a picture of his "Christmas Cables" ... He's got RGB lighting on all his cables flashing in time to Christmas Carols .... *ROFL*
@@MattCoykendall1 As a follow up ... He's spent the time to take the led vu meters to extremes. As the music plays the leds display increasing brightness and change colour in tempo with the signals in the cables. Looks pretty cool ... but still strikes me as being rather silly.
I‘ve build a few cables until now…my favorit builds are 1. a Reckhorn L3 cable with Tertullus bfa plugs and 2. Sommer Elephant 425 cable with Audioquest sure grip 100 plugs and spades. Both look and sound great and i’m enjoying the build process…
Hi, congratulations on the video I have two Canare 4S11G cables in my system, one powers the bass and one for the mid-highs, I only have a stereo power amp Is it worth changing to mogami w3104? I've read that it improves the soundstage It is best to always use two cables per channel, I have a 300w Krell power amp and B&W801 series 3 speakers A thousand thanks
Save your money ... they're going to sound the same. The Canare 4x14 gives you a running resistance of 2.5 ohms per 1000 feet. The Mogami 4x12 gives you a running resistance of 1.6 ohms per 1000 feet. For a 10 foot cable that's 0.05 ohms versus 0.03 ohms ... (effectively that's zero) If you are bi-wiring from a stereo source with the crossover straps in place on your speakers you've cut that resistance in half. If you've removed the crossover straps you've doubled it. Either way it's less than a -hundredth- tenth of an ohm resistance ... those cables are more than heavy enough to do the job.
@@marcocastronuovo1480 Yes. Unless you do something else at the same time (like moving your speakers) you should not hear any difference at all. Think about it... what is there, in those wires, that could change the tonality of your system? They are very low resistance leads, no intervening parts, no extra connections... what goes in one end is what is going to come out the other.
The 4s11g is a fantastic cable, only change to the 3104 if it’s something you really want or you just like to tinker or build cables but in my experience I wouldn’t expect audible changes to the actual sound at this point.
Matt I know this is completely off the subject so forgive me. I just seen Paul McGowen from PS Audio talking about with digital devices to put a preamp between the dac and the amp. He said that using it with a CD player and so on would much improve the sound. Have you ever done this?
So Mr Pure Audio is suggesting adding more stuff into the signal path? If the DAC has volume control, you should not need a pre-amp unless you have multiple source devices like CD, DAC, Turntable, etc. that you want to switch between.
Alot of people say that but there really shouldn’t be a reason you NEED the preamp for sonic improvement unless it gets you into a particular connection you need like hdmi, sub out things like that, or off the top of my head maybe something like R2R volume control or more gain.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 How would we ever know unless we try it? I think Paul McGowen would be someone we shouldn't ignore, him being involved in high end audio.
@@calvinnapier9977 40 years in multiple areas of electronics including pro-audio and consumer installations ... And you think I haven't seen it, before? I count Paul as a friend. We've been in periodic contact over the past 10 years... but I'm also aware he's there to sell product as much as help others. His advice on things like speaker placement and room acoustics is usually spot on... but the rest is a mixed bag of salesmanship and subjective listening.
Twisting bad, effectively makes cable longer, you don't want longer signal paths. Twisting makes sense inside the amp. And talking about the voodoos of high end...every time a signal has to cross between different materials it might get distorted. Copper>gold>copper - the horror! /s
@@VicariousAdventurerOxid? Where? The speaker posts? Why would you use them? We either solder or crimp cables directly to the power amp outputs, inside the amp. Everything else means distortion. Same with the speaker's crossover.
He says at the beginning he's doing it for the looks. I myself like to looks of a quality cable that I make myself and the added benefit of reliability. I'm very easy on my equipment and cables and it seems like store bought cables always fail rather quickly. I have a RCA cable I made 16 years ago when I was 18 and it's used in my truck for my amplifier. It's been in several vehicles over the years and is currently in my garage set up.
Twisting is how you protect against induced noise. Citing increased length doesn’t weigh up in any measurable way. Increasingly emi rich environment means this is a practical measure to reduce noise floor. Is it always required? No. Choose your situation- yet clearly most of you aren’t specialists in radiated and conducted emissions (which I am).
@@michaelrobinson9643 jeez have you ever read a physics book, like any? what do you think your speaker cable is transmitting? and ur emi source is what, a particle accelerator? noise floor my ass.
This guy is doing exactly what the Junk Science Audio Review channel, or whatever its called does. He's building a youtube channel by telling people what they want to hear. "The cheap one is at least as good, if not better than the expensive one." Who doesn't want to hear that? This video has absolutely nothing to do with cables. Its about triggering your emotions so you side with him and watch his channel. If you don't see it, watch the video again. Every statement he makes is designed to trigger an emotional response.
@AR-wl9yq you do understand that this guy has zero idea if his opinion is going to align with the larger demographic of his subscribers right? It just so happens that YOU don’t like his opinion so YOU are having an ‘emotional response’ and making more out of this video than necessary. You can search Google and find a supportive argument for ANYTHING from either side of the coin, that’s life buddy, get used to it.
Ahhhh, the ole' "This is going to trigger some of you snowflakes!"......as it triggers this snowflake. LOL. Relax, homie. Make a coffee, put some music on using your 18 gauge lampcord wired speakers, build some maybe(?) better speaker wires, and reflect on your hypocrisy. Cheers!
Theres been a few high value prizes if one can prove objectively that speaker cables make a difference. I forget the one man's name that offered a million bucks if someone could discern between cables.. the prize was never claimed. Speaker cables for expensive are SNAKE OIL beyond capacitance and conductivity values. There is absolutely zero sound benefit between a Monster or other budget speaker cable and some extremely expensive cable, and anyone telling you this does NOT have a million dollar prize winning bit of evidence to offer. The twisted multi colored cables remind me of candy, great tutorial info and delivered with warm professional friendly presentation.
This was a great video, it gave me ideas on how to build better quality cables. Thanks!
Really glad to hear that!
@@GeirRssaak thanks capt obvious!
For 40+ years I've been using 12 gauge landscape lighting zip-cord style wire for all my audio work. It has both low resistance and capacitance and the price can't be beat. My original roll cost $0.08/foot, today it's under $0.50/foot.
Go buy a spool of 12 gauge enameled copper magnet wire. Cut 2 pieces to length and twist them together for each channel. Strip the enamel off the wire ends and stick them in the amp and speaker posts. You will be very surprised how good they sound if your system and ears are resolving. From my experiments magnet wire sounds better than any of these cheap options up to $1000/pr AQ speaker cables. And when I say "better" I mean more tonally accurate and excellent soundstage and imaging.
Wouldn't the twisting act as an inductor and roll off on the highs?
Speakers have huge inductance and capacitance. Even the tolerance on that will be less than any cable. There is no way that any reasonable cable, i.e. not designed specifically to be bad, will make any difference whatsoever.
Great cable ideas and some good tips. I've been using the Mogami 3104 for a while, but I had trouble finding bananas that fit the gauge when twisted so this is fantastic! They are great!!
Glad it was helpful! The 3104 is surprisingly flexible for the size.
I think you missed the opportunity to tap into wholesale stranded cooper cables, which is 100% available for everyone locally at 1/10 of the price of your recommended cables. Hell, you could even get some extra shielded special earth cables for the same price.
Maybe I'm a little sensitive to unwanted background noise! But it's taken me years of trial and error to get rid of all my noise (noise floor) or should I say cable interference noise. From my listening position, I don't pick up on any noise anymore. Just to make it clear. Nothing to do with grounding / distortion or any kind hiss or buzz. What I'm referring to is the sound of the room! In fact, I would imagine the vast majority of HT owners are probably not even aware of the faint background signal noise, and that's ok. And there are probably a few who are aware of it, and yet it doesn't bother them, and that's ok too. But for me, getting rid of the background signal noise has been a journey within itself. After all, it's not as if one can pinpoint where the noise is coming from. It's almost as if there's a faint electrical current sound buzzing around the room. (Poor description)
Even after I auditioned three separate mid-priced AVR's, the same unwanted noise was still present. It was only after I changed my cables for a third time. My noise floor came down to such a level, my sensitivities we're finally satisfied.
I'm running an arcam avr20 with a couple of matching high-performance 4 channel power amps (front stage/Atmos) which are driving my Sonus Faber speakers in a 5.2.4 configuration, which also includes a stereo pair of Rel subwoofers for my 4 × 3.5m (13 × 11.5ft) livingroom. I have to say it was only when I purchased quality shielded speaker & RCA cables. The room became exceptionally quiet!
My room is now so quiet their are occasions without opening my eyes, I'm actually unable to differentiate whether the system is switched off or if it's switched on. The room is really that quiet.
If one is looking to get rid of that so-called ambient sound of the room. IMO, shielded cables are the only way to go. And btw they don't necessarily have to be expensive. Bear in mind this is coming from someone who's changed his setup and cables multiple times.
It was annoying at times, but hey, isn't that part of the journey 😁
What's "hi-fi" speaker cable? I use 16 AWG copper wire ("zipcord").
Works for me. My runs are no more than 30ft.
If you have to make runs of 100ft, maybe something
better would be in order.
Personally, I would get shielded cable, for that.
To connect my computer sound outputs, to my
stereo, I used 40ft of GS6 shielded instrument
cable, which is 18AWG, just to avoid interference.
I saw a RUclips channel that talks about HIFI (he sells the amps, speaker and speaker cables).
He crowed that he got a great deal on $1,500 cables (used), they were 10' each.
That's $75 a foot.
They saw you coming!
Great looking cables! Nice to see the 3 different options!
Thanks! A lot of good options out there, I just happen to like these.
@@MattCoykendall1Not too hot on the end connectors. Was getting connectors with the circular housing that wraps around the female end, not an option?
great work. i can't believe what some companies charge for speaker Cables.. some even cost more than an Amp or CD player !!. ridiculous . thanks for sharing.
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Obviously you haven’t heard my system with cables costing 4 figures… and they weren’t more expensive than my amp or CD transport or my DAC!
@@robertj1701 WOOOOW. i'm so impressed !. Bravo.
This know-nothing audiohead has made and used, 12-14 gauge pure stranded copper wire since the vinyl bug bit some 50 years ago...SFSG. I'm still using them, the only thing I've done is make them shorter and replace the connectors, twice.
oh yes you can hear a twisted speaker cable hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I hate my banana plugs not matching. I also hate having different interconnects. I hate my basic bitch speaker wires. It all adds up to self-loathing. I must fix these egregious errors in connecting my equipment. To Amazon I go!!!!
HA, have fun with it!
budget build where one connector already costs as much as a whole premade cable? wtf?
Good work Matt , personally I feel cables do not contribute on quality , as you said we really don’t need 500$ or 2K$ cables , just a decent ones does the job.
its just aesthetics right? technically you wont hear a difference between this and just a 18 gauge RCA with good material unless you run them for 100feet or something
I wish you didn’t speed-up the sections where you’re attaching the plugs! 😭
put the heat shrink tube on incorrectly.
the cable won't make any sound.
wasted money.
I've used the Viborg banana plugs on some custom cables that I've made. I was thinking of making some Canare cables for myself and a friend. Your video has inspired me to go ahead. I really appreciate the links to all the materials. I was having a tough time deciding on the sleeving.
Glad to hear that, appreciate the watch too!
Show us how to make audiophile grade power cables for $4K per meter.
Hello Matt, I sent you an email asking you about building a cable, awaiting your reply
Great vid! So with the 3rd build, the Viborg bananas are lovely but quite chubby. Would you ever shrink the bodies to prevent the bodies from bumping?
I have thought about this actually, they are large and you have to mind what your plugging them into.
Love or hate them years ago my first experience with speaker cables was Monster cables. I had a cheap pair of Radio Shack cables and I replaced them with Monster cables that were on the economy side. When I turned the stereo back on all of sudden I noticed things in the music I wasn't hearing before 😮 much to my suprise. I became a believer and today I use Blue Jean speaker cables and World's Best Cables interconnects. Good quality without the crazy price.
I'm no fan of monster cables... but they did do one thing worthy of note... At roughly 14ga, they got us beyond the 20 and 22ga wire most stereos came with. Wire that thin has enough resistance to affect sound quality.
Blue Jeans and world’s best are great options as well, I have some of both.
@@MattCoykendall1
Monoprice also sells OFC wire in bulk at reasonable prices.
I have a spool on Monoprice as well for in-wall rated.
Nice guide. The only suggestion I'd make is to invest in automatic style wire stripper, they aren't that much more and so much easier to use.
I made some similar cables with bulk two conductor in wall 14 awg Belden and Preffair banana plugs which are similar to your mid-tier ones but slimmer and more minimal looking. I wrapped the cable with 1/4" Techflex which fits over the entire cable run and 1/8" red and black Techflex on the individual plus / minus conductors. Also heatshrink where the conductors exit the cable and red / black heatshrink over the banana plugs (cable pants look cheap to me). Looks and feels high-end but about the same price as you pay for pre-made cables on Amazon.
The automatic style don't work with the Knuconcepts. Too slippery.
You’re not wrong, there is a place for both wire stripper types depending on what you’re working with, plus I like tools.
Do you have any recs for building interconnects?
Paul Klipsch used to pass out BS awards at the hifi trade shows back in the early days. You left out two of my favorites, regular big box store SO electrical cable, or 12 AWG lamp cord. 10 AWG copper is designed to have 1.02 ohms per 1000 feet. or that is .0102 ohms at 10 feet and .0153 at 15 feet. That is not a lot of signal loss in the cable considering the speaker is about 400 times higher at 4 ohms resistance than the cable. I will concede the banana plugs are convenient and probably provide the easiest and lowest resistance connection.
There are copper jumper cables at Wal Mart that will work as well.
Thus the comment that Klipsch does not use premium components, even though I saw in one pic the biggest, baddest crossover, only open-core inductors and polymers caps. Oh, you mean they are not "audiophile" certified? Doubling the cost of the speaker?
Looks like I'll be making my own cables:)
I feel like it’s the way to go.
I’ve done this with my in-wall cables and bi-wired speakers. I’m under no delusion that it makes any difference but to look cool and I spend more time just listening to music.
Totally agree with you
You should be using thermal cutters
If you are using 100% oxygen free copper what is the diff between these “premium cables” and cheaper 100% OFC cables?
Likely not much performance wise as long as what is being advertised is accurate. Things like cables are the sprinkles on the cake, the cake still tastes good without but sometimes you just want them. The nice thing about the 2 premium builds where I knew exactly what I was getting using the Canare and Mogami cables.
What's the difference between a $20 ofc cable and a $5,000 ofc cable?
$4980
4s11g - фантастический кабель
😊Can you Show us how to Vantablack(World Darkest Black) coating on Aluminium foil sheet & wrip around your Cable can!.! 100% RF frequency blockage & 100% 0 interference😮 Video Have. Best of the Best in Sound😊
nice video. thanks. i use viborg puer copper banana plugs vb401 with mogami 3103. the result is great.
barewire then solder silver solder on it for harden solid connection. All connectors suck as it deducts 70% iacs conductivity out of brass or lower metals. tellurium connectors if you want iacs conductivity of 90%
Wow Matt, you are quite the craftsman! I never worry too much about speaker cables, I just buy 14 gauge wire and put some two screw banana plugs on and I'm good. The late great Roger Russell of McIntosh recommended 18 gauge wire up to 20 feet. He said the extra resistance helped with the amplifier's damping factor. He always talked about the wailing, the rending of garments and the gnashing of teeth over a device made to short circuit the output of your amp to the input of your speakers. LOL
I am sure that 14 gauge works just fine too, I do enjoy a good DIY though!
@@GeirRssaak Greetings! My Great Grand Parents and my Wife's Great Grand Parents came from Norway!
Great video. I've never been a cable guy, but I did invest in some lovely SKW cables from China. Mainly because they look beautiful, but also because they come with three different high quality, screw in termination types. Spades, and two different banana types.
Also, they are very reasonably priced.
Building your own looks like fun. I do love playing with shrink tubing.
I am right there with you, nothing wrong with getting cables because you like the look. Do a build sometime, lots of ways to customize.
Yes. I've seen those SKW's on AliExpress and Amazon. How do they sound?
I have a couple pairs of XLR's from China. No name brand. Good build. How do they sound? Good. Can't really hear a difference between those and Kimber PBJ or MIT's.
@@jayem1826 They sound fine. Ivwas using Chord company interconnects before and they are certainlyvas good, but look a lot better and are better constructed. I actually bought them for a second system abd moved thrm to my main system. I dont believe cables make a big difference once they meet a basoc construction standard, but these are very satisfying to own and look at, and the triple connectors are a genius idea.
@@GeirRssaakwhat are you talking about?? He said he likes the way his cables LOOK, there’s nothing placebo about that. SMH
@@GeirRssaak Absolutely no placebo effect here. Now, let me just have a slug of homeopathic flower remedy before I go online and buy some audiophile quality fuses...
Matt, thanks a ton for this video. It helped me save time. I went with the mid tier option with the 3/8" Canare 4S11G to pair with Mission 750 bookshelf speakers, which is overkill, but looks great and will take me forward into my HiFi journey when I upgrade. Happy listening!
Good work, yes cables can get way over priced.
Absolutely!
I like to use a wood burner with an exacto knife blade attachment to cut insulation. Melts right through with no damage to the wire.
Nicely Done.
Any chance you've made more videos
for RCA cables or others ?
Thanks
Hoping to use this tutorial to build some custom bi-wire cable. For the Canare 4S11, can you twist the whites and reds into one wire to connect to an amp?
Nice Work!
Nice video and great job linking the materials.🙏
Appreciate the support!
You need to buy some of the magic copper they use in those expensive cables.
I have built miles of speaker cable for professional use and I take real care in doing so. The only connectors I’ve ever used are multi-pin Neutrik and I am partial to soldering them if possible. As to EMI, a cable with a source impedance of .01 ohm isn’t going to even notice if you run it across the top of a utility transformer down the street. I keep the ends clean as much as is practicable even using a dummy connector. Proper connectors wipe their own contacts on insertion.
This is the way, neutrik connectors and soft cables are so nice to work with.
How do people even consider building cable with those stupid ass stiff garden hoses.
@@VEC7ORlt If NL connectors cost $800 apiece, they would be much more popular with audiophiles.
I bought Monoprice 16 AWG oxygen free cables at $100 per 300'.
Bought the Mediabridge connectors, all went well, and the 16 gauge wire is plenty thick enough for the job.
I have had thicker and more expensive wire in the past, I could not hear any difference.
My system is a Marantz NR 1605 7.1 surround, Klipsh Cornwall II (1976) front left and right.
Definitive Technology center and left and right mid-speakers with a pair of Polk rear speakers.
Auvio 12awg not audio “Auvio” branded wire is amazing stuff when you can find it. Also I’d suggest using marine grade shrink on all your connectors, also remove the screws and soldered the wire to the actual banana plug.
Great and informative video, thank you for your work. Is there a difference in sound whether the cable strands are made of oxygen-free copper strands or whether the individual cable strands are made of oxygen-free solid core copper?
My only added key point is, after tightening down any of these connectors, light pull and wiggle on wire, wait up to a day for the copper to relax then re-tighten screws. I know, sounds cooky AF but test it yourself b4 coming back at me.
(Actual electricians and electrical installers worth their salt will probably confirm this, this was protocol at the factory I worked at previously, we only worked with calibrated screwdrivers)
DIY cable mania was in mid of 00's so refer to designes and results from that time. Nothing new nor better will be shown in community these days..
I bought some AudioQuest Wel Signature knockoffs for what it would cost to make a good set and I love them. I got a cable identical in design and geometry but using copper instead of silver and I did not need to pay snake oils prices of $10k.
The splitter tube bought using the description link doesn't fit the Mogami cable (
I don’t know much about cables, but can I use the recommended 12 gauge cable for an electric skateboard build and audio?
Don't you need to use ferrules for bananas with screw wire clamping?
I am having a hard time finding the two higher end wires in different colors. Could you provide a link? Thanks
Try next time the Telefoncable J-Y(st)Y 6X2X0,8 mm, IT is Solidcore, makes much better Sound.
Ummm ... are you sure you got the part number right... That is telephone cable, 6 x 20ga twisted pairs ...
I would have to check it out I’m not familiar with the product.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 yes. ITS a Telephone cable. I Put 12 cores together in + and 12 cores in - and banana plugs on each end. The Sound ist much more Open, more Details, more Air in my unison max 1. Try IT , These cables are Not expensive. There are many different types of this cable, with 6 , 8,10 cores, in different diameters, but Always Solidcore 🤝👍
@@klunatsch
Don't need to ... cables, no matter what kind are not tone controls and they cannot improve a signal... but, the bad ones can easily sabotage a listening experience.
From your description, it is more likely that you are dealing with "Mid-Field Cancellation" a listening phenomenon where moving your listening position or your speakers even half an inch can make a real difference in what you hear.
See my top post above ....
❤ very useful. Thanks Mr Matt!!!
Hey Tony, glad it was helpful!
Excellent, clear and concise tutorial, thank you!
To complement the clip, and having built my own cables, here's an "expose" regarding the plugs *(sorry for the length, I've pasted from my own notes)* : the materials that are used, their impact on electrical transmission, and in the end on overall sound signal - on the hearing (having a background in engineering, it's a little research that I've done before "crafting" my cables). I'll begin with Rhodium (the most resistant and durable), then Gold (the safest choice), and finally silver (the best for my personal context given my amp+speakers).
Copper connectors must be protected from oxidation via some plating. Since they're end point/junction transmitters (between the amp and the cable, then between the cable and the speakers), different platings can have a slight impact on the sound signal. Consequently, the choice could also depend on the combination of speakers, the amp, and the type of sound one is looking for (sometimes to compensate or add clarity to frequency levels between an amp and a speaker). But for a casual listener who doesn't have a trained "audiophile" ear, they shouldn't render much difference. In which case the clip's 1st and most affordable solution, or the second one (for less interferences if there are numerous sources of such - as mentioned in the clip), along "all-around" gold plated copper plugs, would be safe options.
Keeping in mind that what follows is barely distinguishable for an untrained/casual ear (if at all), here are some details...
*Rhodium plated is good in a harsh environment, e.g. for outside speakers, cables you'd carry around for parties or whatnot.* It's more durable and resistant to tarnish, wear, and tear, also being the best option against oxidation. However, it has a relatively much lower conductivity: half as good as gold, lesser when compared to copper, and one third as good as silver:
- Silver: 62.1 x 10^6 S/m (siemens per meter)
- Copper: 58.7 x 10^6 S/m
- Gold: 44.2 x 10^6 S/m
- Rhodium: 23 x 10^6 S/m
- Brass: 15.9 x 10^6 S/m
Much of the signal will be transported by the copper core/plug body and then through the rhodium interstice. Hence, pure OCC or OFC copper plugs plated with rhodium are better than rhodium plated brass plugs. More over, Rhodium's electrical resistivity is _relatively_ much higher than gold or silver plating, although this shouldn't have much impact on the audio signal (a very residual effect) since we're talking about an interstice rather than a core transporter (the third solution with a thicker cable would compensate for the resulting resistance anyways):
- Silver: 1.59 x 10^-8 Ω/m (ohms per meter)
- Copper: 1.72 x 10-8 Ω/m
- Gold: 2.2 x 10^-8 Ω/m
- Rhodium: 4.3 x 10^-8 Ω/m
In short, and although its higher price could give an opposite perception (it only reflects its rarity), *Rhodium is not an ideal plating for electrical connectors and terminals, unless used in a harsh environment.* Hence, if such cables were meant to stay home (without much handling), I'd always favor gold or silver plated copper.
*Gold plated brass/copper, sounds a bit fuller and smoother with slightly more emphasis in the mid-range and bass.* With gold plated brass, the music is a bit more recessed (only by way of comparison) and there is a little less musical separation, for an "easier listening". Gold having a relatively much higher electrical conductivity than brass, it will have such impact on the main signal. On the other hand, Gold has less conductivity than copper (but higher than Rhodium): most of the signal goes through the copper body and only traverse the Gold interstice of the connection toward the rest of the line. Gold plating is the second best protection against oxidation after Rhodium.
*Silver plated copper sounds somewhat brighter and more detailed with better musical separation with slightly more emphasis on the upper frequencies.* The soundstage moves a little forward. A bit more "exciting listening" and (fortunately) not too bright with the particular setup I'm using them on. Silver does not readily oxidize but it reacts with sulfur containing compounds in the atmosphere, to form silver sulfide (Ag2S). This is the primary tarnish observed on silver. However, silver sulfide is a semiconductor with a similar band gap as the oxides of copper which are also semiconductors: it can actually protect the connector even more, and can add chatoyance to the sound - although barely noticeable.
*Final note:* the above impact on the audio signal, are much more audible when talking about the cable itself, its core and shielding material. For instance, instead of twisting two 14 AWG resulting in 10 to 12 AWG end cables, one could use a silver or copper breaded shielding over the two 12 AWG end cables, in order to reduce interferences (in my case, silver for an aesthetic reason).
Dude!!! I want you to build me some cables for my new speakers! 👍
What are ur thoughts on OCC copper? Thx.
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
can you do something similar but for RCA cables?
Yes, I actually have the parts here.
@@MattCoykendall1 hello Matt expect an email from me soon
I always wanted to know why do they sell killos of PVC, if all I need is copper?
"All 3 work just fine" but can you hear a difference?
Between speaker cables? Naaaaa....
If you can not hear a difference ..don't bother .......
Good work Matt. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! No problem
will this work with my car amp? sorry for the noob question 😂
Excellent video.
I plan to buy Canare 4s11G and two folks who i’ve asked said the G is “better” than regular. Do you agree? If so, is it b/c the Cu is oxygen free? If so, what sound qualities does G provide over regular 4s11? And my question does presume an audio system which is more than resolving enough to pass thru any sonic differences in the wires.
Thank you
Theoretically it should be better because OFC is always cleaner copper than regular. As for sonic qualities they might be about the same. I still have not seen such comparison between 4S11 and 4S11G.
You'd try the MOGAMI W3082 cable. In my opinion it's better than the Canare 4s11G and the Mogami W3104. I have all of them.
Price is decent on it as well.
I’ve done this myself, problem I’m having is that the banana plugs I've purchased off of amazon keep coming apart and getting stuck inside my speakers :-(. I’m going to try the Viborg plugs, they look like they won’t come apart.
I like the Viborg plugs, cost a little more but the quality is high.
Can u actually hear the difference? Same question with diy audio interconnects?
You shouldn’t unless it’s a very poor cable, speaker changes first if you want to make the biggest impact. I feel all three of these sound the same honestly but I still enjoy a nice cable like this, and at the very least you know you’re not missing out on anything.
Hi Matt, Enjoying your reviews but also like to know what Power cable and IEC US plug you recommend? Thanks a bunch... Bijan
The one that comes with the amp is just fine unless you plan on replacing all the romex to your breaker box, the copper service drop to the local transformer, and then the aluminum high voltage transmission lines to the power substation and then generation station.
Thanks for showing us how to make "less expensive" speaker cables. I didn't exactly realize it could be done this way.
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
How about using some old copper jumper cables ?
That could easily turn into the kind of overkill that kills. Assuming you mean car jumpers, they would be heavy and stiff enough to actually break the connectors, killing themselves in the bargain.
Jumper cables are almost always copper plated aluminum, may not be a good choice.
@@raymondbunkofske4702
I've never understood the need for these horse dong sized cables to begin with.
At 16ga you can handle up to about 800watts with no problems, the resistance is going to be less than 0.1 ohms for most reasonable lengths... beyond that you're just wasting the extra copper.
Now I get the idea of using a sleeve or wrapping for decorative reasons, but there really is no reason for welder cable sized wire.
@@raymondbunkofske4702 that’s why I said old. Before we started to use cheap copper plated junk. Just like the expensive cables the final lead can be thinner and more flexible.
Великолепно, отличная работа!
Благодарю за подсказку))
I think for the premium cable, it would have been more "audiophile" to have it bi-wired!
Haha true!
I make my cables... Upcoming pair... I wanted those Viborg deluxe bananas you showed... I got sent an LP weight... Urgh!
Are you serious. Was it the one with the level on top haha. I hope they sorted it, funny story I recall hearing about the amazon warehouse sending multiple people the SVS PB16 Ultra when they ordered a simple 5.1 setup, too bad you didn't run into something like that instead.
@@MattCoykendall1 - oh my. e-gads!
I will buy some cables from you
And to think some morons spend thousands on cables 😂😂😂😂, great work buddy.
Some even buy a BMW............
Just the sort of advice audiophiles neeed, but rarely get. Make your own, as long as you need, but no longer.
Not to sure if interference is a real issue with speaker cables, though. But a 'star quad' does lower inductance (at the cost of higher capacitance). which might give ever so slightly less HF attenuation. Though I would recommend anyone young enough to hear the difference to get an adult to help with the heat gun....
I also prefer solder joints for longevity and reliability. Deltron make some really nice bananas, and practically give them away. I chose Klotz LY225 for my project, 2.5 mm2 twisted pair in a round sleeve. Looks good in an understated way.
I am playing around a bit with soldering these as well.
@@MattCoykendall1
Take a look at your video ... see the moments when you were twisting wires together? That's when you solder. Tin the stripped ends before you put them in the plugs.
If you get out of the audiophile stuff you will also find instrumentation plugs the same size that are designed for solder connections.
Or you can just get some nice looking cables from china for not a lot of money. You'll not have the fun of making them yourself of course. I do believe cables matter, but they are complementary. You should carefully pick them according to your set ups needs (or not when you don't really care but do want them to look nice).
Lots of options out there but I do really like to make my own, I always like a good project.
Matt got it right when he said to stay away from snake oil. There's a lot of misinformation about audio and it's getting worse all the time.
The biggest lie of all: "These cables will make your system sound so much better"...
No they won't, unless there's something wrong with the cables you are currently using. No cable can improve a signal... only degrade it.
I did basically the same as the first one. The part that was the problem is the Knuconcepts pants don't fit the wires they say will fit.
Noted, I have not used their cable pants. The cable is nice though!
@MattCoykendall1 it's great cable. I loved the blue so much I didn’t cover it.
😵💫😳The Year End silliness has begun. I sent a link to this vid to a friend/client of mine and he sent me back a picture of his "Christmas Cables" ... He's got RGB lighting on all his cables flashing in time to Christmas Carols .... *ROFL*
Ha sounds like he is enjoying his system!
@@MattCoykendall1
I'm going to have to go over and mooch a glass of eggnog and see this in action... It sounds like some crazy fun... but ... _WHY_ ⁉
@@MattCoykendall1
As a follow up ... He's spent the time to take the led vu meters to extremes. As the music plays the leds display increasing brightness and change colour in tempo with the signals in the cables. Looks pretty cool ... but still strikes me as being rather silly.
Very cool
I‘ve build a few cables until now…my favorit builds are 1. a Reckhorn L3 cable with Tertullus bfa plugs and 2. Sommer Elephant 425 cable with Audioquest sure grip 100 plugs and spades. Both look and sound great and i’m enjoying the build process…
The build is what it’s all about sometimes!
@@MattCoykendall1 mostly the sound to 😜
@@GeirRssaak what is overpriced on sub 100 bugs for two 10ft cables, incl. sleeve and connectors?
Hi, congratulations on the video I have two Canare 4S11G cables in my system, one powers the bass and one for the mid-highs, I only have a stereo power amp
Is it worth changing to mogami w3104?
I've read that it improves the soundstage It is best to always use two cables per channel, I have a 300w Krell power amp and B&W801 series 3 speakers A thousand thanks
Save your money ... they're going to sound the same.
The Canare 4x14 gives you a running resistance of 2.5 ohms per 1000 feet.
The Mogami 4x12 gives you a running resistance of 1.6 ohms per 1000 feet.
For a 10 foot cable that's 0.05 ohms versus 0.03 ohms ... (effectively that's zero)
If you are bi-wiring from a stereo source with the crossover straps in place on your speakers you've cut that resistance in half. If you've removed the crossover straps you've doubled it.
Either way it's less than a -hundredth- tenth of an ohm resistance ... those cables are more than heavy enough to do the job.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 thanks for such a technical answer,
So you're saying that the cables will sound the same tonally?
@@marcocastronuovo1480
Yes.
Unless you do something else at the same time (like moving your speakers) you should not hear any difference at all.
Think about it... what is there, in those wires, that could change the tonality of your system? They are very low resistance leads, no intervening parts, no extra connections... what goes in one end is what is going to come out the other.
The 4s11g is a fantastic cable, only change to the 3104 if it’s something you really want or you just like to tinker or build cables but in my experience I wouldn’t expect audible changes to the actual sound at this point.
Shot in 2160. Wow
Hey Jay!
🙂😊😊
Capacitance aaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh.
Fuggedaboudit ... trivia escalated to scandal.
Matt I know this is completely off the subject so forgive me. I just seen Paul McGowen from PS Audio talking about with digital devices to put a preamp between the dac and the amp. He said that using it with a CD player and so on would much improve the sound. Have you ever done this?
So Mr Pure Audio is suggesting adding more stuff into the signal path?
If the DAC has volume control, you should not need a pre-amp unless you have multiple source devices like CD, DAC, Turntable, etc. that you want to switch between.
Alot of people say that but there really shouldn’t be a reason you NEED the preamp for sonic improvement unless it gets you into a particular connection you need like hdmi, sub out things like that, or off the top of my head maybe something like R2R volume control or more gain.
@@MattCoykendall1 One I guess would never know till they try it. I thought it might be a good discussion for your channel.
@@Douglas_Blake_579 How would we ever know unless we try it? I think Paul McGowen would be someone we shouldn't ignore, him being involved in high end audio.
@@calvinnapier9977
40 years in multiple areas of electronics including pro-audio and consumer installations ... And you think I haven't seen it, before?
I count Paul as a friend. We've been in periodic contact over the past 10 years... but I'm also aware he's there to sell product as much as help others. His advice on things like speaker placement and room acoustics is usually spot on... but the rest is a mixed bag of salesmanship and subjective listening.
Just like he did, wear nitrile gloves. Avoid touching the stripped wires with bare fingers. You want your connection to be "fat" free. 😜😜
You can use lamp wire and as long as its under 6ft, it will sound no different than a pair of Nordost $1500 cables.
I've used 16ga real copper lamp cord for runs of 25 feet with no problems.
Hi
Hi
Very nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
Twisting bad, effectively makes cable longer, you don't want longer signal paths. Twisting makes sense inside the amp. And talking about the voodoos of high end...every time a signal has to cross between different materials it might get distorted. Copper>gold>copper - the horror! /s
Better than oxide layers, since gold does not oxidize
@@VicariousAdventurerOxid? Where? The speaker posts? Why would you use them? We either solder or crimp cables directly to the power amp outputs, inside the amp. Everything else means distortion. Same with the speaker's crossover.
He says at the beginning he's doing it for the looks. I myself like to looks of a quality cable that I make myself and the added benefit of reliability. I'm very easy on my equipment and cables and it seems like store bought cables always fail rather quickly. I have a RCA cable I made 16 years ago when I was 18 and it's used in my truck for my amplifier. It's been in several vehicles over the years and is currently in my garage set up.
Twisting is how you protect against induced noise. Citing increased length doesn’t weigh up in any measurable way.
Increasingly emi rich environment means this is a practical measure to reduce noise floor.
Is it always required? No. Choose your situation- yet clearly most of you aren’t specialists in radiated and conducted emissions (which I am).
@@michaelrobinson9643 jeez have you ever read a physics book, like any? what do you think your speaker cable is transmitting? and ur emi source is what, a particle accelerator? noise floor my ass.
Re: "...nothing wrong with that." Not really. It is like putting twenty $100 bills on fire...
😅😅 Buy Summer cable elefant. 4 x 2.5mm2 for 4€/$ per Meter. Ready steady.Go!!!👍👍🇩🇪
This guy is doing exactly what the Junk Science Audio Review channel, or whatever its called does. He's building a youtube channel by telling people what they want to hear. "The cheap one is at least as good, if not better than the expensive one." Who doesn't want to hear that? This video has absolutely nothing to do with cables. Its about triggering your emotions so you side with him and watch his channel. If you don't see it, watch the video again. Every statement he makes is designed to trigger an emotional response.
You certainly had an emotional response 😂
I don’t see your speaker cable videos.
@AR-wl9yq you do understand that this guy has zero idea if his opinion is going to align with the larger demographic of his subscribers right? It just so happens that YOU don’t like his opinion so YOU are having an ‘emotional response’ and making more out of this video than necessary. You can search Google and find a supportive argument for ANYTHING from either side of the coin, that’s life buddy, get used to it.
Ahhhh, the ole' "This is going to trigger some of you snowflakes!"......as it triggers this snowflake. LOL.
Relax, homie. Make a coffee, put some music on using your 18 gauge lampcord wired speakers, build some maybe(?) better speaker wires, and reflect on your hypocrisy. Cheers!
Theres been a few high value prizes if one can prove objectively that speaker cables make a difference. I forget the one man's name that offered a million bucks if someone could discern between cables.. the prize was never claimed. Speaker cables for expensive are SNAKE OIL beyond capacitance and conductivity values. There is absolutely zero sound benefit between a Monster or other budget speaker cable and some extremely expensive cable, and anyone telling you this does NOT have a million dollar prize winning bit of evidence to offer.
The twisted multi colored cables remind me of candy, great tutorial info and delivered with warm professional friendly presentation.