Budget cable review

tonyb

Well,since I am not a pro reviewer,take this for what it's worth.After getting my hands on Ben's silver I/C's,I thought it only fair to give the man a review of his work.Pics are unavailable at the moment as the wife has snagged the camera for god knows what reason.The contenders are Bens silver I/C's.Mac palladium sound pipes,Z-SQUARED I/C's,which are a silver,gold,copper alloy.Test CD,and I only picked 2,are Dire Straits,Sultans of Swing,and Mapleshades,The Art of the Ballad.Both are excellantly recorded and were chosen for the difference in the pace of the music.As a side note,Bens cables only have about 80 hours on them,the others are well broken in.Rest of the gear is in my sig.Without going into too much detail,the test were done on all 3 cables useing the same track,then again on another track,untill 5 tracks were done on each cd.Cables were all placed between AVR and amp.

Mac soundpipes- Very very wide soundstage,nice lush highs,music seems to float,yeah,I know,you heard that before.Not as defined as I would like on individual notes.Guitar at the end of the Dire straits CD WAS spectacular.Not as dynamic as the others,though,and bass notes are a tad more loose than I would like.Best way to describe these are wide and lush with a sweet top end.Good budget cable.

Z-squared-Is my current cable and has been in my system for over a year.Not as wide of a soundstage as the macs but wide none the less.Sharp,detailed sound,with just a hint of harshness on the most very high notes.Bass is very tight and profound from mid bass on down to the basement.Drums sound awesome on these.Notes decay pretty accurately.A great budget cable that will compete with more pricier cables.


Bens silver I/C's- Practically identical to the z's.Wide sounstage,detailed,has a firm grip on all bass notes.Tad bit more air around notes.Very slight more forward than the rest.Musical notes have a nice decay and piano notes are razor sharp with the decay you would expect.Highs are still a hair harsh but this maybe to the lack of break in hours.Very dynamic also.

This is just my.02 on these three cables.None are over 120$.Associated equipment may have a play in this as I am useing a universal player to spin cd's.Universal was set to direct mode,and I/c's between the player and AVR were Z-squared.Bens cables have been in my system since I received them and I believe there they will stay.Ben builds some good stuff,and his build quality is also up to snuff.Highly recommended.For me,meshing Bens with the soundpipes would be the ultimate,but you know how this jouney goes.:)

danger boy

i'm not familiar with all three cables.. but I don't know if I would classify Ben's silver wires as budget..

tonyb

danger boy wrote: »

i'm not familiar with all three cables.. but I don't know if I would classify Ben's silver wires as budget..

Bens are the cheapest of the 3 as price goes and yes,that is budget considering what other name brands go for.There is a huge difference between budget cables and the ones at rat shack.

venomclan

How can you even do a comparison with that Frankenstein amp of yours?:) Even though it is 200 watts or more....
P.S. all cables sound the same...
Venom

ben62670

Thanks guy's. I really enjoy hooking fellow Polkies up with these cables. Price wise just don't let the cat out of the bag;)

Tony which cables did you get from me. Braided, or the Star Quad?
Thanks
Ben

Edit BTW Star Quads take a long time to burn in.

carversound

I like these wires mite be the best cable on the buget
http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4470&start=0
http://zebracables.com/1694.html

WilliamM2

carversound wrote: »

I like these wires mite be the best cable on the buget

If you are on a budget, Blue Jeans offers the same Belden cable for half the price.

tonyb

ben62670 wrote: »

Thanks guy's. I really enjoy hooking fellow Polkies up with these cables. Price wise just don't let the cat out of the bag;)

Tony which cables did you get from me. Braided, or the Star Quad?
Thanks
Ben

Edit BTW Star Quads take a long time to burn in.

Braided Ben.

I find it interesting what some consider a budget cable.Spend thousands on speakers and gear and look for 7 $ cables to wire it all up.What price point do you guy's consider,cheap,budget,normal,expensive,cables ?

WilliamM2

What price point do you guy's consider,cheap,budget,normal,expensive,cables ?

A cheap cable would be what comes in the box. A budget cable, maybe Monoprice <$10. Normal? I like to buy decently made cables, which can be had in the $20 - $30 range. System retails right about $13,000. If I thought expensive cables would make a difference, then obviously I would be willing to spend more, but I don't.

danger boy

we all have the amount we will spend on cables.. and i still hold ground that Ben's silver wires are not budget... IMHO and I don't even own any.

Face

WilliamM2 wrote: »

A cheap cable would be what comes in the box. A budget cable, maybe Monoprice <$10. Normal? I like to buy decently made cables, which can be had in the $20 - $30 range. System retails right about $13,000. If I thought expensive cables would make a difference, then obviously I would be willing to spend more, but I don't.

So you're telling us you don't think.

tonyb

WilliamM2 wrote: »

A cheap cable would be what comes in the box. A budget cable, maybe Monoprice <$10. Normal? I like to buy decently made cables, which can be had in the $20 - $30 range. System retails right about $13,000. If I thought expensive cables would make a difference, then obviously I would be willing to spend more, but I don't.

13,000$ AND 10$ CABLES? Gotta love it.

To me ,everything you listed is "cheap". Question though,why spend so much on the rest of the gear ? Really,I mean you could pocket alot of dough by just getting a Bose table radio.An audio signal is an audio signal,right? I'll stop here because the last thing I want is another cable debate and I can see thats where this is headed.

Face

I love how he said "If I thought expensive cables would make a difference, then obviously I would be willing to spend more, but I don't."

That says it all right there. Maybe he should TRY some more expensive cables first. Then if he doesn't like them, he can go back to the low end Monoprice stuff.

It's not hard to buy some used cables, try them out, then sell them if you're not satisfied. It's like a free trial. Which speaking of, Signal and a few other companies out there do offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

tonyb

Don't waste your breath my man.

Just wanted to do a mini review and it has to turn into a cable debate.
Wish my computer had a "moron zapper" button.

steveinaz

I don't think William is off the mark. Good quality, properly terminated cables should be fine. I like good cables, but I'm not going to drop a ton of money on them--there's far too many other upgrades that would make a much more signifigant change.

WilliamM2

tonyb wrote: »

13,000$ AND 10$ CABLES? Gotta love it.

You need to read better, I buy $20-$30 cables.

Question though,why spend so much on the rest of the gear ? Really,I mean you could pocket alot of dough by just getting a Bose table radio.An audio signal is an audio signal,right?

Because gear makes a real difference, cables don't.

treitz3

Oh boy.

WilliamM2

I love how he said "If I thought expensive cables would make a difference, then obviously I would be willing to spend more, but I don't."

That says it all right there. Maybe he should TRY some more expensive cables first. Then if he doesn't like them, he can go back to the low end Monoprice stuff.

I have tried different cables, and heard no difference. I've even gone as far as to participate in DBT's, something the "trust your ears" crowd seems to be afraid of.

I don't use monoprice.

WilliamM2

tonyb wrote: »

Don't waste your breath my man.

Just wanted to do a mini review and it has to turn into a cable debate.
Wish my computer had a "moron zapper" button.

You asked the question, and I answered it. That makes me a moron?

I wish my computer had a "Deluded listener" zapper.

reeltrouble1

mine has an escape key.

I have pretty much decided that it does not matter what camp your in as long as you thought about it, after that its about enjoying the hobby as you like it.

RT1

Mike Kozak

Overkill right?

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg5/mikekoz62/Cables003.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg5/mikekoz62/Cables002.jpg

nikolas812

Mike Kozak wrote: »

Overkill right?

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg5/mikekoz62/Cables003.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg5/mikekoz62/Cables002.jpg

Are those yours?

Face

You shouldn't coil speaker wire, it can create a inductor effect.

Mike Kozak

Yes they are my cables, some salesman talked me into buying them, I should have went with cheaper ones, but they do the job

Mike Kozak

Face wrote: »

You shouldn't coil speaker wire, it can create a inductor effect.

Inductor, I hardly know her!!! Ha ha, I kill myself!!!!

I am uncoiling as I speak.....

Face

Do you need to use that adapter? Don't the pins fit in the binding posts?

Mike Kozak

I though Banana Plugs were easier to hook up.

Face

They are, but if you can get away without a adapter, it's one less link in the chain.

Mike Kozak

I see your point

tonyb

Thats all well and good if you don't believe cables make a difference.I did not ask that question.But if you believe that 100 bucks is not "budget",get real.

What ever happened to answers like......

" Hey,thanks for the review,glad you like 'em."
" I use so and so cables and really dig them"
" Good write up,I might give Ben a shout"

Did not want a debate thread,to bore me to death.

Face

I use Ben's cables, thanks for the review.