Expensive Cables: Worth it?

[NateTTU]

With such great sounding speakers such as the statements, I would like to get the most out of the system. I have an oppurtunity to purchase a set of multi channel audio cables (6 total) from blue jeans cable for about half their price of $115. It still is a pretty sizeable chunck of change for just wire, but I'm thinking is it worth it?

I really want to elminate any and all interferance wether that be hum, hiss, or anything else. I currently run sets of these cables from monoprice. Their build quality is pretty nice and for the price they are really awesome.

I'm currently encountering some noise in my system that I'm not sure where its from. If I only turn on my emotiva LPA-1/LMC-1 combo I get a slight hum. Its not loud, but its there and it doesn't get louder/softer when I change the volume. Each statement speaker is connected to the amp with a different wire. One is with the copper wire from monoprice and the other is just some really small and cheap wire I had on hand, but both still give me the same problem.

My question: are the more expensive cables the solution to everyones problems including the economy?

[cotdt]

no the speaker cables won't eliminate your hum. the hum is coming from elsewhere. speaker cable is the least important part of your system so i don't recommend spending more than $6 for them. i do recommend good interconnect cables though.

[NateTTU]

...interconnect cables though.

Which ones would these be? I should point out that these cables I am considering run between the LMC-1 and LPA-1.

[ThomasW]

Moved from the DIY forum.

Threads titled like this tend to become flame fests so it will be monitored closely.

[Mike B]

I like to make speaker cables from 14g 2 conductor power cord and add the ends that I want or just tin the leads.

There, we can move it back to DIY - 8)

[David Meek]

I'll second what Thomas said. No flames. None.

[cotdt]

If you do the math, you don't need thick cables. Cable resistance is a non-issue, and there is not nearly enough current to fuse even very thin cables. I say just get some cheap 24awg and be done with it.

[PewterTA]

The biggest changed I noticed was going from Copper to Silver Cables. To me, MOST copper cables sounded similiar with very little difference. But the change over to silvercables (Cat Silvercats) made a huge change for the better in my mid and highs.

So to me it's not worth buying really expensive copper cables.

[CupCak3]

If you do the math, you don't need thick cables. Cable resistance is a non-issue, and there is not nearly enough current to fuse even very thin cables. I say just get some cheap 24awg and be done with it.

The required speaker cable gauge to minimize resistance is a function of speak ohm rating and length of run.

I use this guide for my speaker wire runs. No need to overspend on copper that will not affect results.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

I agree with the other comments on buying good interconnect.s I just checked blue jeans cable to possibly buy some stuff for my system... I got quite an eye opener... their prices seem to have increased substantially over the past year or so.

[David Meek]

I got quite an eye opener... their prices seem to have increased substantially over the past year or so.

The markets for metals and oil-based products (sheathing, poly, etc.) having gone crazy are impacting materials costs for everything. Hopefully that's all that's being passed along.

Like Dan mentioned, copper and silver cables have different sound characteristics. You'll notice a difference switching between the two materials, but whether it is a good and/or substantial difference is entirely dependent on your system, your hearing acuity and your tastes. YMMV.

[Rolex]

Tony Gee has a nice design for some CAT 6 cable. It looks very interesting, I may have to try it at some point. The nice thing is, it is relatively inexpensive.

http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/CAT6.html

[wettou]

Tony Gee has a nice design for some CAT 6 cable. It looks very interesting, I may have to try it at some point. The nice thing is, it is relatively inexpensive. http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/CAT6.html

Cool for a step up try this http://www.homegrownaudio.com/silver_braid.htm

a bit more expensive but they sure look cool, how do you braid cables like that!! Same with Kimber Kable 8TC

[impala454]

Nate, I would suggest getting a stereo cable from rat shack, get one from mono, and get one from blue jeans or somewhere "higher end". Then do some seriously listening, and maybe get a friend and try to do some blind testing as well. In the end you'll have spent about $50, and you will know for sure what works best for you.

As far as noise/hum, I recall there being a great thread here or somewhere else that helps you identify and eliminate it. It has nothing to do with cable quality and usually comes from stuff associated to your house. The first thing I always do is unplug the coax cable from the wall (if you have cable or satellite TV). It sounds weird I know, but 9 times out of 10 the hum disappears when you do that. Obviously you can't leave it unplugged, but it helps diagnose it.

[NateTTU]

Thanks for all the help guys. The only reason I asked all this was so I could diagnoise the hum and get rid of it, just like Chuck said. It seems to me that the speaker cable is likely not the cause. I'm not too worried about any effects cable may have on the actual sound, so I will likely keep my current setup.

I don't have any sort of cables coming from the wall other than power cables. Anything else that may cause it?

[wettou]

Thanks for all the help guys. The only reason I asked all this was so I could diagnoise the hum and get rid of it, I don't have any sort of cables coming from the wall other than power cables. Anything else that may cause it?

Ground loop it is called, yes that is what is causing it but what you need to do is: Unplug everything and then start plunging equipment one by one so you can find the guilty:M

[impala454]

I don't have any sort of cables coming from the wall other than power cables. Anything else that may cause it?

Keep in mind that even if a cable is not hooked up to your amp, it can still be the cause. My first guess would always be a cable/sat receiver. Second guess, unplug the sub completely, power cables and interconnects.

You'll also want to find anything that's plugged into the same breaker and unplug that stuff too. IMHO it's good to map out your whole house anyways so you know which plugs/lights are in which breakers. Sometimes it can be very strange, some electrician will make a home run with one outlet, then daisy chain another one in the same room to a different breaker.

[NateTTU]

This would get pretty complicated pretty fast. I think the slight hum is coming from the amp. The hum that is coming out from the speakers is very slight, I can only hear it when I'm about 6 inches or less from the drivers. Although, the amp itself makes quite a bit of hum and I can hear that about 3ft away. These components are not yet placed in their final spots and I was going to move them into a closet. I probably will run a new outlet back there on its own breaker. Hopefully this will eliminate any hum issues. I was just hoping a quick and easy swaping of cables would do the trick.

Thanks,
Nate

[PewterTA]

Did you try pulling your cable/satellite connection from the system and see if that stops it?

I had some interferene and since my APC S15 conditioner everything is better, picture & audio quality. I've been 110% impressed and the battery backup is a nice feature as well.

Not saying you need something like that, but I'm thinking your getting interference from something, could even be a light/fan switch in a close room that is on the same circuit.

[Lex]

If you want inexpensive cables, may I suggest supported our Sponsor Parts Express, th ey have plenty to please on a budget. Click banner at top of page.

[Mike B]

Yup.

Been using Dayton cables for years now. Just ordered up some more (with HTG referral of course) a 25 foot component video set for the projector.

They sound good, are reliable and flexible and won't hurt your wallet.

[chasw98]

This would get pretty complicated pretty fast. I think the slight hum is coming from the amp. The hum that is coming out from the speakers is very slight, I can only hear it when I'm about 6 inches or less from the drivers. Although, the amp itself makes quite a bit of hum and I can hear that about 3ft away. These components are not yet placed in their final spots and I was going to move them into a closet. I probably will run a new outlet back there on its own breaker. Hopefully this will eliminate any hum issues. I was just hoping a quick and easy swaping of cables would do the trick.

Thanks,
Nate

To uncomplicate this situation, try this. Make sure everything is powered down and unplug all of the AC power cords to all of your equipment.

01) Plug in the power amplifier to the wall and with the speaker cables connected and no other cables, including input cables, turn on the power amp and see if the hum is present. We are talking about electrical 60 Hz hum and not mechanical hum from the amplifier. If there is hum from your speakers, then you have found where it is coming from. If there is no hum at all, then go to step 2.

02)Take the next piece of gear in line (usually your preamp/pre pro) and unplug all the cables except the AC cable and the cables that feed your power amp. Turn on the preamp and see if you get any hum. If you are using a multichannel amplifier, check and seee if you get hum from all channels or individual channels.

Continue down this path hooking up one component at a time and listening for hum. Be very logical about this so you can recreate the existence of hum or the abscence of hum. Once you are able to make the hum appear and disappear, then you will have a clue as to where the hum is coming from and what to do to get rid of it. It can be as simple as using a 'cheater' plug that lifts the AC ground from the power cord or it may be a bad cable in your system.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING A CHEATER PLUG AS A PERMANENT SOLUTION, ONLY FOR TESTING PURPOSES.

If you can troubleshoot using this method and get back to us, we can usually help figure what may be causing the problem.

Chuck