New 2 Channel Setup Cable Suggestions

sgmsmg

So I have been collecting components for a 2 or 2.1 channel setup. I will be using a Parasound A-21/P5 driving Polk LSi15's or LSi9's and also incorporating my Oppo-105. I have a PSW1000 and a DSW Micropro4000 to test as well.

My big question is speaker/interconnect cabling. I have read through numerous threads and don't know how to decide what to start out with. I feel going the budget friendly route(Blue Jeans or Canare) will ultimately be a wasted step and am leaning towards AQ Rocket 44 with Yukon initially. I currently do not have any balanced cables so I was also wondering what the benefit going that route will be.

Will I be incorporating too many variables at once. I know this all needs to be broken in and I need to figure out what sound appeals to me.

Currently I only have Sewell 12 gauge speaker wire and Monster M850 RCA cables. I know these aren't great but they are leftovers from years of home theater setups.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

kharp1

That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." You're going to get many different answers. I started updating my system after many years of just living with a leftover HT receiver. Cables weren't on the top of my list of things to replace, but, they weren't on the bottom either. When I reached a place where I was hearing major improvements from the components I had picked up I turned to cables. I purchased several different cables from the forum and noticed minor differences, but, all minor. I then came across Wireworld and they were the first cables that I heard a real difference with.

Having said that, my personal belief is that cables are like many things in that it's largely about your personal taste, and, how they work with the other pieces in your system. I went through trial and error by purchasing several pieces from the forum and I'm not sure if there is any other way...at least in my situation. There are no audio shops in my area, and, none of my friends are in to audio as I am, so, I wasn't able to audition other cables that way.

Stayed tuned, as the TV announcer says, because you'll probably get lots of feedback. There are usually several different speaker cables and IC's for sale on here and there won't be a shortage of opinions. Posting a budget can be helpful.

Willow

Just don't follow Joeys cable journey just reading about it makes my wallet hurt.

F1nut

MIT Cables......'nuff said.

sgmsmg

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I definitely won't be dropping the coin Joey has on cables anytime soon. I would say my budget is $500-$1000 for speaker cables (12ft minimum length, bi-wire or good matching jumpers) and $500 for interconnects per pair (1.5m-2m) x 2 pair.

I am aware that what sounds appealing depeands on personal opinions. Guess I need to just figure out a starting point.

MIT cables seem to get lots of praise but at my price point it the good ones seem out of reach. I also am put off by those magic boxes. They seem to be too close to the terminations and hang there putting strain on the cables.

F1nut

They put zero strain on the cables. I've had a pair hanging off some monitors for years and years, no problem. You want a pic to prove it?

sgmsmg

F1nut wrote: »

They put zero strain on the cables. I've had a pair hanging off some monitors for years and years, no problem. You want a pic to prove it?

No pic needed. It seems the boxes are smaller on the MIT cables in my price range so it is no longer a concern.

Is it ideal to match speaker cables and interconnects of similar series?

F1nut

You'll be fine with the boxes as long as they are not the Oracle series. Those would cause a problem.

IMO, yes it is better to match the series, but not the end of the world if otherwise. If you have to choose one better over the other, the speaker cables make the bigger difference.

One other thing, ignore little x's LOL on my original post. He has issues with things he's never heard.

Nightfall

Uh oh. Triggered.

OP, I also recommend MIT.

Joey_V

sgmsmg wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I definitely won't be dropping the coin Joey has on cables anytime soon. I would say my budget is $500-$1000 for speaker cables (12ft minimum length, bi-wire or good matching jumpers) and $500 for interconnects per pair (1.5m-2m) x 2 pair.

I am aware that what sounds appealing depeands on personal opinions. Guess I need to just figure out a starting point.

MIT cables seem to get lots of praise but at my price point it the good ones seem out of reach. I also am put off by those magic boxes. They seem to be too close to the terminations and hang there putting strain on the cables.

You know I'm an Audioquest fan... Just make sure you get one with a DBS pack.

I can send you my wels to try out... Haha

tonyb

sgmsmg wrote: »

So I have been collecting components for a 2 or 2.1 channel setup. I will be using a Parasound A-21/P5 driving Polk LSi15's or LSi9's and also incorporating my Oppo-105. I have a PSW1000 and a DSW Micropro4000 to test as well.

My big question is speaker/interconnect cabling. I have read through numerous threads and don't know how to decide what to start out with. I feel going the budget friendly route(Blue Jeans or Canare) will ultimately be a wasted step and am leaning towards AQ Rocket 44 with Yukon initially. I currently do not have any balanced cables so I was also wondering what the benefit going that route will be.

Will I be incorporating too many variables at once. I know this all needs to be broken in and I need to figure out what sound appeals to me.

Currently I only have Sewell 12 gauge speaker wire and Monster M850 RCA cables. I know these aren't great but they are leftovers from years of home theater setups.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I suppose we should start at the beginning. What kind of sound do you like ? A more forward sound or a more laid back and smooth sound. What kind of music do you listen to....rock, rap, country, oldies, classical...?

Do you have that gear already that you mentioned ? Or is that what your thinking of putting together ?

Balanced cables will eliminate some noise in the signal allowing for a cleaner sound. Some of the better analog cables though are good at that anyway.

[Deleted User]

'That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." '
BACON!

As an experiment, I have Canare L-4E6S 4-wire XLR cables between my DAC and AMPs.
I'm happy as a clam.

I like detail and realistic sound over thumping bass. I would start with eliminating
noise, distortion, and jitter in your system rather than dropping major coin on cables.
MIT or others.

If you like the Oppo type thinking, maybe go w/ a really good integrated like the
Parasound or maybe Yamaha I've been itching to purchase... (I love America-choices!)

tonyb

rednedtugent wrote: »

'That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." '
BACON!

.....wrapped around a hunk of meat. lol Not sure I want my music to sound like bacon though. Lots of sizzle and grease all over the walls.

[Deleted User]

Jazz sizzles some times!

I forgot bass traps or something behind the speakers as well.

THEY EVEN PUT BACON IN CHOCOLATE!

sgmsmg

For the OP, your existing cabling is not bad at all. You need to ensure that you have a good connection to your speakers and amplifier. A lot of times we can get hung up on the wire and don't pay attention to the connections.
That is why for interconnects I prefer XLR connections when possible.
For speaker cables, I like securely connected spades or locking banana plugs.

Also with cables, keep them as short as you can and minimize coiling.
[/quote]

Thanks for the feedback. Currently speaker cables are connected with BFA Banana plugs on both ends. Speaker cables and RCA's have very secure/tight connections and are only long enough to reach where they need to go. I would like to try some XLR cables and found a rather inexpensive set of AQ King Cobra on Craigslist I may pick up to get used to everything.

sgmsmg

tonyb wrote: »

sgmsmg wrote: »

So I have been collecting components for a 2 or 2.1 channel setup. I will be using a Parasound A-21/P5 driving Polk LSi15's or LSi9's and also incorporating my Oppo-105. I have a PSW1000 and a DSW Micropro4000 to test as well.

My big question is speaker/interconnect cabling. I have read through numerous threads and don't know how to decide what to start out with. I feel going the budget friendly route(Blue Jeans or Canare) will ultimately be a wasted step and am leaning towards AQ Rocket 44 with Yukon initially. I currently do not have any balanced cables so I was also wondering what the benefit going that route will be.

Will I be incorporating too many variables at once. I know this all needs to be broken in and I need to figure out what sound appeals to me.

Currently I only have Sewell 12 gauge speaker wire and Monster M850 RCA cables. I know these aren't great but they are leftovers from years of home theater setups.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I suppose we should start at the beginning. What kind of sound do you like ? A more forward sound or a more laid back and smooth sound. What kind of music do you listen to....rock, rap, country, oldies, classical...?

Do you have that gear already that you mentioned ? Or is that what your thinking of putting together ?

Balanced cables will eliminate some noise in the signal allowing for a cleaner sound. Some of the better analog cables though are good at that anyway.

I knew I should have included sound/music preference in my initial post. As far as sound goes it is hard to say but I do enjoy hearing the details so I am not sure how to classify that. Music tatse is all over with the execption of country. Currently I have been listening to Norah Jones, 10,000 Maniacs, John Mayer and various movie soundtracks with my new setup.

The gear in my initial post is currently what I have. Although I am using the LSi15's and the DSW Micropro 4000. Have not hooked up the LSi9's yet.

I did find a rather cheap set of AQ King Cobra XLR's that I may look into picking just to try XLR's.

sgmsmg

rednedtugent wrote: »

'That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." '
BACON!

As an experiment, I have Canare L-4E6S 4-wire XLR cables between my DAC and AMPs.
I'm happy as a clam.

I like detail and realistic sound over thumping bass. I would start with eliminating
noise, distortion, and jitter in your system rather than dropping major coin on cables.
MIT or others.

If you like the Oppo type thinking, maybe go w/ a really good integrated like the
Parasound or maybe Yamaha I've been itching to purchase... (I love America-choices!)

Thanks for your suggestions.

I am actually looking at experimenting with an inexpensive set of XLR cables to see how I like them.

It seems we have similar taste in sound. I too like detail and realistic sound. bass is good as long as it is tight and accurate. Coming from home theater setups I don't know if I can detect noise, distortion and jitter. What are the most contributing offenders?

The Oppo will just be for discs/media. I already have a Parasound P5 pre-amp.

sgmsmg

rednedtugent wrote: »

Jazz sizzles some times!

I forgot bass traps or something behind the speakers as well.

THEY EVEN PUT BACON IN CHOCOLATE!

Is there a good resource to look at as far as determining best placement for wall treatments? I know reflective surfaces are pretty much bad. Will room treatments be that beneficial early on in figuring out what I want/need.

tonyb

I may harp on this brand too much, but Acoustic Zen Satori is a great all around cable that will let your details shine without the fatigue in the upper registers with plenty of bass slam also. I have them, along with their Matrix 2 interconnects and feel no need to look further. I picked up a used 8 foot pair for 400, their jumpers for 75 bucks, and the interconnects for 200. Used markets are the best for cables as mark up with new can be outrageous. A few others here have them and can also attest to their sound quality.

I believe they would work well with the Parasound gear you have and the LSI 15's which are a bit laid back in their presentation. The Satori's will breath some life into them....seriously. I would suggest this brand to anyone who has a somewhat laid back sound in their system that they want to add a bit more life to.

kharp1

'That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." '
BACON!

I fry bacon on top of my Aleph, but, you have to be careful or it'll burn!

lightman1

kharp1 wrote: »

'That is kind of like asking "what food taste best." '
BACON!

I fry bacon on top of my Aleph, but, you have to be careful or it'll burn!

Throw in two eggs over medium and you're living life then, Kerry.

polkfarmboy

I recommend wireworld platinum speaker cables and mit oracle, I heard emotiva makes some great cables too!

Go for some used cables, figure out how much your going to spend and look for deals! Try find main brand cables with the highest msrp when they were new. This way your going to get good sound and an easy way to get rid of them once your hooked and ready to get insane.

Willow

So crazy all the cable talk lately. I was always on the fence. I used aq indigo blue for about 7 years. They were much better than zip cord. Recently I bought MIT avt 2 on this site. While I was at it I bought avt 2 ic for the whole system. Only because I was very impressed with the speaker cables did I buy the ic. So I'm still waiting on 2 more pairs of the avt to show up next week. I am a believer now too. But I'd have to say to a certain degree that I am comfortable paying for. Then this past week arrived 3 signal magic power cables to replace all my stock on my soon to arrive parasound, one on my pre and one on my cdp. For now a long now I'm impressed and happy over the indigos, Signal cables 2 ICs, AQ Diamondback and stock pcs.

F1nut

There you have it. Another person with actual MIT cable listening experience who now knows what they bring to your ears.

[Deleted User]

I'll let others answer as back behind the Speaks guy.
My room is not too dead or live so I haven't gone for it.
If they had velvet Jimi Hendrix treatments, I might feel different about it.

MIT cables are the next move for this system?
ok...

sgmsmg wrote: »

rednedtugent wrote: »

Jazz sizzles some times!

I forgot bass traps or something behind the speakers as well.

THEY EVEN PUT BACON IN CHOCOLATE!

Is there a good resource to look at as far as determining best placement for wall treatments? I know reflective surfaces are pretty much bad. Will room treatments be that beneficial early on in figuring out what I want/need.

Willow

F1nut wrote: »

There you have it. Another person with actual MIT cable listening experience who now knows what they bring to your ears.

And I have you to thank and curse in the same breath.

F1nut

Hehe......

Willow

F1nut wrote: »

Hehe......

My wife won't be sending you an Xmas card... that's for sure

F1nut

Ungrateful brats.....

sgmsmg

tonyb wrote: »

I may harp on this brand too much, but Acoustic Zen Satori is a great all around cable that will let your details shine without the fatigue in the upper registers with plenty of bass slam also. I have them, along with their Matrix 2 interconnects and feel no need to look further. I picked up a used 8 foot pair for 400, their jumpers for 75 bucks, and the interconnects for 200. Used markets are the best for cables as mark up with new can be outrageous. A few others here have them and can also attest to their sound quality.

I believe they would work well with the Parasound gear you have and the LSI 15's which are a bit laid back in their presentation. The Satori's will breath some life into them....seriously. I would suggest this brand to anyone who has a somewhat laid back sound in their system that they want to add a bit more life to.

Thanks for the suggestion. I had read other threads that praised these cables. I will keep these on my raday in case any good deals come up on used ones.

sgmsmg

So I think my plan is to get used to my gear with the current cabling except I might try some inexpensive XLR cables. In the mean time I will be on the look out for deals on the higher end cables mentioned: MIT, WireWorld, Acoustic Zen and Audioquest.

Tonyb described my Pasound/Polk combo to be a bit laid back. Besides the Acoustic Zen Satori cables what other cables are known to add life?