Speaker cable advice (Kef Q35.2 previously bi-wired)

[AdamD]

Having flummoxed myself with subjective internet reviews I thought I would turn to PH for some advice.

I have a pair of Kef 35.2 floor standing speakers driven by a trusty Ion Obelisk 200 amp. Previously I have been running the speakers bi wired using self terminated QED Qudos bi wire cable, 2 banana - 4 banana with link bars removed.

Last night my new tv stand arrived and my old cables no longer reach the new home of the amp (plus are quite bulky and unsightly).

I was given so QED micro which I used to get the system up and running in single wire config, direct bare wire connection to the terminal posts and the link bars put back. It now sounds rubbish and I seek an modern cable which isn't too bulky(ideally can be pinned into a 1cm gap under the fireplace lip). I have checked the phasing and can only suggest the weedy thin cable isn't on par with what I had before; sound is very thin lacking bass weight and seems to have lost detail in the middle too.

I'm unsure if bi wiring still has merit or whether I should ditch the terminal links on the speakers for some short bridges made of the same speaker cable and just have a single cable to each speaker.

I need 3-3.5m runs for each speaker and would usually go for banana terminations.

Any advice on what cables and configurations to consider would be appreciated. I work near southwark tube station in London if anyone also has suggestions on where to purchase or view the cables.

Budget £200 max all in to keep it sensible

Many thanks in advance!

Adam

[P700DEE]

Ditch the cheap links and replace with some better cable. If possible just check that your conclusion is right and it is not the new home for your amp that is causing the issue. Connect up your amp in the new cabinet with the old cables , even if this means that the wires are in the way for normal living.
Can't advise on the latest fad speaker cable to buy, I've got 10m runs and a second hand pair of Kimber 8?? which would probably cost over £1K now but set me back less than £300. Cable testing is very low on my prorities

[Roadster25]

The view these days seems to be that bi wiring is really only useful if you are bi amping. Otherwise you are better off buying a single run of better quality cable. Use small quantities of speaker cable as jumpers for your speakers, as you suggest.

Chord Rumour 2 is quite slender and flexible, so is pretty easy to route and sounds as good as anything else I've heard. I believe it costs about £15 per metre, but I got mine for rather less on fleabay.

Assuming there is such a thing as better quality cable

[FlossyThePig]

Roadster25 said:

...I believe it costs about £15 per metre...

it's the spaeker cable debate again, guys! Most people won't pay more than £2/m.

[Roadster25]

FlossyThePig said:

it's the spaeker cable debate again, guys! Most people won't pay more than £2/m.

Only if you want to make it that.

As far as I can tell the only change to the OP's system is the speaker cable. He is now convinced he doessn't like the sound, so it seems that he's pretty convinced that different cables may give a different sound. It is not the usual cable debate as he has already decided that for himself, rightly or wrongly.

I could have posted that he is in fact wrong, that he does actually like the QED Micro just as much because cables are all the same. Alternatively I thought I'd answer his questions and suggest a cable which, in my experience, meets his criteria that he might like to try. Remember he doesn't actually have to buy it if he doesn't think it is worth the money.

[Driller]

OP have you tried painting your speakers a slightly darker colour? Mine sounded a bit tinny but I sprayed them a nice olive green and that's smoothed the sound right out.

[AdamD]

Thanks for your reply roadster - I had the rumour 2 on my shortlist and hope to go see some in person to get an idea of dimensions and flexibility.

To clarify I have just moved the amp from a temporary resting place on the floor onto a glass tv stand, uses the same power connection as before; only change is the speaker cable which is now 0.5m short on the right hand run.

With the level of sarcasm encountered I had to double check I hadn't posted in AV forums - quality trolling!

[rotarymazda]

Roadster25 said:

The view these days seems to be that bi wiring is really only useful if you are bi amping.

I found this to be true after a few hours of experimentation at a friendly dealer with one of their top systems. I was auditioning their speakers at the time but wanted to hear what the upgrade path would be later on. They just left me to it in a demo room, trying out different combinations.

I found biwiring was hardly worth it, I did it anyway to prepare for bi-amping. Bi-amping made a big difference but was so expensive, it had to wait.

[The_Burg]

Congratulations on owning an 'Obelisk' stunning little amps, wish i'd never sold mine.
The Q35 is not in the same league. These amps had a synergy that was amazing with Royd speakers. Getting hard to find but well worth it.
Can't remember the exact name but the silver cables from QED worked great with them.

[Crackie]

AdamD said:

I have a pair of Kef 35.2 floor standing speakers driven by a trusty Ion Obelisk 200 amp. Previously I have been running the speakers bi wired using self terminated QED Qudos bi wire cable, 2 banana - 4 banana with link bars removed.

I was given so QED micro which I used to get the system up and running in single wire config, direct bare wire connection to the terminal posts and the link bars put back. It now sounds rubbish; sound is very thin lacking bass weight and seems to have lost detail in the middle too.

Any advice on what cables and configurations to consider would be appreciated. I work near southwark tube station in London if anyone also has suggestions on where to purchase or view the cables.

Budget £200 max all in to keep it sensible

Many thanks in advance!

Adam

Hi Adam, Have look online to see if any London dealers 'loan' cables you can take home to use for a comparative audition. I recall Audioquest have promoted/marketed their cables that way in the past.
I'm very surprised you can hear such a large difference so, just as a low cost but serious experiment, how about buying a tenners worth twin mains flex and giving that a try ?

Is there a reason you've chosen to allocate such a disproportionately high part of your budget to speaker cable ?

Anyway this isn't a 'cables make no difference debate', they are your ears and its your cash so I would advocate listening to as many different options as you can in your system and listen for yourself. Then choose the one that best matches your carpet/curtains/eyes .

Edited by Crackie on Saturday 25th January 16:34

[skelters]

Last year I replaced the original cabling I had with Van Damme Studio Grade Blue Series cables and Bi-Wired the B & W speakers.

There was a difference in the sound and there have been no issues at all with the cables.

For the cables you require it could all be done for around £25 - £40.

Have a look at http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/manufacturer/11... and I've had no delivery issues. Great service.

[AdamD]

The_Burg said:

Congratulations on owning an 'Obelisk' stunning little amps, wish i'd never sold mine.
The Q35 is not in the same league. These amps had a synergy that was amazing with Royd speakers. Getting hard to find but well worth it.
Can't remember the exact name but the silver cables from QED worked great with them.

I do like the Ion amp; it was a hand me down from my father when he upgraded to Naim Audio pre/power amps and apart from the lack of a remote control it seems pretty capable to me.

The Q35's were bought from eBay for £50 about 5 years ago to replace some lacklustre Cresta 2 bookshelf's, I haven't had any reason to replace them but recognise they are not exactly class leading

As an experiment I have run double strands of the QED micro to each speaker from the amp and it sounds better to me, particularly bass. Looking at the specs the cross section area of copper wire in my old cable was quite a lot higher than the QED micro, I suspect any wire with high purity copper and decent cross sectional area would do a good job. So in a moment of madness I have gone for some QED Original mk2 bi wire terminated with AirLoc's - should be very similar to the Qudos Bi Wire being a copper cable 4x2.5mm^2 conductors and was reasonably priced, all too easy to get sucked into spending a fortune on leads and interconnects when you read the marketing BS

Will update the thread with my findings

Adam

[The_Burg]

With £200 budget honestly ditch the Kef Q35. As i said anything from Royd or you could probably get a pair of Rega EL8 or Jura, much better speakers. I've owned all of them. Best match was Royd Minstrel or Merlins. The way they work together is amazing even with cheap QED 79 strand.

[AdamD]

The_Burg said:

With £200 budget honestly ditch the Kef Q35. As i said anything from Royd or you could probably get a pair of Rega EL8 or Jura, much better speakers. I've owned all of them. Best match was Royd Minstrel or Merlins. The way they work together is amazing even with cheap QED 79 strand.

Will definitely look into that - cheers!