Paul Speltz speaker cables

Only cables that are extremely wide in bandwidth and / or have a very low nominal impedance ( very low inductance ) can cause problems with your Threshold. The Anti-Cables are not capable of such a low impedance or low level of inductance regardless of how they are configured. Even if one were to use a cable that could cause the amp to self-oscillate, the addition of an inexpensive and simple to make Zobel network would solve any of those problems.

Using the Anti-Cables or any other design that physically separates the two conductors by a measurable distance drastically reduces bandwidth and raises nominal impedance. In effect, the Anti-Cables will act as somewhat of a smaller gauge zip cord with an increased tendency to roll-off the treble as spacing between the conductors is increased.

The treble roll-off may fool some people into thinking that the treble is cleaner, especially on digital based systems that tend to sound bright or ringy. The solid core conductors are what give the cable the majority of their "special properties", but the lack of other specific electrical traits are what limit the bandwidth and power transfer characteristics.

Like i've said before, buy and use what you like. These cables are a step in the right direction and can be even more than that, but you have to know how to get there in order to achieve the best results. If you already knew how to get there though, you would have chosen a different point to start at though. With that in mind, i'll never discourage someone from finding out what works best for them and / or learning along the way. That's why i said that i was glad to see people learning / experimenting with a type of product that i consider to be a stepping stone to better sound reproduction. Sean
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I asked Paul Speltz about how to configure his cables; he allowed me to quote him here:
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Dave,

The last time I went on the A-gon discussion form, they chopped the entire discussion out. I must have broken some "rule", so I'll stay out of it.

I have not tried twisting the Anti-Cables. You should ask Sean if he has tried it, since he seems to be recommending it.

Feel free to post a quote of what I have said below on A-gon if you like. Let them know this is what I told you.

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It is true that twisting the wires decreases the speaker cable's series inductance, but it also increases the cable's parallel shunting capacitance. Shunting capacitance tends to make amplifiers with feedback (as most do) unstable.

Now, getting back to the series inductance issue... Any series inductance in the Anti-Cable run is almost always offset by the tweater's's inductance. After all, it is a "voice coil", and coil has much more inductance than a
straight piece of non coiled wire.

Usually a tweater's's impedance rise, due to inductance, is much greater than even a very long run of Anti-cable wire, so any impedance rise due to series inductance in the Anti-cables can be disregarded.

Just look at all 3 speakers reviewed in the most recent issue of Stereophile (April 2005):

Page 139, NTH speaker impedance rises from 7.0 ohms to 7.9 ohms in the top octave.

Page 146, Linn speaker impedance rises from 3.0 ohms to 4.5 ohms in the top octave.

Page 159, EPOS speaker impedance rises from 4.0 ohms to 5.4 ohms in the top octave.

Might I be so bold as to suggest, there is the possibility that the extra treble information people hear when using a low inductance (high capacitance design) could be amplifier oscillation bursts that add spatial information. After all there is a company called TDS Audio (True Dimensional Sound) that makes a produce that intentionally created transitional oscillations to add spatial information.

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So, to answer your 1st question... run the wires separate, if it is to messy, use tie wraps every couple of feet to clean it up. If the sound degrades, you can easily cut the tie wraps off again.

Use your own ears, and trust yourself.

Please let me know how it goes.

Thanks!

Paul
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Thank you Sean

Paul's comments are valid but there is SOOO much more to cable design that just the capacitance and inductance figures.

The nominal impedance of a cable goes up as one spaces the conductors further apart, which lowers the amount of long term and short term power available from the amp. On top of that, the greater the impedance mismatch, the poorer the transient response and greater amount of signal reflections created.

Other than that, Paul's comments about high frequency oscillation may very well be valid. This is why i suggested the use of a Zobel network with any cable that is very low in inductance and wide-bandwidth by design.

Other than that, i have used similiar cabling to the Anti-Cabling as configured in a twisted pair in the past. I recommended this configuration as being a great cable for the money invested on the net appr 10 years ago when i first logged onto the internet. This cable design was also listed in my modification notes for the "Classic" series of Klipsch speakers, which was posted on their website many years ago. Sean
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"....the extra treble information people hear when using a low inductance (high capacitance design) could be amplifier oscillation bursts that add spatial information."
This means, the better the cable the worse the cable. The better the cable the more oscillation bursts and unstability it causes as only good cables are able to pass through spatial information and good amplifiers are able to recreate the venue atmosfere.
On some recordings there is much more spatial information then on others. You can hear it on compilations spanning many years eg. How low inductance cables are able to dfferentiate it causing oscillation bursts, strong on some recordings weaker on other I don't know.
I hear what I hear and anti-cables kill almost any spatial information, the recording venue is just sterile.
Midrange lacks detail also, voices are not in "there", artist's breath , nuances are suppressed.
The cables definitely need break in as they were smoother on top and more liquid after 20-25 hours.
Paul is a great guay, very understanding and flexible but his theory doesn't convince me. I hear what I hear.

best
Janek