Which would yield the better performance gain-high end interconnects or spk.wire?

notified

When attempting to Build a good quality system from a budget conscious standpoint which would initially net the best sound improvement-interconnects or spk wire?

marvda1

you have to look at it as a system, kind of a chicken/egg thing. no good to upgrade the interconnects if the speaker cables cannot pass on the improvements and vice versa. out of what you have now you have to figure which is the strongest interconnect or speaker cable then upgrade the weakest link.
this is assuming your other equipment is up to par.

notified

So it would be of little consequence to buy either first and the other later? factoring in that whats being used now is both of relatively the same quality and therefore either couldn't be considered the weaker link

steveinaz

Since we're talking higher levels of output, I would suspect that speaker wires would have the most impact; but it's just a hunch.

[Deleted User]

Yes, that sounds right. Upgrade the weakest component or cable.
You can make strides everywhere. Many people here to help you
spend your money

notified wrote: »

So it would be of little consequence to buy either first and the other later? factoring in that whats being used now is both of relatively the same quality and therefore either couldn't be considered the weaker link

heiney9

Also what gear are you using? It helps a lot if we know what you have for gear. What is your goal in the end? What are you looking to accomplish? Doesn't have to be concrete, but you must have an idea of where you want to go with your system.

What's your room like? What are your listening habits? Mostly HT or 2 channel or both?

Hard to recommend until we get a better picture.

H9

heiney9

If I had to generally throw a thought out there, I'd say speaker cables slightly trump interconnects if you have to choose one. But I'd work on getting the $$ together to upgrade the I/C's as soon as possible.

Of course this may change once you start answering some of the questions.

H9

Jimbo18

My experience might not be typical, and it's admittedly on the low end of the budget scale, but I got the biggest improvement with better interconnects.

I think both changes I made would be considered a modest upgrade, about twice the cost from the old wires to the new, but I can't honestly say I heard a difference with the speaker wire upgrade, but I did hear an improvement with the rca interconnects.

That's not to say that even better speaker wires wouldn't make a difference, but I think you need to make a much bigger investment in them to hear the difference than you do with interconnects. YMMV.

steveinaz

There are plenty of relatively affordable IC's and speaker cables out there, that will get you 95% of the way there---in my opinion. While wire can make a difference, again IMO the diminishing returns factor kicks in pretty quick. Now, if you just like to spend money, well......

heiney9

Everyone's law of diminishing returns is at a different threshold as well. What might be diminishing returns for you is a starting point for me.

This is the one things that is constant

Everything Matters

H9

[Deleted User]

Black Vinyl Matters

F1nut

notified wrote: »

When attempting to Build a good quality system from a budget conscious standpoint which would initially net the best sound improvement-interconnects or spk wire?

It's somewhat gear dependent, but in general I would say speaker cables.

marvda1

Notified, what are the components of your system?
what cables do you have now?
what is your budget?

Speedskater

steveinaz wrote: »

There are plenty of relatively affordable IC's and speaker cables out there, that will get you 95% of the way there---in my opinion. While wire can make a difference, again IMO the diminishing returns factor kicks in pretty quick. Now, if you just like to spend money, well......

Exactly! There are things that have a much bigger bang for the buck than cables.

polkfarmboy

Speaker cables! Now lets get all your money spent on other stuff!

Dennis Gardner

The biggest changes in my 2 channel system came in this order. Each change has been added and taken away a number of times with different gear and the order still stands.

1. Tube preamp- opens up the sound stage depth to become real on strings/vocals.
2. SS power amp-added slam and bass control.
3. Source changes-small, but noticeable changes in detail/air.
4. Speaker cables-fuller sound with better bass extension and control.
5. IC cabling- less noise floor, better balanced over all frequencies.

I find that this is true as long as I have speakers that can reveal the detail in the changes. In my HT setup, the power amp addition was the largest change. Cabling in the HT isn't really noticeable to me as long as it is adequately sized and shielded.

[Deleted User]

Good thread!
I would just add to Mr. Gardner's list by saying that all of these
upgrades bring instruments into focus and they start sounding
like I presume they really sounded like in the studio. Then, if you
have good media you will be shocked at what you have been missing.
It's addicting so be careful.

BlueFox

Personally, depending upon the gear being used, I would go with good power conditioning and power cables first. I heard my biggest improvements by reducing power line noise, and the noise generated by component power supplies being reflected back onto the line, than from either speaker cables or ICs. Good, clean power is the foundation for any serious system. With it your components work at their best, and then other tweaks are easier to discern.

mikeyb128

BlueFox wrote: »

Personally, depending upon the gear being used, I would go with good power conditioning and power cables first. I heard my biggest improvements by reducing power line noise, and the noise generated by component power supplies being reflected back onto the line, than from either speaker cables or ICs. Good, clean power is the foundation for any serious system. With it your components work at their best, and then other tweaks are easier to discern.

I didn't want to say anything, but I've really been spending time and money on the power end of things in my basement. Dedicated line, power conditioning and even added an extra ground from my nordost Q base to a copper pipe in my basement. For me all these things added together have made the biggest improvement.

I used to be able to hear the mini fridge in my basement kick on, and add a small amount of noise in the back ground of my system when the volumes were high. Everything is dead quiet now, it was truely a revelation what a higher end power cable brings to the table.

Emlyn

I'm also one who believes in the whole system approach, not just focusing on what individual segment may or may not make the most difference.

Most folks new to audio these days will likely use a home theater receiver or integrated amp with a DAC built in and stream music in some way to one of those options digitally or via an HDMI cable. Analog interconnects don't even come into play anymore in those setups, so speaker cables are the main concern for them. I haven't been able to tell positive differences between digital coaxial cables or HDMI cables myself.

When deciding whether to use specialized speaker cables, I would recommend trying out a set for two or three weeks then putting zip cord back in place to see if there is a difference in the system. If the cables are bought at retail they can most likely be returned during the trial period with a good dealer, and if bought used can be sold on without loss if done smartly. Generally speaking I would recommend trying a set of Kimber 8TC speaker cables to get started as those are not too expensive, the basic design philosophy is simple, they are well known and have been around for a long time, and they fit in with a wide range of systems. I'd only get those from a dealer though given all the knock offs from China that show up on Ebay.

Speedskater

mikeyb128 wrote: »

I didn't want to say anything, but I've really been spending time and money on the power end of things in my basement. Dedicated line, power conditioning and even added an extra ground from my nordost Q base to a copper pipe in my basement. For me all these things added together have made the biggest improvement.........................................

Extra grounds like this are not good. You want only one Safety Ground (EGC) from your room (it's part of the dedicated line) back to the main breaker panel. Then from a single point at the service entrance/main breaker panel you can connect all your grounds to Planet Earth. The copper pipe would be part of this GEC system.

tonyb

The original question isn't as cut and dry as you may want to hear for the reasons already stated. Depending on the gear and speakers your using, which we don't know, or budget, would dictate some suggestions.

That said, I might agree that speaker cables would have the edge over IC's.

K_M

Everything matters, including, "Everything does not matter" and "some things barely matter at all"

If everything truly mattered......

See who gets that wisdom!

mikeyb128

..

David7544

As long as you're using wires (either speaker or interconnects) of acceptable quality, (12 gauge speaker wire and properly constructed interconnects), neither will have any audible effect on sound quality. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't understand the basics of audio signal transfer. Audiophools will dispute this, but their opinion does not change the facts of physics. A wire does not "sound like" anything. If it does, it is defective. A perfect wire is nonexistent in the audio chain.

heiney9

^^ Yep, and the Earth is flat too!

F1nut

David7544 wrote: »

As long as you're using wires (either speaker or interconnects) of acceptable quality, (12 gauge speaker wire and properly constructed interconnects), neither will have any audible effect on sound quality. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't understand the basics of audio signal transfer. Audiophools will dispute this, but their opinion does not change the facts of physics. A wire does not "sound like" anything. If it does, it is defective. A perfect wire is nonexistent in the audio chain.

BS!

David7544

you make my argument for me.

F1nut

You don't have an argument, all you have is an opinon.

tratliff

Here we go again! Popcorn is popping....

tonyb

Every so often one pops their head into discussions they usually have no experience with, nor even care to.....but they read it on the internet so it must be true.