radio shack and monster

[hankdog]

I stopped by my local radio shack while the wife was shopping, well I was thinking of going to a larger speaker wire because I am going to be adding a separate amp in the near future{ I now have monster xp navajo} so I'm talking to the kid there and I asked about larger wire and he says to me,how much power is the amp going to have and I say 125 watts per channel and he says 125 total and I say no 125 times 7 and to connect to my furthest surround is about 50 feet and he says the monster is good to 250 watts at 50 feet, this got me thinking is he right? any thoughts, I not sure if what I have is 14 or 16 gauge,the outlaw that I'm buying recommends 14 gauge I was thinking of going with some beldin 5000ue from blue jeans cable

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

I not sure if what I have is 14 or 16 gauge,

I have Monster XP speaker wire for my surround channels. Its is 16G. I do not see why it would be insufficient for your Outlaw amp.

 

[hankdog]

thats what I thought , I just got a kick out of kid telling me what he told me,I mean I have original monster cable speaker wire that I bought in 1983 connected to a kenwood M2 amp driving klipsch heresy's ,my speaker wire is older than he is

 

[markw]

I guess I'm old school.

I'd go for some generic 12 gauge, particulaly for those 50' runs. Hone Depot, Accessories4less, Parts Express, anywhere...

Cost wise, it most likely evens out or even saves $$ by forgoing that brand label.

 

[highfihoney]

he says the monster is good to 250 watts at 50 feet, this got me thinking is he right? any thoughts, I not sure if what I have is 14 or 16 gauge,the outlaw that I'm buying recommends 14 gauge I was thinking of going with some beldin 5000ue from blue jeans cable

im confused as to why the radio shack kid was referencing wattage's instead of ohmage,the lower the ohmage your speaker's are the thicker the wire need's to be,if your running 4 ohm speaker's you will need thicker wire than if your running 8 or 16 ohm speaker's.

you should look at the manual or spec sheet for your speaker's to determine what the lowest impendance dip they have is then select wire according to the lowest dip the speaker's reach,ive had much better luck with wire size's that were based on the lowest impendance dip as oposed to just going by the rated nominal impendance.

wire size is determined by speaker ohmage & lenght of run.

16 gauge/ 4 ohm's 20 ft max / 8 ohm's 40 ft max.

14 gauge/ 4 ohm's 40 ft max / 8 ohm's 80 ft max.

12 gauge/ 4 ohm's 50 ft max / 8 ohm's 100 ft max.

10 gauge wire is pretty much only needed after 100 foot run's.

 

[Sheep]

im confused as to why the radio shack kid was referencing wattage's instead of ohmage,the lower the ohmage your speaker's are the thicker the wire need's to be,if your running 4 ohm speaker's you will need thicker wire than if your running 8 or 16 ohm speaker's.

you should look at the manual or spec sheet for your speaker's to determine what the lowest impendance dip they have is then select wire according to the lowest dip the speaker's reach,ive had much better luck with wire size's that were based on the lowest impendance dip as oposed to just going by the rated nominal impendance.

wire size is determined by speaker ohmage & lenght of run.

16 gauge/ 4 ohm's 20 ft max / 8 ohm's 40 ft max.

14 gauge/ 4 ohm's 40 ft max / 8 ohm's 80 ft max.

12 gauge/ 4 ohm's 50 ft max / 8 ohm's 100 ft max.

10 gauge wire is pretty much only needed after 100 foot run's.

100% agree. Your house is run with 14ga wire and it handles ALOT of power (watts). Its the Ohm rating that matters.

I picked up 250feet of 12ga. wire for 100bucks (not bad up here). I just finished wiring the system today.

For a second, I though it sounded different, I though the treble was much more tame then before, and the midrange had this warm characteristic to it.


....Then I realized I was sitting off axis

SheepStar

 

[BassHead]

I stopped by my local radio shack while the wife was shopping, well I was thinking of going to a larger speaker wire because I am going to be adding a separate amp in the near future{ I now have monster xp navajo} so I'm talking to the kid there and I asked about larger wire and he says to me,how much power is the amp going to have and I say 125 watts per channel and he says 125 total and I say no 125 times 7 and to connect to my furthest surround is about 50 feet and he says the monster is good to 250 watts at 50 feet, this got me thinking is he right? any thoughts, I not sure if what I have is 14 or 16 gauge,the outlaw that I'm buying recommends 14 gauge I was thinking of going with some beldin 5000ue from blue jeans cable

Watts watts watts,Is that all these box stores and tiny shops talk about,Dont listen to that garbage with wire,Stay with a 12 gauge wire no matter what length,Shop any where you like and even look at bulk wire rolls,keep an eye on oxygen free wire and look for the finest strand wire you can find,There are many grades,This is hard to explain but ... The best way is rub your finger across the strands of wire and if you find the wire almost tearing away you got good fine wire. thinner than hair.

 

[j_garcia]

14 AWG is fine for nearly every installation up to 80ft.

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

 

[Sheep]

look for the finest strand wire you can find,There are many grades,This is hard to explain but ... The best way is rub your finger across the strands of wire and if you find the wire almost tearing away you got good fine wire. thinner than hair.

All thin wire does is increase flexibility.

If I took my wire to a fight, you would loose!

SheepStar

 

[mtrycrafts]

All thin wire does is increase flexibility.

And, when that thin wire breaks while penetrating a finger, it ain't fun poking for it

If I took my wire to a fight, you would loose!

SheepStar

Yes, that is an important consideration and a case for other wires

 

[BassHead]

All thin wire does is increase flexibility.

If I took my wire to a fight, you would loose!

SheepStar

Flex has nothing to do with the inner wire,the outer jacket is a concern for the flex,But if you think so thats new to me