Audio Wire

Not trying to start the usual war, just some of my thoughts on it all for the new guys who have not been down this fun road many times.

Doug has an excellent shop of cables and wires. http://www.douglasconnection.com/
We all have different opinions on what is the best wire and how much it should cost. Years back there were many skeptics, but the numbers investing in higher end cables has increased and now it is the rage. I believe part of that is just guys who has dropped a bundle on a wire and are reluctant to admit they got took. Part of it may be the placebo effect as many well administered blind tests have produced mixed results at best and made fools out of many expert ears. Also, the audio industry is pushing the market as they have found extravagant wires to be a new cash cow. I am OK with it. A guy earns his money and deserves as many ways to spend it as possible, but I don't them getting any of mine.

I believe money is well spent on a good, solid cable. Good wire and good connectors should do the job of transferring the sound as true as possible. I am not in favor of paying more for the wire to distort the signal even if it is pleasing. You can better control that distortion in many ways with the components and these days with software.

Many here are not audio nuts and are quite happy with wire bought at the Dollar Store or using what ever was included with the equipment they have. They laugh at a few feet of wire going for a hundred dollars. We know of course that wire can go for thousands of dollars. Is it worth that?

For me the simple answer is that it depends on the system and the customer. If you have really good junk and want to add some high end wire or many of the other marginal items, I am for it. If you expect miracles or actually hear miracles , you or you system need to be checked as something is wrong.

I don't have high end equipment, but I have very good equipment. Like many here, I have accumulated a collection of various wires. I buy good solid wire, mostly better than what you find at Radio Shack or Walmart, both of which have decent wire, just maybe over priced for what you get (Monster). I have bought in custom length and bulk. Often custom is cheaper as you can buy the length you need with no left over. Under Mark's helpful eye, I recently build a pair of cheap interconnects with the solder gun the Rabbit recommended I buy. Now I could build a better set, but doubt I could do as good a job as a guy who does a lot of that. You can even make some pretty good stuff with the connectors that need no soldering, but they cost about what you would pay an expert for a good solder job on a similar connect, so I find it a mixed bag leaning in my case toward the premade.

In my opinion by the time you get to wondering if a set of $1000 (or $500) cables can be worth the cost, you already have a good system and are just playing around. That is fun and I am for it. For the average guy - NO WAY is that a good audio investment. Investing or upgrading to decent wires with solid interconnects is a good investment as you can be pretty sure you are getting 99% of the music. Going for 110% cost money and most (even "audiophiles") can't pick them apart in a blind test. Good solid cables also look so much better, and we all like that. Everything in the music chain adds distortion. Even if a million dollar wire sounds slightly different, is that improvement or just difference?

What is a good solid wire? I think Doug has it covered well at his web company. He has a good assortment of wire at good prices. As a plus, we all know him to be a stand up guy. You don't have to worry about buying there and being ripped off or put off. All you newer guys just getting interested in better audio and now sitting on your ass more enjoying a tune and an adult beverage have the AO guarantee. If you get ripped on this site in any way, I will refund your money. I have not yet seen his personal work, but the next wire I buy will be from Doug. I will report back. I actually need some longer speaker wires right now for my bedroom speakers and thinking on going with a set of the Douglas Connection Copperhead 11AWG OFHC Speaker Cables with copper bannas on one end and nothing on the other as (I hate to say this) that is what the Carver 400t uses. To that end, Bob Carver uses junk wire. Even at CarverFest he brought a box of interconnects that must have gone for a dollar each. That is yet another reason why I suspect most of us do not need thousand dollar wires.

All are welcome (as usual) to say I am full of shit. Many already call Bob Carver out over it, so I am in rare company. Over the years I have read all the pros and cons on wire and even seen some flip flops by people here. I think wire makes a difference in the sound and in other areas. I also think if you have decent wire and you ain't happy, you might want to check out the controls on your pre amp before you plunk a bundle on "magic" wire. The money might be better spent upgrading some weak piece in your system or joining the craze these days - add something with tubes.

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As a side note, I see Doug sells Canare 4S11. I have been using that for about 5 years and approve in every way. I sorta run it as bi-amp wire out here on the deck and standard in my main system as no bi-amp is appropriate there. I wonder if Doug (or any of you) have any thoughts on it as opposed to the Vampire Wire SC1108?
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Many of my interconnects are LC-1 Low Capacitance Audio Cable with Taversoe Crimp RCA connectors.
"The most important attributes of a line-level unbalanced audio cable are (1) shielding, and (2) capacitance. Heavy shielding protects audio signals from interference from outside sources. LC-1 Audio Cable uses a heavy double-braid shield, with one bare copper braid laid directly over another for extreme high coverage and high conductivity to ground."

On the deck I used balanced cables - > Belden 1800F wire with Neutrik XLR connectors.
These seem to do a good job, but I am not hooked at the hip to them or anything.
Maybe Doug has some thoughts on them and how they compare with his line.

One day I might get in 4 tube mono blocks (I paid for months ago) and will want good, solid interconnects for them. What do yall suggest for an old cop now getting by on SS.

Thanks again to Doug for starting this company to provide a guy with great wire at an affordable price.