Belden 1860a: worth the money?

[stonemarten]

dear experts,

I need to buy the cable for my speakers (large floorstanding): they will run around 500W of power and are 3 meters far from the amps.

I see a LOT of comments/article where a standard lamp cord is equivalent, with different "scientific" explanations.
So, do you think that a 7$ a meter (here where I leave) is justified? Do I need a twisted cable or a straight (cheaper) cable is equivalent?
Is the Oxygen Free Copper necessary? this specific cable use standard one

thanks for the inputs

cheers

 

[tyhjaarpa]

You can get 100ft for same price: www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Enhanced-Oxygen-Free-Copper-Speaker/dp/B003L14ZAQ
Will do the trick and you wont notice difference in sound.

 

[Speedskater]

From an interference point of view, a twisted pair is always better.

 

[stonemarten]

ok thanks... maybe I will take a "cheap" straight oxygen free copper and twist by myself

cheers

 

[tyhjaarpa]

ok thanks... maybe I will take a "cheap" straight oxygen free copper and twist by myself

cheers

I wouldn't bother with twisting. I use just the plain cable and it works just as good.

 

[stonemarten]

Ended up buying the Audio Technica OFC 2.5mm not twisted for 3$ per meter... looks good to me, even based on the review

cheers

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Ended up buying the Audio Technica OFC 2.5mm not twisted for 3$ per meter... looks good to me, even based on the review

cheers

Little highish on price but should do the job just fine.

 

[Speedskater]

I wouldn't bother with twisting. I use just the plain cable and it works just as good.

Twisting is only about interference. You have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for it to matter. On the other hand it's almost free.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Twisting is only about interference. You have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for it to matter. On the other hand it's almost free.

Time is money so its never free.

 

[j_garcia]

Time is money so its never free.

And it won't do anything for speaker level signal

 

[matthew1907]

You can find it on amazon . It ıs not expensive but has great functıons.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

You can find it on amazon . It ıs not expensive but has great functıons.

Cable has great functions? As far as I know it only has one function.

 

[Speedskater]

And it won't do anything for speaker level signal

Jim Brown the AES go to expert on EMI/RFI thinks that it can.

Antenna Action The most fundamental cause of radio interference to other systems is the fact that
the wiring for those systems, both inside and outside the box, are antennas. We may call them
"patch cables" or "speaker cables" or "video cables" or "Ethernet cables," or printed circuit traces,
but Mother Nature knows that they are antennas! And Mother Nature always wins the argument.

From the first page of:

A Ham's Guide to RFI, Ferrites, Baluns, and Audio Interfacing
by Jim Brown K9YC
Audio Systems Group, Inc.
http://audiosystemsgroup.com

The basis of this tutorial is a combination of my engineering education, 55 years in ham radio, my
work as vice-chair of the AES Standards Committee working group on EMC, and extensive research
on RFI in the pro audio world where I’ve made my living.

http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

 

[slipperybidness]

Jim Brown the AES go to expert on EMI/RFI thinks that it can.

Antenna Action The most fundamental cause of radio interference to other systems is the fact that
the wiring for those systems, both inside and outside the box, are antennas. We may call them
"patch cables" or "speaker cables" or "video cables" or "Ethernet cables," or printed circuit traces,
but Mother Nature knows that they are antennas! And Mother Nature always wins the argument.

From the first page of:

A Ham's Guide to RFI, Ferrites, Baluns, and Audio Interfacing
by Jim Brown K9YC
Audio Systems Group, Inc.
http://audiosystemsgroup.com

The basis of this tutorial is a combination of my engineering education, 55 years in ham radio, my
work as vice-chair of the AES Standards Committee working group on EMC, and extensive research
on RFI in the pro audio world where I’ve made my living.

http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

But, this is rarely a problem on the speaker cables because the signal is so large. It's the S/N not just the noise that is important.

 

[Speedskater]

But, this is rarely a problem on the speaker cables because the signal is so large. It's the S/N not just the noise that is important.

That's not how it works.
Just read the first part of the Jim Brown paper.

 

[slipperybidness]

That's not how it works.
Just read the first part of the Jim Brown paper.

I read it and it makes sense.

But let me put my argument a different way. I have NEVER used a twisted pair for speaker cables, I have never had a problem either. No need to solve a problem that does not exist in my system.

On the other hand, I always use a twisted pair to run from the preouts on my car head unit to my sub amps. That has tended to work better and less noise for me.