What cables do you use in your systems?

[graz_lag]

supra cables - they may be very reliable as far as EMF/EMI is concerned, but they aren't immune to bullshit

"LoRad is an abbreviation of Low Radiation. LoRad is a patented product range, using unique design features. While these products help shield you and your family from electric and magnetic interference fields, a today recognised reason for serious illness, your multimedia products is given much better working conditions since RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) is suppressed by efficient shields and also a chance to survive an over-voltage peak from e.g. lightning."

Promoting that kind of health benefit for "you and your family" about power cables is at least at the level of EtherRegen marketing...

HaHaHa! Nice said!
Here's a big aficionado of cables from Supra ... for reliability above all as well as for their fair VFM.

There was a patent - which was recognized to Mr. Tommy Jenving, back in 1994, abt. 'Arrangement for screening an electrical cable'.
https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0746858B1/en?inventor=tommy+Jenving

I like a lot the idea of a successful path developed by an entrepreneur from a starting point based on technical inventions, patented in most of the cases.
In this particular case of Jenving Technology (Supra) that successful path meets up with the industrialization of solutions that are adopted in several critical applications, among which our hobby is surely the one with less impact for them in terms of production volumes.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Promoting that kind of health benefit for "you and your family" about power cables is at least at the level of EtherRegen marketing...

Makes sense: Then, your wife will feel much better, hearing the difference from the other room...

 

[graz_lag]

When I was a kid back in Finland, most families were either Volvo families or Saab families. We were a Volvo family.

HaHaHa! I know what you mean ...
During my years as a kid in Italy, the society was divided into 3 categories as far as the car brands were concerned: Fiat, Alfa-Romeo, Lancia.
My father, and so the family, we were Alfa-Romeo, sporty but low reliability, throughout the 2 different models (Giulietta and Alfetta) my father had.
Then he bought an used Volvo Polar once we got to the Napa Valley, CA.
I have been staying loyal to Volvo since, with the 480 Turbo as my first car. (The engine was from Renault)
Currently in France, I drive a C30 T5. (Which was assembled in Belgium) (Same engine as on the Ford Focus ST) ... It takes 10-liters per 100-kms

 

[Deacon Blues]

Interconnects are Belden BJC copies (easily found on auction site)

Speaker cables: Canare 4S11

Price didn't matter/just needed quality and correct lengths, minimizing interference being located near power cables.

Power cable: Stock NAD Power cable (thought about replacing it to something, but it would've been for jewelry not because I think it would sound any better - I know it won't.) Maybe some Chi-Fi hospital grade power cable.

I do use APC surge protection up to 16000 jules though. there are quite a bit of surges due to it being an older condo.

 

[ReaderZ]

PC to DAC: Stock USB came with DAC

Power for PC: Stock from PSU

Power for DAC: Stock

Power for Speaker: Stock

XLR DAC to active speaker: The only none stock cable in my system now Digiflex mic cable with Canare L-4E6S with Neutrik NC3XX-B. I swear it sounds better than monoprice premium!!

 

[NgtFlyer]

Same stuff recording studios and broadcast companies use - whatever was easiest to get at in the big box.
This means: Came with equipment or bought cheap.
The whole cable theory has been debunked many times over the years.

 

[idiomatically]

I support a local Australian business NB Speaker Cables. These are hand made here locally using quality materials like Australian manufactured RG6 Coaxial Cable without the hype or marketing of “Audiophile” cables... Think the full set of cables cost me around $400 AUD, which was 2 pairs of NBSC Powerlifter RCA’s (one with ground wire for phono), and 2 pairs of NBSC Erebos XLRs.

My IEC power cables are the same brand and quality I use at the data centre, they are heavier gauge than standard consumer IEC cables, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get them. It’s just I have lots of them through work, and it’s more I lIke the locking mechanism on them more than anything else. I have never walked into a professional recording studio and seen them use $1000 power cables etc.

I use the stock power supplies that come with my DACs etc.

My attitude to cables is you want good quality over cheap bargain basement stuff, but quality has a ceiling and it‘s not long before the law of diminishing returns kicks in due to the raw materials being used.

As for digital cables I use our normal enterprise quality network cables, mini Cat6 28 AWG patches, LR-Fibre runs through out the house with TwinX SFP+ 25Gbe interconnects on my Mellanox switches. This network gear is 1000% over kill for most people, its not in my house due to audio, I have it as I run a R&D server cluster as part of my job. Good quality shielded solid core Cat 6 Ethernet is 100% fine for audio and than some. You do not need Cat8 etc.

 

[Inner Space]

I worry a little about "what was in the box". Last time I moved house, I hauled my bits box out from the back of the closet. To be fair, most of the wires in it were phone stuff - you know, you get a new phone, you leave your old charger plugged in, you toss the new charger in the bits box - and on two wires, the outer jacket had literally liquified and sloughed off in a sticky mess. Two more were halfway there - sticky, kind of wet. Maybe five to ten years old. These three-cent cables sourced from the lowest bidder are staggeringly cynical in their cheap crapness.

I prefer something assembled with decent materials and a little pride, preferably by American workers in America, so I generally use BJC. I come from a studio background, where you learn to be fanatically neat with wiring, so mine are tidily organized behind the rack. If they were more visible, I might use something better looking. After all, I spent a grand on a nice piece of furniture, rather than using an apple crate.

 

[Sal1950]

I prefer something assembled with decent materials and a little pride, preferably by American workers in America, so I generally use BJC. I come from a studio background, where you learn to be fanatically neat with wiring, so mine are tidily organized behind the rack.

AMEN on being supportive of your home nations economy.

If you'd have any interest in stopping by and doing some wire housekeeping for me, just PM me and we'll see what can be arranged.

 

[Inner Space]

"If you'd have any interest in stopping by and doing some wire housekeeping for me ... "

Central Florida? Jan or Feb would work for me!

 

[superczar]

Amazonbasics all the way - be it RCA, HDMI, speaker, TOSLINK or anything
The only exception is my primary system front L/R which are 2.5 sq mm real copper cables used for AC wiring (Amazon basics is CCA)

 

[John Galt]

SVS SoundPath RCAs for subs, Mogami Gold RCAs for LCR interconnects, Monoprice HDMI

 

[MarcT]

Okay, I obtained all this before I discovered ASR and all you EEs on here! You guys better do a shot or two before reading.

Speaker cables
https://douglasconnection.com/product/douglas-connection-alpha-12awg-occ-speaker-cables/
My set is expensive, but they do offer some less costly cables

Speaker cables
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
http://www.cerioustechnologies.com/#products

USB cable to DAC
http://www.jenving.com/products/usb-121
Mine is 16 feet long, which I understand is the limit, but it works great, made in Sweden

XLR interconnect, DAC to power amp
Wireworld Silver Eclipse 6
https://www.wireworldcable.com/series-7-archive.html

Analog interconnect from AVR to pre-amp
http://www.highfidelitycables.com/discontinued/ct-1/rca/
You'll love this one!

 

[John Galt]

Okay, I obtained all this before I discovered ASR and all you EEs on here! You guys better do a shot or two before reading.

Speaker cables
https://douglasconnection.com/product/douglas-connection-alpha-12awg-occ-speaker-cables/
My set is expensive, but they do offer some less costly cables

Speaker cables
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
http://www.cerioustechnologies.com/#products

USB cable to DAC
http://www.jenving.com/products/usb-121
Mine is 16 feet long, which I understand is the limit, but it works great, made in Sweden

XLR interconnect, DAC to power amp
Wireworld Silver Eclipse 6
https://www.wireworldcable.com/series-7-archive.html

Analog interconnect from AVR to pre-amp
http://www.highfidelitycables.com/discontinued/ct-1/rca/
You'll love this one!

You probably have high quality cables, but simply paid too much. Enjoy the bling.

 

[Sal1950]

Okay, I obtained all this before I discovered ASR and all you EEs on here! You guys better do a shot or two before reading.

I'm sure they're all very purdy.

 

[Wombat]

Western Union prior to Email.

 

[Sal1950]

Western Union prior to Email.

On Horseback !

Or is it Kangaroo downunder?

 

[Angsty]

I've used Straightwire Symphony interconnects, but have moved to Blue Jeans for new installs in my 2-channel speaker systems. Technically, the Blue Jeans do have lower capacitance per foot than the Straightwires. I purchased Straightwires pre-owed at a steep discount.

I can't say the Blue Jeans are audibly superior, but I do like the way they are constructed. I'll pay a bit more for aesthetics and the Blue Jeans float my boat. Both Straightwire and Blue Jeans are assembled in the U.S., which I also like. The Blue Jeans LC-1 cables do have long plugs that require extra space behind components.

For speakers, I use zip cord of a significant gauge for the application. Years ago, I purchased a set of Audioquest speaker cables and felt they contributed negatively to the sound versus the zip cord. Went right back to zip cord and never left again.

 

[Zedly]

Are there any reasonably priced "pretty" speaker cables? I am using Amazon Basics 16 awg and would like to get something that looks a little nicer for the more visible cables. Unfortunately, it seems that all the cables with attractive sleeves are the super-expensive "audiophile" cables. Any ideas where I can get something like this?

 

[DonH56]

Are there any reasonably priced "pretty" speaker cables? I am using Amazon Basics 16 awg and would like to get something that looks a little nicer for the more visible cables. Unfortunately, it seems that all the cables with attractive sleeves are the super-expensive "audiophile" cables. Any ideas where I can get something like this?

Just buy the sleeving material from Amazon or any of the parts suppliers and pretty-up your current cables.

E.g. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cable+sleeves&ref=nb_sb_noss_1