Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Axiom speaker cable?

Axiom speaker cable is good or...?

It's copper, it's thick, it conducts electricity, and it's flexible. Oh yeah, and it's fairly inexpensive. Yup, it's good.

Oh yes

Very good, very flexible.

Yes Joseph; it's copper wire, copper wire is a good conductor of electricity, so it's good. It doesn't conduct any better than regular 12ga lampcord for maybe 30 cents a foot(and to its credit Axiom doesn't claim that it does), but if you want to pay more for a more attractive cable, it's your decision.

You might find this discussion of "The Ten Biggest Lies in Audio" published in the Audio Critic about four years ago to be informative on the topic of cables and oher matters. Don't be fooled.

Oh No, Not Another Thread On Speaker Cable?!%$#!?&^%$

He did it to us again!!!!!!!!!!

It must be a conspiracy?????

LOL!

Wait there will be more..............there always are

John: that is really an excellent article. It should be posted on all audio boards at least once a month (especially the ones talking about the speaker cables, LOL!). The author really knew what he was talking about from a engineering standpoint.

Seems like there was a thread here on power/ line conditioning.

I wonder if you would need permission to actually post the whole article every once in a while?

Yes, a VERY excellent and informative article.

Its pretty much agreed upon in THIS forum that speaker wire doesn't matter as long as its the same gauge. How about some other myths explained by the author, especially tube amps vs transistors and bi-wiring? There are members around here who also use Tube amps as well as bi-wiring. I'm inclined to agree they are both myths since there has been no hard evidence proving otherwise.

I'm not trying to start a flamewar or anything, just trying to understand how people claim one is better than the other when science states otherwise.

So, is bi-wiring all that and can anyone hear a difference? I wonder if Axiom themselves have noticed any differences in sound in their anechoic (sp?) chambers/scientific tests when they tested a speaker with a single pair of wires vs bi-wiring.

Also, the author states whatever vacuum tubes can do in any audio equipment solid state devices can do better, cheaper, and with greater reliability.

Can anyone please explain the differences they hear when comparing wiring and types of amps? I'm no expert but would like additional insight in these matters

I won't go into any great technical detail, but there are some fundamental differences in the frequency spectrum between tube and solid state amplifiers. Do they result in audio differences that you can actually hear? That I don't know. Some folks claim that they can tell the difference, others say that you can't.

I tend to believe that the bi-wiring falls in the same category as the speaker wire.

I've been using an integrated tube amp for a couple of months now, and to my ears there is a difference. The tube amp adds a certain texture to the music that is noticeable. Also, I seem to be hearing a bit more detail in the music, but maybe that's because I'm paying more attention. I do know that my music listening has grown to an almost everyday activity. There is a certain amount of life that has been added to the sound that comes out of my speakers. I could go on, but I don't want to start spouting audio cliches.

To my ears, and unscientific opinion, there is a difference between tube and solid state. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but more like using different brush strokes on the same painting. The difference in sound may be all in my head, but I don't think my ears can be that bad, can they?

Given that I haven't heard a tube amp, I am pretty sure there is a difference between the two, sonically.

As for biwiring, I'd say that's pretty bogus. But y'all know my opinion on cables.

I don't think anyone has every argued that there's no difference between a tube amp and a ss amp. The arguement always surrounds which is "better". A silly notion.

The one you prefer the sound of is the "better" of the two - for you.

Everything I've read in the past indicated a marked difference between tube and solid state. Having heard both,to my ear, there is a definite difference. Just trying to diplomatically state my opinion. Seems to be a lot of angst around here lately.

I wholeheartedly agree with the notion that which is better is entirely subjective. I wish everyone had the luxury of trying different things and expanding thier musical horizons with whatever component he/she chooses.

I am beginning to wonder if some of the cable/ wire "observations" were a result of poor cable to connector joints. I have seen some strange results that resulted from cold solder joints, loose connections, wear, and just plain crud on the fixtures. I have seen some cables that measured fine at DC, but were terrible at RF, but I digress.

I am also wondering if some of the cable manufacturers demonstrations weren't of the variety of the old "snake oil" salesman.

Perhaps these comments explain why some refuse to understand scientific fact. Sometimes seeing (hearing) is not believing. Wasn't it David Copperfield that had those wonderful illusions? Great, weren't they?

This thread won't die so let's enjoy it!

Anyone want to comment on what type of connectors that they use? I bought some "fancy" banana plug connectors from BlueJeans. First time I have ever seen banana plugs where you can actually expand the prong. There are two screws to fasten the cable to the connector. Pretty slick.

OK, 2X6, your turn.

I noticed on the Sunfire Grand you have connections to make the Sunfire sound more tubelike. Or so the literature says.

I mostly use banana plugs for connectors. I find them easier to work with behind my receiver. On these Monster Cable (gasp!) connectors I can unscrew the top portion and turn it into a spade if needed. Pretty handy, but expensive.

I use spades behind my rear speakers. I was thinking of the future when I'd get QS8s to mount on the wall.

The bananas are great because I am constantly switching wires to my speakers.

Bought my first dual banana plugs yesterday to use when I test 60s and 80s tonight (80s are on the FEDEX truck for delivery). $15 plus tax for 2 duals. Monsters (gasp!)

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Bought my first dual banana plugs yesterday to use when I test 60s and 80s tonight (80s are on the FEDEX truck for delivery). $15 plus tax for 2 duals. Monsters (gasp!)

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Bug, you are going to keep both the 60s and the 80s....right! You'll find a nice place for them in the house.

I use Radio Shack banana plugs along with Axiom and BlueJeans cables for interconnects, Lowes bulk 14ga speaker wire for all of the speakers.

I'm thinking I may look into the banana plugs that have the set screw rather than the 2 pc barrel type that screws together to hold the speaker wire, which is what my RS plugs are. Seems to me like there would be a better connection with the set screw type. Also I only use the plugs into the back of the reciever and amp, bare wire for the speakers.

I like the double set screw type. You can get those at Home Depot (no matter how wrong it feels!)

Ken, we had a new Home Depot open up not too far from where we live and I noticed that they seem to carry quite a selection of A/V cables and accesories.
Do you or anybody else have any experience with the wall outlet/speaker plugs? Whenever we expand our room I was thinking I may use them, if they do work.

I have no experience with their wall jacks of any kind, but as long as they conduct electricity and hold the wire tight enough, I would think they would be fine.

The Quest SWP1 Single PR Speaker Wall Plate is a speaker connection for the wall or ceiling. The SWP1 is a single pair speaker application that features heavy duty 5-way binding posts.

I use most of the Leviton quickport stuff. I use it for banana jacks, RJ45 (ethernet), RJ11, and coax (tv). Works great and VERY flexible in terms of configurations.

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Given that I haven't heard a tube amp, I am pretty sure there is a difference between the two, sonically.

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You've NEVER heard a tube amp?!? Seriously? Wow, the embryo award goes to... Ken!

Bren R.

Well, not in an audio setting. Hey, the last time I went to a shop to try and audition them, the salesguy told me I was an idiot for wanting to compare tube and solid state. Jerk.

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the salesguy told me I was an idiot

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was that the same guy bren ran into at the circuit city a few months back..?

bigjohn

Not quite... This one clearly saw a young guy who wasn't buying anything and was going to waste his time. As opposed to Bren's, who was the young guy!

Needless to say, he's right. I'm never going to buy anything from that shop. If anyone else wants to shop for audio in SF, I'll be happy to tell you where not to go.

I posted this link on another thread, but I will do it here also.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/interconnects/SpeakerCableFaceoff.htm

Check it out, it is a superb article, IMO.

Link

Rick: you're the man!!!!!!!!

Still wonder how some of these manufacturers get by with all of this "false" advertising? I would have thought that the Feds would have lowered the boom on them a long time ago????

Do you folks in Canada have any similar laws about truth in advertising?

Thanks Bernard, it was an interesting read.

Good Article. Thanks for the post.

I purchased a spool of 12 awg and a 25 foot subwoofer cable.good quality stuff and the braided sheathe on the coax is very nice.

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