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Bootique speaker cables?

#101
Mostly snake oil, BUT…

I always try to go with the fattest gauge wire over the shortest distance, when possible. A 3’ long 12 gauge cable might not sound much different than a 10’ long 16 gauge, but when you run enough wattage through one, well, better safe than sorry.

As speakons are better than 1/4”. Have had 1/4” speaker cable plug heat up hot to the touch after a few hours of gigging.
 
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#104
MasterG said:
You should get a supply of those 9V batteries Eric Johnson uses in his pedals to demonstrate for your picky customers.
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Or these...

upload_2022-8-14_21-40-31.png
 
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#106
Dilatant said:
Am looking to add some boutique speaker cables to my studio that are primarily oriented to bass rigs. simply for the purpose of experimentation. so, clients can shoot them out for themselves.
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I don’t think anything like this actually exists. A gap in the market perhaps? An opportunity for someone who has a ready made client base?
I’ve literally never had someone ask me about my speaker cables before. However, a friend from a local hi fi shop insisted on giving me some Monster cable to use once. I soldered on some cheap 1/4” plugs and away I went!
In other speaker cable news, I once backed a Tom Jones impersonator who made his own super-long mic cable using unshielded speaker cable “because it was thicker”. The sound engineer running the $$ line array rig at the theatre was pretty unimpressed with that from memory. Good times.
Incidentally, my speaker cables knocked up for me by someone in an AV shop years ago. The best feature? They’re white, so easily identifiable.
 
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#107
DJ Bebop said:
But is it oxygen free?

The high-end speaker wire industry markets oxygen-free copper as having enhanced conductivity or other electrical properties that are supposedly advantageous to audio signal transmission. In fact, conductivity specifications for common C11000 (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 oxygen-free (OF) coppers are identical;[12] and even the much more expensive C10100 has only a one-percent higher conductivity—insignificant in audio applications.[12]

OFC is nevertheless sold for both audio and video signals in audio playback systems and home cinema.[12]

Oxygen-free copper - Wikipedia

:)
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I always wondered how you keep the Oxygen out of the Oxygen free cable.
 
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#108
I can appreciate the methodology of the OP's business motives. It's not as if he's TELLING them it will make a difference, they're requesting it and it's simply being provided to them.

That having been said, I'll withdraw my original suggestion to try those little bags of rocks you affix to 1/4" jacks with a rubber band. Hand-bagged by the hippie lady at my local mall who also sells mood rings.
 
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#110
KevInDaBassment said:
I can appreciate the methodology of the OP's business motives. It's not as if he's TELLING them it will make a difference, they're requesting it and it's simply being provided to them.

That having been said, I'll withdraw my original suggestion to try those little bags of rocks you affix to 1/4" jacks with a rubber band. Hand-bagged by the hippie lady at my local mall who also sells mood rings.
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Don't forget your cable lifters though...
lift7a.jpg
img_2022.jpg


:)
 
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#113
DJ Bebop said:
It was fifty feet long when I started though.
:)
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:laugh: man, you're killin' me in this thread! :laugh: :roflmao:


Dilatant said:
Any recommendations are appreciated.
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if i wanted to supply those things that my studio clients found engaging enough to clock some time/money = i'd ask them!

FWIW: that's exactly what i/we/staff did when i owned and operated a free-standing studio for 20 years. edit: however, those discussions had nothing to do with cable qualities.

per the discussion: IME/IMO if you're handy enough, you can build your own "bootique level" speaker cable for ~$30 USD or less. if you're not handy, but you have the means: you should pay for the best speaker cable you can imagine! either way = use it in your recording sessions to increase efficiency and reduce waste!
 
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#115
Dilatant said:
THIS is the exact reason I enjoy hanging out with audiophiles! They have the most insane ideas that generate hours long discussions, I LOVE IT...... Buckets of snake oil !!!! :roflmao:
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Cheers to you for maintaining a straight face when your clients request that stuff. ;)

The ONLY way to know whether a boutique cable (or lifter!) improves sound is to do blind testing -- double-blind, actually. But IME, audiophools won't submit to that because they believe they have golden ears and impeccable objectivity.


P.S. This is a classic:

 
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#116
I used to work in pro commercial audio video and the owner and I would often laugh at the outrageous claims made by boutique audio accessory makers of all types (cables, control knobs, lacquer for control knobs, etc.) and the insane prices they charged. Syn Aud Con is a great resource for facts and myth busting. I personally use whatever's available, even the cheap molded cables included with some basses. They usually (but not always) stay at home because I typically need/want longer, more flexible cable. My personal favorite silliness is the perennial "oxygen-free copper wire". It's all oxygen-free, unless maybe someone's making it in their garage!:laugh:
 
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#118
I’ve never thought a speaker cable could change my tone ??
I try to buy a “name brand” but not just the most expensive. If there is a noticeable sound difference, like having the “best” tubes…. I’m sure I can’t hear it on stage and the audience can’t as well. ??? Studio use…. I can see having a small selection if others are paying for it. If the player is so concerned would they bring their preference like any other piece of equipment ??
 
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#119
Bar Band Bassman said:
I used to work in pro commercial audio video and the owner and I would often laugh at the outrageous claims made by boutique audio accessory makers of all types (cables, control knobs, lacquer for control knobs, etc.) and the insane prices they charged. Syn Aud Con is a great resource for facts and myth busting. I personally use whatever's available, even the cheap molded cables included with some basses. They usually (but not always) stay at home because I typically need/want longer, more flexible cable. My personal favorite silliness is the perennial "oxygen-free copper wire". It's all oxygen-free, unless maybe someone's making it in their garage!:laugh:
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There is a difference between oxygen free cable and regular cable, but it not something that I could ever hear a benefit from.
Especially with a guitar cord or a speaker cable going from a head to a speaker cab.
There might be some possible slight hearable benefit from some of the moderately fancy cables for your fancy audiophile stereo system but I have never bothered to own a stereo system that was more than pretty good.
Same goes for super duper fine stranding and using a wire gauge size that is massively over what is adequate, I can't hear a benefit.
There have been improvements in some of the speaker connectors over the years, but mic connectors and 1/4" plugs/jacks are the same old, same old and they have sounded fine for many, many years provided that you terminate them properly and you don't use real small gauges that are not appropriate for the task.
 

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