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For this group of cables we decided to try and keep the price to £50 or less for a three metre unterminated pair, and largely we succeeded - only a couple break that barrier and then by not much. Termination can sometimes add considerably to a cable's price and if you want to fit and forget it's not really necessary to have plugs at all.
Having said that, with thicker cables they do make life a little easier and fitting the screw-on variety is hardly rocket science. Soldered plugs tend to stay on better but don't necessarily sound better and several of these companies supplied screw-on designs. While these are all reasonably priced this does not mean they are basic, in fact half offer silver-plated, oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductors, once a high-end feature, and all benefit from in-depth technical and sonic research.
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The Chord Company Carnival Silver Plus
Carnival Silver Plus is Chord Co's least expensive speaker cable. It uses six silver-plated, oxygen-free copper conductors in an air-spaced polythene jacket and is also available in bi-wire configuration. It is designed to have the minimum of contact between conductors and dielectric (jacket) to minimise the effect that this basic insulator material is known to exert. Carnival is an attractive and slim cable with a pearlescent sheen, and when terminated by its makers comes with sturdy gold-plated soldered plugs. The company's website usefully includes information on how to terminate it yourself.
In action, the Carnival offers good transparency and a calm, even balance that puts it ahead of most of the pack. It's also pretty relaxed and while the bass could go a shade deeper overall it has an integrity and coherence that is highly conducive to musical engagement. Voices are very real and offer up plenty of character and if the imaging is not as precise as some, there's no shortage of scale.
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Plus points
Relaxed, coherent, good scale
Minus points
Slightly vague imaging
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Monster MCX-2S
Monster is the acknowledged master of cable marketing thanks to its early start in the business and a firm grasp of how the industry works. MCX-2S is its entry-level M-series cable, the middle of three ranges, and as ever it offers an array of features that have names that only Monster would think up; PEX, Magnetic Flux Tube and Multitwist being the main ones. In essence this is a copper cable with a combination of two strand gauges that are wrapped around a central tube. If you buy a terminated pair they come with the option of spade or banana screw-on ends.
MCX-2S is one of the livelier cables in this group, it has a degree of forwardness in its balance that emphasises midrange detail albeit at the expense of overall sonic integrity. It would be just the job for adding some vivacity to a soft-sounding system, it times well enough and the bass is reasonably tight and solid, dynamics likewise are decent. In absolute terms it adds a little too much excitement to proceedings but this means it will suit more relaxed systems and its bass power will perk up smaller speakers, it could just be the thing for many budget systems.
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Plus points
Tight solid bass, lively
Minus points
A bit too lively for some
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Oehlbach Twin Mix One
Oehlbach is a large German company, and its brochure lists a huge range of cables for all possible audio and video applications, as well as giving them its own quality ratings as stars out of five. Twin Mix One is a four-star cable made up of a twisted pair of 3mm conductors each of which comprises copper and silver-plated copper strands inside a clear polythene dielectric, the same cable is also available in plain figure-eight topology as Rattle Snake 3. Oehlbach's choice of termination is shiny-gold plated sprung plugs which are screw rather than solder fixed.
Twin Mix One has a mid forward, slightly 'shiny' balance that pulls out detail in the midband but makes for a slightly dry, lispy quality to some voices. It is similar to the Monster but has a bit more bass weight - in fact there would seem to be a bit of emphasis on this end of the scale as it is weightier than other cables on test. On the plus side you get a sense of hearing right into the mix in a close miked style and the cable's sensitivity to timing is also strong. If you want to make a system more lively this will certainly help but with more revealing systems the cable's enthusiasm may be a little much.
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Plus points
Forward balance, not very relaxed
Minus points
Poor sound performance | |
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QED Silver Anniversary XT
The base model in the X Tube range Silver Anniversary XT is a slim cable with 1.88mm of silver-plated OF (oxygen free) copper strands woven around a Teflon tube to give XT's air core. It claims both low inductance and capacitance but since these characteristics have an inverse relationship this would seem to be stretching the laws of physics, or marketing speak as it's known. If you have QED terminate this cable it uses its crimped-on Airloc plugs which are a tight fit in most speaker sockets.
This cable changed over the period of our review. It notably relaxed from being a little bright at the outset to being nicely balanced by the end. I know cables burn in but this was quick. The result is a fine cable with a fast, tight bass and a timely eager presentation that enhanced the music without giving the impression of adding that effect on its own. It displayed an impressive resolve of micro dynamics, the level differences between notes, and a sense of poise which is rare at this price level. Excellent value.
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Plus points
Good timing, high resolution, great value
Minus points
None at this price
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Supra Ply 3.4
Sweden's Supra manufactures a wide range of cables including the only 12m HDMI-approved digital video cable made by an AV company. Ply uses tin-plated OF copper, the plating selected because it melds to the copper and protects it from corrosion. The name 3.4 indicates the square area of the oblong conductors in millimetres, the sandwich construction refers to the way that these are laid atop one another and very close to minimise inductance. The PVC insulator is finished in Supra's trademark powder blue.
Ply produced by far the best imaging of all the cables in this group, it was the only one that really showed the front to back depth on offer. This seems to be a characteristic of low impedance designs as is a degree of calmness at higher frequencies - this is a relaxed yet highly revealing cable. It also delivers bass with appropriate weight and power but not so much that it emphasises this part of the range, it just allows the amp to control the speaker more easily. Some might crave a more exciting sound but they should look to their hard and software to provide it, I can't imagine a better cable for this price.
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Plus points
Nice colour, superb imaging, high def
Minus points
None at this price
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TCI Diamondback
Diamondback is the second model up in True Colours Industries' foursome of stereo speaker cables, a bi-wire version dubbed Anaconda is also available. The snake theme would seem to be less appropriate in the case of Diamondback however as it's rather too flat to resemble a legless lizard - it looks like it was designed for hiding in walls or under carpets. It uses silver-plated linear crystal OF copper and what TCI calls Superthane insulation, a material that resembles polythene in appearance and feel. TCI's choice of termination is the Nordost style tubular plug.
Diamondback produces a clean, three-dimensional sound that tends to smooth over fine detail but is relaxed and calm and manages not to add too much of its own character to the sound. Rather it is subtractive which is far easier to live with and allows the openness of the midband to reveal the nature of room acoustics around an instrument or voice. It also stops and starts well which makes for a good sense of timing and even creates a decent image with the right material. Highs are slightly restrained and lows a hint soft but this is a nice and practical cable.
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Plus points
Flat profile, calm yet open balance
Minus points
Not the most revealing
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The close price range of these cables made this an interesting test and one whose results can be broken down into groups according to the sonic character on offer. The two biggest brands in the group, Oehlbach and Monster, delivered cables with a similarly upbeat and lively sound, possibly a little more lively than neutrality might call for in fact. 
Christopher England
