Subwoofer Cable

DiscoMike

To get the most sound out of my subwoofer, would it make a difference if I use a dedicated Subwoofer Cable, such as that from Monster, or is the subwoofer cable more of a "marketing gimmic" ?

Thanks !

danger boy

DiscoMike wrote:

To get the most sound out of my subwoofer, would it make a difference if I use a dedicated Subwoofer Cable, such as that from Monster, or is the subwoofer cable more of a "marketing gimmic" ?

Thanks !

get a subwoofer cable. any brand of you choice.

I have a very long one for sale for $20 includes shipping. It's the British version of Monster.

zingo

It really does make a difference. I have 2 subs, one hooked-up via a THX subwoofer cable, and the other via a tiny, cheapo, RCA cable. Big sound difference. You can find good priced sub cable at most stores (Radio Shack), and it is worth it.

tonyb

I have used quality audio IC cables on my SRT subs and that really tighted up the bass alot.Give it a try.Of coarse your sub can not be 4-blocks away.Cables DO make a diff. inspite of what some in here believe.Cheers

Zen Dragon

You should definitely use a quality sub cable. If your sub is a bit of a distance from your sub output the cable Danger Boy offerred up is a good price and should work well for you.

reeltrouble1

Gotta love it huh Al.

Why go to Rat Shack, you need Big Al Danger Boy's cable, its been blessed and its twenty stickin bucks for a quality cable for your new super duper sub.

If you dont like the length of DB's cable then www.signalcable.com and Frank there will build you one, mention CP for a little discount.

RT1

danger boy

reeltrouble1 wrote:

Gotta love it huh Al.

Why go to Rat Shack, you need Big Al Danger Boy's cable, its been blessed and its twenty stickin bucks for a quality cable for your new super duper sub.

If you dont like the length of DB's cable then www.signalcable.com and Frank there will build you one, mention CP for a little discount.

RT1

True, true. Signal Cable makes some nice cables.

DiscoMike

Perhaps I should rephrase the question - would I get a better response from my subwoofer if I used a high quality dedicated subwoofer interconnect cable vs. using leftover high quality internconnect cables which would run roughly at about the same price between the two ? Teh only difference would be is that the sub cable would be longer in length (12 feet) as opposed to the interconnect being 1 metre in length.

I was thinking going the route of BetterCables.Com. I would need 4 cables - two for the SRTs and two for the SVS Galaxy Destroyer. Monster Bass M1000 is high end, but its just too expensive for a quantity of 4. BetterCables will run me 1/3 to 1/2 the price of monster.

Thank you everyone for your input.

Willow

DiscoMike wrote:

Perhaps I should rephrase the question - would I get a better response from my subwoofer if I used a high quality dedicated subwoofer interconnect cable vs. using leftover high quality internconnect cables which would run roughly at about the same price between the two ?
.

No difference...marketing 101

Zen Dragon

[ Teh only difference would be is that the sub cable would be longer in length (12 feet) as opposed to the interconnect being 1 metre in length.QUOTE]

If you have high quality interconnects already there should not be much difference, if any in the sound quality of going to a similiar quality dedicated sub cable.
It seems to me your issue is more of a lenght one. If you already have a 1 meter cable, and are considerring a 12 ft cable, are you looking to change the placement of the sub?
The 12 ft cable gives you more room to reconfigure the placement of the sub, now or in the future. If the 1 meter meets you current placement desires stick with that for nowand save the cash.
Also as your cable length increases, the signal has to travel further down the cable and becomes more subject to losses due to distance travelled, and resistance within the cable itself. At 12 feet these losses are negligible in a quality cable, and you likley will not even hear the difference. Just something else to consider.

aaharvel

agree with Willow. Calling it a "subwoofer" cable means squat. Just get a high quality interconnect.

DiscoMike

Thanks for everyones input. I just purchased additional subs and I have some Monster M1000i 4 metre interlinks that I was thinking of using for the subs. Since purchasing those interlinks, Monster and others are producing cables designed for subwoofers. I was thinking that if I purchased these, replacing my good interlinks going to the subs, would I get better performance since the manufactures claim these sub cables are "optimized" for sub use, or if the market using the same cable as their interlink counterparts, trying to find new ways to make a buck. Unfortunately, I cannot use the 1 metre cables since they wont reach out to my subs, so distance is an issue, forcing me to buy more interlinks.

John K.

Mike, there is no such thing as a cable "designed" for subwoofers; it's simply a regular coaxial cable with an RCA plug on each end. If anything, the function it performs is even more trivial technologically than other interconnects since it only has to handle about 20-100Hz. The monsters you have will certainly do that, although they're overpriced and suitable cables, such as this are available from many sources at a reasonable price.

reeltrouble1

Mike,

I have run the gammit so to speak on working mans cables from 2.50 up to around 1,000 MSRP. When I used the inexpensive cables I had problems with grounding, poor connectors and so on. The first time I bought a decent sub cable it happened to be a used Monster off another board member, when I hooked it up I heard bass which had a more solid sound to it.

I recommend buying what you feel comfortable with and letting your own ears tell you when to stop. Enjoy your new thumper. BTW the Monster M1000i connect is something like 200 per 1m cable list price, is that what your using?

DiscoMike

reeltrouble1 wrote:

Mike,

BTW the Monster M1000i connect is something like 200 per 1m cable list price, is that what your using?

Yup !!! Got a 4 metre for that price though.

McLoki

Here is what Blue Jeans Cable has to say about subwoofer cables....

In some ways, the subwoofer cable interconnect is the least demanding application in home theater. While HD video demands cables able to carry high-bandwidth signals, at tight impedance tolerances, the subwoofer cable has the relatively easy job of carrying a very low-frequency, very low-bandwidth signal. But a subwoofer cable has a critical job to do, and needs to do it well: keep out hum. Hum can come from ground loops (cable won't help you if that's the case, but see our isolation transformer below) or, often, from EMI (electro-magnetic interference). High-energy, low-frequency noise, like the 60-cycle hum from nearby power cords, fluorescent lights, and other miscellaneous sources, is the hardest type of interference to shield against, and the best defense here is a dense and highly-conductive braid shield. Our recommended subwoofer interconnect cables have not one, but two, dense braid shields, and in our testing we've found these coaxes to outperform conventional single-braid, braid-and-foil, and unbalanced twisted-pair cables when it comes to hum rejection.

This is what they say about their recommended cable. (works well for subs (due to shielding) but not so good for standard interconnects. (due to high frequency rolloff)

The Coax: Canare LV-77S
Canare LV-77S is a flexible, but thick coax with a stranded copper center conductor and two bare copper braid shields, one right on top of the other. This shielding provides an extremely conductive path to ground--just 1.8 ohms per thousand feet, lower than any other coax of comparable size. We put this cable up against a whole slate of other coaxes in a side-by-side hum rejection test, and it performed best of all. It is thick--.303 inch in diameter--but is more flexible than other comparably-sized coaxes, and therefore easy to route around obstacles if you're doing in-wall or in-conduit cabling.

Looks like there is something to the whole "subwoofer cable" after all.

Michael

DiscoMike

Do I dare ask a similar question if those "treated" power cords, or the power conditioners make a difference ? With the new emphasis on power cords, I seriously think that the market is finding new ways to turn a basic trivial item into a needed high-tech upgrade. It sounds like another way to make a buck of of those who have money to spend. Does anyone have any oppinions or experience with power conditioners or these new "high tech power cords" ?

WilliamM2

Blue Jeans Cable claims there is a difference between cables?:eek: What a shocker, and I'll bet other cable makers agree...

McLoki

Had a reply typed up, but chose not to take the bait.

Have a nice day......

Michael

miner

check out www.catcables.com

Great quality stuff for the $. Lex (Doug) is a master cable maker.

reeltrouble1

All perfectly normal and logical questioning Mike. Looking at your gear and openess to try new things you will get there, just trust your ears they will tell you when to stop with cables.

RT1