Some audiophiles swear by premium speaker wire, while some others think they are a rip off. The argument has lasted for decades and still, there is no consensus.
Several double blind tests have been made over the years comparing expensive wires and regular lamp cord. In almost all cases, people were not able to tell the difference. Case closed right? No quite. The expensive wire supporters counter that most people are not audiophiles, and since most of them couldn’t even tell the difference between a CD and an MP3, how could they notice subtle differences in sound?
So who’s right? Perhaps it doesn’t matter. Consider this: premium speaker cable can cost up to one hundred dollars a foot! If you need 10 feet of cable for each speaker, that’s 2000 dollars worth of wire. In my case, I would be spending more on the cable than I spent on my entire sound system. In fact, the cable would be the most valuable thing in my house.
I understand though, that if you’ve spent 20,000 dollars in the finest audio equipment available, you’d feel kind of silly hooking it up with regular hardware store lamp cord. You’d feel a certain security investing in the finest cable available. And who knows, maybe it does make a difference.
If however, you are like me and would rather enjoy the music than the sound, stick to the cheap stuff. You will acheive the same production of sound without the killer cost. And if you are still unsure, invite a few friends over to get their opinion, chances are that they won't be able to discern any difference in tone or dynamics.