do you really need a dedicated cable.

leftwinger57
leftwinger57 Posts: 2,917
in Subwoofer Hookup & Bass Management
When I 1st bought my avr H/T set-up I was told I needed a sub woofer cable. Looked like a cable w/ RCA ends on it Monster Cable in fact. Is there any difference between said marketed sub woofer cables and a decent RCA cable to use as a sub cable ? Marketing ploy, reality or myth. I don't have a RCA cable long enough for a test so I might as well ask you dudes. I just looked at my Sony processor /pre and it does have dual subwoofer ports so if a sub falls on me I might use it.
2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E

H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-

Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc
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Comments

  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    Some will say yes, some will say no. I fall into the no camp. Any rca cable will do imho. Matter of fact, I've gotten better performance using a regular RCA than a dedicated sub cable.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    Well.... I used dedicated sub cables before and noticed a difference.....

    And the one I would suggest isnt super pricey either..

    This is what I had.... I'm going to be buying some more here soon for my DIY sub...

    http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQBTIISUB
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Learn something new every day. Until now I have never heard of a dedicated sub woofer cable. Is it optimized to pass low frequencies?
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    BlueFox wrote: »
    Learn something new every day. Until now I have never heard of a dedicated sub woofer cable. Is it optimized to pass low frequencies?

    I believe so... I went from a Audioquest Sidewinder RCA to the Black Thunder and there was a REMARKABLY obvious difference in the bass......
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,010
    I use a directional Acoustic Research dedicated sub cable. At the sub end there is a ferrite ball. In the past I've used non sub cables but with a different sub so I can't tell you if it makes a difference. It's an rca cable just like interconnects and a digital coax. Could they be made slightly different, sure. I've never taken them apart to compare.
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  • mikeyb128
    mikeyb128 Posts: 2,885
    When I had my anti mode I used 1 meter diamond backs to the antimode, then sub cables to the subs. Made no sense to buy 2 sub cables to make a 1 meter run. Plus I've never seen a 1 meter sub cable. Long story short I think a good quality shielded RCA is all that matters. I am a cable believer, but I don't feel sub cables matter as much. I use a energy conneseur sub cable. They are maybe 40 bucks for 5 meters, good quality and have rf stoppers at one end.
    2 channel:
    Bryston 4B3, Bryston BDA3, Cary SLP05, Shanling CDT1000SE with parts conneXion level 2 mods, Nottingham analogue ace space 294, soundsmith Carmen MKii, Zu DL103 MKii, Ortofon MC 20 MKii, Dynavector XX2 MKii, Rogue Audio Ares, Core power technologies balanced power conditioner, Akiko Corelli power conditioner with Akiko Audio HQ power cable, Nordost heimdall 2, Frey 2, interconnects, speaker and power cables, Focal Electra 1028 BE 2, Auralic Aries Femto, Black diamond racing cones, ingress audio level 1 roller blocks, JL Audio E110 with Auralic subdude, Primacoustics room treatments.
    Theater:
    Focal Aria 926,905,CC900, SVS PB ultra x2. Pioneer Elite SC85, Oppo BDP93, Panamax M5400PM, Minix neox6, Nordost Blue heaven LS power cables.

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  • Speedskater
    Speedskater Posts: 495
    Any long RCA interconnect needs a good cable!
    What's long? Significantly more than 10 feet (3 meters).
    What is the good part? Low end-to-end resistance of the shield.
    Why? It reduces leakage current back-ground noise.
    An example and explanation: The Blue Jeans Cable LC-1

    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/subwoofer/index.htm
    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/subwoofer/LC1-design-notes.htm
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    tonyb wrote: »
    Some will say yes, some will say no. I fall into the no camp. Any rca cable will do imho. Matter of fact, I've gotten better performance using a regular RCA than a dedicated sub cable.

    Correct ^^^^^ depending on the wire inside that cable
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    BlueFox wrote: »
    Learn something new every day. Until now I have never heard of a dedicated sub woofer cable. Is it optimized to pass low frequencies?

    I believe so... I went from a Audioquest Sidewinder RCA to the Black Thunder and there was a REMARKABLY obvious difference in the bass......

    well for one you went from bottom of the stack to upper in wire quality
    sidewinder is "long grain copper" Black thunder is the same as King Cobra "perfect surface +"

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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    Any cable that is not "dedicated" to its job, is a "slacker" and should be fired!
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    I went with a 30' RCA interconnect from Blue Jeans cable. When I added a second sub, I had to daisy chain the two and I used a Monster Cable that I had on hand. I can't tell a difference between the output of the two subs. That said, I've noticed a difference between IC's from source to pre and pre to amp which is why I spent the extra bucks to get something better than a generic RCA cable for my subs.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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