Speaker cable - please help...
Hi everyone, I'm going to be upgrading my speaker cable shortly and haven't a clue what to go for. My system is budget, Cambridge Audio D300SE CD player, Cambridge C500 control amp and 2x Cambridge P500 power amps, matched to Monitor Audio Bronze Reference 5 speakers. I'm currently using Cambridge Pacific interconnects and Monster XP speaker cable, both of which will be upgraded shortly - but i don't know what to upgrade to, and this is where any help would be massively appreciated.
Also, I read somewhere that the Cambridge Audio C500 is a bit weak when it comes to pre-amps and that a Rotel or Marantz unit would do the job much better and 'free up' the power amps a little? Also, a pre amp with a headphone socket would be much better too. Again, as i'm fairly new to all this, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Neil.
I recommend "Gotham" or "Van Damme" cables.....as good as many costing a lot more.
There is a guy on e bay selling qed x tube 350 for £10 per m off the reel.it retails for £15 per m.Its superb. If thats a bit expensive i would go for dnm reson mk2. Its a former what hi fi award winner and is available on line for about £6 a metre. rrp is £7.95 p/metre. its very neutral and is a clear step up from qed silver anniversary.
i forgot about the interconnect. Van den hul D102 MK III is very good.Its neutral and transparent. Would work well in many a system.Can usually be picked up on e bay for a bargain.
Thanks everyone, massive help!!
I think i'm going to go for... ... ... wait for it... ... ... the QED Silver Anniversary XT Bi-Wire for my speaker cable. It seems to be a good cable, found it for £9/m which to be honest is my budget limit, besides a better cable would be wasted somewhat i think, but the monster xp i use now is from my old teac micro system and a bit naff so it's got to go!
Re: interconnects, i'm still looking yet. Think Van den Hul is out of the ? though, nearly £100 my moosus would have me shot!! She doesn't know i'm upgrading the speaker cable yet, so shush now 
... haha
Finally, i've seen a rotel pre amp wich looks like a goer, it's an RC1070, got 2 sets of outputs so can use both power amps and a headphone socket too!! I'll let you know if it comes and how it performs, again, the moosus doesn't know so nothing is guarenteed... P.S. if anyone knows anything about this amp, i.e. if it's a complete shonker or such like, please speak up
Thanks
Neil.
Surely if you are biamping you need 4 terminals at each end of the speaker cable, in which case the biwire QED isn't right. You will need 2 lots of single wire per speaker?
+ and - for each of preamp and power amp, and + and - for tweaters and woofers, each side. The biwire cable only has one set of + and - at the amp end I think.
Hi Joel,
Err... You may be on to something... Then again, maybe not, you see my house is small, so each speaker will be no more than 3m away from its amplifier, so I would order 6m and cut it in two, then have the 2 cables bare-ended - or maybe terminate them somehow (anyone got a soldering iron?!) Alternatively i could just buy 2 3m lengths and have them terminated properly in the shop instead of trying to be a cheap-skate...?
I am currently using 2 lots of single-wire cable though so you're on the right track 
You're all a good bunch though, looking out for my hi-fi's best interests, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside it does hehe
Cheers,
Neil.
re. the van den hul IC - you are thinking of the retail price on that puppy - look on ebay and you can snag one for 30-40 quid secondhand. i have the very same IC and it really sings!
I've got Van den Hul "the name" interconnect and it's very decent - I think I paid £40-£45 for it. Not all VDH is expensive.
Hi Joel,
Err... You may be on to something... Then again, maybe not, you see my house is small, so each speaker will be no more than 3m away from its amplifier, so I would order 6m and cut it in two, then have the 2 cables bare-ended - or maybe terminate them somehow (anyone got a soldering iron?!) Alternatively i could just buy 2 3m lengths and have them terminated properly in the shop instead of trying to be a cheap-skate...?
I am currently using 2 lots of single-wire cable though so you're on the right track
You're all a good bunch though, looking out for my hi-fi's best interests, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside it does hehe
Cheers,
Neil.
I wouldn't cut the wires, Just get the cable terminated 4 way each end. I made a mistake ordering mine and got the 2-4 cables. I don't biamp (yet) though so when the time comes I was gonan try sending them back and letting them charge me to fit the extra set of banana plugs.
why not just fit them yourself? it's pretty easy and does not take long. It would be a lot less hassle and less expensive to do it yourself.
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How much do you want to spend?
I use the QED silver anniversary XT cables, which are 5.50 per metre, I think 8.50 for biwired which is what you'll want. Great cables. I've not heard a peep out of them... which is a good sign;)
If you're thinking of upgrading your amplification then I'd guess the pre-amp would be the best place to start. I'm not sure what would match your P500's because I don't know anything about them but Rotel are always a good start. Have a look at the audiolab 8000Q too, but that might be a bit pricey for your liking;)