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
I have the Outlaw ICBM doing the crossover work for my stereo,its a nice solid piece of equipment.The cables Outlaw sells are real nice too,I only have one set but they sure are nice.
The sub sounds great with the music I have played. I still have my cabnet and TV pulled out because of the audio problem I stated. Once that is corrected and I get the sub and M60's dialed in I will update you as to how I feel about the system. So far so good.
All the cable running the system are Outlaw as well. I felt if I was going to do it, do it right.
Outlaw does make nice cables. They are a pain to remove though. It's hard to get my fingers around the barrels to unlock them. I actually like the locking feature; it's nice to know that they won't come loose.
I picked up the ICBM before I purchased my Integra DTR 7.4.
I actually use it, but don't really need it with the bass management built in to the receiver. It's more flexible than the receiver, I think. My M200’s are waiting patiently for the M22’s. The 755 are worth every penny.
Outlaw is like Axiom, good customer service and products for less.
Tom
I haven't yet had to remove the Outlaw cables yet.The locking feature is a nice option though.I got the ICBM because being a stereo pre amp my Rotel dosen't have any bass management.At first I tried a Hsu high pass filter and didn't like it because it introduced a hissing sound in my 80's.When I talked to Dr. Hsu about it he had said it was that my speakers had such a high sensitivity rating.Anyway I had to send the Hsu back because of the noise.After reading about the Icbm for about a year or so I finnaly gave it a shot.This thing does what it is supposed to and is dead quiet.Very happy costumer here
.
The thing I like about the ICBM is that you can actually run subwoofers in stereo mode. My room is too small to notice bass in stereo at least I think it is. I don't even want to get into that discussion... I wonder if any one is doing that here? I would be curious to know what their thoughts are on this. On paper it looks dandy, in reality who knows if there would be a benefit.
Here is a good read on running stereo subs.
Thanks! SoundHound is very knowledgeable. I always like reading his posts. I missed this one though.
I 've read it a few times it is a very good read.It answers alot of questions about the benfits of running two subs as compared to just one.
two subs makes a huge difference,i tried three identical subs,but the change in sound wasnt as dramatic as just adding the second one,so two is enough for me,pick up another and hear and feel the differance for yourself,you will feel like you have a whole new system
My wife is going to think I'm nuts if I pick up another Earthquake Supernova Mkv-15. It's going to be a lot 'o' fun
.
Tom
Go for it they think we are nuts anyway
.
Besides the gauge, the material is also very important. In terms of conductivity and price, platinum > gold > silver > copper. Some ultra expensive speaker cables do use platinum and gold and you can imagine the sky-high price.
However, some expensive cables (>$1000) still use copper (so called 99.999% pure). They can never be 10 times better than a generic copper cable with the same gauge for less than $100.
One practical approach is to buy an expensive cable/component ONLY if you can hear the difference.