Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Thought on cables

I have read a bit on speaker cables and have seen mixed thoughts and if the high end cables make a differance in sound quality. I am currently running basic cables to my speakers but since my Axiom 60's are coming in today (YES!!) along with my LFM Outlaw Sub coming in today (double YES!!) I though that I would poise the question. I would hate to invest a pretty penny to get very minor results if at all.

On another note.. Wife does not know about the recent speaker upgrades. Does anyone have any good stories to tell her..ie, when I purchased the mains the sub came free... Don't know hun, they were here when I came home so I'm just as confused but since they look so good and sound so great, lets keep 'em.... They followed me home, can we keep them...please...

It would be great to hear some stories on the excuses behind why we upgrade something that to us is so important but to the wife or girlfriend seems to be a waist of $$.

Yay! Now we can argue about break in, components, AND cable!
I'll start... Speaker cables don't make a difference. A good conductor is a good conductor. Make sure the gauge is high enough. I'm sure JohnK will post his bevy of articles. If you want to get fancy, here's the article I usually post.

Currently using Monster X1 14 Ga. Twisted ends connected to speakers.

The existing cable should be fine.

I don't have any good advice as far as coming up with a story to tell the wife. I would be tempted to tell her that the sub and speakers came as a "package". This may not fly.
For me being honest works good most of the time.

Ensure you have the sufficient gauge wires ( typically 14-12g), and use generic wire.
On the interconnect side, buy something of decent quality, again, nothing too high priced.

Just be sure to set aside the stuff that is typically thrown into the boxes as free.....unless you negotiated for better stuff when you bought them.

One word - honesty.

L7, I won't link any of the articles this time(they're all over the board), but just point out that this is an area of audio rife with charlatans preying on the gullible. On the results that you'd get from spending more money your "if at all" term would apply rather than "very minor". Whatever your present cables are, if they're of adequate gauge(well, might as well link the article , after all)nothing can be improved. If you get any included cables with your equipment, use them; manufacturers don't sabotage their own products. For the sub cable, any cable with an RCA connector on each end works; a shielded coaxial cable is usually suggested, although it may be a bit of overkill in most situations. In any case, it should run less than a dollar a foot.

I will disagree slightly with JohnK here on his statement that manufacturers don't sabotage their products. I don't know about quality of cables they put in, but if DVD player manufacturers wanted to do a little better by their products, they'd include component, S-vid, or DVI cables with their DVD players, not cheapo composite cables.

So did everything arrive on Friday, 8/20? Got it hooked up yet, and if so how does it sound? Where's the pics?

Regarding the wife issue, I think upfront clearance on the purchase is a must - I usually wait until she has talked us into something expensive that she really wants before taking the plunge. It then becomes part of the negotiation.

I do like the 'they followed me home, can I keep it?' approach. Nothing wrong with occasional begging. Good luck with the explanation and let us know how it all turns out.

Don't get me wrong, I would never lie to the wife. I always like to use some laughter when making a big purchase. The boyish charm seems to take the edge off. I wanted to see if anyone else, like me, did some groveling.

The M60"s came in and I got it all hooked up. I am having an issue with my Outlaw 1050 sending it's audio signal to all the speakers. It will sound great then it will mute for a second or two then the sound will be back. Steve at Outlaw has been invaluable in hooking it all back up, spending over 30min with me on the phone so I will call him on Monday. I cannot say nicer things about Outlaw.

It was great to get the Outlaw LFM Sub in the same day as the M60's. Felt like Xmas ripping into the boxes like a 10 year old. Everything is hooked up and today I will be crawling around setting the sub location and pointing the M60's right. I did listen to some music last night and was floored with the M60 sound quality. VERY HAPPY though I am still thinking about picking up some Stream speakers....kidding.

Anyway, thanks for the advice on this one. I will see if my wife knows how to get a pic sent out.

I like Outlaw too. I have 2 M200's, and ICBM and a 755. The gear is rock solid and sounds GREAT!

How do you like the LFM?

Tom