Speaker wire choice - need advice

[Acadian]

so I am guessing this is good then?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2820&seq=1&format=2

I might have 3 x 30 feet runs, will probably go with the 14 AWG as Rickster71 suggested.

Has anyone from Canada had any issues with shipping from Monoprice?

+1 on that question

I'm also from Canada and looking at monoprice for speaker wires...although the 14 AWG in-wall is out of stock!

Another thing, i was reading through the user comments at monoprice...a few said that the gauge was misrepresented. For example, ordered 12 gauge and he compared it to his old 12 gauge and it was much smaller. Can anyone comment on this?

 

[Alex2507]

+1 on that question

I'm also from Canada and looking at monoprice for speaker wires...although the 14 AWG in-wall is out of stock!

Another thing, i was reading through the user comments at monoprice...a few said that the gauge was misrepresented. For example, ordered 12 gauge and he compared it to his old 12 gauge and it was much smaller. Can anyone comment on this?

The thickness might be somewhat dependant on the # of strands used to make up the wire for one. Would you bet any real money that the poster had his facts straight about the guage of his old wire? Maybe he was thinking of his shotgun. Monoprice is betting real money that their 12ga is actually 12ga. I would take Monoprice's word over the word of a "random internet poster" (inside joke) 99% of the time.

 

[jinjuku]

+1 on that question

I'm also from Canada and looking at monoprice for speaker wires...although the 14 AWG in-wall is out of stock!

Another thing, i was reading through the user comments at monoprice...a few said that the gauge was misrepresented. For example, ordered 12 gauge and he compared it to his old 12 gauge and it was much smaller. Can anyone comment on this?

I have 12 gauge wiring from Monoprice. Trust me, it's 12 gauge.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...a few said that the gauge was misrepresented. For example, ordered 12 gauge and he compared it to his old 12 gauge and it was much smaller. Can anyone comment on this?

Well, without knowing how the on line poster compared and what, who knows if he knows how to compare it.
Perhaps he was checking outside diameter of the two wires, including insulation? Perhaps if he was comparing the copper, he didn't accurately compare them. Eyeball is not accurate; did he actually use a caliper or micrometer? Count strands, measure them and figure overall area of copper of the two cables? Smaller strands fill in the void between strands versus larger strands having more air space there.

 

[Alex2507]

Reading this article right now and it says that the guy's home depot wires corroded 6 months after. Geez I've been using mine for 2 years now and they still look new. No corrosion at all.

I think the thing to take away from that part of the article is that HD previously sold that wire and no longer does so because there was a problem. It's not a case of the article being BS.

 

[mouettus]

I think the thing to take away from that part of the article is that HD previously sold that wire and no longer does so because there was a problem. It's not a case of the article being BS.

Thanks for the information.

Didn't call the article BS. Just that I had a different experience with what appeared the same thing and I found myself asking questions like: is it because that owner never took care of it? was it placed in a humid environment? etc.

 

[Alex2507]

No you didn't call the article BS nor did I say you had. But I thought you implied it. Please excuse the misunderstanding.

 

[skads_187]

will 16awg be enough over a 30 foot run?
Ill have to find out what monoprice has in stock. just want to keep my options open.

lastly, one more question, a buddy of mine has some extra monster cable to spare not much, I was thinking of using it for the center and maybe 2 front speakers if its enough (and since they wont be far from the receiver). But I think they were 14 or 16G, does it matter? I mean I know its too much for such a short distance, but can it be "overkill" as someone mentioned in this thread? will it give too much power? not sure if that is possible or not.

 

[mtrycrafts]

will 16awg be enough over a 30 foot run?
Ill have to find out what monoprice has in stock. just want to keep my options open.

lastly, one more question, a buddy of mine has some extra monster cable to spare not much, I was thinking of using it for the center and maybe 2 front speakers if its enough (and since they wont be far from the receiver). But I think they were 14 or 16G, does it matter? I mean I know its too much for such a short distance, but can it be "overkill" as someone mentioned in this thread? will it give too much power? not sure if that is possible or not.

14ga would be better and if mono doesn't have it maybe a local store would, Home Depot, Radio Shack(not Monster), Target? WalMart?

 

[skads_187]

is that 14ga over 30 ft runs and short runs? or just 30 ft runs?

 

[mtrycrafts]

is that 14ga over 30 ft runs and short runs? or just 30 ft runs?

If you buy 14ga, might as well use it for all your runs; no need to have two different gauges. But, if you already have the 16ga you can use that for short runs and the 14 for the longer ones. But, don't agonize over either.

 

[itschris]

I always spent the money for the high-end cables... in my head... it made me feel better and the pride of ownership thing played in my head as well. I'm over that now, but I still like a good looking cable if I have to see it. I've looked at Monoprice and BlueJean and I have to say their cable is just ugly and I don't want it laying on my floor. If I could find a cheaper cable that still looked good... I'd jump all over it.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I use 10awg Dayton wire from Parts Express and some fancy looking banana plugs from GLS audio and it looks as good as about anything and was dirt cheap.

 

[mouettus]

I always spent the money for the high-end cables... in my head... it made me feel better and the pride of ownership thing played in my head as well. I'm over that now, but I still like a good looking cable if I have to see it. I've looked at Monoprice and BlueJean and I have to say their cable is just ugly and I don't want it laying on my floor. If I could find a cheaper cable that still looked good... I'd jump all over it.

same for me; it's all about the looks. Now I want banana plugs

 

[mouettus]

I use 10awg Dayton wire from Parts Express and some fancy looking banana plugs from GLS audio and it looks as good as about anything and was dirt cheap.

10 awg?! Geez... I thought my 12awg were overkill! (Energy RC-70)

 

[itschris]

same for me; it's all about the looks. Now I want banana plugs

Once I finish my remodel, I think I'm leaning towards Lenexpro cables. These are also on my short list:

http://www.calabrine.com/collections/speaker-cables
http://www.lenexpo-electronics.com/5M-16FT-ATLONA-PRO-SPEAKER-CABLE-W-PLUGS-p-16268.html

They're both nice looking cables and reasonably priced. I'm going to run 10 or 12 guage through the walls to wall plates and connect the nice looking cable from there. The nice thing is the run from the wall plate is going to be fairly short so a 10ft cable will work great and save a bit of $$.

My only concern is trying to figure out which cables and how many to run to the main wall so I don't have to do it again.

 

[chadnliz]

Dont get Banana plugs if you can avoid it, they dont make as good of contact as spades will and they can work loose and cause real problems.

 

[itschris]

Dont get Banana plugs if you can avoid it, they dont make as good of contact as spades will and they can work loose and cause real problems.

Not that I doubt you, having had issues with banannas in the past just slipping out and what not, but why is every cable manf. always using b plugs over spades? I would think that spades are better because they are locked down by the nut on the post. What's the downside?

 

[chadnliz]

They dont look as cool and you need tools with spades, its that simple.

 

[mouettus]

How can you get a spade to fin in the receiver's connectors anyways?

Any examples (links) of good spades for speakers?