Best speaker cables for 805S

[20KHZ]

Hi all!

I am a brand new and proud owner of a pair of used 805S speakers. Very excited to have them! Just wanted to get some good advice on what are some good speaker cables that would go well with them and how much should I be spending? Where I live there aren't any nice hi-fi type stores so I am looking to purchase these cables online. If you guys have any suggestions on that as well it would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your patience with a B&W (and hi-fi) newbie

[Pio]

Belden 10 AWG!! Or 12 AWG if the run is short. You can actually get away with a lot smaller, check out the link below. You can go to Belden.com or http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

BUT, I'm in the "chose a cable based on construction, durability, and build quality" camp. I can hear the difference between a lot of gear, but (if its luck or not) I can't hear the difference between cables.

Here is a great paper written by Roger Russell from McIntosh, all a "newbie" needs to know

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

[Antioch]

Look at Bryston's speaker cables, they are a great value for the money and I use them with my 803 Diamonds. They use them at many recording studios. They have one model and charge the same price for bi-wire set ups. There is a lot of controversy over bi-wiring speakers but the B&W's are set up for bi-wiring. I bi-wired because I figured it couldn't hurt and the manufacturer recommends it. I hope this thread doesn't turn into a discussion about bi-wiring.

Great speakers and you will really enjoy them. The downside is you will now be tempted to upgrade you components to take advantage of those great speakers.

[20KHZ]

Pio and Antioch, thanks so much for the great advice! I'm checking out those brands now. One thing I've come across is which end connection type should I be using? Welded, banana, spade, raw, etc? Sorry again for the newbie question, I'm sure this one is obvious to you guys. Thanks again :T

[Pio]

http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-Deadbolt-Banana-Plugs-12-Pair.asp

I like banana plugs because they're easy and i can just glance at them and know the connection is secure. I love the deadbolt design because once the cable is locked its not coming lose. I came across the Sewell deadbolts on the link above recently and ordered them because they're just an incredible value.

The "purist" connection, I've heard, is to simply use the wire with no connector so your not going from one type of metal to another that's gold plated. I haven't even tried that because I'm using 10 awg and I would be concerned with the connection coming lose because of the cables weight.

Lots of audiophiles I know would never use anything but spade lugs because of the large contact area.

[wkhanna]

I would encourage everyone to take a look at Cat Cables.

They are made by Lex, the owner of this site.
I own many of his cables & have compared them to many, many other brands.
For the price, I have yet to find better value at a real-world & realistic price.

My V good friend, Dan (PewterTA) uses them with his 802di's.
I have heard these & other B&W's with many other brands of varying price & quality.
Again, for the price, I have yet hear a cable sound significantly better than the Cat Cables at anywhere near the cost of the Cat product.

JMHO YMMV

[Pio]

I would encourage everyone to take a look at Cat Cables.

I love the CAT cables, they look very beefy! Very robust!

[wkhanna]

I would like to make some facts V clear to everyone…….

I became a member here many years ago & long, long before I became a moderator.
I purchased my Cat Cables many, many years before I became a moderator.
I tried the Cat Cables, & for the money, nothing before or since that I have heard is a better value, IMHO.

I get no perks, no commission, no ‘kick-back’…….not even ‘special pricing’ from Doug (Lex).
These are just good, well-built with quality martials & fine craftsmanship, excellent performing cables at a reasonable price.

End of story.

[lastexit]

Just wanted to get some good advice on what are some good speaker cables that would go well with them and how much should I be spending? Where I live there aren't any nice hi-fi type stores so I am looking to purchase these cables online.

Since you have 800 series speakers, why not check out Abbey Road cables? http://www.audiorevelation.com/cre/p...roducts_id=576
I believe you can purchase them at The Cable Company's website: http://www.thecableco.com/

[ShadowZA]

... I tried the Cat Cables, & for the money, nothing before or since that I have heard is a better value, IMHO.

I support Bill on this. I bought some Kingcat interconnects (not speaker cables) from Doug quite a while ago and have not looked back. One of the best purchases I've made. :T I'm using second-hand speaker cables which were a bargain at the time. If I were to buy brand new, I'd look to Cat Cables for these too.

[Antioch]

20 KHZ,
I use bananas on the speaker end and bare wire on the amp end. Bare wire can come loose more easily than spades or bananas. I went with the bare wire because I had to run the cables through my hardwood floors to the basement and up to another room and I didn't want to drill the massive holes necessary to accommodate the Bryston spades.

If you look at the Bryston site you will see they use 12 AWG wire but they use four wires per cable so you effectively have 9 AWG wires. That is going to accommodate up to 30'+ runs. They use SP4 wire and used to use Belden wire (also excellent). A couple of folks here seem to like CAT and I believe they are a little more expensive. I am sure all are great options.

FWIW some folks feel what is really important is the resistance and the rest is nonsense. Let your ears be the judge. You are going to get a lot of opinions on cables and the best I can say is try out some different brands. There is a company out there that specializes in cables and carries a lot of different brands and I think they ship them to you and let you try them (I can't recall the name). I would not recommend spending too much on cables because IMO they will provide the least bang for the buck. Buy decent but reasonably priced cables and consider upgrading your other gear to take advantage of those speakers and make them sing. You can find really good used gear at Audiogon and Canuck Audio Mart - (or that's close).

I will put in a plug for Bryston (I use it). Their analog gear carries a 20 year warranty and it follows the gear so if you buy used you still get the warranty. Just make sure you get the original bill of sale if it is recent gear. This isn't necessary on older gear and I forget exactly when the policy changed.

Good Listening,

Mike

[wkhanna]

Possibly the most level-headed, rational post on the topic of cables I have read ln a V long time.
Well done, Mike.

Also, allow me to take this opportunity to remind our longtime members & our much appreciated newer members that this site is owned by the manufacturer of CatCables. Up until V recently the topic of cables & discussions thereof were absolutely verboten. These discussions will be monitored closely & not be allowed to digress into petty bickering filled with disrespect or senseless rants. Out of respect for Doug & his business let us please refrain from direct links to other manufacturers or retailers. Comments on other cables & cable constructions are fine so long as they are rational & relevant to the topic of current discussion.

Thanks in advance to everyone.
Your cooperation is appreciated & is what make this site the place to come for accurate, informative & helpful information.

[fozzer424]

You should send an e-mail to B&W and see what they suggest.

Over the years, I've found that most of the engineers who design our valuable gear have very consistent opinions on the cable aspect of our hobby. It's these folks who I'd trust the most on this issue. If you do some research, you'll find what their general consensus is. I recommend focusing on things like room treatments, speakers (which you already have), components, and most important of all -- music. That will make a real difference.

[Briz vegas]

I think I can get stick within the rules and say that cables are a very personal thing. I used Valhalla on my 804s and still use it on my Vivids. You can spend as much or as little as you see fit and cat cables would seem well supported around here as an option.

Phil Dickie, who had a hand in the B&Ws and designed my current Vivids does not recommend a speaker cable, instead leaving it up to the customer as he says there are just too many opinions out there. I know the brand of cable used by Vivid speakers, and its not the same as I use between my speakers and amp. That's not to say that I am not happy with my cabling as I am, I'm just pointing out that there are many options and ways to mix and match.

[PewterTA]

Well I would have to agree, if Lex (Doug) is willing to make you a pair of cables.... they are definitely worth it.

In fact through transitive relationships I can highly say this. I have the cattails and they are equal to the speaker cables that Bill has on his that he got from MapleShade. We did a decently extensive test the one day and could honestly say if there were differences, they were extremely minimal. Now to that effect, a year or so later, we have also compared Bill's speaker cables with a pair of $4,500 speaker cables (the name escapes me right at this moment and I'm sure Bill will let us know what the name is). To be honest.... we heard no difference and if there was, it was EXTREMELY minimal. Enough that for the price difference, I can honestly say you're throwing your money away at that point. I could buy a good set of cables and still blow $4000 on something else that will get me much better benefit!

Point being, you don't have to spend a lot on cables to get good quality cables that will compare with cables far outside their price range.