If you’re looking for an inexpensive spool of thick speaker cable that will provide quality sound AR Pro Series is a great choice.
Acoustic Research Pro Series Home Theater cable was the
first cable that I used to set up my system years ago. It is also the only speaker cable that I have
felt the need to use and have since used it for other projects as well.
After having a near heart attack from the price of cable at
the upscale stereo shop where I bought my speakers (something like $200/meter),
I decided to find my cable elsewhere.
Having a predilection for heavier cable, I knew that I’d want to go 12
gauge. I found the Acoustic Research cable
at a lower scale A/V store and it looked like quality no-frills speaker
cable. It had all the basic qualities
that speaker cable should have (oxygen-free, gold plated pins, etc) and was on
sale for around $30 for a 50 ft. spool.
How could I go wrong?
I couldn’t. I brought
the cable home, hooked up my brand new speakers and sat back and enjoyed. The cables definitely seemed to provide my
speakers with the power needed to provide excellent sound. I enjoyed the quality sound from the start
and found that it only got better with time, as is typical with brand new
equipment. Eventually, I pulled out the hi/low
frequency connector bars and doubled the cable in a biwire configuration and
the sound improved even further. I have
been more than satisfied with the sound delivered via this AR cable.
This cable is a pretty simple animal, not a lot of high tech
language or fancy packaging involved. 12 gauge is your heaviest gauge and great
for ensuring ample signal between amp and speaker. This cable is designed with oxygen free
copper, which also helps conductivity. That’s
about as technical as it gets. Other
than that, the cable is well-labeled to distinguish b/n positive and negative
feeds, easy to cut to size and user-friendly all around.
I’ve switched out some of the connecting components of my
system, but have never found the need to switch out the AR cable. I’ve been very satisfied with it and have
used it to set up some other systems as well.
The 50 ft. spool has been great and I only ran out recently, about 3
years after purchasing it. This cable
might not impress the jaded, lifetime audiophile but for anyone looking for a
solid, inexpensive 12 gauge cable, you can’t go wrong with the AR Pro
Series.
The Verdict
