Question about speaker cables

[Lenny]

Wondering if Bob or Bill have an opinion regarding "audiophile" power leads? I'm intrigued by that.

 

[seamonkey]

I like to use the type of extension cords that stay flexible in cold weather. I tend to leave the case of cables in the car, and it sure is nice having flexible cables.

Just chop them up for speakers.

The blue color ones sound the best.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Wondering if Bob or Bill have an opinion regarding "audiophile" power leads? I'm intrigued by that.

They're just as effective as anything you'll find at this site:
http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina31.htm

Then read this:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06/#feature

And watch this:

 

[Bass_Pounder]

I like to use the type of extension cords that stay flexible in cold weather. I tend to leave the case of cables in the car, and it sure is nice having flexible cables.

Just chop them up for speakers.

The blue color ones sound the best.

What color is best for metal

 

[BrBss]

...
And watch this:

I especially love the bit about the tube vs SS amp test. This should be stickied.

 

[Lenny]

Oh my..............ha ha ha ha. Thanks for the info Bill.

 

[Munjibunga]

I've got a bunch of Mogami mic cable I bought at Markertek for $0.51 a foot. I think the Mogami instrument cable cost me $0.65 a foot on sale at GC. I use only Neutrik plugs, which run about $4 apiece. So a 15-foot instrument cable of the highest quality components costs me about $18, and that's buying the components at retail. Mogami builds this cable for less than $8 and sells it for $25 to $55, depending on connectors.

 

[Balog]

Every time I read anything an "audiophile" posts, I want to buy a few thousand feet of cheap cable and hire a slick marketing guy to lie about how great it is. I could retire young...

 

[terreseco]

Well I've learn't something. Just buy a cable that's been made well. Dont go for all that other over priced crap.

 

[Korladis]

As long as you're buying decent cables (or making your own out of good cabling), you should be fine. Shouldn't be that expensive. Whatever you do, don't use instrument cables.

As for speakons, they're not necessary, but they are a bit better a design for connectors.

 

[scootron]

How many "gig quality" instrument cables does one really need? I think I've gone a little OC in that regard, keeping a top notch cable in every bass case and a few more in reserve...total of around a dozen "A" cables. Surely this is way too many.

My second question...I'm thinking of moving to solder-free cables for my pedal board, using George L connectors and the cable they provide with them, which I think is .155 or so. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding solderless patch cables or George Ls in particular?

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

The cheapest speakon that I bought was around 11 Euros. Sounds very cheap, but like I said, keep in mind here most ppl earn around 200 - 300 Euros a month...

Wire you would be able to pick up locally, here is a good option for connectors:

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[billfitzmaurice]

.I'm thinking of moving to solder-free cables for my pedal board, using George L connectors and the cable they provide with them, which I think is .155 or so. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding solderless patch cables or George Ls in particular?

Capacitance is generally lower when the insulation between the core and shield is thicker. That makes very thin cables a potential source of concern when the source is a high impedance passive pickup; it's no concern at all with low impedance passives, or if the signal has been amplified by an on-board pre or pedal board mounted pre.
But don't assume a thicker cord is actually low capacitance. Many high priced cables have thicker outer insulation layers to give the appearance of better quality when it truth it's not better, just bigger. Wire manufacturers do post capacitance specs for their products. Like this:
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W2524 cable is about as good as you can get, and costs about 75 cents a foot.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Wondering if Bob or Bill have an opinion regarding "audiophile" power leads? I'm intrigued by that.

I'm sure if they're made well, they'll work every bit as well as the well-made $5 power leads.