What cables do you use in your systems?

[izeek]

4s11 10-11awg speaker cables from blue jeans cable. recently bought a longer set of 4s11 from cable_flexer/reddit because i needed them longer and wanted a nice-looking set.
i know, i know. nobody sees them. i do though and thats good enough for me.
they offer no sound difference between them best i can tell.
https://i.postimg.cc/RZ8bmrp0/17522.jpg

for ics, fospower off amazon.

 

[MaxBuck]

I use Canare 4S11 also. Full disclosure: it's as much for their simple good looks as anything. Simple, black, flexible, easy to terminate.

 

[Prolix]

Any recommendations for blue jeans ic alternative that is less stiff and has a smaller termination? I tried a low end audioquest cable because it's super bendy and has a small rca plug on it, and one channel cut out after about a month.

 

[MaxBuck]

I'd strongly recommend World's Best Cables (WBC), available on Amazon. The balanced interconnects I got from them are attractive, have high-quality Neutrik terminations and were reasonably priced.

For coax, I have to admit I've relied primarily on the cheap crap that's been packaged with many components over the years. Can't say I've ever heard anything problematic. If I were going to actually pay for something, though, it would probably be WBC.

Keep in mind that I'm not one of the many people here who know what they're talking about. But so far none of them has seen fit to chime in. So I'm free to babble mindlessly until someone objects.

 

[Helicopter]

I'd strongly recommend World's Best Cables (WBC), available on Amazon. The balanced interconnects I got from them are attractive, have high-quality Neutrik terminations and were reasonably priced.

For coax, I have to admit I've relied primarily on the cheap crap that's been packaged with many components over the years. Can't say I've ever heard anything problematic. If I were going to actually pay for something, though, it would probably be WBC.

Keep in mind that I'm not one of the many people here who know what they're talking about. But so far none of them has seen fit to chime in. So I'm free to babble mindlessly until someone objects.

If I didn't DIY, I would pick WBC for cost-no-object cables, or cheaper stuff like Monoprice Premium, Amazon Basics, Fosi, etc., or way cheaper stuff like whatever is $1-5 with molded connectors on Ali... it all works, and aside from some fancy sleeving it really doesn't get better than WBC in any meaningful way.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Just received some WBC XLR's recently. Great combination of materials, connector quality and good assembly for very reasonable price.

Probably my goto balanced cable buy in the near future at least.

 

[wseroyer]

Interconnects: Amazon Basics 1-Male to 2-Male RCA Audio Stereo Subwoofer Cable

Speaker cable: Amazon Basics 12-Gauge Audio Speaker Wire Cable - 99.9% Oxygen Free Copper

HDMI cable: Monoprice 4K Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable

Coax cable: N/A

USB cable: N/A

Power cable: Home Depot HDX 8 ft. 16/3 Outdoor Extension Cord

 

[Tks]

If I didn't DIY, I would pick WBC for cost-no-object cables, or cheaper stuff like Monoprice Premium, Amazon Basics, Fosi, etc., or way cheaper stuff like whatever is $1-5 with molded connectors on Ali... it all works, and aside from some fancy sleeving it really doesn't get better than WBC in any meaningful way.

Yeah WBC is great. Do they still do that idiotic directionality flow of electroncs advertising on their products?

 

[Helicopter]

Yeah WBC is great. Do they still do that idiotic directionality flow of electroncs advertising on their products?

Yes, but with RCAs, they are just indicating which end is tied to the shield. I feel like installing the cables so both channels have shield tied in on the same side is good for minor OCD even though it doesn't really matter.

Some people reject anything with directional markings as snake oil, but for me, there are a few (non-electrical aesthetic) things going on with them that make them OK. A lot of aircraft cables have bulkhead markings, which are incredibly useful, and directional markings can be helpful in the middle of any long run of cable if you don't have the whole picture. I only put such markings on in wall cables myself, and prefer not to have such markings on external cables, but it is not even close to a deal breaker for me.

 

[nemanja_t]

Speaker: QED XT 25

 

[Plcamp]

Cable according to Oxford, in its electrical sense is…

“an insulated wire or wires having a protective casing and used for transmitting electricity or telecommunication signals.”

Classifying audio (it isn’t telecommunications) as merely “electricity”…when we all know it’s much more than just that…should mean we stop using the term “cable”?

All this talk about cables, but nobody looked up the definition!

 

[Helicopter]

I just know you didn't look in a proper OED if that's all you got... just learned the compact version with the magnifier can be had fairly inexpensive used...

 

[Audiofire]

I also use basic Qed interconnect at 20 euro, I am curious what it looks inside.

It's what they call a quasi-balanced cable, which is just another way of saying the live and neutral wire are in a twisted pair configuration. The shield is only connected on one end, so there are arrows on the jacket. Customer support told me all that and that it prevents electromagnetic interference, but what it also does is probably keep the capacitance high instead of low. They state the capacitance is 113 pF/m here:

https://support.qed.co.uk/portal/en/kb/articles/what-is-the-capacitance-of-the-qed-profile-audio-cable

Look at their more expensive RCA cable that also has the wires twisted together, and the capacitance is 115 pF/m...

Performance Audio Graphite

The multi-award winning Performance range presents the Performance Audio analogue interconnect.

www.qed.co.uk

And without the benefits of a real XLR balanced cable, so the QED cables are probably audiophile nonsense.

I hope their cable design is more reality based than their marketing dept.

Oh, it's not. Not at all. Not even close unfortunately...

 

[Killingbeans]

The whole point of twisted pairs is to exploit the common-mode rejection in differential signal transmission.

This does not exactly paint a pretty picture of the engineering prowess of QED

 

[DonR]

I came upon some cheap 10 AWG 4 conductor SOOW cable. So my mains and center speaker are thusly fed. Makes no difference from lamp cord but looks like the business at 1 inch thick.

 

[Zorlac]

Mostly Blue Jeans

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Uh, you don't need 1" thick cables. I use 12GA professional cables and they are about 3/8" thick.

 

[pablolie]

I use AnalysisPlus in my system, not because I ever thought it'd sound better, simply because it's pretty and has good connectors. And not esoteric, I don't have a single cable that's $1k or more.

 

[holbob]

I don't have a single cable that's $10 or more.

 

[RichB]

I use AnalysisPlus in my system, not because I ever thought it'd sound better, simply because it's pretty and has good connectors. And not esoteric, I don't have a single cable that's $1k or more.

I don’t have a single audio cable that costs more $100.
I have a couple of active hdmi cables that cost less than $200.

- Rich