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Belden 9497 is something of a standard speaker wire in Japan with the horn speaker crowd, especially with jazz enthusiasts. For years I saw this twisted black and orange wire in high end showrooms like Shindo and GIP Laboratory, as well as in the pages of MJ and Stereo Sound. I went to Akihabara, the source for all audio parts, and found the wire branded in Japan as “Studio 947.” I searched far and wide for this wire back home where Belden is based and I couldn’t find any trace of it. Someone at Belden finally told me that they had a wire with the same specs but it’s referred to as 9497 in the USA. Mystery solved! I have bought spools of this wire over the years and the production varies slightly, as do the different lengths I have bought in Japan and domestically. One thing that I have found to be consistent with this wire is a pleasant, mellow sound. I’m not saying, don’t buy cables that cost thousands of dollars--that’s your prerogative. But dollars for sense these things are as safe of an investment as you can make.