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I've used Gentek who have been superb and great value. Van Damme cable and Neutrik ends.
I used their cables to swap out the thin apparently poor quality ones that Fender use for stock and other amp makers use.
I use them for longer speaker cables to position cabs where I want / use different cabs and use attenuators.
I haven't used them for many years - because the ones they built me haven't broken!
I just checked and it seems there are no off the shelf speaker cables, but they can be made to order.
https://gentekcustomcables.com/collections/guitar-leads
The plugs are the important part. The cable only has to be physically robust and adequate for the maximum current in use.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
anything "better quality" than this falls into the snake oil and capacitor domain...
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Just buy something well made and solid IMO. I've had bad luck with those PW style "moulded" plugs so I'd go for something neutrik equipped, but it's just preference.
Reliability is the most critical factor in a speaker cable, especially for a valve amp - if it fails to an open circuit, even momentarily, it can blow output valves or the transformer if you're really unlucky. If it fails to a short it will most likely just blow valves, but you still don't want that.
If anything, it's these same rivetted connections which *can* affect the tone if they're loose but still passing some current. The cable itself doesn't as you said, as long as it's of at least adequate gauge - which isn't that large at all, for a guitar amp - and not excessively long.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Using a guitar lead as a speaker cable could potentially blow your amp up as it's not designed to take the current.
As for "when am I ready?" You'll never be ready. It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it. - pmbomb
If you use a guitar cable for your speaker cab, in probably 95% of cases no harm will occur either, but if it’s a powerful amp and a lower impedance cab, you can overheat the cable. Although it won’t usually burn out, the plastic insulation may melt and short the core to the shield, which will ruin the cable and also possibly blow power valves and/or fuses in the amp. So although not usually bad, definitely not recommended.
I’ve only actually seen that happen once, with a Marshall Super Bass head and a 4-ohm Ampeg cabinet, with a curly guitar cable… the cable was very melted and the amp had blown the HT fuse, but no other damage, luckily. The owner thought the amp had died and melted the cable, he didn’t realise it was the other way round!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Spent a pleasant hour last weekend doing exactly this.
Well I haven't but it'd only take a few taps with a slegehammer to break it and then I could use the orange cable?
Where you might see a difference (never used these cables specifically so don't know if it's applicable here): a thicker cable can be stiffer and a thinner cable more flexible. You'll only really notice when you're rolling it up at the end of the night, or if you have to bend the speaker cable to reach the cab, or whatever.