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The Dynaco Tube Audio Forum

Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of all original Dynaco tube audio equipment - Customer support for Tubes4hifi VTA tube amp and preamp kits and all Dynakitparts.com products


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    Very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cables - photo

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    • Post n°1

    Very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cables - photo Empty Very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cables - photo

    Post by Bob Latino Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:01 pm

    Very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cables - photo Cables1024

    There is a guy on Ebay, "Cablebuyer", that I found out was selling speaker cables made with the Canare 4S11 "star quad" wire at a very good price. In the past I bought some of the Canare 4S11 by the foot and used my own connectors to make up some speaker cables for one of the systems that I have here. Canare 4S11 has 4 separate 12 gauge wires inside and is great for biwiring or biamping. The wire itself is about $1.35 a foot and the Nakamichi banana connectors that the fellow uses are about $1.00 each. I bought two 8 foot bi-wire cables from him for $60 SHIPPED. (photo above) He wanted $65.95 shipped, but he had a "Best Offer" so I offered him $60 shipped which he accepted.

    If you wanted to make these up yourself then > For two 8 foot bi-wire speaker cables that is $21.60 for the wire (16 feet of wire) and $12 for the connectors or $33.60. Add in some shrink tubing and shipping for the cable and 12 Nakamichi banana connectors and you are up to at least $40. Now do I want to cut and strip the wire, solder on the connectors and shrink the tubing on 12 connectors for $20 - NO - I'll let him do it for the $20 and I'll pop a cold one and listen to music.

    I had him put on banana connectors because I am forever moving speakers, amps, preamps about the house here. He will also put on spade lugs if you want for the same price. Below is a link to his list of Canare 4S11 speaker cables on his Ebay store.

    In comparison > Blue Jeans Cables online will also do the same job for two 8 foot bi-wire Canare 4S11 speaker cables for $102.50 + shipping. Now it is possible that Blue Jeans cables uses slightly better banana connectors but the Nakamichi connectors the guy supplied appear to be of very good quality ...

    Cablebuyer's interconnect and speaker cables

    For non-members of the forum copy and paste this web address below into your browser.

    https://www.ebay.com/sch/Audio-Cables-Interconnects/14964/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=cablebuyer

    Bob


    Last edited by Bob Latino on Mon Nov 04, 2019 11:50 am; edited 5 times in total
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    WntrMute2
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    Post by WntrMute2 Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:31 pm

    Here is a similar set from RAM Electronics.
    http://www.ramelectronics.net/product.aspx?zpid=2067

    Very good and relatively inexpensive speaker cables - photo Custom_hsb
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    Bob Latino
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    • Post n°3

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    Post by Bob Latino Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:04 pm

    Yes - BUT - RAM Electronics are at $47.88 for ONE set of 8 foot bi-wire cables. That would be 95.76 for the TWO cables that you would need for a stereo system. They don't mention anything about free shipping. The cables from "Cablebuyer" on Ebay are for TWO 8 foot bi-wire cables shipped for $60.

    RAM Electronics 8 foot biwire cable

    Note that these RAM Electronics cables do have locking banana connectors on them.

    Bob


    Last edited by Bob Latino on Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:44 am; edited 2 times in total
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    Post by WntrMute2 Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:10 pm

    Well, don't the locking bananas make up for the difference in cost? Just kidding, you are right Bob, that is a much better deal. I just ran across the ad while looking for something and thought I'd add to the possibilities if someone is uncomfortable dealing with the Ebay crowd.
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    Bob Latino
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    Post by Bob Latino Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:09 pm

    Hi,

    You do have a point ... The locking bananas are nice and probably better than the standard Nakamichi bananas supplied with these cables. If you have to move the speakers around when they are plugged in, the locking bananas are probably a good idea. I have before muscled speakers around a few inches at a time looking for the best position and I have had a banana connector or two pop out on me a few times.

    Bob
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    • Post n°6

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    Post by deepee99 Sat Nov 10, 2012 10:07 am

    Bob Latino wrote:Hi,

    You do have a point ... The locking bananas are nice and probably better than the standard Nakamichi bananas supplied with these cables. If you have to move the speakers around when they are plugged in, the locking bananas are probably a good idea. I have before muscled speakers around a few inches at a time looking for the best position and I have had a banana connector or two pop out on me a few times.

    Bob

    I have had the same problem with bananas, Bob. FWIW, Vandersteen recommends using spades on their speakers for a more secure connection. I prefer solid-silver spades to gold-plated ones. While unlike gold, silver does tarnish over time, tarnishing does not diminish its conductivity.
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    • Post n°7

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    Post by Tube Nube Mon Nov 12, 2012 4:22 pm

    I've just put in a bunch of hours struggling with wire, connectors, solder, shrink tube etc to do 4 DIY interconnects to hook up my sub woofers.

    I haven't tested them yet, to see if they even work, but one things for sure. I wasted about a day and a half chasing down supplies and fiddling. I don't think it was really worth it when the likes of these on-line options are so reasonable.

    Thanks for bringing this option to our attention, Bob!
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    Post by Bob Latino Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:50 am

    Bringing up another older thread here from 2012. I had someone Email me asking about where to purchase decent speaker cables for his home theater system. I pointed him to this thread about "Cablebuyer" on Ebay. Check the link in the first post. These are very good cables for the price ..

    Bob
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    Post by solderblob Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:45 pm

    Stupid question alert!!!

    My equipment rack is on the left side of the room.  4 ft. from the left speaker and 12 ft. from the right speaker.  Do I need to use the same length cables for left and right?

    dave
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    Post by deepee99 Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:47 pm

    I'll go with Blue Jeans, on the simple basis of their locking banana plugs. Those babies are strong connectors; you could pick up a piano with one of them. They're also cold-welded at the wire end. Given that wire is wire, it all comes down to the connectors, methinks.
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    • Post n°11

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    Post by 10-E-C Wed Oct 23, 2019 3:32 pm

    solderblob wrote:Stupid question alert!!!

    My equipment rack is on the left side of the room.  4 ft. from the left speaker and 12 ft. from the right speaker.  Do I need to use the same length cables for left and right?

    dave

    As fast as signal travels, I don't think you'll hear the 8 ft difference. I have one interconnect 10 ft longer than the other going to my mono blocks without any problems.
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    • Post n°12

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    Post by Guest Sat Oct 26, 2019 1:46 am

    .


    Last edited by PeterCapo on Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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    Post by Bob Latino Sat Oct 26, 2019 8:36 am

    PeterCapo wrote:

    Bob, I recall that at one time you also recommended SignalCable.com.  Do you still recommend SignalCable.com?

    Thanks.
    Peter

    Hi Peter,

    Yes - Both Signal Cable (located in New York state) and Blue Jeans Cable (located in Seattle, WA) make very good cables. I have had cables from both companies here for about 10 years now on two different stereo systems in my home. The nice thing about both companies is that you can call them directly if you have a question. Both companies will make up custom cables if you ask them. Blue Jeans Cable once made up a special balanced to unbalanced interconnect for a friend of mine.

    I still use the Cablebuyer speaker wire in my home theater system with the Nakamichi banana connectors. These connectors hold on really tight.

    Bob
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    Post by Roy Mottram Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:16 am

    yes, those are nice cables.
    Just a reminder I've got some nice speaker cables on the home website, $56 shipped for a 10' or 15' pair, $65 shipped for a 20' pair
    http://tubes4hifi.com/spk-cable-ss.jpghttp://tubes4hifi.com/spk-cable-ss.jpg
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    Post by CletusB Sat Nov 16, 2019 10:25 am

    Nice! ....but I'm happy with my 8-foot 12awg electrical cable speaker leads. Laughing
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    Post by deepee99 Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:31 pm

    I have nothing but praise for Blue Jeans Cable, which Bob L. recommended about 11 years ago. No worries, the connectors and ends are just as sturdy as when they went in new. Great service, even on Saturdays.

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