Speaker Repairs / Is a High End, Expensive Speaker Cable Worth the Cost?

By WebDrafter.com, Inc. w/ permission

Finally! You are in the store buying the sound system of your dreams when the sales guy asks if you want to buy good quality speaker wire to make sure your audio system is performing at peak quality. Well, of course you do! What is the difference between the normal cable and the good stuff? Not much - just 5x's the cost or more! But for the best sound, it makes sense to buy the better product - you get what you pay for right?

Well, unfortunately, not necessarily. There is a very lively debate in the audio circles as to the benefit of using high quality cables that have gold/silver components, oxygen free environment, etc. Really the answer comes to "it depends".

There are number of commentators out there who state that the expensive speaker cable has zero beneficial effect on the sound. They will point to basic physics and formulas to illustrate that it has no bearing. Next, they will highlight double blind tests where participants have been subjected to music played through inexpensive speaker wire, high end speaker wire and, believe it or not, metal clothes hangers as speaker wire. In these tests, the subjects have been unable to tell the difference.

On the other side of the argument are the audiophiles who state emphatically that the high cables make a difference. The reason most people can't tell the difference is that they are using inferior stereo equipment. The argument is reasonable. If you are using a Wal-Mart stereo with high end wire you are not going to notice a difference. However, if you have the best, most fine tuned equipment money can buy then the high end wire may make a difference. Advocates of this position will also trot out more obscure equations and physics to prove that, in fact, the wire does improve the sound. But really does this science, even if they are correct, even matter?

In experiments playing songs from MP3 recordings and a uncompressed CD recordings, people could not tell the difference between the two. There is, however, a fairly substantial difference in sound quality that is lost on the average music fan. Where does this leave the high end cable then?

In short, you might consider the expensive cables if you:

possess very high end stereo or sound equipment,

listen to your music with full attention on a frequent basis and not just as background noise while working or driving, and

can clearly tell the difference between and a MP3 recording and a CD recording.

Basically, high end speaker cable is a niche product and unless you meet all three requirements you will be wasting your money. Don't feel bad though as 99.95% of the population falls into this category!

A little bit of information can help you make a wise shopping decision. Hopefully, this information will help you achieve this goal.

For more information on speaker repairs, parts, and purchasing speakers please visit
http://www.MidwestSpeaker.com

Article authored by Eric Parish. The content herein may or may not reflect the views and opinions of Midwest Speaker.


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