Speakers and Speaker Cables

[JackD201]

Hi I'm JackD201 non-recovering audioholic. I've been on the music sauce since I was a baby and into stereos since I bought my first mini-compo at 16 as of today I'm 38 going on 25. I've turned into a monster of sorts. I like full range sound and devour LPs, CDs and AAC Downloads mainly Classical, Jazz, Electronica with some Pop and R&B like a crazed Barracuda. I like my systems to sound neutral with some sweetness up top but with some heat for that kick in the pants when called for. I've been a Moderator here at WS for almost 4 years now and I'll be moderating this corner for now.


So first up is Speakers and Speaker Cables here are a few of what I've found work well together. We all know cables don't ADD anything so they must be subtracting something. In any case they do impact the sound in easily identifiable ways.

Dynaudio Countour 1.1 with Van Den Hul cables and MIT Terminator cables

Dyn Contour 1.1s, like their brothers are clean and punchy but also power hungry. While this normally (but in no way necessarily excludes mid power tube amps), muscular solid state amps have always been their traditional partners. What to do in search of some bloom? VdH has always helped flesh out dyns the Wind series was a champ. Dyns also soundstage on the small side compared to my references anyway so what to do when in need of some size? MITs always fit the bill here.

More to follow I gotta go to work!

[cia]

Rogers LS3/5A (15 ohms) with OTA speaker cables.

[link]

Dyn Contour 1.8MKII + VDH The Revolution speaker cables.

[Patman]

Dunlavy SC-III with the Nu-Vista OFC Reference cables.

It brought out the lower bass of this speakers. I tried Audioquest, Transparent, and Kimber Kable but really liked the nu-vista combo with the speaker.

Note - This combo is only good with either a good solid state amp or a strong (100 watt and above) tube amp. So so sounding with amps lower than what was mentioned.

[rtsyrtsy]

Sonus Faber & Living Voice speakers with Kondo cables.

[daj523]

Maggie 1.6QR and Purist Audio Design Musaeus (bi-wire version).

I've tried XLO Ultras and Kimber Kable 8TC. Both gave good details but sounded a bit lean in the mids. Blacker backgrounds and a lower noise floor are a given with PAD cables but what really impressed me was the full bodied weight and palpability rendered not just in the mids but at the frequency extremes as well. Leading transients from cymbals for example took on a more 3-dimensional feel while the lows had greater definition and speed.

[jadis]

I'd say my Maggies and Symo LS5 SX speaker cable. A friend told me years ago that he got a Symo from a Taipei dealer who claims it works well with ribbon speakers. The fact that Apogee imported Symo from Switzerland to mate with their Apogee speakers is the proof of the pudding. I have liked that combination of Symo and my quasi-ribbon Maggies in that this combo is not prone to the 'hot plate sizzling phenomenon', specifically in the high frequencies.

[zenaudio]

Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mk II and VdH Revelation cables.

Listen to most genres of music, though preference is jazz, acoustic pop, female vocals but with the occasional hard rock and classical.

Listening room is around 4x5 m, relatively high ceiling, wooden floor.

I have tried OTA cables and they also work with the Contours, though a little bit too fragile for speaker cables.

Previously found VdH CS 122 worked well with Audience 50.

[quarterback]

Living Voice Auditorium and OTA Cables

[AUDIO8]

JMlab Electra 1037 and virtual dynamics master series.

[yucca]

Mirrage M-290is and Quantum Extreme Series (16 wires braided - rope like)

I've tried so many combo using single run or bi-wire, the Quantum ES was the only one that was able to give me the juice from top to bottom I was looking for. Though a DIY cable, it packs a monster appearance.

The Mirrage is mated with a Velodyne Sub, with a 5m run of this cable (3m - amp to sub / 2m - sub to monitor) I don't have to worry about genre's to play. I listen mostly to Jazz, New Age, World, Electronica, Rock, Pop/RnB and a little classical. Not worried what software to play but volume level to listen to I easily get carried away.

[JoeyGS]

1. VSA VR1 plus Paul Speltz anti cable

2. Wharfedale 9.5 with DIY JBL ARC supertweeter plus
- Paul Speltz anti cable - speaker cables and jumbers
OR
- DIY KLotz (biwire) - (a) 6 wire strands per polarity for LF
(b) 1 wire strand per polarity for HF
OR
- ProCo 12ga professional audio cable (made in USA)

[vintage_dog]

1. VSA VR1 plus Paul Speltz anti cable

same anti cables to a Rogers LS3/5A-AB1... i was frankly, pleasantly suprised

[leo]

Lab47 OTA and VR1. SWEEETTT!

I will try to borrow Au24 speaker cables, let see or rather listen...

[Hyperion]

Wilson + Transparent or MIT
JM Labs + Transparent or MIT

Focal tweeter + networked cable works ... don't even think about using speakers with Focal tioxid or beryllium tweeters with silver anything!

Dynaudio + OCOS
Dynaudio + 47 Labs OTA
Dynaudio + Audience

Dyns seem to like thin/minimalist cables ...

Sonus faber + Kondo
Living Voice + Kondo

Soft dome tweeters + Kondo is the ne "plush" ultra combo.

[cia]

Dynaudio and Paul Speltz Anti Cable

[JackD201]

VSA R series (1 to 4jr) love

Analysis Plus Oval 9s
Acoustic Zen
Audience Au24
Townshend Maxwires and Isolda DCTs
Purist Audio Design Museas

VSA SE Series speakers love

Analysis Plus Solo Crystal 8
Purist Audio Design Venustus and up
Kubala-Sosna Fascination and Emotion
Verbatim Signatures

LSAs love

Townshend Maxwires
Audience Au24s

Ambience Planars so far have best matched with

Townshend Isolda
AP Solo Crystal 8 Biwire

[crisdlr]

Cardas Golden Reference, Presence, Neutral. golden Cross and Cross are cables I used. For my VSA and LSA speakers, I'm using Cardas Presence and Golden reference.

[JackD201]

Cardas Golden Reference, Presence, Neutral. golden Cross and Cross are cables I used. For my VSA and LSA speakers, I'm using Cardas Presence and Golden reference.

Great Cables. A dealer's nightmare. Move them a bit and you have to practically burn them in all over again. But if you leave them be......mwah....lipsmackingly good.

Get well soon Sluggo!

[accastil]

sonus faber with 47labs
paradigm with ecosse
monitor audio with ecosse
monitor audio with MIT
vienna acoustics with xindak