Question about speaker wires

[cptslow]

Hi Guys,

I bought a pair of used KEF Q300 speakers (which i think sounds very good). Went into BB to buy some speaker wires and plugs. The guy in magnolia was trying to sell me AUdio Quest Rocket 33 which are basically bi-wire speaker cables with pre attached banana plugs, the price 330 bucks. I thought it was expensive had to pass on that, finally ended up buying some regular audioquest speaker wires which some plugs for those.(which was still expensive at round 130 bucks for 3ft cable and individual plugs). these audioquest cables have a single strand thick copper wire.
I am trying to understand why is it so expensive. what is the difference between these audioquest wires and regular 14 gauge wires. (20 bucks for 20 ft). Are those expensive wire really make a noticeable difference in the music quality ? why these wires are so expensive ? Any thoughts and comments much appreciated.

--Thanks,

 

[Steve81]

Are those expensive wire really make a noticeable difference in the music quality ?

No, expensive wire doesn't make any difference in sound quality. If you can, I'd recommend returning the Audioquest wire and going with regular zip cord.

 

[markw]

The audible difference between expensive boutique cables and the generic ones tends to disappear when one closes their eyes. Granted, construction adds somewhat to the cost but it's nowhere what the advertisements, and salespeople, would have you believe.

FWIW. dealers have a tremendous markup on cables and that's where they make most of their profit.

 

[jcparks]

I paid less the 20 dollars for a 50 foot spool of 14 gauge oxygen free stranded copper wire from mono price and then bought some monoprice binding posts for cheap. If you look you can find a lot of info on this site about how copper wire is copper wire whether you spend 130 for a three foot strand or 20 dollars for a 50 foot spool. You will also read many other sources that talk about the science of all the expensive wires... but since you are here. Return that audiquest wire and go check out either monoprice, or bluejeans cable online and save yourself a bunch of money.
http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/debunking-the-myth-of-speaker-cable-resonance

 

[mtrycrafts]

No, expensive wire doesn't make any difference in sound quality. If you can, I'd recommend returning the Audioquest wire and going with regular zip cord.

Maybe it is time to respond: yes, it makes a noticeable difference in ones pocket book.

 

[j_garcia]

It is expensive because people are gullible.

I've actually tried AQ's single conductor super duper expensive wire and found it to be no better than anything else.

 

[es347]

http://www.stereophile.com/content/minnesota-audio-society-conducts-cable-comparison-tests-0

 

[zhimbo]

http://www.stereophile.com/content/minnesota-audio-society-conducts-cable-comparison-tests-0

Getting there, but not very well designed. This kind of testing is OK for general subjective shoot-outs, but the question here requires a higher degree of control and skepticism - if you're asking *if* something exists, that calls for more rigorous methods.

There are no trials where a cord is tested against itself, for example: do similar preferences emerge on those trials? We don't know. Also...this really isn't very much data: Each comparison only has a single trial, which also means there's no counterbalancing of comparisons (A then B, B then A), and we don't know if these alleged preferences are consistent from trial to trial.

Also, as the authors say: "Since no statistical tests of significance have been applied to the results it is not possible to demonstrate that one set of cables was found to be superior to any others in an objective sense." (Short answer: no, not statistically significant).

That said, those look like some pretty darn big differences in capacitance, and they say they measured frequency response but don't say what the results are. Any change in frequency response for wire is pretty darn important, so it would be nice if they had mentioned it. These are things that can definitely affect sound, but are *faults* pretty much by definition.

I wish folks would stick to simple A-B-X testing in cases like these; those are hard to mess up. If you don't understand experimental design and statistical testing, you just create a mess when you try to do something complicated.

 

[herbu]

If you don't understand experimental design and statistical testing, you just create a mess when you try to do something complicated.

Right. I can't tell you how many times I've seen an engineer pitch his test results and incorrectly use them to predict future outcomes. Unfortunately, it seems fewer and fewer people, even technical professionals, understand how to use statistics. (Have you ever tried to explain to someone why the guy on Let's Make A Deal should change his pick when given the chance?) And that means someone with only a modicum of understanding can use statistics to support whatever they want, and few people know enough to challenge them.

 

[mtrycrafts]

..
That said, those look like some pretty darn big differences in capacitance, and they say they measured frequency response but don't say what the results are. Any change in frequency response for wire is pretty darn important, so it would be nice if they had mentioned it. These are things that can definitely affect sound, but are *faults* pretty much by definition.
...

However, capacitance in speaker wire is really a non issue; inductance may be on the other hand.

Capacitance can affect a poorly designed amp though but that is an amp problem since may amps will not be affected by it.

 

[mtrycrafts]

http://www.stereophile.com/content/minnesota-audio-society-conducts-cable-comparison-tests-0

Looks like a single trial preference group test.