what do i look for? (Speaker Wire)

[Shadowmonic]

what do i need to look for as far as specs or whatever when i'm buying speaker wire?

 

[sholling]

Honestly 14ga lamp cord works just as well any of the fancy $5/ft stuff that they try to sell you in the stereo store. But if you must have extra good wire then this is plenty good and is what I use for my front speakers.

 

[Alex2507]

There's some stuff to know about in wall ratings. A Google search brought up an article by our very own Gene DellaSala.

Is that too asskissy?

 

[jostenmeat]

Is that too asskissy?

Not really, because it might be that many articles get attributed to Gene, when they were actually written by someone else. This time, BJC is cited twice as the source of the information.

 

[Alex2507]

Not really, because it might be that many articles get attributed to Gene, when they were actually written by someone else. This time, BJC is cited twice as the source of the information.

Dang, the first 'brought to you by' might have meant that they like paid him to write it but the second 'reprinted' was a dead give away. There's just no way that I was gonna read the whole article. I am completely over the wire. Way back I thought it mattered. Now I'm more concerned with what color the insulation is.

 

[highfigh]

what do i need to look for as far as specs or whatever when i'm buying speaker wire?

The right number of conductors, no PVC in the insulation or jacket, adequate gauge, no splices.

That's about it. More expensive doesn't get you anything and solid conductors are harder to place. Also, if a solid conductor is bent enough times in the same area, it becomes brittle and will break.

 

[jamie2112]

www.monoprice.com is where you go.Buy 12awg wire and their banana screw on plugs and you are set.12awg will get you anywhere you need as far as lenth goes........

 

[m_vanmeter]

another opinion from the peanut gallery...
rarely do you "need" 12 gauge speaker wire for a normal sized room setup. 16 gauge or 14 gauge wire is often more than adequate to control voltage drop over the length of the cable runs.
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm click on "Wire Table" to size the speaker wiring needed.

Also, banana plugs are not required to hook speaker wire to the receiver and the speakers....however, they are very convenient to connect the cables to the back of the receiver where the binding posts are often very close together. If your setup has the additional depth to allow the banana plugs to stick out the back of the connection posts, then using them will make the connections easier.

 

[markw]

The right number of conductors, no PVC in the insulation or jacket, adequate gauge, no splices.

That's about it. More expensive doesn't get you anything and solid conductors are harder to place. Also, if a solid conductor is bent enough times in the same area, it becomes brittle and will break.

I can't recall ever buying wire with splices in it...

 

[j_garcia]

COPPER is usually a good thing to look for in speaker wire J/K.

 

[James NM]

I can't recall ever buying wire with splices in it...

Actually, that's a customer add on.

 

[highfigh]

I can't recall ever buying wire with splices in it...

I never said the wire would come with splices but I don't like splicing to make it longer unless I'm making connections for a car stereo and using OEM wiring.

 

[Zaluss]

I took 20ft of Blue Jeans Cable quad canares raw:

1) Cut them in half.
2) Splice them up and tie the red and black leads together.
3) Cover it with some nice looking TechFlex from Partsexpress.com
4) Heatshrink
5) GLS locking banana plugs.
6) ???
7) Profit.

Sexy.

Cost me maybe total $30 for two pairs of solid DIY 10ft speaker cables thats lasted me two years so far and twenty speakers later.

 

[Shadowmonic]

when you say 16 gauge or 14 gauge or whatever what is that? and what other cords are out there i can use for speakers to receiver??

 

[Alex2507]

when you say 16 gauge or 14 gauge or whatever what is that? and what other cords are out there i can use for speakers to receiver??

The gauge refers to the thickness of the wire. Oddly enough the smaller the number, the thicker the wire. Give this a read to answer you question more fully:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question260.htm

Just stick to using speaker wire. If you plan to run it in a wall you need to have it rated for that purpose.

 

[Shadowmonic]

so for better signal i'd want lower gauge right?
and whats the best?

 

[Shadowmonic]

and Alex2507 i tried to go to that link and i think its the wrong one

 

[Shadowmonic]

so i dont want jacket or pvc at all in the wire? and what is that??

 

[Shadowmonic]

whats the best? i found some 12 Gauge Speaker Wire for a reasonable price is that the best? and it has no jacket or PVC or whatever... what do i need to look for in how its made?

 

[markw]

Just make sure there are no splices in it.