Do Speaker Cables Make a Difference 🎶
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- I've tried 16 gauge copper clad and 14 gauge oxygen free copper speaker cable and I've not heard any discernible difference between them. Will 12 gauge OFC sound better?
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Some people are claiming that this is a fake comparison. The cables were 100% changed out for each recording. However, it is a still photo. I forgot to take a picture when recording the other two sound tests. So rather than reattach the cables again and take another two pictures, I used the one still photo. You are not Sherlock Holmes and you haven't uncovered some nefarious plot to trick the viewing public.
FWIW... I participated in a test where cables were 'changed' and the brand/type of cable was stated at each change. EVERYONE could hear the difference that the "better" cables provided. BUT, when the results were announced, it turned out that NO cable changes had been made - the cheapest cables had been in place the entire time yet literally all 11 participants stated how much better the "$2000 cables" sounded as opposed to the $30 cables that were in place the entire time.
;)
You've hit the nail on the head. They've done similar experiments with wine and other things and folks invariably "prefer" what they're told are higher priced, more glamorous products even though they're drinking the same wine with a fake label. It confirms their good taste don't you know. The only reliable way to do any testing is totally blind so you don't know what product you're experiencing and have to give your honest assessment without the built in bias of your brain and ego interfering. This test above, and the comments below, clearly exemplify this point. To have people claim to have heard a "definite difference" though a UA-cam video with no knowledge of how the recording was made or its quality is quite humorous. We humans have weak minds, thus you have many that believe that the earth is flat and Donald Trump isn't a liar. So it goes.
So did you hear a difference in these tests?@@sixdogbob543
That being said I didn’t mess with looking into 12 gauge. I still got 14 gauge OFC because the headroom and peace of mind was worth it. I learned recently not to cheap out especially when it’s something where you have to pull a bunch of panels out that you may break (car audio application)
No cables Change its not even a test its just a joker you cant do a test like that
If you look at the cable running to the speakers behind the stereo, you can actually see that the entire video shows the big white 12 ga cable running to the speakers. He never changed the cables!
This was the most straightforward video on cables I've ever seen 😂. Thanks for sharing 👍
Cable is everything: if you unplug it, it’s over! 😂
I did this test when I was 14 with my next door neighbour who was around 12 back in the 90s. What we concluded was that the thicker the wire the better the sound so the analogy we used to understand it was like sucking out of a straw. Thinner the straw the least amount of resolution we got in the sound. THe biggest difference we picked up was the resolution of the Kicks. They were snappy and less muddy so from that day on, we always use thick cables for speakers so our cars when we got older always amazed people at how crystal clear and loud they were compared to others.
So which one do you use?
12 gauge really jumps out to me, I was very surprised,
Cheers for the vid.
You could try a comparison with the thinnest wire you could use that doesn't melt with the power supplied, that should be funny!
I noticed that the left and right volume levels seem to differ in some songs when using a 12AWG cable in this video. In particular, the right side is louder. I am using headphones with a volume of around 50dB. It is difficult to say for sure if this is a difference in the cables
Exactly. Came here to say the same. I think quite possibly the recording conditions are not the same (moving even a couple of inches makes a difference, especially at MID/HIGH frequencies).
I've just changed my speaker cables from 14 gauge Kabeldirect to a 12 gauge QED XT40i pair. There is a definite change in sound. Tonally different, more bass weight. Stronger mid-range and a touch more sparkle at the top. Its easier to pick out individual sounds in the soundstage too. This change had a bigger impact than i was expecting for sure. Thanks.
It swapped left channel with right, this is amazing, I didn't knew that cable do this. 🤣🤣
You need to do a hand stand with that one.
the difference is not in the cable gauge but the power the amp needs to use to push the signal. The resistance is greater on when you go up in gauge. Your amplifier needs to work harder to push the same level of sound. You wont (IMO) notice it as much on lower volume but could hear it at a more moderate volume if you have a weak amp.
Yes, resistance goes up with small gauge. HOWEVER, that's a function of distance. When you are working with a 5 foot cable, the resistance difference between 14 and 12awg is negligible when you are pushing 50+ watts through. You really need to worry about gauge when the distances get much greater.
Speaker cables make a huge difference. I purchased 3 meters of 16 gauge cable and couldn’t hear a thing. So I bought 5 meters of 12 gauge cable and it sounded great. Probably due to the fact that my speakers are 4 meters apart!
Open up even the most expensive speeker and the wires inside are always cheap 22 gauge wire. I challenge anyone to take a blind test with cheap vs. expensive wire and no one can tell the difference.
As with interconnect cables there is a diminishing return on what you can actually hear but if you have weierdo hearing like me you can tell the difference with a better cable but after £40-£60 for a basic home setup, do not spend anymore unless you have unlimited cash and are just trying to show off, I have a small room with an odd shape so positioning and maybe toeing in maybe the key here, but when I did fit some new cables the kids (grown up) could tell the difference as soon as they walked in the front door!!
The average speaker voice coil contains about 100 feet of very fine wire, which is somewhere between 28 and 36 gauge, depending on the speaker. Then, there are multiple drivers and a crossover network. The load seen by the amplifier is the sum of the above. Putting a fancy cable at the front of this load does very little, if anything at all, to affect the sound. The "high end" cable represents a tiny fraction of the load seen by the amp. Expensive speaker cables are a marketing ploy, pure and simple, and not an honest one at that. Your test bears that out. I hear no difference.
Those saying they could hear the difference I would invite to a double blind listening test.
None of the high end cable manufacturers will ever agree to such tests.
I can easily here difference by listening this on my phone only.
The loudspeaker cable job is to ensure optimal transfer of power (volts and amps) between the amplifier and the loudspeaker, so you just make sure that you select the optimal wure gauge to do the job.
If you want to hear a difference in the sound signature, well, then, assuming you want to keep the sane loudspeaker drivers, you may have to modify/upgrade the crossover network filters fitted inside the loudspeaker.
All my cables are water cooled. I use aquarium pumps with Polymethyl Methacrylate tubing. You must also use Acetylsalicylic Acid in the water if you want total transparency. Be sure to install the proper left or right handed Mathraldus at the end of each cable. The Audioquest version of this should be on the market soon.
I do the same,my are called aqua quest
@@alanrobinson2229 Catchy name. Should be a big hit in the market. Watch out for lawsuits from the snake oil people.
Should make quite a splash!
Placing different spool of cables on your table there can easily make difference in the sound field in your room, and the sound you receive in your ears.
12 gauge sounds clear,good for tweeters
To me the 14 gauge sounds more mellow, less harsh than the other rwo.. It depends on what kind of music you listen to. Thanks for the comparison.
To me the 12 sounded a little more full range and deeper. The 16 was brighter and brought out the highs. To me the 14 sounded the worst it just seemed caught in between and was just boring. It’s all just personal preference and can be tuned to what you like.
16 gauge pure copper @8ohms is good for 400 Watts. The formula is inverse proportion (4ohm = 800 Watts.) That's all you need to know - speaker (rated) + cable (measured) = total ohms. 16g also a whole lot easier to twist into a noise-free cable if you need one (electric motors or other high frequency pollution - are you a ham radio guy? Have fluorescent lights? Live in Nebraska storms?) 14G for extremely long runs like in commercial settings or out to the barn. Maybe protect the cable well with a poly sleeve for trenching? Kids? That's where I got to with this. Biggest tell: the wires inside the speakers. Watch GR-Research chan = great insights.
Hi , here in Australia we use aluminium with copper layer in mains supply. It's cheap it meets requirements. But big BUT it breaks easily compared to plain copper. Its not something to screw in and change your mind too often.
The other thing standard electrical copper is 99.9% . They claim audio is 99.99 %. If anyone can hear that I'm Russian. The gauge is the big problem especially the longer you run it and the lower the impedance of the speaker , check voltage distribution over system. You want the volts across the speaker not the cable. There are many claims but no oscilloscope patterns.
The Stereophile magazine had speaker cable tests with oscilloscope patterns.
I’ve always used QED 79 strand speaker cables since the’90s and I’m definitely satisfied with them and don’t see any need to try anything else.
me too
Me too
I was not a believer at first but tbh, 12 sounded louder/better.
I have the micca 14 gauge cables, I recently tried 12 gauge cables and they are a little better than the 14.the miccas are good cables
Thankyou so much. My speakers are now able to have their debut...been in box two long weeks as I was so confused over wire business.
I was using 16 but then purchased a 12 gauge. I immediately notice a difference in clarity. Sounds more alive.
12 g ofc to my untrained ears more clarity…best easily! Cheers
Yes the 12 awg sounded better , thanks
First off nice no nonsense video. Secondly i have always found 12, 10 and even 8 ( I found the best!) canhave incredible improvements in resolution, dynamics and control. If you ever get the chance to try some silver plater 8 AWG wires I think you'd be in for the biggest surprise yet!
Great vid and enjoyable presentation. Here's the thing, if anyone wants to actually determine if they are hearing a difference, you cannot listen AND watch the screen as the gauges change. That will influence your psychological reaction...when you see the gauge number change on the screen, you will subconsciously try to hear a difference even if there isn't one. To take this test properly, you must listen without seeing the gauges on the screen change.
I agree. When I was a HIFI nut I spent a load on o2 free cable and gold-plated cable plugs , and thought it sounded better. Then I got my brother to switch cables and did a blind test where I was out of the room. I came in twice not knowing if my standard cable was connected or my expensive gold plated stuff. I chose the standard cable on the blind test. Proving it was "kings new clothes" effect.
I am not saying this is the same for everyone, but fanatics do spend a lot to squeeze out he last bit of performance that perhaps only an oscilloscope would notice.
@@markenetube Good points Mark, an analogy would be the current TV screen "ultra super mega high definition" stuff. The human eye can only perceive resolution and definition to a certain degree; beyond that, any "improvement" in picture quality cannot be perceived. If one is 10 feet away from a 65-inch screen, he will not be able to discern any difference whatsoever between a 4k and an 8k. The returns have diminished to microscopic levels.
@@kennethwilliams4874 I agree. I have seen laptops dumped because they would only go to 720p. When I look at 1080 compared to 720 it looks slightly clearer, but would it stop my enjoyment of watching a video on UA-cam? No. You would probably have to go as low as 240 for that to happen.
It is the same with music. You can refine your system until you hear the conductor breathing on the quite parts, but does that make you enjoy it more? It is the same as saying your car system sounds awful. Which compared to your home set up, it may well do, but do you not use it?
@@markenetubeooffff. It’s hard to go back tho after you’ve been on a nice 1080 screen. I’ve been running 3440x1440 for sometime now, and it’s a night and day difference to my old 1080 screens. Forget 720p, lol. Would kill my eyes.
@@kennethwilliams4874oh but Kenneth! Don’t you want to sit on the floor infront of your 165” 8k TV, 2.5’ away, while watching a (maybe) High Def stream of Monday Night Football? We can all huddle around and kink the ever lovin’ piss outta or necks as we try to take in all 165” inches of upscaled bullshit.
there is difference, very noticable in 12 and 14 and little bit in 16 and 16 and 14 sound best.
In this vid 14 and 16 are the same to me. But 12 gauge is more open sound and more treble. But for my tastes I need the cable for Home theater I think 16 is the best for me lol
But for music, I think 12 is a better choice. BTW I'm listening on Klipsch RP-8000 II So maybe it's very sounds different with other speaker because my speaker's horn itself is very serious making treble already
Instantly noticed a difference!! I have high end speakers on my PC, and noticed the jump from 12awg to 14awg, and the clarity change. Just now building a new system, and this great video made up my mind on speaker wire size!!
If you look at the cable running to the speakers behind the stereo, you can actually see that the entire video shows the big white 12 ga cable running to the speakers. He never changed the cables!
Haha. You should look up placebo effect. He never changed the cables. It's a joke!
Maybe it makes a bigger difference over a longer distance
12 to 14 there's a decent difference, that's if there aren't external factors affecting the recordings. I could tell the difference in a blind test. 14 to 16 has much less of a difference. Don't think it's so crazy to be able to tell there's at least a difference assuming nothing else affected the recordings
I call bullshit on the whole testing process. Placebo effect in play here
12 Gauge sounds wider you can hear less bass (even bit like if you change the polarity on one side), 14 and 16 sound very similar, maby 14 has a bit more high sounds. I would not even say better, but different.
Heard them from my cheap active speakers, and I love the 12 gauge.... 😋, 14-16 nearly similar.
16 n 14 slightly duller with 12 brighter IMO
yes, indeed, there is a big improvement with the 12 gauge in the 2nd and 4th song and there is a minimal difference in the 3rd and 5th song. So you didn't wasted your money ! :)
Cables do make a difference. Its about the shielding as well as the guage, keeping the signal "in" if you like. Having gone through numerous cables in the past, I've settled for Chord Sarum T, mains, interconnects and speaker cable. Expensive, yes, but the music is just out of this world. Would I spend as much again? You bet I would. My cables far exceed the price of my system, but the detail with all types of music is pure magic.
Thank you for this video man! I have 16 gauge going from an Adcom to my 901s. Im going to experiment now thanks to your video!
If you look at the cable running to the speakers behind the stereo, you can actually see that the entire video shows the big white 12 ga cable running to the speakers. He never changed the cables!
Through headphones, the 12 + 14 awg copper are definitely warmer than the 16 aluminium cable.
Next copper vs silver or stranded vs solid core cable
There was a obvious difference with some of the tunes you used over others for sure
Which wire gives better sound? Tinted copper or Bare copper for speaker?
Bare copper!
And now the neighbors are mad at you !!!! 😅
It also is the amount of strands in the wire. Electrons flow along the outside of the wire, not through it like water in a pipe. The higher the strand count the less resistance. I use 10 gauge OFC
Come on man.....that system with a Meter or 2 length, Any type metallic Conductors (barbed Wire, welded Chain, copper or cast iron plumbing Pipe, etc) will sound Identical unless you have Hallucinations or chase sonic Unicorns !!
@@tomstrum6259 It is a good thing to be skeptical, but if you have good hearing first, and good equipment that can resolve fine details then you can hear a difference. I used to be like you but hearing is believing.
The 16-gauge wire in this test is made of copper clad aluminium (CCA). Aluminium has only 61 percent of the conductivity of copper. The 12-gauge OFC stands out as the winner.
Is just my humble opinion, at close range it doesn't make much of a difference, if you're using cables longer than 6 feet then you might notice a slight change, eg. AWG16 is going to have a higher voltage drop than AWG12 over long distance, but the thicker cable is going to have more power handling capabilities at any distance
Solid core best immediate noticeable. F orget the connectors straight wire to speakers.
i use 10 gauge Van Damme LC-OCF cable, cost £10pm for 4m and worth every penny, terminated with self locking banana plugs, that's the kind of cable you should invest if you have Marantz gear, especially from the budget end. if that amazon cable was £61 for 60m you've been fleeced, that's too cheap a cable for that setup. also, i recommend you get some off the reel Van Damme Locap55 guitar cable for interconnects, £8pm off ebay and put plugs on yourself, you can get a decent half meter cable for just over £20 if you terminate them yourself and it's just as good as a £200 off the shelf lead
Amplifiers:
The controversy over tubes vs solid state presists. When response, modulation distortion and transient intermodulation distortion are below certain levels (< 1%) there should be no audible difference.
Speaker wires:
It can be solid, stranded, copper, oxygen free copper, silver, etc.--or even "magic" wire--as long as the resistance is kept to be less than 5% of the speaker impedance. There is no listening difference as long as the wire is of adequate size. Bear in mind, a well-designed amplifier will not have a problem with any of these wires.
CD players:
In the 1980's, people spoke of experiencing "no air" and "aggression" while listening to digital recordings. Today we understand the principles which are fundamental to this phenomenon, we name it Jitter, we test it, calculate it and dress it with numbers, systemize it and describe it entirely. Jitter has always been and still is the worst enemy of the digital audio format. And today it is understood.
Fact: Digital audio data is 'just' 0's and 1's. There may be many formats (.wav, .aif, CD-audio) but the information is still digital. There is no loss during format conversion, provided the formats don't utilize compression.
Fact: Copying CD's (if they aren't damaged physically) is a lossless procedure. You can extract CD-audio with your computer and generate a file on your hard disk. Compare this file with the file created when you extract the same audio using a $30,000 player, the resulting two files are identical.
The question which naturally arises out of this paradox is: why does the $30,000 player sound better?
Before we answer that question, let us first understand that at the Digital Out of a $100 CD-player we have the same 1's and 0's as we do in the $30,000 player. The only difference is in the Jitter content. Jitter only means that the data (the 1's and the 0's) is not perfectly time-aligned, but is transmitted either slightly earlier or later than it should be in the ideal case. However, this time flaw is not as great as to cause a digital error (data fallout).
Now if you know that, then you must ask: so why does one CD-transport cost much more than another? Ah, Jitter. The cheap ones shake and the expensive ones don't.
Well, that's true. The entire audio business of CD transports and DACs is built on the totally backward setup of the CD player containing the Master Clock and the DAC being the Slave. This results in the entire palette of innovations to lessen Jitter, starting from air drives to expensive digital cable technologies with complex math to reduce line-induced Jitter, to very carefully filtered power supplies, to all sorts of very necessary things when you want to achieve the least possible Jitter. So we have the worst possible digital scenario bringing in the most possible amount of money, because it is extremely difficult to annihilate Jitter when the CD player is the Master Clock. If you're looking for quality, this is stupid, to say the least!
The whole setup should be different. As is the standard case in any pro-audio studio, it is always the playing device, the DAC, which is the Master Clock. The clock is located right next to the converter chips. That way, no line induced Jitter can appear. This clock signal is then taken from the DAC device and is used as the clock input of the signal source device, say the computer, the DAT player, or the CD player. Yes, in that setup, the CD player is receiving a more jittered clock than the DAC is, but that doesn't matter, because the DAC is doing the audio playing. When the Jittered audio signal arrives at the DAC, it is quantized into place temporally and is then played, in perfect synch with the clock oscillator, which is right next to it.
But oh! In that case, you can use a $100 CD-player with a very poor power supply, a digital cable made from your average household extension cord, and still get a better sound than you'd be getting if you spent $30,000 on the best transport and digital cable! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the naked, uncensored, plain truth about CD players and DACs. Their Master/Slave relationship is BACKWARDS and their prices therefore HIGH.
If you don't believe this, then all you need to do is record digitally your favorite tune from a $100 CD player into your computer (provided you have a soundcard and software that doesn't add yet more lies into the equation, which is often the case, so beware!) Then borrow the most expensive CD transport you can get your hands on and repeat the experiment. The resulting sound files aren't just similar, they are identical!
But the $30,000 player sounds better! How do you get them to sound the same? You only need to slave the transports to a DAC in Digital Master Mode. That's it. Identical sound, guaranteed. The least possible Jitter. The least loss.
I thought the 16 gauge was better and that's probably because,I mistakenly thought it was the more expensive....
I absolutely heard a difference. Main difference was between the 12 and the 14. The 14 & 16 sounded almost the same. Maybe the 16 was thinner at the high end. The 12 was less compressed and more space between the instruments.
not much between 14 and 16 but noticeable on 12
so 14 and 16 gauge makes sound "brighter" more top end. 16 gauge deliver most top end notes. 12 gauge got more base to it and topend is has a tiny bit of topend removed. How i could hear ? i use my 3 way speakers with crossover and could isolate each bandwith in 3 parts.
The simple truth is that cables do make a difference. That's not to say that you need to go out and spend a ton of money on over priced cables. There's a point of diminishing returns.
The reason you won't hear much of a difference is going to be based on your equipment and speaker positioning. (If you're in the room.)
Over the net via UA-cam... depending on the quality of the recording... most likely not.
The other thing you have to consider is how long the cable run and the amount of electrical noise exists in the room.
You can go on UA-cam and watch videos on how to make your own cables. They are more expensive than bare wire, but not the crazy prices you see for some of the over the top cables. They will be worth it... then take more money and upgrade your components. Do room treatments and your music will sound better. Proper speaker placement also helps. If that's the room layout... yeah its no wonder your kit sounds like 'carp'. [sic]
The 12 gauge wire you got is good. Put good connectors on them and its pretty much all you need.
Go out and buy a rug for the floor. Move the speakers more into the room and try to get better placement. (Having the door there isn't helping. )
Again there are videos and blogs out there.
From India - 12awg is little better over the others. I am still using 16awg OFC for my Hi fi audio set up, it works fine. Looking forward to change these with 12awg OFC professional grade cable for more refinement.
Bless you - From USA
bro pls suggest me 12awg cable. i live in delhi.. provide me any online or offline shop
You need to run this test again. Ensure the wires are properly terminated. I detected a difference in channel levels which could make a difference to the recording. That said, there did seem to be a difference, BUT it could be attributed to the quality of the termination. If the connection in the plug is high-resistence (bad connection) this alone can trash the output.
10 gauge copper lamp cord beats all three.
It's all about resistance.
yes they make a difference when i listen to my 12awg cables and my 9awg cables they both sound nice but my 9awg cables sound more fuller better bass and midrange. i can hear the difference immediately no doubt i think it depends a lot on the speakers you have and what kind of sound you prefer.
Obviously, a listening session via youtube may be questionable.
However, the only variable here was the speaker cabling.
So I woould submit that thhis was a fair test.
The only issue is that one's ears are not sensitive enough to detect a difference.
I wonder what would have been the difference with 22 AGW wire.
I submit that there might have been an audible change.
I have never seen a power amplifier with the speaker cable included in his feedback.
Including the speaker in the feed back would yeld interesting results.
What if the preamplifier would include the power amplifier, the speaker wires and the speaker. in his feedback?
That would provide active correction across the whole audio chain.
Huge difference to my ears. I did not expect it would be that pronounced. 16 AWG had decent highs and midrange but was somewhat lacking lows. 14 AWG had some lows but sounded dull in comparison. 12 AWG had good lows, way better midrange and good highs. It was better by all means.
Acoustic Research, 45 years ago, for the top model AR9: night lamp cord will be fine
For short lengths maybe not so important. However, the longer the length, the more important quality copper and thicker gauge matters.
over 1500 metres you might notice a difference
Its just because 12 can carry more amperage more power
You can easily hear the difference between the three wires through a cheap set of headphones, I just feel sorry for the people who argue that wires don't matter. "Go clean your ear wax" is the only advice I can give. I recently bought 2 pieces of 8 AWG boating cables with tinned copperwires just to check how they would sound, I was shocked by the difference I heard, they give most branded speaker cables I have spent much more on a run for their money.
It depends on the distance. People who don't hear that big of a difference don't need to "clean their ear wax". Is there a difference? Yes, but variables like distance, equipment, and the environment may play an even bigger role.
@@wasteddude I agree. There is a comparable difference between amplifiers with the same cable set,
@@paniofvetfac1987 you're 100% correct.
If you have that amp and distance the 12 gauge even 10 gauge 99% pure copper is a no brainer. but placebo affect is real as well. so I would never be happy with an alloy wire.
Not a simple comparison here as you've mixed gauge and wire type for each; probably brand as well, which introduces other variables. In theory gauge would not matter for your very short runs - at least with the 12-16 gauges used here. Smaller size wire will have higher resistance and you'd, at minimum, hear a volume decrease with long runs. Wire type is more significant. CCA is crap. I believe that specifics of wire type (with oxygen free being part of that) is way more significant than the gauge.
Will there be a test with 12awg CCA wires which may be as good as 14awg OFC?
12 gauge wins in shotguns too.
The 12
I"m installing four speakers in my car, they're 75W each. Connecting to an amp that will push 75W to each speaker. I decided not to use the factory car speaker cable, and instead going to use 12AWG OFC speaker cable
Next up? Room treatment.
Treated it for cockroaches last week! 🪲
You have a very tiny separation between your speakers, so it won't make a difference. For long runs and difficult to drive 4 ohm speakers I use 10awg OFC cable.
I have 16 awg in my bedroom and 10 awg ofc on my other 2 listening rooms.
"Audio Science Review" and "Audioholics" have reached the same conclusions not only from listening, but from measurements taken with highly sensitive and expensive instruments.
I've watched Audioholics video and I agree that overly expensive cables are a waste of money. But even Gene Dellasala recommends getting 10 or 12 gauge over 14/16 gauge.
10 AWG all the time for me.
The 12 was noticeably better even listening on the phone.
I would like to hear a demo with classical or jazz as your choice was too bass heavy for me. Thanks for the comparison though. Ps, you can start trading copper futures 😅
14 then 16 for me, but barely. It helps to listen with headphones on.
12AWG не всегда важен сам калибр, влияет и геометрия и качество меди и диэлектрик
This know-nothing audiohead has made and used, 12-14 gauge pure stranded copper wire since the vinyl bug bit some 50 years ago...SFSG. I'm still using them, the only thing I've done is make them shorter and replace the connectors, twice.
12 Gauge cable has more punch/pop
Good review. I liked the 12 guage sound
i want to see 8 gauge ofc at 4 ft length vs 28 gauge string at 80 ft length
No brainer, the string would win easily!
@@UTILITARIANTVUK its surprising no one on the internet has done a test to REALLY see how much a wire can effect your sound, like will sound die at some point? probably not, when you think about old telephone wires going continents away...
any proper OFC, capable of handling the power load applied (with a touch of headroom, and not running it over the rated current load) will sound the same as any other with the same capability or greater. for most people with ~100w/channel and sub 20ft, this translates to 16awg. if you're doing slightly longer runs , lower ohm rated speaker (~2ish) or a subwoofer, you're going to be looking at 14awg. if its ~50-75ish, 16 is overkill.
for a 100ft length you may add a grand total of an ohm with OFC in 16, but this is within tolerances. CCA doubles, roughly, any resistance values in a wire run over OFC. 14awg almost fully halves for OFC, but only around 37-40% drop in ohms for CCA.
CCA is trash as a product, and adds more resistance in general, leading to possible amp load concerns in some installs, and will corrode over time if theres literally any real humidity in the install location. absolutely garbage, it only exists so companies can cheap out on wire, and was based on grounding rods, which are copper clad steel, but the coating on those is several millimeters thick.
beyond that, its alllllll psychosomatic. you can get the same overall quality and tone with plain steel 16awg coat hangers. and its been proven. copper wire is mostly for the sake of being able to run it places easily.
my rec; if you want 'pretty'; get a cl2 (150v max) or cl3 (300v) rated 14/2 in your jacket color of choice (or 14/4 if you're running it to a jack plate), find one without the visible stamped text on the jacket (eg; black text on a white jacket, and i'll admit this is hard sometimes, but some companies make it mostly invisible), and just roll with it. if you don't even care that much then all you need is a good OFC 14awg two conductor speaker wire or even just OFC lamp cord if you can find it in 14. a 250ft box of 14/2 OFC is running around $150usd right now.
regardless of who tells you what, its really not that big of a deal. i use clear 16awg speaker wire. the tinned/bare stuff that looks like silver and copper wires, for decades. 0 issues, zero tone change. 14awg for my subwoofer needs. in a pinch i've used landscaping 16awg wire. its usually all copper. and fairly cheap, in comparison. $100 for that same 250ft.
CCA by comparison is averaging around $50-60 for that same 250ft roll. you really do get what you pay for.
tl;dr; no difference, good wire for the rating will do the job, CCA is trash. period.
If you have headphone on you can hear a difference.
How about increasing the volume to compensate?
IMO speaker cables doesn't necessarily make your speakers sound better but what they do, is ensure the speaker gets a necessary signal it requires to make them sound their best 🤔
The reason why I spent over £1,000 on 9 channels of speaker cables was not just for better performance but also to lower the noise floor!
I had been experiencing an electrical current sound for over a year and it was only when auditioned 3 receivers, that it finally became apparent that it was actually my unshielded cables (one set being the 14 awg Amazon basics) that were the problem.
Got to remember unshielded cables act as antennas for attracting RF/EMI and sadly the longer the cable the better the antenna! That probably explains why, when I look back, I remember I used to have to disconnect my height channels to reduce the electrical current sound! (Probably not describing the sound correctly but that's the only way I know how) well anyway after testing my base level speaker cables and when I was confident enough that they were indeed the problem, I moved on and changed my height speaker cables as well, my room is now over 50% quieter, I've actually just finished shielding my HDMI cables and it's become another 10% to 15% quieter.
Conclusion;
as well as enjoying my setup at medium to high volumes, I can also enjoy my setup at low volumes too. 🥳
If interested you can click on the red dragon twice and see the set-up for yourself.
In my phone the ofc cables sounds much better than the cheaper on. More open and detail. The cheaper on sounds really bad, I not even won't explain it.
The 12g wins for me
I’ll stick with my AudioQuest cables….
Just got done watching this video. I did not hear any difference between the 3. Im curious though. I was watching the back of the right speaker when the songs and cables were changed and noticed the cables behind the speaker were never swapped out as the songs where being played. Where we just listening recorded audio only
You have to remind yourself that a receiver or amp is a computer. It knows that the speakers are too close. With those gauges 16,14 and 12, that was a waste of testing. Speakers that close are 18 gauge. Only a sub that close can use 16awg.
There's a big difference
maximum lenght of wire per speaker?