Speaker cable makes no difference...

dc55110

If you are deaf!

I finally got rid of my Monster XP (gauge unknown, Monster doesn't even list it on their website) on my Paradigm 11Se Mk II's and replaced it with Liberty Cable Ultracap 12AWG speaker cable. HOLY SHITE! Night and day! Up to this point I have always had to use my sub with them to get anything resembling good bottom end response. Since junking the Monster, I keep checking to make sure the sub is off. And the stereo image got so much wider, I had to move my listening chair back a few feet.
I can only imagine what will happen when I replace my amp with something that isn't designed for near field studio monitors.

steveinaz

Welcome to the dark side.

BjornB17

uh oh..

zingo

And next it will be your ICs... :eek:

zombie boy 2000

One of us. One of us. One of us. Gabba gabba hey.

SolidSqual

There's no way out of here, when you come in you're in for good
There was no promise made, the part you've played, the chance you took
There are no boundaries set, the time and yet you waste it still

So it slips through your hands like grains of sand, you watch it go
There's no time to be lost, you'll pay the cost so get it right
There's no way out of here, when you come in you're in for good

And never was there an answer, there an answer
Not without listening, without seeing

There are no answers here, when you look out you don't see in
There was no promise made, the part you've played, the chance you took
There's no way out of here, when you come in you're in for good

wingnut4772

Gauge makes the biggest difference. It would be interestng to see what size the Monsters are.

Face

I have them in a pile of old cables somewhere, they're really only 14 or 16 gage under those large jackets.

tugboat

The XP wire has a plastic core and nylon fiber strands surrounded by a plastic sleeve. Then that is covered by the outer jacket. I removed all of it, leaving only the wire and was able to slip it though the 18ga hole on my stripers. That wire is quite a bit smaller than the jacket would suggest.

Still trying to figure out exactly what all that plastic and nylon does for it, but whatever it is, it's not enough. I just recently replace mine with 12ga Belden and am quite happy.

tugboat

I've broken down the XP wire and taken pictures of each step. Hope this helps understand exactly what is inside the wire other than copper. Now as to why the other stuff is in there, I don't know. Hopefully someone does.

The pictues show the wire, outer jacket removed, inner jacket removed, nylong fiber removed, center core removed and just the left over copper strands (they pass thorough the 18ga hole in my strippers).

Enjoy

BigMac

I have always really wondered about cables and wire of any sort for audio and video and found this article that gave me such an in depth explanation I had to read it a few times to take it all in.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm



Also thought this was kinda humerous as well. (taken from a lloonngg thread on speaker wire and cables I was reading).

Inside a Parasound C1 amp, there are wires that lead to the outputs where you connect your cables. If you examine these wires, you will see that they are generic 12ga. shielded copper leads soldered to the binding posts. These have been chosen because they fit their purpose: to conduct a signal with minimal loss between two points. Do you think something magical is happening to the signal once it leaves the amp chassis? If so, you might want to consider getting your internal wires upgraded so you can realize the same benefints INSIDE your equipment.

Has anyone ever heard that using a Home Depot electrical extension cord and cutting it yourself is just as good as expensive speakers wire? From what I gather though it is the SIZE of the wire that matters most as long as it is of decent quality.....hmmmmmm, will keep reading.

Ron Temple

I was using 14g HD wire for fairly short runs. Steve (Polk65 - where are you?) came over and let me try some Mit Terminator 5 cables (the cheapies), quite a difference in resolution, soundstage, etc. A few months later, he came by again with some Belden 10g. A couple of 8' lengths later and I couldn't tell the difference between them and the Mits. I decided to stop right there on the wire. All that said, I'm more convinced greater improvement lies in the ICs for no particular reason other than that's what I've changed them out more recently a couple of times...got more significant bumps.

lightman1

zombie boy 2000 wrote: »

One of us. One of us. One of us. Gabba gabba hey.

Lost another one to the dark side....:(

dc55110

After several hours of listening I still can't believe the difference a few more strands of copper make. The only downside is now that there is less resistance between the amp and the speakers, my amp clips at moderately high volumes.
Well i'll just have to speed up my upgrade process. here comes pre and amp! then I can move my TT out of the ht setup and into the system that I can listen to at my preferred volume .

be83663

For those who are still considering buying options for speaker wires, don't use Monster XP. Instead, consider using Monster Z1 or Z2 Reference Audiophile Speaker Cable. I have these for my 7.1 HTS speakers, and they deliver absolutely great sound!

F1nut

hmmmmmm, will keep reading.

Just a friendly suggestion.....instead of reading, start trying cables for yourself as it's the only way that YOU will know for sure.

As for the RR article......throw it out with the trash.

ben62670

be83663 wrote: »

For those who are still considering buying options for speaker wires, don't use Monster XP. Instead, consider using Monster Z1 or Z2 Reference Audiophile Speaker Cable. I have these for my 7.1 HTS speakers, and they deliver absolutely great sound!

How about buying much better cables than M? Why bother with M? They are not the only cable out there. They are way over priced, and the company as a whole should be boycotted for their actions. AudioQuest type4 is plenty cheap, and Signal Cable is plenty cheap. I have used the AQ type 4, and can highly recommend it.
Ben

madmax

Most of the older monster cables and interconnects I used had a harsh sounding quality to them. Of course I have not felt the need to go back and try any of their newer stuff, just too many really good companies out there to putz around with all the monster hype. Audioquest beats them hands down for close to the same price.
madmax

steveinaz

The Monster XP stuff with the tube down the center is a futile attempt to copy Analysis Plus' oval wire technology; except AP's works.

lakesailor

A retired friend of mine is an electrical engineer who used to be in the international mining community where he specialized in developing cables and connectors for the very hi-powered electrically operated mining machinery. He has a ton of experience and I asked him not long ago for his thoughts on cabling as it would pertain to speaker wire. Basically you can summarize it like this….

Thicker diameter wire has higher capacitance; which basically means energy storage so it is not uncommon to notice differences in sound as a result; more so when compared to smaller diameter wire.

Smaller diameter wire has less capacitance and as such can transfer energy more efficiently for a given length. Unfortunately due to the buildup of DC resistance over longer runs it becomes less efficient as the overall length increases.

All wire; regardless of if it is marked or not is directional in that the signal will always flow better in a certain direction. Some companies make more effort to indicate what direction the signal should flow; however all wire has the same characteristics and that it not a unique feature to hi-end wire.

The most conductive wires are made of silver or high quality copper. Oxygen free only means that the copper is of a higher quality with fewer impurities.

Smaller diameter; individually insulated wires will lower capacitance to improve signal flow; however the cumulative effect of the smaller wires can offer similar capacitance properties to larger diameter wires. Conversely many small non insulated wires that are constructed in a twisted geometry will also lower inductance and increase the current handling capability of the wire.

Beyond that; it is all marketing and obviously there are some different schools of thought. Bottom line is that cabling such a Kimber and Monster can yield improvements over small; cheap crap; however after the entry level of either of these types of design principles are realized there is definitely a path of diminishing returns.

be83663

ben62670 wrote: »

How about buying much better cables than M? Why bother with M? They are not the only cable out there. They are way over priced, and the company as a whole should be boycotted for their actions. AudioQuest type4 is plenty cheap, and Signal Cable is plenty cheap. I have used the AQ type 4, and can highly recommend it.
Ben

Shop around for Monster Speaker Cables online for less than half the MSRP. I got mines, Monster Z1 and Z2 Reference Audiophile Speaker Cable, at 60% of the retail price, and they are really good-quality; I like them a lot!

ben62670

So what price did you pay?
I don't support M. I am sure you could have done better.

DForeman

DC - couldn't agree with you more. I went from generic 12 AWG (bare wire) to Signal Cable Ultra terminated with spades (for my mains). Like you say, night and day. Got a fuller, deeper sound.

Now, the generics were not terminated, and I could never get a clean cut of insulation off the wire. Invariably there were copper wire strands all over the place when connecting my speakers.

I am not a sophisticated-enough audiophile to know why the sound quality improved so much with the Signal cables, I just know I couldn't be more happy with them.

LuSh

Playing with cables is fun for awhile. Just remember more expensive stuff doesn't always mean better. Cables are elaborate tone controls for high end audio, which is odd because tone controls on amplifiers and pre-amplifiers have been frowned upon for a decade or two. Enjoy while it is still cheap. Beware of ultra exotic cables, things change but not always for the better. Trust your ears. Be weary of lengthy posts suggesting brand X is better then brand Y.

dc55110

I think someone switched my speakers when I wasn't home. This small change has made such a great difference, I'm absolutely floored. Listening to the Ginger Baker Trio... Bakers drums have never sounded so realistic, the kick "kicks," the snare snaps.
I've got the itch so bad:eek:... need to add preamp... need bigger/better power amp

be83663

ben62670 wrote: »

So what price did you pay?
I don't support M. I am sure you could have done better.

Monster Z2R ML-15/15 Reference Audiophile Speaker Cable with Monster Lock Master Pin, 1 Pair (15 ft.) $96.88
Monster Z2R ML-C15 (Center Speaker Cable) $109.95
Monster Z1-250 (250 ft.) $337.50

Including some micellaneous speaker wire connectors, I paid a total of about $600 for my 7.1 speaker system. I don't regret buying Monster products because they look great and sound amazing too!

ben62670

be83663 wrote: »

Monster Z2R ML-15/15 Reference Audiophile Speaker Cable with Monster Lock Master Pin, 1 Pair (15 ft.) $96.88
Monster Z2R ML-C15 (Center Speaker Cable) $109.95
Monster Z1-250 (250 ft.) $337.50

Including some micellaneous speaker wire connectors, I paid a total of about $600 for my 7.1 speaker system. I don't regret buying Monster products because they look great and sound amazing too!

I know you could have done better. I thought M was something in the past:o Do a search on M here, and see what you find;)
Ben

disneyjoe7

dc55110 wrote: »

If you are deaf!

Thank You


And Monster cable it's trash IMHO, well it's what I did with mine anyway all of it. I just won't state how much :eek:

PolkClyde

Don't let them take your money. Radio shack cables are just as good as those expensive cables..........don't let "em" take your money....... hahahaha

PolkClyde

it's all in your mind......... put more money in your speaker systems not cables.

PolkClyde

dc55110 wrote: »

If you are deaf!

I finally got rid of my Monster XP (gauge unknown, Monster doesn't even list it on their website) on my Paradigm 11Se Mk II's and replaced it with Liberty Cable Ultracap 12AWG speaker cable. HOLY SHITE! Night and day! Up to this point I have always had to use my sub with them to get anything resembling good bottom end response. Since junking the Monster, I keep checking to make sure the sub is off. And the stereo image got so much wider, I had to move my listening chair back a few feet.
I can only imagine what will happen when I replace my amp with something that isn't designed for near field studio monitors.

How much did you pay for that cable?............ come on now.