Stock Cables
Contents
| Cable | Stock 2.5mm2 and 0.75mm2 |
| Balance low, middle and high | 2.5mm2: loud and unpleasant mid and high. That is also where the focus is.
0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Sound color vocals and instruments | 2.5mm2: Saxophone is “screeching”. Voices have an edge.
0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Stereo image | 2.5mm2: flat image with little delineation.
0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Rhythm | 2.5mm2: restless. Unpredictable. 0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Overall | 2.5mm2: Not a pleasant cable to listen to for a long time.
0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Material and construction | 2.5mm2: stranded copper
0.75mm2: not listened to |
| Price | 1 and 2 Euro per meter |
























Hi team,
This is quite an amazing project that you have done.
I am trying to use this information to help my selection decision making on some new cables. My conclusion is that the Audiomica ones which you tested seem to be the best value in terms of price vs your feedback about their sound. And from the qualitative feedback it seems like those cables would play well with most systems. Is this a correct conclusion to draw from the testing?
I understand that I would probably want to try the cables out on my system to make sure that they fit with the sound that I like.
I am relatively new to hi-fi so I apologise if this is a question that is a philosophically wrong way to think about things.
I wonder, if the impedance of the cables would not provide a more significant perspective instead of individual values of R, C and L ?
Hey Jaap, that is a really nice test with lots of information, thanks for that! Would it be possible to have it all into one table for a good overview, instead having to scroll through the individual pages? May be too much to ask 🙂
Keep up the awesome work!
Standard cable of 2.5mm2… I am using 16mm2 “standard wire”, 3m long. Very low resistance. That ticks one box. I guess I can theoretically calculate the inductance and capacitance. Wonder if these are of significant consequence at 20kHz. Maybe I can twist the cable to reduce the inductance if it has some impact.
This is beyond – need to study it – not just read, to understand.
Thanks for including the “peasant” installation cable AudioQuest 14/4 – I use the more expensive version XTRM 14/4. My question is – how did you terminate the cable and in what configuration? I have it terminated with nakamichi bananas and connected in a star-quad configuration.
Martin
And, just like that, Alpha-Audio shoots to the top of the audio reviewer heap! The GOAT of tests and shoot-outs. Well done kind sirs, that was an impressive and Herculean effort!
Thanks,
Eric