Best speaker cables 2023: budget and premium audio cables

Best speaker cables

The best speaker cables can't make your system sound better than it actually is, but they can and should ensure that every last drop of performance makes its way from your amplifier to your speakers. Poor cables can often be a limiting factor within a system, so it really is worth making sure you've got the best ones for the job.

In fact, a poor speaker cable can make your system sound a lot worse than it really is, and we'd always recommend investing in decent cabling when buying or upgrading your system. The same goes for the cables connecting your electronics, so make sure you invest in decent audio cables, too.

Whatever your opinion on that matter, it is undeniable that cables make a difference, and these are the best speaker wires we've tested below.

How to choose the right speaker cables for you

If you're embarking on getting new speaker cables for your system, a starting point could be to get in touch with the manufacturer of your stereo speakers and ask if they recommend a particular brand or model of cable. After all, engineers will have spent hours experimenting during the development process and you might be given a valuable nugget of information that might make your job of finding something suitable more simple.

You could also speak to a dealer to see if they've tried different speaker cables during demos and have found any that work particularly well with your pair of speakers. First-hand advice is always valuable.

Do remember to budget for the lengths of speaker wire that you need (and the number of speakers you're wiring up if it's a surround system) and bear in mind that the cable prices we quote usually don't include the banana plugs that you'll see in the pictures – you can specify the lengths and termination during the buying process.

Banana plugs make connecting, unplugging and reconnecting easier, but they don't make the sound any better. In fact, many people believe a bare wire connection to be sonically superior, so choose what works for your system.

Chord Company RumourX speaker cables on a white background

A great addition to your system that offers more transparency and a much finer bass performance. (Image credit: Chord Company)
What Hi-Fi? Award winner. Chord Company hits the mark again, with tweaked metallurgy delivering incremental performance upgrade.

Specifications

Construction : 6mm twisted pair
Conductor material : Silver-coated copper strands
Plugs : 4mm banana coated with ChordAlloy

Reasons to buy

+
Clearer, more transparent performance
+
Tauter and better-balanced bass
+
Slightly improved top-end refinement

Reasons to avoid

-
Only an incremental upgrade to an already fine cable

The original Rumour was introduced way back in 1996, and at the time was only Chord’s second attempt at a speaker cable. This audiophile speaker cable has seen various iterations since then, with the previous five-star RumourX (2018) now superseded by the latest RumourX (2022) model.

It's incremental changes throughout, but all of these add up to a fine performance upgrade at this price.

Chord’s development work with high-end ranges such as ChordMusic and Sarum T showed significant improvements could be made to the Teflon dielectric material used. While the subsequent high-end solution of Taylon proved too expensive to use in products such as the RumourX, a more reasonably priced alternative XLPE (Cross-linked Polyethylene) was found instead in the 2018 model. Chord has introduced a new multi-metal alloy for the pug plating in the 2022 model (changed from previous silver), which claims to tarnish less over time and offers better connection quality.

With the Chord cable plumbed-in, our reference hi-fi system delivers a crisp, clean and dynamic presentation, just as before. But the bass performance is tauter, the top end is more refined and there's an ounce more subtlety. We’re impressed at the musically cohesive nature of the sound and the way our systems render subtle dynamic shifts with such finesse. It's not essential to upgrade if you already own the previous RumourX cables, but if they're looking a bit worn, the 2022 version will give your system a decent performance lift.

Read our full Chord Company RumourX (2022) review

Best speaker cables: Audioquest Rocket 11

The Audioquest Rocket 11 will give your setup a boost without costing a fortune. (Image credit: Future)
What Hi-Fi? Award winner. A sensational speaker cable that's also affordable.

Specifications

Construction: Stranded and solid long-grain copper
Dimensions : 14mm x 7mm
Bi-wire : Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Flexible build
+
Clean, precise and fluid sound
+
Excellent compatibility

Reasons to avoid

-
More expensive rivals will provide even greater sonic gains

AudioQuest’s Rocket 11 – at the budget end of its Rocket range – could just be the hi-fi speaker cable to give your system a new lease of life. We love it so much it's been a What Hi-Fi? Award winner several years running now, having batted off new competition to keep its crown for many moons.

AudioQuest has taken a lot of care with the configuration and quality of the conductors used inside the Rocket 11. It uses semi-solid true-concentric conductors and long-grain copper – all to improve performance and reduce any interference that might degrade the sound.

There’s a perceptible improvement in the way systems perform when the Rocket 11 is plugged in, compared with rival speaker cables. Music sounds crisp and clean, with a punchy sense of dynamism that's a joy to listen to.

Read our full AudioQuest Rocket 11 review

Chord Company C-Screen on a white background

Want to upgrade your system for cheap? The C-Screen just makes sense. (Image credit: Chord Company)
A brilliant budget option if your system needs an upgrade.

Specifications

Construction : Twisted pair with foil shield, PVC outer jacket
Conductor materials : Oxygen-free copper conductors
Diameter: 9mm

Reasons to buy

+
Full-bodied, warm and expressive
+
Helps your system’s punch and drive

Reasons to avoid

-
Some rivals offer more detail/space
-
Getting on a bit 

Monetary savings are not necessarily accompanied by a reduced level of technology or care on Chord Company’s part. The C-Screen's specifications are similar to speaker wires further up the hierarchy.

Beneath its white outer jacket, the C-Screen features what Chord Company describes as multi-stranded oxygen-free copper conductors, insulated with low-density polyethylene and arranged in a twisted-pair configuration to reduce interference. The white outer covers a PVC casing designed to reduce mechanical noise and space the conductors correctly.

So what is all of that in today’s money? Essentially it translates to recognisable Chord Company performance, favouring your system's cohesion and musical performance over outright analysis.

Read our full Chord Company C-Screen review

QED Reference XT40i cable on a white background

An excellent cable that brings new levels of clarity and sonic purity. (Image credit: QED)
You'll struggle to get your system sounding cleaner at this price.

Specifications

Construction : X-ray construction
Conductor materials : 5N oxygen-free copper
Guage : 12 AWG

Reasons to buy

+
Offers system great clarity
+
Precision and accurate timing
+
Great price

Reasons to avoid

-
Other class-leading options help tie music together better

QED has always been about clarity, detail and insight, with the Reference XT40i speaker wire being no exception. It will allow any budget-to-midrange system to show off all the information at its disposal, providing it with accuracy and precision. Just what you'd expect from this Award-winning stable.

The nearly 50-year-old British company is introducing its brand new Air Gap dielectric to these 99.999 per cent oxygen-free copper cables, a technology that increases the separation of conductors inside the cable and thus the amount of air between them. In turn, this halves the dissipation and capacitance characteristics inside the cable.

The Reference XT40i also retains QED’s X-Tube formation, where cable conductors are gathered in a tube-like shape around a hollow insulating rod to equalise current densities, delivering low inductance and presenting a consistent and even load to the amp.

Read our full QED Reference XT40i review

Audioquest Rocket 22 cable on a white background

An excellent speaker cable that provides flexibility and an authoritative sonic character. (Image credit: Audioquest)
A flexible, well-balanced speaker cable that should work well in a wide range of systems.

Specifications

Construction : Double low-inductance twisted
Conductor materials : Semi-solid true-concentric copper conductors
Biwire : No

Reasons to buy

+
Refined and informative character
+
Aids an authoritative sound
+
Flexible configuration options

Reasons to avoid

-
Tough competition

The Rocket 22 continues the fine work of its Award-winning sibling (above) and, in a suitably talented set-up, the difference in price between the two can be justified by the improvement in scale, detail and authority.

The design of this audiophile speaker cable mirrors that of the cheaper model but uses higher quality copper conductors with a polished outer surface that’s claimed to give a ‘sweeter’ high-frequency performance. The conductors use strands arranged in concentric layers, where each layer spirals in the opposite direction to the one below it.

The cable also uses AudioQuest’s Noise Dissipation System, which is essentially specially designed layers of shielding that reduce the impact of RF (Radio Frequency) interference and EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).

Read our full AudioQuest Rocket 22 review

MORE: 

10 affordable ways to upgrade your hi-fi system right now

Our pick of the best audio cables you can buy

All of our test track playlists in one place: the ultimate music tracks to test your hi-fi system

Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10 years in the hi-fi industry, she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech (and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by). In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.

  • abacus
    And you can provide independent verifiable proof of this?

    Bill
    Reply
  • Mike Hunt
    abacus said:
    And you can provide independent verifiable proof of this?

    Bill
    Of course they can't. None of these cables work any better than a length of twin and earth cable you'd find in a skip. They might look nicer but they perform no better, and when you see that suppliers are offering a burn-in service, you just know that they're selling snake oil.
    Reply
  • Kurt Reply
    Oh a couple of know-nothing know-it-alls. What a rarity for a hi-fi forum.
    Reply
  • Mike Hunt
    Kurt Reply said:
    Oh a couple of know-nothing know-it-alls. What a rarity for a hi-fi forum.
    It actually seems quite prevalent.
    Reply
  • alantb
    abacus said:
    And you can provide independent verifiable proof of this?

    Bill
    Hi Bill
    Having just spent a week reviewing three cables at home (Chord Epic X, Chord XL and Tellurium Q silver 2) I can say a firm 'yes'. There were substantial differences in the sound, and the enjoyment of the music they offered. I even involved two intelligent sceptics - my wife and an old friend; they were both surprised that they had a definite preference for one (luckily the same I liked!) and used words to describe their reasons that were similar to each other's and to mine.
    Give it another go, maybe?
    Reply
  • Mike Hunt
    alantb said:
    Hi Bill
    Having just spent a week reviewing three cables at home (Chord Epic X, Chord XL and Tellurium Q silver 2) I can say a firm 'yes'. There were substantial differences in the sound, and the enjoyment of the music they offered. I even involved two intelligent sceptics - my wife and an old friend; they were both surprised that they had a definite preference for one (luckily the same I liked!) and used words to describe their reasons that were similar to each other's and to mine.
    Give it another go, maybe?
    Utter nonsense! If someone could hear a difference then there was something drastically wrong with some of the cables. Send them back for a refund!
    Speaker cables sound different... LOL!
    Reply
  • alantb
    Mike Hunt said:
    Utter nonsense! If someone could hear a difference then there was something drastically wrong with some of the cables. Send them back for a refund!
    Speaker cables sound different... LOL!
    But the perceived differences were in the degree of rightness, not wrongness.
    Reply
  • Ian Betts
    alantb said:
    But the perceived differences were in the degree of rightness, not wrongness.
    Mike Hunt said:
    Utter nonsense! If someone could hear a difference then there was something drastically wrong with some of the cables. Send them back for a refund!
    Speaker cables sound different... LOL!
    Mike Hunt..... If you say your name quickly enough, says it all really! 🤣🤣
    Perhaps you are confusing the conductance and resistance of an electrical cable when used for DC current or that of a 50Hz mains cable with the inductance and impedance of a cable when used to conduct an AC current with frequencies from 20Hz to 20kHz. The impedance of a cable can be quite different at different frequencies and this can clearly affect the voltage/current which arrives at the speaker terminals. It's not rocket science!
    Reply
  • Mike Hunt
    Ian Betts said:
    Mike Hunt..... If you say your name quickly enough, says it all really! 🤣🤣
    Perhaps you are confusing the conductance and resistance of an electrical cable when used for DC current or that of a 50Hz mains cable with the inductance and impedance of a cable when used to conduct an AC current with frequencies from 20Hz to 20kHz. The impedance of a cable can be quite different at different frequencies and this can clearly affect the voltage/current which arrives at the speaker terminals. It's not rocket science!
    There are only one group of confused people here, and it's the audiophools.
    I posted a reply earlier, with a link to all the information necessary to disprove this cable nonsense, but you either can't understand it or chose to ignore it, but if you do understand it, please feel free to offer a rebuttal, explaining why and where the information is incorrect.
    https://books.google.ie/books?id=l1ul2d2jh0QC&pg=PA436&lpg=PA436&dq=RLC+lumped+element+analysis+cables&source=bl&ots=QsHFenkZKU&sig=ACfU3U39DF5U6iSvYtIhwqJrVA30IqLdmA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivlaW3hL7nAhWVVBUIHVswAMAQ6AEwFHoECA4QAQ#v=onepage&q=RLC%20lumped%20element%20analysis%20cables&f=false
    Reply
  • Ian Betts
    Mike Hunt said:
    There are only one group of confused people here, and it's the audiophools.
    I posted a reply earlier, with a link to all the information necessary to disprove this cable nonsense, but you either can't understand it or chose to ignore it, but if you do understand it, please feel free to offer a rebuttal, explaining why and where the information is incorrect.
    https://books.google.ie/books?id=l1ul2d2jh0QC&pg=PA436&lpg=PA436&dq=RLC+lumped+element+analysis+cables&source=bl&ots=QsHFenkZKU&sig=ACfU3U39DF5U6iSvYtIhwqJrVA30IqLdmA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivlaW3hL7nAhWVVBUIHVswAMAQ6AEwFHoECA4QAQ#v=onepage&q=RLC%20lumped%20element%20analysis%20cables&f=false
    Hello Mike. I would be more than happy to read your supporting information but I cannot find the link in your previous post that you refer to. I see a link to a publication on Sound Engineering. Is that what you referred to? If not, could you be so kind as to repost your link?
    Thank you.
    Reply