speaker cable recommendation for Thiel / McIntosh combo?
Boomzilla -- Mon, 12/14/2009 - 01:45
Speakers = Thiel 1.5
Amp = McIntosh MC352 (350 WPC)
Room = Living room with sheetrock walls, vinyl floor (over concrete slab) and overstuffed leather furniture. Room has two doors, a stairwell, and a foyer that are always open (no major standing wave problems). Slight slap echo, but not problematic unless volumes are high.
Arrangement = Speakers are placed within 1 foot of long wall, about 10' apart & 13' from listening couch. Listening couch is placed hard against back wall. No other options available due to layout & spouse-acceptance factor.
Now, given the above, what (relatively inexpensive) cables might y'all recommend? Keep in mind that with the 4-ohm impedance of the Thiels, there's some serious current to be used, and that smaller-diameter wires (higher-numbered AWG) are likely to be much more audible (probably in a negative way) than fatter ones. I'm currently running some '70s vintage Monster Cables of about 12 Ga.
Off the top of my head, I was considering some Kimber 12TC? Of course, if I knew what would sound good, I wouldn't be asking...
Thanks - Boomzilla (whom, despite the moniker, prefers flat frequency response)
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I have not heard the Kimber 12TC, but the 4TC and 8TC are both excellent, and amazing values.
I'm running Cardas Cross cables with McIntosh electronics in my system.
They do a nice job of dropping the noise floor.
Not cheap, but not ruinously expensive either.
DS
The couple of times I was able to visit the Thiel factory over the last decade they were always using silver Alpha Core cables for both interconnects and speaker cables. I was also told that Jim used Alpha Core cables when he voiced speakers. Other cables that I have personal experience with and have found to work well with Thiels include Audioquest and Synergistic Research.
Boomzilla...I have Thiel 2.4s with Audio Research tube source and amplification and I use Nordost Heimdall ICs and speaker cables. I used to have Musical Fidelity gear with the Nordost cable and Thiel speakers and found the combination to be a bit bright but with the ARC tubes, I think the synergy with the cabling and the speakers is very nice. Heimdall is not inexpensive but certainly good value in the Nordost line. Have you tried the Cable Company (http://www.thecableco.com/)? They maintain an extensive library of cables (ICs, SCs, PCs, digital, etc...). You can call them and describe your system and they can make recommendations (or you can simply request whatever you'd like to try out) and they will send out a few alternatives for you to test out. You can then decide what works best for you. Just a thought.
i second the Kimber 8TC. i noticed a difference when i inserted it in place of some Tara Labs RSC. There was more musical information to be had. I haven't heard the 12TC, but it's heavier gauge.