Do Expensive Speaker Cables Sound Better than Cheaper Cables? 

Respect Gene for giving the answer at the beginning of the video, and then elaborating on the topic, instead of the other way around!

What is really special is that some people spend more on audio cables than I do on RF cables for 40 GHz testing. I really admire Gene's stamina on being wiling to address this issue for the people with amnesia about the last time they asked about audio cables.

I love that he gives the answer to the question right in the beginning. Now I actually want to watch the full video just out of respect

After getting the straight up answer, I stayed to listen to the entire video. Tell me the answer and then explain, perfect format. Subscribed!

"The answer is no." Subscribed.

The fact that this is even worth a video is just sad, man. This industry is full of shit sometimes. you and your team put so much love and effort into your videos and website. It's the first place I check when I want information on a specific product. Always honest, in depth and just filled to the brim with knowledge. You need a lot more subscribers.

I am a big fan of Audioholics. That said, I reluctantly watched this video thinking this was yet another rant of Gene's about a bad experience he had with a cable vendor or manufacturer. Not that that is not interesting; I was shocked about the situation he encountered at a recent audio show last year. But I thought this video was going to be redundant... On the contrary, I instead got a lot out of this video as it was a good summary of the science. Thank you once again for another informative and interesting video, Gene. Keep them coming!

Do the same vídeo about standard power cord vs other high quality power cords.

Love how you're still giving the middle finger to these scam artist cable companies. Wish more people would wake up to them. Thanks Gene!!

Gene, thanks for this video and others like it. It’s refreshing to get explanations and analysis based in science and engineering rather than audio fantasy. You perform a vital service for the audio enthusiast community.

People freaking out over speaker cable quality must have never seen the cheap a$$ wires going from the circuit board to the terminal inside the amp

Gene!! You should win”Audiophile Truth” of the decade award !!!

If you want better sound, invest in better speakers.

I watch this video from time-to-time to better appreciate the Blue Jeans 10-white speaker cables I use. I really appreciate your effort, testing and honesty👍👍

There's a reason the owner of Audioquest lives in a 5 million dollar condo in a beach town shopping center.

WOW! What an outstanding explanation and recommendations! Just incredible and such a refreshing presentation. Bravo!

I have been using low voltage garden cable from Home Depot and they work terrific. Short is 14 gauge and long is 12 gauge (20’ and more than 10’). Work like a champ.

Kimber Kable looks fantastic, so in terms of aesthetics, they are clearly the prettiest

Gene! I just shared this on about 15 audiophile Facebook groups and disabled commenting ....🤣🤣🤣. Truth can be such a weapon to some.

Blue jeans all the way. My wife doesn't get near my system so what it looks like.... Doesn't matter! Of course she married me so...looks must not matter to her either! :-D

He's educated and does his research. Ill save my money and get cool gear instead. Gene, youre a savant.

GENE!!!! We are missing a huge portion of cables and interconnects!!! Please do a video regarding XLR and RCA Interconnects as well! THANK YOU.

I got into this hobby around 60 years ago. Stereo itself was the big thing. No solid state components existed. During that time and for many years afterwards there was no such thing as a speaker cable company. Zip cable of a thick enough gauge was what you used and that was it. Now after all these years Gene’s research and testing has validated my observation. I have never been able to tell the difference. Thanks again Gene for an outstanding video.

Monoprice cl2 in wall 14 awg is what I use,great job gene,

Please do one on RCA cables. Love the work Gene!

Thank you ! Straight forward info with no unnecessary bs ! Using 10' runs of 8pr with hybrid tube amp with Salk monitors! Great affordable system with immense sound stage depth ! Been listening to audio for over fifty years, and I am satisfied with this one !!

Based on your reviews, I splurged on a pair Kimber 8TC about a year ago as I only needed 5ft, so I figured why not.

Gene I bought a Yamaha Aventage receiver in 2015 which is when I starting watching Audioholics. I am a mechanical engineer but did do some electrical subjects. When you dropped the snake oil bomb on cables I laughed so much I was crying and I nearly fell off the couch. Then the 1kHz 10% distortion power ratings 😂 . Well let’s just say “I’m here to testify, snake oil is real and is out there!” Love your work

Hey Gene, after watching the show for a year or two now I’ve seen the light and eBay’d my QED Bullcrap speaker cable with equivalent of 16awg lathered up in snake oil. Replaced it with some Van Damme UP-LCOFC 6mm which is around 9.5 gauge. Even when I bought the QED cable I didn’t think it sounded quite as good as the bottom of the range zip chord 14 gauge plain OFC cable from the same brand but I still bought it because of the marketing. It just sounded a bit lifeless despite being ‘silver’ plated. Looking at the specs now the resistance was way better in the cheaper model. What an idiot. I will no longer worry about cables, decent gauge shotgun will do me fine until I die. Thank you Audioholics 👌🏻

As usual Honesty backed up by science and good knowledge of the subject matter . Thank you !!!

I tried Gene’s 14 4 “hack” and have been really pleased! Not sure what vid it’s in but involves using a cable with 4 14 AWG conductors and joining each pair to make two conductors with an effective gauge of about 11 AWG I think. Some slick cable pants and terminators and you get some pretty decent cables sans snake oil. Thanks Gene! Love Audioholics!

Has anyone read the Stereophile article "What a Difference a Wire Makes" (June 12, 2020, First Published: Dec 1, 1995)? It shows that low inductance plays much larger role than low resistance. And they do provide real waveform distortion mesurements not just "I am telling you guys...".

Remember folks, speaker cables are not gain stages. They are a method of final drive to speakers. They have very little to do with sound at all. Back at the amplifier inputs is where you can make *some* difference in sound with your cables since you have so much gain there and small differences can have larger effects (shielding, twisted pairs etc). Save your money for better speakers and you'll hear the most difference

As an electrical engineer and audiophile, AKA; audio-FOOL, I have tried to help others understand the basics of audio cable measurements/ohms law to no avail. Most will go out and spend more on their cables than they do on some of their nicer audio components. Which is foolishness unless, like you said, they enjoy their bragging rights. One company will charge you north of $20K for a pair of amp to speaker hookup cables; thats CRAZY !!! Another well =known company in Colorado will lift over $30K from your wallet for the same cables. Thanks for putting up the basic electrical theory which most people should be able to grasp. Great presentation !!! Personally, I enjoy putting the money into components and media.

That reminded me of the blind listening test, where some golden ears "audiophools" couldn't distinguish between some expensive Monster cables and 4 soldered together coat hangers.

the more you pay, the more unicorns will come out of your sound system.

Sounds to me like zip cord is all you really need for the great majority of systems. Zip cord should always be in comparison tables so you can see what the premium price is buying you, if anything.

Still find it hilarious that audiophiles spend more on cables than retro gaming enthusiasts do on cables to transmit analog video (which is notorious for being prone to interference).

Blue Jeans Cable 10 gauge here, with locking bananas

I have had the same Monster cable XP for years. It has always served me well in both my car and home audio. I got it from a friend who got it with a gift card he won in a contest so.... It was "technically" free. :-) I have so much of it that I doubled it up for my high powered car audio system.

I use 12 ga speaker wire from Home Depot. The cables are terminated with soldered-on gold-plated banana plugs.

It's amazing to me how people fight me over this on my channel. Thanks for making this video!

Dont know about speakers cables but different headphones and iem cables does change the sound somewhat

To reply to Gene’s request about what cables I use - My fronts are studio monitors, so they don’t have cables in the sense that most speakers do. For my surrounds and ceiling speakers, I use 16/2. The requirements for those speakers are quite a bit less than for the fronts, and over the lengths of the runs (all under 20 feet), I don’t detect any issues.

Anyone who gives this a thumbs down is a jackass !!! Gene!! Well said brother. You are a man of trust and character. It takes a real person of value to stand up against an industry that he’s so integrated in!!

Again, sober, well-documented/supported, cogent discussion. I have a number of different types of cabling, mostly to explore and experiment. Most of it around or under the level of the Kimber 8TC; and I do use Kimber 8TC. I wanted to see whether cables might make a difference I would notice. I don't find much, if any sonic difference among different cabling - speaker, interconnects of different types connecting among different components. Of course, I'm already at the level of using what most folks would call very high-quality, if not over-the-top exotic, cables. A couple of things to share. I've had the situation where over time some OFC copper will begin to develop an oxidation layer inside the wire jacket. It will turn that green/brown color. It seems to be from an interaction between the copper and the materials used in the jacket. Not all OFC copper wire seems to do this. This green stuff doesn't help move a signal down the wire. When I was in high school, just getting into the audio hobby, I had just spent a big part of the money I'd earned from my summer jobs to buy Dynaco's best transistor electronics kits at the time - an ST-416 amplifier and PAT-5 BiFET preamp. I loved building them. I was so excited to hook them up. I grabbed some wire I had on hand and connected everything - and OMG, it sounded AWFUL. Nothing but distortion. I had connected the speakers using solid core copper bell wire. Well, I learned long time ago what wire doesn't work. Some 12AWG lamp cord and problem solved. Not so much to single out Blue Jean's - for a good thing , in this case. They are also straight-talking about cabling, and perhaps mixing this straight talk with some opining (which can also be useful). The wire/cable that they use is fine quality to start - lots of Belden and Canare. No issues there. For good-value basics, you can easily grab some some Belden or Canare, add some nice terminations, and DIY some very nice cable variations quickly, easily, and affordably.

I can't believe we live in a world where cable cosmetics matter. MADNESS. But my cables are blessed by the Pope.

Measuring electrical signals with electronic equippment on cables is like comparing the top speed of a Ferrari and a Fiat Uno in a traffic jam. It makes no sense. You have to measure the acoustic waves, that is what our ears listen to.

Cheers Gene. Once again brother, another good honest video. Saying hello from the UK. ✌👍

In the snob-o-sphere, they hate treble. If a 16" Paiste signature crash cymbal has that crisp attack and silvery decay it's just too bright and harsh. They need cables with built in filter circuits to gently roll off the treble so it's nice as "musical" , that is if you prefer a cymbal that sounds like it has gaffers tape on the edge.

Monoprice 12AWG wire has done me very well over the past few years! 😉👍

So glad youve cleared the cable thing for me. Im an absolute beginner in this and ive been umming an arring bout buying expensive cable, money which i do not have or would want to spend on cable,for your honesty youve got a new subscriber.

As usual, I watch a video about audio gear, and my good stuff is that guy's cheap stuff.

I use Nordost 4 flat speaker cables. They were recommended to me by a man with ears I absolutely trust. He's a respected audio engineer and uses Nordost cables himself.

Great video Gene. I have handcrafted my own cable with a total Awg of 6, more or less, which outperforms a solid core silver monocrystal cable of 100 times more expensive. I wanted to prove the expensive high end Audio industry wrong and yes Gene you are right. Exotic speaker cables are pure Snake Oil. These Snake Oil designs take a lot of people for a ride. Even I fell for that, but at least I am over it and know the truth now. Now I only use my Snake Oil cable as a comparison test against my design's. You are right Gene, it's all about resistance and what I found out is that a big part lies in linear frequency transfer of the Audio Bandwidth in a cable design I had a lot of fun designing that cable.

Thanks for not dumbing this down too much. Some of it was over my head but that’s how you learn. Great video!

I always felt that gauge and material are the determining factors over exotic claims...

Here we go again. It is almost spooky how someone can just give you the engineering without an angle. Thanks dude and best wishes from NZ.

Audiophiles still won't believe this. Great video and spot on information through testing 👍

The technical stuff goes over my head. We used a speaker cable made by a British company called Chord. The product was called Odyssey 2. It looked really nice and good material quality, I think it was about $20 per metre. It is silver coated oxygen free wire. It seems to be good.

Love my Blue Jean Cables!

Some cable companies don't even report what gauge the cable is. Imagine that!

Great video. I wonder if one day we might see a video renouncing your position on cables like we saw on digital amps and turntables;) ?

I have worked my way up now at almost 70 yrs old I have a very high end system, but I do not have any expensive cables apart from one balanced Hi Diamond. Speaker cable is Canare 4S11 from Blue Jeans and interconnects are Belden Coax all after watching Audioholics. I am no electrical engineer but this guy is, and when experience speaks a wise man listens. In A/B comparisons with the interconnects Belden v Hi Diamond 1 balanced. Apart from a drop in the volume of the H.D. I can not decearn any difference. I have always struggled to hear differences with speaker cables. My only question is would OCC be better than OFC or would the difference be so difficult to detect as to not be worth while. Also if differences arent pretty clear then my policy is dont bother if you have to keep plugging in and out and dont feel sure.

I use two runs of CAT 6 wire per post (2 positive and 2 on the negative).It cost me $63 for a thousand foot spool. My speakers definitely sounded a little brighter than the monster cable it replaced.

Good video thanks. I have had discussions with a few audiophiles over the years who told me (who has a background in electronics and RF) I didn't know what I was talking about when I suggested they may as well use thick gauge mains flex instead of the fancy expensive speakers cable they had shelled out a small fortune for. Tried explaining basic transmission line theory and that at audio frequencies for short runs they didn't need to worry about capacitance/inductance or skin effect. They wouldn't believe me, said the expensive stuff sounded noticeably better. I gave up in the end.

Would be cool to see a test with the cheapest scrap cable you can find vs some hifi ones. Matching the resistance of course.

Have you tried the Purple Rain cables? Nothing compares to it. They're purified in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. It makes your speakers sound like doves crying.

Big Yessss from a non believer, Western Electric WE16GA VW-1 which are made with a mix of tin and cooper (tin is better conductor than cooper) is like adding a new dac to your equipment, also glass toslink cable with 400 or 200 strands are way to better than any top sales cable at Amazon.

"Bragging rights"? I thought you were supposed to brag whenever you did something INTELLIGENT!

Absolutely awesome video. To answer Gene's question, I use custom handmade cables out of 12 AWG THHN stranded copper rated at 105 degrees C at a maximum of 600 volts. Twelve twists per foot, 10 feet in length. [Since I built them myself, I made them the *exact* perfect length so no looping on the floor!] The cost was nearly zero since the company I worked for was doing remodeling and throwing wire in the trash right and left before recycling was a thing. My system sounds absolutely spectacular. Yamaha receiver pushing 130 watts x 2. Speaker cabinets I also custom built with Pioneer and Focal drivers - and Dayton three way crossovers and L-pads - hand tuned with RTA. The entire system probably cost me under $1,000.00 and after 20 years I would stand it up to any of the systems Sound by Singer sells for ten times as much. Most of the real cost is the long hours building the speaker cabinets. The cables took me *maybe* five minutes each including tinning the ends and soldering the terminations on.

I soak my speaker cables In Holy water 😂 🤣 😂. Another awesome informative video Gene, ty sir!

Nice, helpful video. Just like any other segment of our lives, companies are desperately trying to do what they can to profit, even if that means keeping us misinformed and confused. It really is a HUGE roadblock in our quest to achieve the best in audio performance. Components and speakers are the real difference makers.

I use Monoprice 14 gauge speaker cables, it's reasonable in price and it works.😉👍

Excellent video, clear facts and a money saver. Thanks Gene!

Gene and Audioholics are the ultimate snake oil antidote !!!

One of the clunky, rattly, and awkward banana connectors that came on my Blue Jeans speaker cables, broke off the cable. The connector just fell off! It affected the sound (negatively). And they really do look like crap.

Companies who make these expensive cables must hate you, Gene. You inform and educate the masses and I'm sure those companies would rather have people kept in the dark about the truth.

I have eliminated all issues regarding speaker cables. I use powered studio monitors.

My secret ritual for getting the best out of my cables? I watch videos like this, and then play some music and relax...

What happened with Hugo?

So great! (just picked/bought cables last week and chose the blue jeans you started with, before I saw this, love it). Thank you for doing these.

It’s also worth noting, that copper is what you want to use. Not aluminum or steel, you can buy really cheap wire at Home Depot, fresh cut off the spool. Some of it is even called speaker wire, and it’s easy to be so gauge minded that you forget to check the materials. Silver’s the best, but dollar for dollar, you get better performance by doubling up on copper. Copper/silver commodity prices are much further apart than the performance is, copper is roughly 95% as good, silver being 7% better, (59/63) and copper fluctuates from 10% to 30% the cost of silver historically over decades, and thousands of years of history as well. seekingalpha.com/article/4181917-copper-silver-ratio-range-for-thousands-of-years

I once bought a secondhand Audioquest Gibraltar cable that performed much better than my QED Revelation signature. In the end, I discovered the QED where flawed or badly designed. Nowadays, I use SVS cables , several times less expensive than Audioquest and there is no difference in sound. By the way, they look nice and are more flexible and easier to use.

The Kimber Cable is a lot longer than it looks because of the weave.

I respect my opinion Gene because that has been my experience as well. There are some and you probably know who they are that obsess over cable differences and I'm not suggesting that there aren't, but as you say, picking an audible difference between a reasonably priced quality cable and a supposedly high end expensive one is like splitting hairs in my opinion and I have a good ear for that stiff. Apparently you can pick the difference if everything about your system, placement and room is perfect. Do we believe that the earth is flat as well or am I missing something?

You don't use coat hangers as speaker cable? Pffft.

Gene has single handedly saved me thousands!!! Thank you sir!!

I personally use Sewell Silverback 12AWG speaker cable, seems to work fine...

While I've worked in Electrical Engineering for 25+ years, I only have a diploma in Electronics Technologies focused on in the RF area and always had a passion for audio. For what it's worth I'll back this guy 100% even exceeding how little is needed in what's stated when I consider what's necessary in HiFi audio for cables. All of this because we are referencing . To put it bluntly, hi-fi cable companies thrive on the ignorance of the average "Audiophile". They know they can take 1% truth and fool the average audiophile into buying their products. IF, we were talking Radio Frequency cables more of which these companies try to sell folks on could be taken a little more seriously. LISTEN, to people who have real education in such subjects and not folks who stand to profit from potential deception. My rule to average hi-fi listeners is 70~80 percent into speakers, spend the rest as you see fit. To those with $$$, start with your room, then your speakers, then the rest as you see fit. In both cases high dollar cables are simply a waste of your hard earned $ because good quality cables are actually very cheap in the big picture.

Hey Gene. Love the videos,always learning something I try to use.My question is,I just went to Sewell Silverback 12awg..It uses 259 strands per conductor. They say it brings out tighter base,cleaner highs,better mids.(don't they all say that?)..I feel I hear a slight difference, maybe it's just hope.can you give some input on the cable.thanks.

Thank you for sticking to (and explaining) the science. Great video!

so so true, thanks for some common electrical sense !

funny how some here STILL stick up for their high priced cables !

I hear differences in all cables. In my experience the cheapest sounds worst. I may well be cursed but it’s the truth. I wish I didn’t hear. Difference but I do. 😕

Finally a reasonable video about speaker cables. One thing about testing and comparing speaker cables. Before you take out your original cables and put the new ones in. Reseat your old ones. Clean the contacts and reattach them first! Then switch in the new cables. The majority of wow-factor difference between two pair of reasonably good to great speaker cables is just because the termination is different now. Do this reseating and cleaning regularly and you get to enjoy the "wow"-factor several times a year without spending anything.

If it makes no difference electrically then it will make no difference sonically! When possible, purchase your cables by 'least electrical resistance' using a good OHM meter as your compass rather than some artificial price tag.

Great video. BJC sound just fine in my system. Would be great if you did one on RCA cables also!

Not interested in the db difference between cables, what i wanna know is do they sound different, you haven’t covered that one comprehensively, you said “ i didnt hear 👂🏻 any difference “ thats NOT scientific, cant you use REW to show the frequency chart between cables. Also why wasn’t amazon basics speaker cable included in this study, they sell a 12ga copper speaker cable ( cuz its sold in so many countries ) the cables you tested here kimber & bluejeans isn’t available or its very expensive outside the usa.

Bought a Rogue Sphinx v3 and Klipsch RP8000 speakers and a schiit Bifrost dac. I was using plain old speaker cable and then bought a cheap used set of Audioquest Rocket33. I'm new to stereo equipment but a lifelong musician with a trained ear. The difference was stark. My wife noticed the improvement, and I hadn't even told her I'd done anything different. I'd prefer cables to not make a difference and save money, but it seems that to me they do. Perhaps it depends on the system.