Secrets of High-end Audio Cables: How to choose / make them budget-minded

In this video we explore the main aspects of high quality audio cables, highlighting the best materials and brands in order to buy or create your own high-end audiophile cables without spending a fortune!

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Best bulk cables:

Soldering wire:

Best connectors:
Neotech (see above)
Furutech (see above)

Where to Buy:
Ebay!

[aussie]

Thanks for video. A subject that interests me. I highly recommend when choosing component interconnects to visit a specialist audio supplier in your city and ask if they have cables you can borrow. We did this and tested several brands and qualities of interconnects they had available to borrow for a couple of days. We were able to choose the best cable for our system and the desired sound. There was a very noticeable difference in the sound of the different analog interconnects. Digital interconnects not so much.

[Falconive]

In military we have something called "Subject Matter Expert", who is QUALIFIED & experienced enough to be the authority on that subject. If you have questions on that subject, everyone stays shut and let the SME speak, regardless of rank. Sadly, in audio industry, people don't ask the qualification of the guru, don't question his scientologificalculativity, but it makes so me happy when they talk about how much they have spent so far.

[jmlathion]

In my 35-year experience in this matter, I found that the best-sounding loudspeakers cables had to be similar or identical to those used for the internal cabling of the wired loudspeakers.
With absolutely no exception, the more ambitious cables used between the amplifier and the wired loudspeakers, induced a loss of overall consistency. They may have seemed more resolved in first listening comparisons, but the option to go with the simpler cable used inside the loudspeaker always brought the most musical results (and there are good reasons for that if you think about it, as two different types of cables will never feature the same properties in the time and frequency domains).

[ThinkingBetter]

This is what happens when someone is not educated in the physics of electronics and try to explain audio cable characteristics. What is MII? It’s called EMI. And RFI is also EMI. And air is a (weak) conductor. And overall, cables at a few feet of length won’t affect your audio quality at a level perceivable in a blind test unless it’s really bad quality.

[johnnytoobad]

I'm still using Monster cable interconnects that I purchased over a five year period starting in 1988. (when I bought my first CD player). They weren't that expensive back then. They DID make a difference in the sound quality, even back then.

[tee-jaythestereo-bargainph]

Nice video, I built my own speaker cables with Audioquest X2 copper OFC long strands wire and Audioquest beryllium copper BFA banana plugs and then i used shrink wrap from lowes where i connected the cable to plug they sound great i didnt use no fancy dress up skirts over the cables lol

[newsigmundfreud]

*Very informative and helpful. THANK YOU. It is all inline with other sources I have read about all this. Very well put together video.*

[obudaifourty]

EXCELLENT, excellent presentation. Its a shame, that some shrills shown up bellow to give negative comment. Thanks very much for the time spent on this video.

So tires and tires, since they made from rubber are the same OR knives and knives are the same because they are made from steel?
there are great quality differences between them, but if YOU can't tell the differences, than its OK with those WHOM CAN :)

[johnadams]

Wow ! That is true ! The cables are very important especially for the high frequency !!! I see in one amplifier onli for 10cm the engineers decide to use fiber optic cable, to eliminate the electromagnetic field and noice emission for the cable.

[yvesboutin]

In the section 'conductors', the wire you presented with an inscription that look like corean is not silver plated copper but copper plated with tin for protection from corrosion. Other than this little mistake, great video!

[iowaudioreviews]

I've never had a shielded cable make a difference in any of my systems. Well except a subwoofer signal rca that had to run across a pile of power cords was picking up a tiny bit of hum. Easily fixed with a cheap Acoustic Research shielded cable.

[RobWhittlestone]

I wish I could speak Italian like you speak English! Auguri! I see the flat earth 'experts' have been attracted by this video. They have obviously never experienced the transparency and musical freedom of really good cables for themselves. Now we have to tell them that power cables and the electrical power supply makes a difference and they will go crazy! Hai fatto bene. All the best, Rob

[SecondA_VitA]

Thank you to bring OCC to my knowledge. The story about HiFi cable is much more complex than a 10-minute video and always a source for continuous fight against audiophile community. In my opinion cables should be bought from professional (well known) dealers, due to the cost and effort for research. I do believe for my personal experience that cables change the sound and the quality of your set. My suggestion is to fix a percentage amount of budget for cables compared to the value of the item to be connected, and spend that budget in second hand market, for much more value than the price

[RealHIFIHelp]

I suggest trying Sommercable quadra blue as a speaker cable, it gives the same performance as mid class cardas, but for a much lower price. Then you can try using CMC banana plugs which are cheap and later maybe Viborg golf which is slightly better. That it like cheating. I have tried almost all cables that are available, except for High fidelity cables and a handful, and most of them are really bad, not worth it price wise, they just give a different filter on the sound which gives a different priority. Buying this quadra blue is almost as good as a cardas clear cable. But you have the freedom to change the plugs that is so much more fun. As soon as you buy an expensive cable it is like buying a sportscar, it loses 10% of it's value, the first couple of days, and then 20% more after a year. And then you are stuck with it, because it costed you so much. Quadra blue also sounds awesome with oyaide 079 power plugs, I mean really awesome, like you paid 20x more for a good power cable in the stores.

[trucdo]

Because of this video I am able to choose quality cable at reasonable price . I don’t think such thing like GOOD AND CHEAP .

[niro]

As an audio enthusiast with an engineering background, I had a good chuckle at this video multiple times through, will all the super-impressionable layman terminology thrown around to describe the 'results' with nothing objective at all. *All it needs is a little push to make an audiophile an audiophool..*

[etm]

good silver cable is just as warm sounding as copper but with more details in the highs. look for soft annealed and/or OCC silver. avoid the silver plated copper. those are harsh.

[garygranato]

this is probably the best video regarding cables ive seen so far. thank you and subscribed

[tedpaine]

AudioEnvy offers a great selection of physics-based wire. (Agrees with many of your points) Also have excellent connectors for the DIY... The completed cable prices ar very fair so most do that and they're done!

[agx]

Don’t know if skin effect is an issue in the audio band. My ears have not found much if any difference between solid silver cables and OCC copper.

To my hearing I don’t like stranded cables as interconnects, i prefer solid core or litz construction.

I agree insulation type is important also. The connectors are significant also, WBT next gen seem to me to be much better than connectors having a solid metal body (eddy currents?) .

Thanks for an interesting and informative video. Appreciated.