which speaker wire/cable?

danger boy
danger boy Posts: 15,722
edited January 2005 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
never thought i'd post one of these. but here goes.

Before I knew any better I bought a 12 ft pair of Monster Z2 bi wire speaker cables.

well i've outgrown them. and it's time to deep 6 em.

So i'm on the prowl for new speaker cables. I say cables. because i prefer cables over just wire.

Currently have my RT800i's biwired. and i'd like to keep them bi wired

so any suggestions as to speaker cables for under say.. $200

I need about 8ft length pair at least.
PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
Post edited by danger boy on
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited January 2005
    Ok I see the rt800i's but what are they hooked up 2?

    200.00 I would look on audiogon and get some used cable.

    If your willing to spend a bit more , you can have these at a killer price.
    http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?cablspkr&1109506541

    Then buy a pair of jumpers from Transparent and hear everything your rt800i's can do. These speaker wires will also allow you to uprade to better speakers and no wire upgrade will be required.

    Same can be said about these.

    http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?cablspkr&1109378920

    Good luck man,

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited January 2005
    Having received a pair of Signal Cable speaker cables at the most recent PolkFest....I can highly recommend them. They compare very favorably with my pricier AudioQuest speaker cables. The price was definitely right (free in my case) but I can say without a doubt that they are worth what Frank is asking. ie:

    InternalBiwire-New.jpg

    Classic Bi-wire - 8' run, 13 AWG = $97 before the Club Polk discount and shipping.

    ShotGunBiwire-New.jpg

    Ultra (Shotgun) Bi-wires - 8' run, 10 AWG = $129 before the Club Polk discount and shipping.

    Signal has a 30 in-home money back return policy so you can try them, send them back if you don't like them and only be out shipping.

    http://www.signalcable.com/
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited January 2005
    I second signal cable, or the PS audio cable i just ordered, although not bi-wire, they offer it.. i supposed to have them today.. but a great deal and are huge... 50 bucks + free ship... i'm yet to test them but Mark has them on the demo program so i assume they are a contender for sure..
    MY HT RIG:
    Sherwood p-965
    Sherwood sd871 dvd
    Rotel 1075 amp x5
    LSI15 mains
    LsiC center
    LSIfx surround backs
    Lsi7 side surrounds
    SVS pb12/plus2

    2 Channel Rig:

    nad 1020 Pre-amp
    Rotel 1080 stereo amp
    Polk sda 2B
    kenwood grunt Tuner
    realistic lab 450 TT
    Signal cable IC
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    I'll add another vote for SC. Frank is top notch, and his crew does excellent work. A modest investment for a fantastic cable. Club Polk members essentially get Free Shipping at the 5%.

    I'm not a PS Audio fan, but the prices that AA has been blowing them out at, is crazy. They are definetly worth the blowout price, just not the MSRP. I picked up a pair to drop into the Demo program, but have no desire to listen to them. They are real manly wires, no doubt about that.

    www.audioadvisor.com

    www.signalcable.com
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2005
    Transparent is a joke, one of the biggest wastes of money out there.

    All the others are good suggestions, Kimber, Signal, PS Audio.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited January 2005
    Russ,
    why do you feel Transparent is a Joke?? I have listened to many different kinds of cable against them and failed to find a better sounding wire other then Kimber. Kimber in my opnion just has a bit more sparkle up top and seems to sound otherwise exactly the same. Very close in my opnion. I am however curious about yours,

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2005
    See the other thread you started. They should be slapped for trying to market that junk.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited January 2005
    thanks guys.

    I'll prob go with SC again. Most of my IC's are now SC 1 & SC 2.

    you really can't beat the price on Signal Cable products.

    Is SC the best out there? Probably not.. but for that price..you can't lose.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited January 2005
    dorokusai
    It would be nice if us Canadian Polk People could receive some discount on the shipping from SC. For you people in the US, it is free while we pay full pop??????
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited January 2005
    Danger,

    Want to be different?

    If it isn't too late you might want to read up on DH Labs Silver Sonic:

    http://silversonic.com/docs/reviews/

    DH Labs is probably the "best kept secret" in speaker cables. I like their power cord products too.

    The T-14 is very affordable and a great value. I have some Q-10 biwires that I can put in any of my systems and it never lets me down. Not as "zippy" as other speaker cables that I own.

    Jeff @ Valueaudio can put some AP spades on them for you and does a nice job terminating the ends:

    http://www.value-audio.com/
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    That's a valid statement, but unfortunately it's simply a border thing, and you know how much control we have over the policies currently in place....you know what I mean?

    The discount for the Canadians would reflect in the actual item as oppossed to the shipping, but the border thing always screws you eh?
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    If you want some DH Labs, you may want to drop a line to Dave Shepherd, a fellow Polkie.

    I am about to drop in a DH Labs cable in the demo program, but just haven't put together the thread. I'll get it finalized this week.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited January 2005
    I understand the issue about shipping from the US to Canada, but when I am charged $24 to ship the cables to Canada, why wouldn't Frank absorb part of that. I am sure that shipping from their location to California or Texas isn't a $5.00 fee. The shipper pays shipping via USPS. Pay the $24 and charge me $10 or whatever. This has nothing to do with cross border shipping. We see this all the time in reverse when we buy something from the US on eBay. We get charged $18 and the actual paperwork indicates $12 from USPS. We call it absorption. Just my opinion.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    I presume he deducts from the cost of the item, the shipping would then be dependent on the buyer, if non-US. This isn't just a SC thing it's an across the board thing...try Ebay, Audiogon, etc. Sorry man, but it is a border/trade issue between the US and Canada.

    I personally don't Ebay or Audiogon anything outside of the US, because it's not worth it to either party IMO.

    If you have an issue with this particular situation, you should email Frank at SC. I'm sure that he would be willing to talk about the situation, and state his position.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited January 2005
    Originally posted by pjdami
    Danger,

    Want to be different?

    If it isn't too late you might want to read up on DH Labs Silver Sonic:

    http://silversonic.com/docs/reviews/

    DH Labs is probably the "best kept secret" in speaker cables. I like their power cord products too.

    The T-14 is very affordable and a great value. I have some Q-10 biwires that I can put in any of my systems and it never lets me down. Not as "zippy" as other speaker cables that I own.

    Jeff @ Valueaudio can put some AP spades on them for you and does a nice job terminating the ends:

    http://www.value-audio.com/

    pjdami,

    I'll still looking. I never make a snap decision on anything audio related. I'm still gathering info on speaker cables and so forth.

    Frank @ Signal Cable offers a 30 day money back guarantee.. wish more wire companies would do that.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2005
    Another thumbs up here for DH Labs. I run the T-14's on my Tuned Quarter-Waves, and I'm VERY pleased with their performance.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited January 2005
    I understand the issue about shipping from the US to Canada, but when I am charged $24 to ship the cables to Canada, why wouldn't Frank absorb part of that.
    Frank has never agreed to waive any shipping. He simply gives a 5% discount to any Club Polk Member (you included). The shipping thing was actually initiated by doro and was his way of simplifiying what Frank was offering:

    http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24884
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • TheReaper
    TheReaper Posts: 636
    edited January 2005
    Originally posted by janmike
    ... I am sure that shipping from their location to California or Texas isn't a $5.00 fee...
    Actually, if it fits, it is only $7.70 in a Flat Rate Box
    Win7 Media Center -> Onkyo TXSR702 -> Polk Rti70
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    Yea, sorry if I confused everyone. I just equate the discount to free shipping, but it actually comes off the product.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited January 2005
    Now I got you. I thought you meant discount AWA free shipping. Thanks Mark.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • SDA SRS 1.2
    SDA SRS 1.2 Posts: 255
    edited January 2005
    Highly recommend Signal Cable, also. For the money I don't think they can be beat.
    Main System: Polk SDA SRS 1.2 Speakers, Sunfire Signature 600~two Amp, Carver C-16 Preamp, Carver TX-11b Tuner, Marantz 6350Q TT, Philips CDR-775 Recorder, Teac V-707RX Cassette Deck, Signal Cable Double Run Speaker Cable

    Upstairs Den: Marantz 2325 Receiver, Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck, Marantz HD-880 Speakers, Marantz 6370Q TT

    Exercise (Kabuki speaker) Room: Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver, Pioneer CS-99a Speakers, Sansui SP-X9000 Speakers (not pretty, but LOUD! :) )
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  • dave shepard
    dave shepard Posts: 1,334
    edited January 2005
    I just came across this thread and would like to thank Doro and Russ for the props on DH-Labs. If you would like to do a 30day comparison between the two I would be happy to do so if you are happier with SC just return mine no problem. I have my fronts biwired w/T-14's and the differance I noticed going from the 12ga monster is a cleaner sound w/better seperation. I'm sure you will be happy with either DH-Labs or SC.

    Dave
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2005
    Dave, maybe a little more formal info on contacting you, and what you offer. I don't think many polkies are aware of what you can do for them.

    Bottom line, there are a lot of good cables, never sell yourself short to one particular brand. Mix it up, try some things.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2005
    I'll be adding a DH Labs demo thread, and Dave's contact information can certainly be posted within. Amulford has a review ready, but I have procrastinated getting it ready for him.

    Dave - Drop me a line with your contact information for purchases and the like.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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