• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Has anyone tested any pro audio speaker cable brands you buy in bulk?

Jeff M.

Jeff M.

Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2023
Messages
83
Likes
26
Good Evening everyone. So I was wondering if anyone has tested these pro audio speaker cables you can buy in bulk?

1. Gotham Audio. SPK 2x4 (50040).

2. Mogami. (W3103 cables). (I tired the Mono price version of the Mogami years ago it sounded awful). I think it was .50 cents a foot. A work friend gave it to me after he had some left over from wiring his studio with this wire. Am taking almost 17 years ago.

3.Canare. (4S11 cable and now you can get it in O.F.C.).

Belden (5T00UP) cables.

I just don’t have the measuring equipment and was wondering how they compared to the company’s measurements or graphs?

Thanks for any info or information that is provided. Jeff
 
You don't need to measure speaker cables, other than possibly measuring resistance. But resistance depends on wire gauge and length (and material) so there's no need to measure it. Here's a chart. Aluminum has slightly higher resistance so you generally need thicker wire (lower wire gauge). CCA (copper clad aluminum) is the same as regular aluminum. OFC doesn't gain you anything.

Lower resistance is better, to a point.

I tired the Mono price version of the Mogami years ago it sounded awful)
Click to expand...
Maybe you had a bad connection. Or possibly it was an invalid non-blind listening test. What is a blind ABX test?

P.S.
'The Amazing Randi' is no longer with us, but nobody ever got the money from his $1 Million cable challenge.
 
Last edited:
What are you trying to accomplish? You've got from 10 gauge to 14 gauge cable choices. You need to know the length of the cable run and the speaker impedance to calculate the gauge needed.
 
The test I would love to see is insulator longevity. I have had so many speaker cables get sticky, or get hard and crumbly, or had the conductors oxidize within the jacket and turn green, etc. over the years... some cables are definitely superior to others in the longevity department.
 
Any cable with PVC insulation that is spec'ed as non-emigrant to ABS should last a long time without affecting the conductors. Any PVC insulation that out-gasses chloride compounds will turn copper green—think about the clear/tinted type cables.
 
My favorite signal level cable is

Canare L-4E6S​

It lays down gently, doesn’t tangle and have memory and seems to have good physical endurance.
 
DVDdoug said:
You don't need to measure speaker cables, other than possibly measuring resistance. But resistance depends on wire gauge and length (and material) so there's no need to measure it. Here's a chart. Aluminum has slightly higher resistance so you generally need thicker wire (lower wire gauge). CCA (copper clad aluminum) is the same as regular aluminum. OFC doesn't gain you anything.

Lower resistance is better, to a point.


Maybe you had a bad connection. Or possibly it was an invalid non-blind listening test. What is a blind ABX test?

P.S.
'The Amazing Randi' is no longer with us, but nobody ever got the money from his $1 Million cable challenge.
Click to expand...
So I had the cable in 8 foot lengths and 1 per. speaker. Also I don’t think the wire was O.F.C. I was using a Audiolabs integrated amplifier 8000A. The wire was in my system for a while and then an acquaintance of mine told me to change to OFC in a Teflon coating cable at 14 gauge. He gave them to me. It was night and day the sound as I remember but, it would have been nice to put both speaker cables on the bench and measure them both. Yes your mind can play tricks on you for sure. I was using fostex full range drivers The FE126EN Drivers (One of my favorites) and they seem show change with different wires and amplifiers. Again measuring the wire like Amirm does has been a dream of mine for many years. He does it correctly and explains it perfectly so I can understand. He’s da man. ‍♂️.
 
Devnull said:
What are you trying to accomplish? You've got from 10 gauge to 14 gauge cable choices. You need to know the length of the cable run and the speaker impedance to calculate the gauge needed.
Click to expand...
Ya sorry about bouncing around in the wire size department. Yes they are all different sizes. I just wanted to know if anyone measured them.
 
Jeff M. said:
The wire was in my system for a while
Click to expand...

Jeff M. said:
It was night and day the sound as I remember
Click to expand...
There are two typical ways that swapping cables makes a big audible impression.

1) The cable was sitting there for a long time and a layer of oxidation builds up and increases resistance to the point that breaking up the oxidation is easily audible, or the connection got loose somehow.

2) Belief that the new cable should make the sound better creates the perception of better sound.

In your case #1 is on the table. For an 8-foot run, it shouldn't really make a big, noticeable change regardless of what cables you used, but if the connection got loose or oxidized, it could.

I think Canare 4S11 has been measured somewhere, maybe Archimago? I've made some cables with it and it's really nice to work with, pretty good value, if overkill for most situations.
 
kemmler3D said:
There are two typical ways that swapping cables makes a big audible impression.

1) The cable was sitting there for a long time and a layer of oxidation builds up and increases resistance to the point that breaking up the oxidation is easily audible, or the connection got loose somehow.

2) Belief that the new cable should make the sound better creates the perception of better sound.

In your case #1 is on the table. For an 8-foot run, it shouldn't really make a big, noticeable change regardless of what cables you used, but if the connection got loose or oxidized, it could.

I think Canare 4S11 has been measured somewhere, maybe Archimago? I've made some cables with it and it's really nice to work with, pretty good value, if overkill for most situations.
Click to expand...
So yes the Mono price cables where there awhile and the other cables were just unspooled and stripped with no connections just bear wire. The Monoprice wire was used bear with no connections. Yes to come and think about it I forgot to solder the ends so they didn’t oxidize. Yes the Canare 4S11 is a nice cable. I had some and sold it to a fellow diyer that got a nice deal on the wire. I wonder what the regular 4S11 to the O.F.C. 4S11 would show up on measurements?
 
rank said:
The cheapest is the best.
Click to expand...
Ha I forgot to mention. Mono Price had some banana plugs made of 100% copper but, they are cheap and they are very brittle and break easy. Sorry this was one of the cheap Banana plugs I was taking about. Here’s a picture of them. I also forget to mention with cheap gold plated binding post you have to be careful with. I bough a set of Gold binding post for home theater from parts express and the binding post. I never used them so I put them in the speakers I made my dad and they are tarnished and turning green after 17 years. I made my dad speakers 17 years ago and he has not cleaned them and they are used to keep the carpet in place now. (Meaning he has them put in an unused spot in in his 4 seasons room. Just to set stuff on. Here is the closest picture I have of the binding post from Parts Express but, the inside thread was a nut and a bolt.
IMG_4257.png
IMG_4256.png
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4255.png
    IMG_4255.png
    306.2 KB · Views: 35
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jeff M.
Audtek (Parts Express) and Redco Audio (custom cabling) are my cable providers.
Replies
7
Views
394
dfuller
D
Jeff M.
Has anyone tried Redco Audio speaker cables yet?
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
Jeff M.
Jeff M.
Back
Top Bottom