Looking for really fine cables at really low price

After allowing time for burn-in, I love the WE 16ga speaker wire. Not so much the Belden 8402 interconnects. My tube system needs something a bit more robust. I've put them up for sale on Audiogon. 50% off. They were built by Best-Tronics. The tweaking continues. LOL.

I gotta agree with Steakster, I like the WE speaker cables but I am not thrilled with the Belden 8402 ICs so will be trying to sell mine. I found the Belden ICs to be a bit raggedy in the upper frequencies and dark/dull overall.

The WE speaker cables are a different story. I am currently running two pairs of 10awg WE speaker cables (1M long) directly from the amplifier board of each of my Acoustic Imagery Atsah monoblocks (so, no binding posts at the amp end) and they sound outstanding. There is clarity overall, smooth highs, and a perfect balance of depth, drive, fullness and control in the bass. The wire has excellent tonal qualities and the midrange has a nice touch of projection and warmth. There don't seem to be any issues that detract from the musicality of these cables but, if pressed, I would say the high frequencies are slightly less excellent than the remaining aspects of the WE wire...and that's the worst I can say. Overall, they come closer to my ideal than anything I have tried.

After trying the 16, 14 and 10 gauge WE wires, it is my opinion they are cut from the same sonic cloth, as I would expect since they are made from the very same 30awg tinned copper strands encased in thermoplastic then covered with cloth. The only difference is the number of strands used to make the various gauge wires. I suspect the 16awg is plenty big when used with low-powered tube amplifiers while my 400 wpc SS amps really benefit from 2-runs of 10awg wire (7 awg aggregate per amp). I am glad to have stocked up on this wire so I can try some future projects.

Built my second pair of WE16ga interconnects tonight with Canare F10 RCA plugs. The braided shield I ordered has not come in yet so these are burning unshielded for now. My first set naked WE ICs have well over 400 hours and I am still liking how open and free they sound. They are brightly lit so it will be very interesting to install the shield and see what changes it brings. Regards-Jet

Waiting on your comparison Jet. I like the WE IC's and the Belden is now back up. I use a nude set with a shielded set also. Perfect combo!

The Belden ICs have been turfed here as well..just too closed in and really rough up top.

I've gone back to Jeff Day's DIY ICs made from Cardas 33Ga Shielded Tonearm wire and the synergy with the WE speaker wire is outstanding.

I did use WBT NextGen plugs instead of the Switchcraft ones Jeff went with though.

Jeff's Cardas ICs can be found here:

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=1490