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Post by dsjr on Aug 25, 2019 15:25:37 GMT
Chord Odyssey was a wildly ott 'sounding' cable with not very thick gauge either - and at day's end, it's the gauge that matters if the materials are right imo. The better the system the worse it sounded although it suited the Spendor S and SE speakers we loved as well as the then popular Castles and it even worked in Linn/Naim systems of the time far better than A5 and K400/K600, especially the latter two, so fair do's. In a properly high end system though, it was totally outclassed and I've said it to deaf ears a good few times now! Not surprised a well terminated QED 79 strand is at least acceptable if nothing else.
The 'amp killer cables' we sold were marketed forty years ago by Monitor Audio I think and we did actually sell a lot of it. Clear tubular outer (ours wasn't the flat stuff I've seen pictured) with the innards in two colours plaited? all along I think. Inner conductors were green and shiny coloured and I think it was called 'Cobra' back then (Polk wasn't represented in the UK in the 70's or 80's from memory). The amps we sold previous to Naim were stable enough, so the little bit of ringing this wire introduced made the sound slightly more exciting I remember. Enterprising souls used to double it up, removing the excess capacitance.
The wire we made up for general high end use back then was RS Components 50 strand and the less easy to work with 56 strand. Convention had is twist it together with one end anchored and the other pair in a drill chuck, the spin set to give a 45 degree twist angle down the length. It worked for Naim and it worked for us I remember.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2019 16:18:00 GMT
Are the Linn K20 Speaker Cables any good?
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 25, 2019 16:23:13 GMT
Are the Linn K20 Speaker Cables any good? S. You’ve had them, haven’t you? I always liked them. They lose a good bit of detail but they have a nice sassy bass and a low capacitance of 20pf/m. They look nice and are flexible enough to make them nice to use too. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2019 16:25:11 GMT
I don't recall having K20.
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 25, 2019 16:46:11 GMT
(I do wish I knew how these cable constructions actually and objectively affect an amp's performance, but I don't). Maybe a fully stable amp that's not been hobbled to be safe into any load is immune? Nope because I hear speaker cable differences with both Krells. The KSA50s was not keen at all on Chord Odyssey 2. Although both seem to be fine with generic 79 strand with cheapo connectors. My KSA50 loved Linn K20 |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 25, 2019 17:06:55 GMT
What? Oh dear, oh very dear.......  Disagreement alert - We liked K20 over Naim A4, the black version attacking the copper after a year or so, but I grew to wonder why the music lacked insight and 'interest' via K20 and it took some silly-money Audioquest, Nordost and then Chord Co. to kind of show us the way forward (or backward, you choose). Years later, the K10 stuff given away with the Classik (nice little unit that one I recall) also 'sounded' better to us than K20 which only sold to dedicated Linnies... If you like the more restrained highs, look out for the Cable Talk 4.1, Excel 4 (fig 8 version) and especially the green hosepipe Concert 2.1 they used to sell. The more bass extension the speakers offered, the better the Concert 2.1 sounded, this in the days when Sevenoaks stores in the south of England used to flog QED Micro by the kilometre to AV system owners and didn't/couldn't bother to listen to the difference a proper speaker cable made!
P.S. Current QED 70 strand does seems chunkier than it once was. This may just be thicker insulation (different supplier these days?) or maybe the gauge has been beefed up a touch. Just sayin'
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2019 17:11:15 GMT
What? Oh dear, oh very dear....... Disagreement alert - We liked K20 over Naim A4, the black version attacking the copper after a year or so, but I grew to wonder why the music lacked insight and 'interest' via K20 and it took some silly-money Audioquest, Nordost and then Chord Co. to kind of show us the way forward (or backward, you choose). Years later, the K10 stuff given away with the Classik (nice little unit that one I recall) also 'sounded' better to us than K20 which only sold to dedicated Linnies... If you like the more restrained highs, look out for the Cable Talk 4.1, Excel 4 (fig 8 version) and especially the green hosepipe Concert 2.1 they used to sell. The more bass extension the speakers offered, the better the Concert 2.1 sounded, this in the days when Sevenoaks stores in the south of England used to flog QED Micro by the kilometre to AV system owners and didn't/couldn't bother to listen to the difference a proper speaker cable made!
P.S. Current QED 70 strand does seems chunkier than it once was. This may just be thicker insulation (different supplier these days?) or maybe the gauge has been beefed up a touch. Just sayin'
What speaker cables do you like, that has good bass and highs, without sounding edgy? Or something that's just a good all rounder. S. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 25, 2019 17:26:03 GMT
If I was looking fir a brand name all rounder I’d go for Supra 6mm. Someone on EBay is selling it at £9.95 a metre. It’s always been a good all round cab,e with a very well judged sound.
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Post by pauld on Aug 25, 2019 17:44:06 GMT
My current speaker cable is the best I have ever owned and heard, Coherent Systems 5D. It is quite phenomenal at bringing out detail but without the usual added brightness that a lot of cables do. Prior to the Coherent, I had Exposure speaker cable previously, which I had compared against a lot of cables and always preferred
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 25, 2019 18:26:52 GMT
My current speaker cable is the best I have ever owned and heard, Coherent Systems 5D. It is quite phenomenal at bringing out detail but without the usual added brightness that a lot of cables do. Prior to the Coherent, I had Exposure speaker cable previously, which I had compared against a lot of cables and always preferred Probably an impossible one to convey, Paul, but I’m curious having never heard really expensive speaker cable. I’d just like to try and get a handle on the improvement. Would you say the Coherent was massively better than Exposure, or were the Exposure and Coherent well ahead of the others? |
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Post by pauld on Aug 25, 2019 19:12:34 GMT
My current speaker cable is the best I have ever owned and heard, Coherent Systems 5D. It is quite phenomenal at bringing out detail but without the usual added brightness that a lot of cables do. Prior to the Coherent, I had Exposure speaker cable previously, which I had compared against a lot of cables and always preferred Probably an impossible one to convey, Paul, but I’m curious having never heard really expensive speaker cable. I’d just like to try and get a handle on the improvement. Would you say the Coherent was massively better than Exposure, or were the Exposure and Coherent well ahead of the others? The Exposure helds is own against a lot more expensive cables from the likes of Nordost, Chord, TQ etc. and for me it just wasn’t worth the extra money to upgrade from the Exposure. The Coherent is in a completely different league. It is a bit like removing a rug from across the speakers, plus adding an almost three dimensional soundstage with tonnes of detail. Add to that a smoothness of sound with no fatigue, it’s very impressive. I plugged it in and instantly knew I had to have the cable. Luckily I managed to get the cable second-hand, which saved me a chunk of cash. |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 26, 2019 12:22:15 GMT
What speaker cables do you like, that has good bass and highs, without sounding edgy? Or something that's just a good all rounder. S.
It has to be a good *value* all-rounder these days. I'm sure the Van Damme stuff Mark G sells is excellent for the task and he DOES make 'em up to a very high standard indeed.
At the moment, I use the equivalent of NVA LS2 in the main stereo as I can route it easily under the carpet around the room. the workroom stereo currently has NVA LS5 which I thought I liked a lot when I compared it to the 2.5mm 42 strand I had up there before. Maybe I should see about some Linn K10 equivalent which I liked so much years back. It's a sensible copper and sensible no-attitude sound and worth it as long as basically the same stuff can be bought off the drum as once possible.
P.S. You MUST be careful though - I saw this - And I doubt it'd be any good as it's a 'copper composite' so probably copper plated aluminium, which is a very high resistance cable!
Stick to cables with a known pedigree.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 26, 2019 12:42:26 GMT
LS2 is a good cable. The base cable is even better twinned. I paid £27 for a 100 metre roll, so you can afford to double up. I’ve never tried more lengths because my chosen cable is still leaps ahead. But then it’s leaps ahead of everything else to me.
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Post by dsjr on Aug 26, 2019 15:55:38 GMT
Is it still the silver plated stuff we discussed ages ago?
I tried doubling up the Odyssey at home and apart from a touch more 'weight,' I still didn't like it at home and when I inherited all the stuff I've gone on about over the last eleven years, I terminated it as bi-wire and gave it to my old mukka to use with his Spendor S8's. He loves it just as I thought he would.
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Post by karma67 on Aug 26, 2019 16:06:12 GMT
another one for you,did you ever try the UBYTE-2 diy cable?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 26, 2019 16:41:31 GMT
Is it still the silver plated stuff we discussed ages ago? I tried doubling up the Odyssey at home and apart from a touch more 'weight,' I still didn't like it at home and when I inherited all the stuff I've gone on about over the last eleven years, I terminated it as bi-wire and gave it to my old mukka to use with his Spendor S8's. He loves it just as I thought he would. Yep but it’s not the same as Odyssey, it’s the stuff they use in Epic Twin. As we look for different things, it may still not be to your taste, but then we both like LS2, so I can’t be sure. You should try LS2 doubled up sometime. It just has more weight and definition than the single stuff. I’m talking about the later LS2. |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 26, 2019 19:50:00 GMT
I have too much weight and definition right now, but don't disbelieve you as regards doubling the effective gauge of the cables You know and I have to confess. I hardly play music via any of the speakers right now  In fact I think I'm getting unused to 'High Fidelity' reproduction at home at any reasonable volume level, so why the eff am I posting here and there? I hear this and that and it sounds shite, yet costs tens of thousands of pounds with paying purchasers and yet I hear something else costing less and bang! It's there and I'm entranced in the music again... |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 27, 2019 5:02:03 GMT
I used to listen loud, but I just don’t want or need it now. A Nait is plenty loud enough for me with any normal speaker. Still can’t get on with headphones though. I just need believable soundstaging and I really don’t lie the feeling of something covering my ears.
At the end of the day, it’s whatever allows you to suspend disbelief and lose the realisation you’re listening to a recording. For me it’s a beautiful spatially vast experience with heat-through clarity, but also great timing. Hardness/glare kills it for me, but so does being swamped with bass and especially boom.
Speaker cables just kinda fit into that recipe. What I’d choose might work against the objectives of someone else.
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Post by alit on Aug 27, 2019 10:23:15 GMT
another one for you,did you ever try the UBYTE-2 diy cable? Didnt try that one, but I did make up a set of Twisted Twins, which I used for years and thought sounded very good. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2019 22:20:32 GMT
Yep thats it Active. All dudes have to delude themselves with is interconnects.. Ill never go Passive again.
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Post by dsjr on Aug 27, 2019 22:26:29 GMT
Don't tell 'em that, it'll spoil the fun |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 12:46:16 GMT
I went active in 1983. Why on earth i drifted onto passive speakers. The more & more i think about the past i recon i got things right from the offset.  |
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In fact I think I'm getting unused to 'High Fidelity' reproduction at home at any reasonable volume level, so why the eff am I posting here and there? I hear this and that and it sounds shite, yet costs tens of thousands of pounds with paying purchasers and yet I hear something else costing less and bang! It's there and I'm entranced in the music again...