Friday, February 7, 2025
Home Megatest speaker cables – 32 cables listened to and measured!

Megatest speaker cables – 32 cables listened to and measured!

15

Conclusion and overview

We hope we have been able to convince you a bit that cables do make a difference AND that there is also an audible and measurable difference in cables. Our measurements do not reveal everything. In fact, it is only a beginning. However, to go deeper, more equipment and simply more knowledge is needed. That equipment and knowledge we do not possess. And to be honest: is it up to a platform like Alpha Audio to dive so incredibly deep? You may let us know in the comments.

Our conclusion

One of the most important factors in speaker cables is impedance. It just has to stay low. Is has to stay low in order to keep the damping factor of the amplifier in good shape. So in this case: the lower the impedance, the better.

One of the factors that plays an important role in impedance is inductance. The lower the inductance, the lower the impedance remains.

A low capacitance – we learned when researching interlinks – usually ensures speed as well as stability in timing. However, it is often a game of balance between inductance and capacitance. It is virtually impossible to keep them both very low. So it is up to the manufacturer to find the right balance there. And you do that by playing with the geometry of the cable, insulation materials, types of shielding… et cetera. This of course requires the necessary expertise.

How a cable handles noise is audible. Cables that show low noise in the measurements, actually sound blacker. That can – as with the interlinks – come at the expense of openness, looseness and ambiance. So, in this case, taste plays a role. And again: balance in a system.

Finally, the phase differences in the cables. We have only been able to determine that there are phase differences. How this expresses itself in the reproduction is very difficult to determine, because we would have to compare everything with a fixed standard and do an A / B test for each cable. We did not do that.

The live tests of the speaker cables

Part 1

Part 2

Conclusion

We hope we have been able to convince you a bit that cables do make a difference AND that there is also an audible and measurable difference in cables. Our measurements do not reveal everything. In fact, it is only a beginning. However, to go deeper, more equipment and simply more knowledge is needed. That equipment and knowledge we do not possess. And to be honest: is it up to a platform like Alpha Audio to dive so incredibly deep? You may let us know in the comments.
Type test
Multitest
Tested price class
Price cheapest product: €1
Price most expensive product: €21000
Production country
Varies

Winkels met Audioquest

Sint-Antoniusstraat 15
2300 Turnhout, BE
Joseph Bensstraat 21
1180 Ukkel, BE
Pleinweg 136
3083 EP Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, NL
Hooikade 13
2627 Delft, Zuid Holland, NL
Bredabaan 1031
B-2930 Brasschaat, BE
Pelikaanstraat 126
2018 Antwerpen, BE
Schoenmakersstraat 19
6041EX Roermond, NL
Grotestraat 23
5931 CS Tegelen, NL
St. Ceciliastraat 28
5038 HA Tilburg, NL
Geldropseweg 105
5611 SE Eindhoven, NL
Breestraat 146-148
2311CX Leiden, Zuid Holland, NL
Korte Jansstraat 11
3512GM Utrecht, NL
Korevaarstraat 2 e-f
2311 JS Leiden, NL
Koningsstraat 35
2011TC Haarlem, Noord Holland, NL
Theresiastraat 151 - 157
2593 AG Den Haag, Noord Holland, NL
Beethovenstraat 9-b
1077 HL Amsterdam, Noord Holland, NL

Winkels met Chord Company

Schoenmakersstraat 19
6041EX Roermond, NL
St. Ceciliastraat 28
5038 HA Tilburg, NL
Hermesweg 2
3741 GP Baarn, Utrecht, NL
Korevaarstraat 2 e-f
2311 JS Leiden, NL
Koningsstraat 35
2011TC Haarlem, Noord Holland, NL
Steenstraat 54
6828 CM Arnhem, Gelderland, NL
Beethovenstraat 9-b
1077 HL Amsterdam, Noord Holland, NL
Rietlaan 4
3851 PA Ermelo, NL

Winkels met Driade

Cort van der Lindelaan 11
9722 LP Groningen, NL
Fleminglaan
2289 CP Rijswijk, NL
Steenstraat 54
6828 CM Arnhem, Gelderland, NL

Winkels met Dyrholm

Rietlaan 4
3851 PA Ermelo, NL

Winkels met Kimber

Rietlaan 4
3851 PA Ermelo, NL

Winkels met Ricable

Sikkel 40 F
3274 KK Heinenoord, NL

Winkels met Supra

Pleinweg 136
3083 EP Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, NL
Hooikade 13
2627 Delft, Zuid Holland, NL
St. Ceciliastraat 28
5038 HA Tilburg, NL
Breestraat 146-148
2311CX Leiden, Zuid Holland, NL
Korevaarstraat 2 e-f
2311 JS Leiden, NL
Steenstraat 54
6828 CM Arnhem, Gelderland, NL
Beethovenstraat 9-b
1077 HL Amsterdam, Noord Holland, NL
Rietlaan 4
3851 PA Ermelo, NL

Winkels met Van den Hul

Schoenmakersstraat 19
6041EX Roermond, NL
Parkweg 23
8084GG 't Harde, NL
St. Ceciliastraat 28
5038 HA Tilburg, NL
Breestraat 146-148
2311CX Leiden, Zuid Holland, NL
Beethovenstraat 9-b
1077 HL Amsterdam, Noord Holland, NL
Rietlaan 4
3851 PA Ermelo, NL

15 COMMENTS

  1. 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.

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

  4. 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

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