Wilson Alexandria Speaker Cable recommendation

[rockitman]

I prefer silver cables. I use Siltech 770i and Nordost Valhalla (Vinyl rig) as my main interconnects. Current speaker cable is Siltech LS-110 Mk2 (G5).

I am considering Nordost Valhalla (I know only silver plated copper) and Odin (used). I am also considering the Siltech Royal Signature Line "Prince" which is about $9k for 2 meter's. Looking for reference cable recs. I am not sold on network box style cables like MIT, Transparent.

 

[Steve Williams]

I use all Valhalla throughout my system

 

[ack]

I personally like silver-plated copper a lot - use Tyr for my phono and Valhalla tonearm wiring. The high end Nordost have interesting construction: that tiny thread sparsely wound around the conductor so that the actual insulation doesn't touch the conductor effectively creates a mostly air-insulation.

 

[AudioExplorations]

Are the flat nordost speaker cables shielded? I think most speaker cables tend to be shielded designs?

 

[Dimfer]

a friend of mine who use X2 (driven by Sigfrieds) use Odin all the way. He likes the combination a lot.

 

[zermatt]

a friend of mine who use X2 (driven by Sigfrieds) use Odin all the way. He likes the combination a lot.

I use siltech in my system for interconnects. And...My pre amp and amps are rebuilt with interal wire using Sig, cable from Siltech Royal signaltures (Cj prem 7 and 8Xs). For my system, Siltech cables provide very convincing and emotional experience. So naturally, I say go for them but go the the Queen or Empress. But in any system, it's not about the brand name, but the results that provide maximum musically and coherence.

 

[rockitman]

maybe I should make an offer to that guy on ebay for Odin. Buy now $13K

 

[flez007]

maybe I should make an offer to that guy on ebay for Odin. Buy now $13K

Hold your horses Christian, I use almost all Siltech cabling and the sinergy is fantastic! iMHO

 

[microstrip]

maybe I should make an offer to that guy on ebay for Odin. Buy now $13K

Christian,
Although $13K for some cables looks insane the reason I have not kept my Valhalla's was that I compared them with Odin in my system. After listening to the Odin's the Vallhalla's seemed uninteresting! But the pair I was listening was new and retail price in Europe is even higher than in USA ... At that time I was listening to MAXX3.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I prefer silver cables. I use Siltech 770i and Nordost Valhalla (Vinyl rig) as my main interconnects. Current speaker cable is Siltech LS-110 Mk2 (G5).

I am considering Nordost Valhalla (I know only silver plated copper) and Odin (used). I am also considering the Siltech Royal Signature Line "Prince" which is about $9k for 2 meter's. Looking for reference cable recs. I am not sold on network box style cables like MIT, Transparent.

i owned Transparent Opus MM2 speaker cable for 10 years (the last 5 with the MM2 upgrade). it was voiced by Transparent for the Wilson speakers. it's a magnificent speaker cable. i think it's particularly suited to the tweeter used by Wilson. the Opus is obscenely expensive and sounds that way.

the Opus has the sexyest bass i've heard and is super smooth. if you can hear the Wilson's with the Opus it might just float your boat. contrary to what you might have heard, the network boxes on the Opus do not limit bandwidth.

i did replace it in my system with Evolution Accustics double wire speaker cables; and then a few weeks ago i upgraded to the triple wire version.

selling the Opus put money in my pocket and the Evolution cables were more balanced and had a bit more overall openness on top and more dynamic life, the triple wire version extremely open and dynamic.

i'd steer clear of silver wire with Wilson's myself......but i know some like it. at one point i owned 6 sets of Nordost Valhalla interconnects in my system; so i'm not anti Nordost or anti silver, i just have not preferred the combination of Wilson and Nordost. of course, choice of amplifier is part of the picture too.

i've never had Odin in my system but hope to someday.

 

[LL21]

FWIW, i just upgraded from my 10-yr old TA Refs to TA XLMM2 calibrated for my X1s...i have to admit...they sound great. I was not even looking before, but after getting the Colosseum...i needed several more feet of cable and was 'forced' to do something. the dealer i've known for years took some equipment in for trade and very much helped out...so cashless for me.

Bottom line...i like 'em enough not to be thinking about cables. I just play music. (And they are a lot better than the TA Refs they replaced.)

 

[rockitman]

Anyone have an opinion good or bad re: this listing ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NORDOST-ODI...=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item2a1a60b8f0

 

[Mike Lavigne]

my only comment would be the 2 meter length and 'Z' plugs (banana plugs) will make them hard to sell if you don't like them. and whether your X-2's will work with the banana plugs is a question.

personally i prefer spades and like the Cardas speaker terminals alot (which my speakers use) for how well they grip. a banana plug terminals don't typically have the potential for grip that a spade with a good clamp does. i've done no specific comparisons about this question but know just how critical speaker cable connections are.

 

[rockitman]

The idea is I would send them to Nordost to re-terminate in spades....banana's don't work on my speakers...they should be banned, imo...hehe

 

[Mike Lavigne]

The idea is I would send them to Nordost to re-terminate in spades....banana's don't work on my speakers...they should be banned, imo...hehe

agree on bananas, but try to be PC. sometimes.

if Nordost does the re-termination and 2 meters works for you then you can't go too far wrong. the question then is price and used expensive cable values are a bit unpredictable.

 

[rockitman]

agree on bananas, but try to be PC. sometimes.

if Nordost does the re-termination and 2 meters works for you then you can't go too far wrong. the question then is price and used expensive cable values are a bit unpredictable.

oops....banana's vs spades like dem's vs. R's....

yes....he has had 21 offers. I need to call Nordost first. Seem's like a great deal at 12k perhaps ?

 

[mep]

If you have a tight contact between the banana plug and the binding post, the contact area is actually greater than the contact area between a spade lug and the binding post. If it's a loose fit, then of course a spade connection would be much better.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

If you have a tight contact between the banana plug and the binding post, the contact area is actually greater than the contact area between a spade lug and the binding post. If it's a loose fit, then of course a spade connection would be much better.

the problem with bananas and the theory of larger contact area is that a less than very firm grip will actually allow oxidation to form in the marginal contact areas since the oxygen gets in there. and most female banana speaker terminals use a spring for contact as opposed to a screw down. the screw down bananas are better but still not ideal. i will say that Nordost style speaker cables are more banana friendly since they are so lightweight and so there is not as much stress on the terminal.

the vice grip of the Cardas speaker terminals along with spades maintains the contact completely and virtually eliminates the problem.

bananas are easy to use, i'll give them that. but they are not for me.

 

[microstrip]

If you have a tight contact between the banana plug and the binding post, the contact area is actually greater than the contact area between a spade lug and the binding post. If it's a loose fit, then of course a spade connection would be much better.

Mep,

There are many theories about the ideal speaker connector. It is an electro-mechanical device and there is a compromise between contact area and contact pressure, as they go against each other. Designers will have different opinions on which is the better compromise - once again we will not have a single approved audiophile cookbook telling us which is the best.
Long and short term stability of the contact is also an issue - although most audiophiles will change their cables before any effects can be noticed!

 

[mep]

Mep,

There are many theories about the ideal speaker connector. It is an electro-mechanical device and there is a compromise between contact area and contact pressure, as they go against each other. Designers will have different opinions on which is the better compromise - once again we will not have a single approved audiophile cookbook telling us which is the best.
Long and short term stability of the contact is also an issue - although most audiophiles will change their cables before any effects can be noticed!

This hobby is filled with neurotic people who obsess over everything. I wonder how many wacky audiophiles have stripped or loosened their speaker connections on both the amplifier and the speaker end because they just wanted to make the connection “a little tighter?”

My speaker cables are the MIT Shotgun S3 biwire cables with the magic boxes and some amount of “poles of articulation.” What I like about these cables is that you can switch out between spade lugs or banana plugs in a matter of seconds. I’m currently using spades on the amp end and banana plugs at the speaker end. The banana plugs fit very tightly into my speaker terminals and so far I haven’t had any nightmares that I’m degrading the sound of my system due to lack of contact pressure. I was thinking about switching to all spade lugs and using a socket and ratchet with a cheater bar on the ratchet handle so I could really torque those suckers down really tight.

Just remember, tight is tight and too tight is broke.