Question about four-wire cable

[_Jon_]

Hello,

I have a room that was prewired for speakers using a single four-wire cable. What is the best way to connect the speakers in this configuration? The speaker at the end of the run is obvious, but what about the other speaker? Do I just cut the wire, attach the speaker, and then manually connect the other two wires with electrical tape? Is there a more elegant solution? I should mention that I will probably be installing in-wall speakers.

Jon

 

[MDS]

The 4 conductor wire is usually used to run from the receiver/amplifier location to a volume control location in another room. From the volume control to the pair of speakers requires another 2 pair of 2 conductor wires.

If the speakers are close together you could skip the volume control and use one pair (red, black) for one speaker and the other pair (white, green) for the other speaker but that doesn't work too well for most speaker placements because you'll have to peel back a lot of the outer jacket that encloses the 2 pair of conductors.

 

[_Jon_]

I guess I didn't mention - there is already a volume control installed. The wire from the volume control to the speaker locations is also a single 4-wire. Do I have to just cut the wire and "ghetto" it?

 

[adk highlander]

4 conductor like that would be for a single stereo speaker and is easier for the installer to pull. I use these in certain rooms in my house where they are for background music or where the wife did not want a pair of speakers. You could split the 4 connectors into a pair of stereo speakers just make sure you know which is left right and what wires are used for + and -.

 

[MDS]

You can peel off the outer jacket and split the 4 conductors into two pairs or perhaps you could use that existing wire as a pull to pull two 2 conductor wires. Either way it will work as long as the connections are consistent from end to end.

By convention, the left speaker is minus (black) and plus (red) and the right speaker is minus (green) and plus (white). It doesn't matter though as long as they are the same on each end. Since there is already a volume control, I'd just look at the VC and see which color is attached to which terminal to see which color is +/-.

 

[_Jon_]

highlander: I'm not sure I understand. How is a 4 wire cable for a single stereo speaker? Each speaker only has 2 terminals. Why wouldn't the installer pull a 2 wire cable?

MDS: how do I peel the outer jacket without cutting the wire? exacto knife?

 

[MDS]

highlander: I'm not sure I understand. How is a 4 wire cable for a single stereo speaker? Each speaker only has 2 terminals. Why wouldn't the installer pull a 2 wire cable?

By 'stereo' speaker he meant the type that has two tweeters and one woofer so it can play both channels of a stereo signal. It will have 4 terminals but it is in effect two speakers. They are used for non-critical listening locations where it may not be possible to have two physical speakers.

MDS: how do I peel the outer jacket without cutting the wire? exacto knife?

Exacto knife or small scissors. Just be careful not to knick the insulation of the actual conductors (red, black, white, green) within the outer jacket.

 

[Alex2507]

h how do I peel the outer jacket without cutting the wire?

This tool is very handy for that. None of us here on this forum is only ever going to strip wire one time. I'm pretty good with a knife but I always end up cutting into one of the conductors' insulators. I figure it's okay so long as nothing shorts out and nothing has but that tool just takes all the work out of it and it's quick.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Do I just cut the wire, attach the speaker, and then manually connect the other two wires with electrical tape?

Never use electrical tape for spliced connections. The connections are not secure (can easily be pulled apart), and electrical tape tends to loosen over time. There’s a primer on splicing speaker wire in my signature that offers several options for secure spliced connections.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt