Speaker wire choice - need advice

[hondajake]

I use all Blue Jean cables including the Twelve White speaker cable. Its not that expensive and looks good to me. I stopped spending oddles on speaker cable about 5 years ago and never looked back.

HK AVR 445 and Klipsch Reference speakers.

 

[mtrycrafts]

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.

How good a contact do you need to make? Bananas coming loose? Perhaps you bought the wrong ones then.

 

[Rickster71]

I'd agree with mtrycrafts on this one.
I use banana plugs everywhere, wall jacks etc. and no problems.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&CAT_ID=54&ObjectGroup_ID=177
I would suggest taking a look at the link to DeoxIT.
It cleans, preserves, lubricates and improves conductivity on all metal connectors and contacts.

 

[Matt34]

2 x 30 ft runs, do I need 12-14 or 16 AWG?

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.

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

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-gauge

 

[Seth=L]

How good a contact do you need to make? Bananas coming loose? Perhaps you bought the wrong ones then.

Indeed, unless the binding posts are pointing down (never the case for me) how would they come loose?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Indeed, unless the binding posts are pointing down

And even then, why would it come out if one doesn't hang on it, or the pets play with it. They make pretty good friction fit; the weight of the wire is not enough to pull them out.

 

[goodsnd]

Couple of other manufacturer/sellers might be Cobalt Cable and Cables to Go.

I've been pretty impressed with cobalt's prices and reviews, but don't have first hand experience with their products.

 

[goodsnd]

another idea

Thought of this after I posted a new thread:

One article put together by the reviewers on this site was a measurement of different types of speaker wire. The idea that quality speaker wire does not make a difference is simply not true. Having said that, the converse, you must spend a ton of money to get great speaker wire, is not necessarily true either.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff

I'm thinking about making my own speaker wire similar to the CAT-5 (v5) shown in the above article. However, I would most likely use CAT-6 instead.

 

[Seth=L]

Thought of this after I posted a new thread:

One article put together by the reviewers on this site was a measurement of different types of speaker wire. The idea that quality speaker wire does not make a difference is simply not true. Having said that, the converse, you must spend a ton of money to get great speaker wire, is not necessarily true either.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff

I'm thinking about making my own speaker wire similar to the CAT-5 (v5) shown in the above article. However, I would most likely use CAT-6 instead.

I don't have the exact reason why, but it was explained to me before, but using Ethernet cables like cat 5 and cat 6 is a horrible idea. It may sound different, and if it does it's because it's very bad. From what I read, it can damage your equipment. Making speaker wires from cat 5 or cat 6 cables is not worth the risk of damaging your amplifier or receiver.

 

[goodsnd]

I don't have the exact reason why, but it was explained to me before, but using Ethernet cables like cat 5 and cat 6 is a horrible idea. It may sound different, and if it does it's because it's very bad. From what I read, it can damage your equipment. Making speaker wires from cat 5 or cat 6 cables is not worth the risk of damaging your amplifier or receiver.

Really? I'm just not clear on what is different between a cat wire and regular wire. I mean, CAT wire is just bundled copper, v5 being stranded. I would think the only thing, so far as cabling which could damage an amplifier would be ultra low gauge wire, (i.e. high resistance), but that would have to be an extreme circumstance.

Given the use of multiple strands (as explained in the article) it seems completely safe. The testers (from this web site) in the article certainly didn't see any problems. Do you have a link to any of that information?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Really? I'm just not clear on what is different between a cat wire and regular wire. I mean, CAT wire is just bundled copper, v5 being stranded. I would think the only thing, so far as cabling which could damage an amplifier would be ultra low gauge wire, (i.e. high resistance), but that would have to be an extreme circumstance.

Given the use of multiple strands (as explained in the article) it seems completely safe. The testers (from this web site) in the article certainly didn't see any problems. Do you have a link to any of that information?

In certain configurations you can increase the cable's capacitance a lot and that is what may drive some amps into oscillation and self destruction, like a Naim amp that is know to need their own naim wire.
But, a well designed amp and proper care should be just fine.

 

[mustang_steve]

For speaker cables, 12/10ga zip cord, banana or spade connections (if your amp can fit spades). Bare-wire is a fine connection as well, so long as the copper is not corroded.

Really, speaker wire, gagues aside should not be a big issue. Just buy a fat roll and use it