Questions on stepping up to making higher quality speaker wire

[Snakebitten]

Ouch and thanks at the same time Jim Everything you said is correct. It was indeed helpful

I don’t “need” the 10G I just wanted to make my own cables and make them purdy I already have 14G on the system that I made out of generic ofc and it sounds great. I really don’t expect an improvement with the 10G after all I’ve read, both from what you guys have said and from articles. The runs are only 8’ each to the MA’s.

You guys have given me a lot to think about as you have seen. I just want purdy homemade overkill cables like AQ, Cardas etc make but with less than $50 spent.

 

[Verdinut]

One of the best guides for calculating adequate gauge for speaker wire etc. is this: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
I don’t “need” the 10G I just wanted to make my own cables and make them purdy I already have 14G on the system ...

If the latter is the case, good looking, just rejacket your 14ga.

 

[lovinthehd]

Some ideas on prettifying wire in this thread but seems the changes in picture hosting have taken away much of the photography.....

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks guys. Btw the 14 gauge was just rejacketed yesterday. Just waiting on some shrink sleaves and pants to finish it off. The 10 gauge is just for fun. My uncle has some superfat Nordosts I think. Love the heft even if it’s a gimmick hence the 10 gauge. Would never pay for those.

Will check both of your links out for even more ideas. Thx.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... The 10 gauge is just for fun. My uncle has some superfat Nordosts I think. Love the heft even if it’s a gimmick hence the 10 gauge. Would never pay for those.
...

Nordost works, just not worth the price nor does it sound different. Maybe your uncle will give it to you for free?

 

[j_garcia]

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

 

[Snakebitten]

An excellent eye opening read. Thx.

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

Hello AH. I noticed that Audio Quest uses thicker wire for the woofer and thinner wire for the mid/tweeters on their bi-wire setups. I have found the star quad Canare wires on BJ Cable site but all 4 wires are 14 gauge. I like it buuuut:

I was wondering if I used one set of twisted pair 14/2 gauge for the mid/highs and twisted pair 10/2 or 12/2 for the woofer would there be a problem? From what I read I don't think so but I also don't want to do anything to damage my new speakers (MA Gold 300's). I would wrap the two cables into one using flextech to look nice and terminate with some pretty nice locking banana plugs.

There won't be a problem in that setup, no. The bigger the better. Will 10 gauge for highs and for lows be overkill? Maybe. Will it hurt anything? Heck no, you're giving them a thick highway to travel down with negligible resistance and impedance. You could run 10 to both if you really wanted. I myself just installed some Canare wires on my setup, both 14 gauge wires terminate under one of their premium banana plugs which they weld in, their claim is 11 gauge net result. Since my speakers only have 2 posts not 4, I just have a banana for positive and negative on each and it fits really well. 11 gauge for the whole works for me seems plenty. A happy medium may be finding a 12/4 cable, giving highs and lows their own 12 gauge each. Just my 2 pence.

 

[Snakebitten]

Well finished up the 10 gauge last night. Used Blue Jeans 10 gauge, Amazon sourced GLS locking banana plugs, KnuKonceptz pants, some shrink tubing and Flexo PET black/red. Total cost not including the shrink tubing was $67. Looks pretty good to me.

Now for the sound:

Oh my goodness. I was blown away by the effervescent depth of the sound stage. The intricate way in which the speakers now etched each instrument on my ear drums was otherworldly. It was as if I was transported to the very stage Ms. Krall was performing. It was so beguiling that it conjured images in my mind of her actually being there. It was almost as if I was in a dream but fully awake.

Needless to say this was unexpected. It’s my duty to bring this experience to the masses. It would be a sin not to. I will make these cables for anyone at a huge discount for a mere $1500.

Pics:

 

[killdozzer]

@Snakebitten They look very, very nice! Wouldn't mind these at all. I have bookshelves so I plan to get angled bananas to give the cable a free fall without tension on the banana.

Your binding posts are low so these make sense. Don't forget to elevate them!!

 

[killdozzer]

Are they soldered as well as tightend?

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks Killdozzer. Yeah I will elevate them with some wood stanchions, thanks. I was thinking of soldering them as these banana plug wire channels are quite large even for 10 gauge. The screws will screw right into the channel and fall out with any gauge less than 10 gauge. Even with the 10 gauge its a bit iffy.

Wouldn't solder affect the signal a bit? Just asking as I'm not sure of its affect. I've read somewhere that its preferable not to solder. Don't know if its a myth or not.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks Killdozzer. Yeah I will elevate them with some wood stanchions, thanks. I was thinking of soldering them as these banana plug wire channels are quite large even for 10 gauge. The screws will screw right into the channel and fall out with any gauge less than 10 gauge. Even with the 10 gauge its a bit iffy.

Wouldn't solder affect the signal a bit? Just asking as I'm not sure of its affect. I've read somewhere that its preferable not to solder. Don't know if its a myth or not.

What negative effects do you think all of the soldered joints in the equipment have on the sound?

BAD solder joints make a difference- good ones don't.

 

[killdozzer]

Thanks Killdozzer. Yeah I will elevate them with some wood stanchions, thanks. I was thinking of soldering them as these banana plug wire channels are quite large even for 10 gauge. The screws will screw right into the channel and fall out with any gauge less than 10 gauge. Even with the 10 gauge its a bit iffy.

Wouldn't solder affect the signal a bit? Just asking as I'm not sure of its affect. I've read somewhere that its preferable not to solder. Don't know if its a myth or not.

Now I have to ask are we still ironical? If not, soldering not only doesn't take away, but makes probably one of the biggest surfaces at the point of connection. Copper is supposed to be a slightly better conductor, but that is rectified and then some by the fact that solder adheres to every strand and soaks it in and out and washes over the entire inside of the banana. Furthermore, once inside solder, copper significantly drops in accumulating patina. So, clean for a longer time.



Funny story; first time I ever heard for Audioholics was when I was Googling (I actually used Google back then, how time flies) about what good does expensive cable makes. I came across an article by some EE who had a link in his article that linked to Audioholics. It was his point that paying a gazillion for the most expensive banana ever will be trumped by soldering for few cents every time. It is all about surface contact and it’s hard to make better contact than liquefying metal and have it drench everything.

I remember now, first it was Wirecutter that linked me to this EE author and then his article linked me to Audioholics. I wonder could I still find that article...

 

[Snakebitten]

Highfigh and Killdozzer I was just going off of what I had read on a forum a while ago. Something about it being a poorer conductor than copper etc and that you have to choose the right kind of solder etc...I have no background in metallurgy or electronics so have no idea if it was truth or the same craziness with cable myths etc hence my question here. It was indeed a serious one this time Killdozzer no irony

Good to know. I will solder the channels of the banana plug. Now any preferences on the solder to use from you gents?

BTW that article sounds like a good read if you ever find the link.

 

[j_garcia]

There's no benefit to soldering. Those locking bananas will pull the speaker down before the wire comes out or before they pull out of the plugs. I know this from experience and that's why I don't use them on my speakers, only on the amp side.

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

Well finished up the 10 gauge last night. Used Blue Jeans 10 gauge, Amazon sourced GLS locking banana plugs, KnuKonceptz pants, some shrink tubing and Flexo PET black/red. Total cost not including the shrink tubing was $67. Looks pretty good to me.

Now for the sound:

Oh my goodness. I was blown away by the effervescent depth of the sound stage. The intricate way in which the speakers now etched each instrument on my ear drums was otherworldly. It was as if I was transported to the very stage Ms. Krall was performing. It was so beguiling that it conjured images in my mind of her actually being there. It was almost as if I was in a dream but fully awake.

Needless to say this was unexpected. It’s my duty to bring this experience to the masses. It would be a sin not to. I will make these cables for anyone at a huge discount for a mere $1500.

Pics:

Oooh, pretty! Nice work. Startup an "Audioquest" knockoff company. Even if you charge 50% less than they do, you'd make a killing!
Since I have just put Blue Jean cables on my interconnect and speaker wires myself, may I ask what wire you were using before?
For me, I didn't notice that much improvement. I was running 12/2 cabtire (SOOW cabling) that I had laying around, upgraded to Canare 14/4. Had I come from some cheapo 16 gauge HomeDepot speaker wire, sure I probably noticed a difference, but in my humble opinion, I didn't notice much of an improvement. I noticed more of an improvement upgrading my crappy 26 gauge interconnect to a quality, shielded 18 gauge.

 

[Snakebitten]

There's no benefit to soldering. Those locking bananas will pull the speaker down before the wire comes out or before they pull out of the plugs. I know this from experience and that's why I don't use them on my speakers, only on the amp side.

Well I thought about soldering only because the banana plugs wire channel is so large that even the 10 gauge wire is floating in there. The set screws the plugs come with can screw down until they pop out in the wire channel of the plugs. Only solution is cutting of a little extra insulation and bending the wire down to make it fatter then the set screw will tighten and not come out the bottom end. Or I could drop some solder in the channel and then tighten down the set screw if needed.

Oooh, pretty! Nice work. Startup an "Audioquest" knockoff company. Even if you charge 50% less than they do, you'd make a killing!
Since I have just put Blue Jean cables on my interconnect and speaker wires myself, may I ask what wire you were using before?
For me, I didn't notice that much improvement. I was running 12/2 cabtire (SOOW cabling) that I had laying around, upgraded to Canare 14/4. Had I come from some cheapo 16 gauge HomeDepot speaker wire, sure I probably noticed a difference, but in my humble opinion, I didn't notice much of an improvement. I noticed more of an improvement upgrading my crappy 26 gauge interconnect to a quality, shielded 18 gauge.

WOTV that would be sweet haha. It looks like some are selling there home made ones on Ebay already. AQ, Cardas and Nordost are shaking in their boots lol...Not really....

The wires I used before were quite good Amazon bought ofc 14 gauge wire. Cheap. I actually heard no difference from the 14 gauge to the 10 gauge but I only tested for about 5 mins since I had to go to bed. Will do some swap testing this weekend and see if I hear any thing different or better with a prolonged listening session. That nonsense I wrote was tongue in cheek

 

[WineOfTheVeins]

Hold on a second, I took a second look at your binding posts. What gauge is that jumper between the terminals? Or are you going to feed the highs and lows the tenner and remove the jumpers?