Speaker cable options...and how much is too much for a particular stereo / home theater...

T

twochordcool

Junior Audioholic
Hello my friends!

I'm in the process of incorporating a home theater into my living room stereo setup.

I have a nice "mid-fi" setup consisting of a Rotel integrated amp, a Rotel CD player and B&W DM602 S3 standmounted bookshelf speakers.

Interconnects and speaker cables drive me nuts!

With my stereo I did not want to take a chance on wiring being the weak link, so after doing some research I splurged on a pair of internally biwired Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables and a Kimber Kable Silver Streak analogue interconnect.

I am quite pleased with how it sounds.

However, I am now adding a Yamaha RX-A1020 AV receiver and 3 other B&W DM602 S3 speakers in a 5.1 setup.

I have a Samsung smart TV and a Samsung Blu-Ray player.

Thing is, these speaker cable runs will be much longer and I cannot afford to run Kimber Kable 8TC for the rear channel.

But I DO want to use the best speaker cables that I can afford.

I have been reading reviews of supposed 5 star cables over at What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision magazine's website.

I am considering a few options.

They give Audioquest FLX-SLiP 14/4 high marks, and it seems to be affordable budget cable. I am considering buying a spool of this, doing double runs for bi-wiring and adding my own banana plugs to them.

Other options are the highly rated Wireworld Luna 7 and cables by QED.

I'm willing to spend money on cables, I'd just prefer to not go crazy if I don't need to for excellent sound.

Your thoughts?
 
Rickster71

Rickster71

Audioholic Spartan
Take a look at this - Speaker Wire
Also do a search in this forum. There are countless threads on the subject.

To save you time; don't believe the hype about wire.
Buy the cheapest, properly sized wire for the job.
If you want a wire for aesthetics, that's OK. Just know it has no bearing on performance.
 
T

twochordcool

Junior Audioholic
Also, does anybody have any advice on quality banana plugs and how to properly install them if I opt to go the build my own route?
 
Last edited:
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
If you are doing in-wall cable runs, then be absolutely sure that the cable is rated for in-wall installations! If you run cable in-wall that isn't rated for that, then you will violate code laws, and possibly your insurance won't pay for it if there is ever a catastrophe.

Now, for cables, I really like BJC. This is great quality stuff, and while it isn't exactly cheap, you get what you pay for. It isn't cheap, but it also isn't over-priced like some others (monster, kimber, audioquest etc).
Blue Jeans Cable -- Quality Cables at Reasonable Prices

Read that wire guide that Rickster posted!

Finally, as far as bananas, I have tried several different brands/styles. In general, I think these are the best:
Amazon.com : Deadbolt Banana Plugs, 12-pair, By Sewell Direct : Electronics Cable Connectors : Electronics
 
T

twochordcool

Junior Audioholic
I will not run them in wall - the appeal is how good they supposedly sound. I reckon there is no reason that I can't use in wall cable as regular outside-of-wall speaker cable?!
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I will not run them in wall - the appeal is how good they supposedly sound. I reckon there is no reason that I can't use in wall cable as regular outside-of-wall speaker cable?!
Yup, that would be a good assumption. It is OK to run in-wall in not-in-wall applications (but not OK to run non-inwall spec for inwall apps). But.....if you aren't running it in-wall, then why pay extra $ for the in-wall spec????

If you think that fancy cables make an audible improvement, then you already drank the audio-phool Koolaid. This is absolutely not true, and has been proven time and again. If you want fancy cables for aesthetics and don't mind paying a premium, then go for it, but understand that is what the $ is going to (aeshetics).

Now, on a side note, it is possible to change or color the sound with fancy cables. However, this is absolutely an undesirable situation and must be avoided.

Like I say, as far as price/performance, BJC is top-notch, broadcast quality stuff. That's the best that you would ever "need".

Have you read that article from Rickster yet? That is the go-to reference for these types of questions.
 
T

twochordcool

Junior Audioholic
Anybody know of some good banana plugs that will accommodate 8 gauge wire and not cost an arm and a leg?
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
How long are your runs? 8 AWG and banana plugs aren't happening. I have ~20-25 foot runs for my surrounds. I used 14AWG monoprice CL2 rated (since mine are in wall). No problems.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
In the distant past we would sometimes modify the original Pomoma(sp) dual banana plugs, thr ones that the wire would go in the side with a small set-screw in the end. We would just drill the wire hole, but you can only go so far.
Other times we would use a 1 to 2 in length of solid wire that fit the connector and solder the heavy wire to it. Remember it's not just the diameter that counts. It's the diameter times the length.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
In the distant past we would sometimes modify the original Pomoma(sp) dual banana plugs, thr ones that the wire would go in the side with a small set-screw in the end. We would just drill the wire hole, but you can only go so far.
Other times we would use a 1 to 2 in length of solid wire that fit the connector and solder the heavy wire to it. Remember it's not just the diameter that counts. It's the diameter times the length.
It doesn't really matter if it fits, it isn't needed for the speakers in question even for 80 foot runs.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
It doesn't really matter if it fits, it isn't needed for the speakers in question even for 80 foot runs.
What does need have to do with many things that audiophiles do?

(we did it for a DC bench power supply)
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
What does need have to do with many things that audiophiles do?
Well, I guess you're right there, but this is a case of hunting butterflies with a shotgun. The original question was "how much is too much", and 8AWG is definitely too much.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
One rather rare type of loudspeaker that can justify heaver cables is a true ribbon (Apogee) dipole. They are almost a dead short and many amplifiers won't drive them. They require a very low impedance, not just low DC resistance cable. But the few people that own these speakers already know all this.
 
N

Nestor

Senior Audioholic
Speaker cable options...and how much is too much for a particular stereo / ho...

One rather rare type of loudspeaker that can justify heaver cables is a true ribbon (Apogee) dipole. They are almost a dead short and many amplifiers won't drive them. They require a very low impedance, not just low DC resistance cable. But the few people that own these speakers already know all this.
If they are "almost a dead short", how does a lower R cable help?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
Well on futher review, some of the Apogee dead short business may be urban legend. Let's say it was closer to 3 Ohms.

But in any case, the speaker impedance and the cable impedance form a series circuit. So the higher the cable resistance the more of the total power will be dissipated it the cable.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Well on futher review, some of the Apogee dead short business may be urban legend. Let's say it was closer to 3 Ohms.

But in any case, the speaker impedance and the cable impedance form a series circuit. So the higher the cable resistance the more of the total power will be dissipated it the cable.
In this case we are talking about DM602 S3s though :) They are hardly a difficult to drive bookshelf speaker.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
My first post was about modifying a banana plug, my next two posts were responses about oversize speaker cables, then a responses about very low impedance speakers.

Only posts # 1 & #17 reference those bookshelf speakers.
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
In this case we are talking about DM602 S3s though :) They are hardly a difficult to drive bookshelf speaker.
Never let the reality of the matter at hand get in the way when trying to show how much knowledge one has. See my sig line.
 
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