The WBC Worlds Best Cables RCA and XLR cables are great. What about the WBC Speaker Cables. Let's Find Out

 January 29, 2025

#504

Gentle reader,

A quick background: I have been in the pursuit of good sounding music since 1976. I have (thanks to thrift stores, yard sales and eBay) bought and tried hundreds of components and speakers and tried all kinds and types of cables to hook them all together in all those years.

My previous article dealt with me replacing my mixed brands of RCA cables with Worlds Best Cables RCA cables. The Robb Collections: ARE The "World's Best Cables" Truly the Best? I Decided to take up the Challenge to Find Out

I chose to do that because the B&K Components preamp and power amp I had bought recently have the option of XLR (professional audio type) interconnecting cables. I was so blown away by just how much more there seemed to be to the music (I know using balanced XLR cables was part of that improvement) that I decided to try their RCA cables too. The link above is of that journey.

This is the big box the speaker cables came in. It is quite heavy, kind of plain, but also fancy in a constrained kind of way. 

"Fine" black ribbons tie them all together with sleek silk black bags to hide/house the banana plug ends of each cable.

Once all of the wrapping is all removed this is what is inside. Now, these are not the most expensive WBC speaker cables, nor are they their least expensive. The have 12 gauge copper wiring which is more than enough to carry the highest amplifier output.

These images are from the description portion of the Amazon pages of WBC speaker cables. Above shows the diameter of EACH strand of copper wire which makes up their speaker cables compared to the size of human hair.

And this image is a scale cross section of the actual copper strands in each gauge. Although, they now also offer 8 gauge as well. EACH strand can be seen, note the patterns of each group. There are a LOT of TINY wires in each cable!

These are the weights of the cables (weight of the fabric is negligible) in US pounds, above and kilograms below.

And these are the weights of the Monster Cable Z-series Z1R cables I have been using for years. I bought them all used via eBay.

It is my considered opinion that a lot of the weight is the fabric covering on the WBC cables. 

I cut these cables to different lengths since one speaker is closer to the system than the other. Sonically, it does not matter because sound carried over wires travels at the speed of light, less the resistance of the conductors.

I chose to make this image full sized so that you can read what is printed on the Monster Cables.

I found these images of the packaging my cables likely came to their original owners in when researching this article. Clicking or tapping on ANY picture will open a window with the photos being larger. That way you can read what Monster Cables claimed about these cables.

To be frank, I really like the Z-Series Z1R cables and the crystal clear full sound they reproduce in my listening room. They are a LONG way from "lamp cord" which every hi-fi and stereo enthusiast used oh so long ago. Check out Monster Cable Z-series cables on eBay, even many years old, they still sell for big money.

Here is a comparison of the banana plugs on each. I replaced the factory M.C. cable connectors as their bananas were not very good quality and their rubber insulation was crumbling. I have tried many brands of banana plugs over the years and these Nakamichi are the best. One drawback is that their "insulators" are not. They are aluminum and thus conductive!

Here is a wide angle look at my listening room. Some call it a man cave, but I don't. It is a many years long journey which I am quite pleased with. The Robb Collections: The Transformation from Den to Audio Man Cave. In many crazy steps!

Note the system is off to the right, thus the need for unequal length speaker cables. The B&K Components power amplifier only has one pair of speaker terminals, thus I am no longer able to enjoy my last vintage speakers which are Dynaco A25XL units. Plus, there is simply no room for a good speaker switch.

Here is the system's front. The two devices to the left of the power amp are, top to bottom: Dynaco QD-2 passive home theater "system" and a Radio Shack Realistic APM-300 LED power meter. The QD-2 passively shifts sounds to the rear (and center, which I don't use) speakers very effectively. The result is it sounds like I am ON the stage with the musicians!

The "business end" of the components. Blue power cables are PAGEA 14 gauge units. All RCA and XLR cables are WBC brand. This was after installing all the RCA cables and before I even thought about trying WBC speaker cables.

By the way, the stands the Dynaco speakers are on are actually bamboo stools. They match and fit the speakers as if they were made for them. 

Before finding the C-V speakers, I was enjoying a pair of Klipsch KG-4 speakers. Their factory bases were in sad shape, so I found other bamboo stools for them. They also match perfectly and raise them higher that the bases did. The Robb Collections: Wooden Speaker Stands and Risers too Expensive? Try Bamboo Stools. How-To Guide.

Below the left cable snakes behind the large record shelf. Therefore, I started there by removing the dragon statue and left Dynaco speaker.

I wrapped white electrical tape around each end of the new cables to designate LEFT.

To "fish" the new cable behind the shelf, I taped the two cables together as seen.

There is no interference at all from the AC cable, therefore, the WBC cables must be shielded.

It was actually easy to pull the new cable behind the shelf, there was just enough room.

The three-way binding/banana terminals at the back of the QD-2. Note the center channel (which is switchable) is not used.

To help you understand the QD-2, here are two photos of it. Look at the markings of the controls above. Left: Theater, Surround Channels, Stereo. Middle knob controls how loud the rear speakers are and Right: Flat, Center Off, Contour. I forget what the outer two setting do.

All previous iterations of these are called: QD-1 Series... Only the QD-2 has these quality terminals. Earlier models have plastic spring terminals. They are greatly improved versions of this 1970's original Dynaco Dynaquad:

Image courtesy of TMRAUDIO.COM

I never had one of these. They were an inexpensive way to passively enjoy Quadrophonic music back then. I've listened to Quad LPs through the QD-2 and it works!

I was definitely NOT going to shorten these WBC cables, each is fifteen feet long. Perfect to reach the left speaker, but way too long for the right.

So, I carefully rewound the cable (marked it with red tape for RIGHT) and used Velcro to secure them. Image below shows that the cable bundle rests on the carpet so there is no strain on the speaker's terminals.

Some people poo-poo Cerwin-Vega! speakers. I do not. The LS-12 models were their last speakers made in the USA. I was psyched to find them one day years ago at Salvation Army for $99 and also bought a pair of "White Van" speakers at the same time. Frankly, the components in the WV speakers seem well made.

The LS-12s are awesome sounding and are, by far, THE best speakers I have ever owned.  Bar none. Check out these specs:

Speaker Type:                 3-way - passive

Max (RMS) Input Power:        300 Watts

Frequency Response:           29 - 26000 Hz

Nominal Impedance:            8 Ohm

Sensitivity:                  91 dB @1 meter driven by 1 watt

Output Features:              Bass Reflex

Magnetic Shield:              Yes

Recommended Placement:        Floor-standing

Detachable Grilles:           Yes

Everyone is back in their places. 

Since I had not seen any breakdowns as to the inner construction of these WBC speaker cables, such as shielding, and since they pass near the two AC power cables to the stereo system, I made sure to keep the WBC's away from those power cables to avoid any 60Hertz interference.

A stack of previous cables and wires I have used in the past. Note the variety.

Before photo, note the pink M.C. speaker wires and cheap banana plugs:

I went ahead and removed the pink "lamp cord" type Monster Cable speaker wires which led to the tower Tannoy C-88 rear speakers from the QD-2 and installed the Z-Series Z1R cables in their place.

After Photos

I imagine that you are thinking, "Well, how do they sound?" I've been playing many favorites through them for a couple of weeks now, including as I am typing this, albeit in the next room, and they sound just as good at the Monster Cables Z1R cables do. Which is high praise from me.

They cost $179,95 via Amazon for fifteen foot 12 gauge pairs and I am very pleased with my purchase. And frankly, those pink M.C. wires which were powering the Tannoys, being replaced with much better constructed and designed Z1R cables, they sound better too.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to read my blog. Feel free to leave a comment below or via Facebook. It is a labor of love for me and that so many people, like you, around the world are happy to go old school and READ an article rather than watch a three minute video on YouTube, truly warms my heart. 

I have written two other blogs but have not updated either of them in some time: Pictures of Nancy. The Love of My Life. People Say I'm Special. But I Don't Know Why Feel free to take a look at them. 

The former is of course pictures of Nancy, but also has relationship advice. In the latter, I try to figure out just WHAT I have, do or say, that grab's women's attention. I'm happily married, yet somehow I'm sending out some vibe that women are picking up. Kids and animals are also drawn to me. 

LONG ago, a coworker's daughter babysat for us. My wife told me her mother said to her as they were looking out the window at the two of us sitting at their picnic table, "Mary is completely in love with Scott." She was ten! My wife told me that on the way home. I just shook my head. 

Another example: I had to work part time to make ends meet since my wife kept popping out a new baby every two years. I had four kids. One family specifically asked for me to deliver their pizzas. One time, Dad met me at the door and asked, "What do you want from my daughter?" "Want? What are you talking about?" "Erin keeps insisting that you deliver our pizzas!" "I have four kids of my own, in fact, they likely ride the same school bus she does, my ex lives down the road from here. I've never even spoken to your daughter." That deflated his anger and he invited me in, even introduced me to the whole family. Things were fine after that. Or so I thought. 

One Saturday afternoon, another order came in from the same family. I got teased plenty about my "exclusive rights" to deliver to them. So, I took the pizza and Erin herself answered the door took the pizza and then came outside. She paid me cash, then said, "My parents won't let me date boys!" Then she was hugging me. "WTH?", I thought. "Erin, how old are you?" "Twelve." "Well, I think that twelve is too young for kids to date too. They'll come around when you are older." 

That was my last encounter with her until seeing her as an adult in a comedy TV show on Fox TV in the early 2000's. I said to Nancy, "I don't know who that is, but, I like her." Nancy just smiled, she knows I'm a girl watcher. She also knows that I am loyal as a dog. The next week, I paid attention to the cast names of that show, when I saw her, I said to Nancy, "That can not be the same Erin _____!" So, I looked her up, it sure was! So, I wrote an actual letter to Fox, showed it to Nancy, she added a little message to it. A week or so later, Erin e-mailed me. She said that she showed my letter to her mother and both remembered me. This is what I looked like then:

Does this look like someone that would attract females to you? Okay, so I did look a lot younger than my late thirty's.

Here is the latest example: I am our church's C.O.R.* to the organization formerly know and Boy Scouts of America (now Scouting America). I am the liaison to the Scouts and from the Scouts to the church. SA now has girls in it, thus the name change. 

A girls troop in a nearby town wanted to move to our church to get away from their crazy scoutmaster. I held a meeting with the parents/troop leaders and one of them was, I thought, a teenaged Scout. After the meeting, I asked if her name was Polish and what grade she's in. It is, but, she said, "I'm not a Scout, just a mom." I briefly spoke more with her, and they all left. 

When they came weeks later for their first meeting at the church, I, of course welcomed everyone and afterward spoke with them all again. As I was driving slowly through the parking lot after the meetings, I saw her looking at me with kind of a dazed expression. I waved, she waved back slowly. I thought right then, "Oh, no, not again!"

The next meeting, she was openly flirting with me. I mentioned my wife and brought up things to her from long before her time, and she seemed to know about all of them. Yet, she was still making it clear that she was interested in me. Since then, we have talked and I have been strictly professional. She seems to have calmed down, and we are now friends at Scouts and no where else. *Chartered Organization Representative.

Nancy and I at our niece's wedding last year. Why would a thirty-something woman be attracted to that guy?

I did not mean to go on and on like that, I just truly want to understand. Ok, one more thing: During the last days of my first marriage in the early 1990's, (Pizza Hut days) we decided to go to arbitration counselling. The counselor was a woman. We were talking about the problems/issues in our marriage and all of a sudden, my (then) wife said to the counselor, "You're taking his side!" At first, the counselor denied it, then stopped, thought and said, "I just realized that I am. I can't help you two with my bias towards Scott." See? I did NOTHING to get to her.

Scott Robb

January 29, 2025

#504

ARE The "World's Best Cables" Truly the Best? I Decided to take up the Challenge to Find Out

January 9, 2025

Updated December 4, 2025

#503

Gentle reader,

I've been in this hobby we call "listening to music" since the mid-1970's when my then-new-friend, Phillip Stubbs, invited me over to show me his stereo. At the time, I had a plastic "suitcase" record player, which I thought sounded fine. My Dad had a nice stereo in the living room, but I was just a teen, earning a hundred dollars a week at my first real job, so I was in no position to buy nor had I the knowledge of home electronics, to begin to figure out what I would need to buy and in what order. 

Product Photos Courtesy of WBC, via Amazon

Well, when we walked into Phillip's bedroom, "the scales fell away from my eyes" that's the King James Version of, "My eyes were opened." He had a pair of homemade and huge speakers in cabinets he had made from 3/4" plywood. Each had an 18" woofer, a 6" midrange and a horn tweeter. A Revox reel-to-reel was next what I saw, then his Pioneer integrated amp and a turntable. He put Pure Prairie League's Two Lane Highway LP on and when the title cut started blasting out of those massive speakers...mind blown! That a stereo could sound so LOUD and so good too!

Back then, there was no Internet, telephones were attached to a wall, usually in the kitchen, or sat on a special table in the somewhere in the house, with a cord going into the wall and a curly one attached to the part (called a receiver) one talked into and listened with. Pickup trucks were what workmen and farmers drove, 4x4 vehicles were rarely seen inside a city or town, station wagons and sedans were parked in most people's driveways and they ruled the roads. Magazines, made out of real paper, and were the sources of information for all kinds of things beyond news, if there was a hobby, any hobby, there were likely multiple magazines which one could buy at a drug store or newsstand or to subscribe to, in order to quench your thirst for knowledge. 

However, for product reviews, one wondered whether an advertiser's ad revenue might "help" induce a reviewer to write some glowing terms about when they were reviewing the latest products. Mark Tobak, the author of the large book above (note the LPs behind it for size) and he decided to take on the task of testing as many popular pieces of stereo equipment and speakers he could get his hands and ears on, without bias or palms filled with cash. Sort of like Doug Demuro does with cars nowadays on YouTube. The author advertised his book in the back pages of Stereo Review and Audio magazines which is how I found out about it. I bought one and made educated and economical decisions. Okay, enough deep background.

This is a film photograph which is from April, 1995, which was when I was able (after four kids and a divorce) to finally be able to afford to buy a "real camera", which to me, meant a 35mm SLR camera. In it one can see two pieces of my original stereo: a Dynaco A25 speaker(s) and behind the plants, the Dynaco PAT-5 preamplifier I built from a kit, twenty years earlier. The SWTPC Tiger .01 power amps did not last many years, nor did the B.I.C. 940 turntable.

This is my present system. For more on it, see: The Robb Collections: Panor-era Dynaco PAT-6 in Reserve, Made-in-the-USA B&K Components: PRO10 Sonata Preamplifier and ST1400 Power Amplifier The system has changed, seemingly constantly, in the preceding decades, thanks largely to thrift stores and eBay finds.

Until yesterday, the back of it looked like this. Over the years, my adding new equipment and/or reviewing various brands of cables, it had become a hodgepodge of different cable brands connecting them altogether. I could show you a stack of digital pictures of the various cabling iterations, but, you will just have to believe me on that. SOME folks who had seen this image on Facebook, complimented my cable management, others were...horrified.

Because the B&K Components preamp and power amp have the option of using XLR cables to connect them, I did some research and kept seeing WBC mentioned. So, I bought a pair of the ones above and installed them. Since I had been used to the sound the B&K's reproduced using RCA cables, when these WBC XLRs went into service, WOW! I could not get over JUST how much more there was to the music!

I then decided that it was worth a couple of hundred bucks (total) to buy eight pairs of WBC RCA cables: 4: 1 foot long and 4: 3 feet long, and give them a try.

They come from Japan, sealed in these antistatic bags.

This is what's inside, along with instructions.

And, this is them sans packaging. I do like consistency.

Years ago, I once had a connection with an A/V installer. One day, he let me know that a wealthy client wanted all new equipment. He had pulled a bunch of Liberty Cables' top-of-the-line RCA cables along with all the old equipment and speakers, which, while they were used, they were still in excellent shape and for bargain prices. I outfitted my entire system (there were fewer components then) with Liberty Z-500 Audio cables. 

As you can see, the Liberty's have signal direction arrows. WBC's flags are far easier to see at a glance and clear indicators telling you that you had installed them oriented correctly.

These are all of the RCA cables which I had removed yesterday. As a retired auto mechanic, I learned early on to ALWAYS replace spark plug wire(s) one at a time. That way, you will be certain that you have installed them exactly where you want them to be. I use the same method with all audio and video cables.

The top left two sets are cables I have reviewed in the past. In fact, the stereo stack right next to my PC has all SKW cables. You may have seen photos of it. They are fine cables, well made and sturdy, made in China, but what isn't? The reddish ones are GHENT AUDIO cables. I also reviewed those in the past. They too are well made, flexible and great sounding, plus unique looking.

The darker blue and longest ones are Monster Cables' top-of-the-line RCA cables. I do not remember their model numbers/names. Most of them were too long for this application.

And now, here is the system completely re-cabled with WBC RCA cables. I replaced the too-long HDMI cable from my OPPO universal player with one the correct length. Also, the turntable is centered, which it was not the first week or so with the new B&K Components units. I admit, it does look much better and far neater, compared to before photo, below:

Yes, I know, the larger power amp being off center could be disturbing, but for practical purposes, having the power meter and Dynaco QD-2 on the far left allows me much more slack with the speaker cables so that it is easier to wheel the whole unit out, should I need or want to do so.

In this case, practicality overrides OCD tendencies.

The following images are all courtesy of WBC via Amazon.

With the exception of these two scans.

The diagram below, is included with each set of cables. It clearly shows how they are constructed and as to why they have taken each step, as well as clear instructions (in understandable English) as to which direction they should be installed.

There has been much debate over the decades as to whether cables need to be "burned in" for them to sound their best. I will keep my thoughts to myself on this matter.

Canare's bonafide reputation is clearly stated, above.

Let's face it, there are NO shortage of companies vying for our money when it comes to every product one can imagine and a whole lot of things one does not, nor could not, in their worst nightmares, imagine. The vast majority are made in China, which is truly the world's factory. Would you rather spend your hard-earned money on pretty things which may be of questionable quality and have an unpronounceable and made up English "name" (required by Amazon for them to advertise and sell their wares on their megasite), or purchase ones made in an Asian country in which the people have been free and able to vote for their leaders since World Ward Two ended on August 15, 1945? I have done both. With these WBC cables, I get a TEN YEAR warranty, with other brands what kind of warranty, if any, does one get? I choose freedom.

Okay, since WBC recommends "burning in" these cables for 175 hours = to almost twenty-two days if doing so for eight hours a day, I could cop out and say, "Let me get back to you, on that." but, I won't. I give you my opinion based upon my decades of listening to countless thousands of recording through all kinds of components, cables wires and speakers. 

Frankly, these WBC RCA cables sound great. I will have to listen to a lot more music of many types with records and CDs I am very familiar with, but, I feel confident that my initial impression is correct: These WBC cables are well worth the money and time I spent buying and installing them. I am happy with the sound and plan to spend a lot more time in the listening room savoring the improved sound. Will they sound better when "burned in"? Who knows?

UPDATE:

I've been in this hobby since 1976. I have found that I do not have "golden ears". However, I do know when something sounds good to me. As far as price per cable, quality of component pieces (wiring and plugs) WBC uses top-of-the-line parts. Their prices for "audiophile" cables is a tiny fraction of what other companies want. Once I tried my first set of WBC cables the music sounded better, I can't quantify it with words, but it just does. I'm not a wine connoisseur who reports it tasting "woody with a hint of pine bark" or such nonsense. I then decided to replace every audio cable with WBCs. I hope this helps allay anyone's fears of how they might sound. Since writing this, I have acquired new equipment and outfitted all of them with new WBC units. I continue to be very pleased with the sound of all eight (a new pair of Klipsch driven by a tube power amp have joined the system) speakers and the music they reproduce.

Below are three wide angle (10mm lens on my Nikon D300 DSLR camera) images I shot of the listening room to try and show you what one would see were they standing near the back wall of the room, looking around.

Some have referred to it as a "Man Cave" but, no it is eclectic, as am I.

Each object has a story. And no animals were harmed, either.

Off to the right of the two stacked radios, and out of camera view, is my late father-in-law's old oak file cabinet, which, for some reason, he painted blue. Atop it are:

These two 200-CD towers. I see so many people who buy Ikea cubes to put LPs in and great walls of shelves designed for CDs all standing vertical. Well, LPs should stand vertical, but, with CDs, I prefer horizontal. Far easier to read the artist/title that way for me. Sure, it it a nuisance to have to move SO MANY CDs to add new ones to the collection, but, on the other hand, when I pull them out, it reminds me when I see their covers, "Oh, yes. I remember this one, I need to play it." I don't collect recordings to amass or to own, I collect to have a large variety of things to listen to. Music is made for enjoying, just as books are made for reading.

I built this shelf fifty years ago, with tutelage from my girlfriend's wonderfully kind father. He had a cabin which he built up in the mountains in "Mutton Holler" right on a creek. A white walnut tree on the property had died and he had it felled and taken to a lumber mill to be rough cut into boards. He sold me enough boards and taught me how to plane them and join them and to construct this shelf. Originally, it was to house equipment as well as records.  

The shelf above, like the one at the front of the room (below), I found at a thrift store. It was handmade to house records. It almost fills the closet behind me. It has never been "finished" and has a few flaws, but, so do I.

This one was made in Denmark and also, obviously to hold LP records. It is actually two shelves attached together. Both were right-time, right-place finds which I treasure. 

Well, I went farther than I planned in telling and showing you my new WBC cables, and my impression thereof, I hope that you have enjoyed this additional content. 

Feel free to comment below, or on Facebook. Thanks for taking the time to read my humble blog.

Scott Robb

January 9, 2025

#503