You know what's bull%$^?

[gmichael]

Not to offend here Shock, but perhaps something with your technique when it comes to stripping the ends? I'm just speculating - I've owned several types of wire strippers, some fancy expensive ones, and other cheap throw away kind - not sure how you're going about it, but I'll usually go about half an inch back, using the correct gauge size on the stripper, merely separate the jacket end from the rest of its length - without pulling it off the end with the wire stripper. This is done with a quick twisting of the wrist usually, without applying too much force. After that, I'll usually pull the separated jacket end off the end of the wire by hand, ensuring that I rotate it in the same direction the strands are twisted as I pull. Not to say I don't nick a strand or two at times, but probably 98% of the time this leaves a perfect, exposed section of bare wire, free of nicks, cuts or missing strands. Plus all the strands will be shaped and twisted in their original form.

No comments on the innuendos guys... we all get it...

Where's the fun it that?

 

[highfigh]

lol

But seriously, I hate dealing with speaker wire with a passion. Why the **** is it so hard to split it in half? 100 lbs of force to split the wires in half....yeah that's not ridiculous at all. I have to literally cut inbetween both wires and then use my teeth because my hands are sweating from all the anger I'm feeling.

Why is it ****ing impossible to strip speaker wire without taking 50% of the strands with you!? Then when the stars align and you manage to strip one side perfectly, you **** up the other side. Everyone knows, us being audiophiles, we have to have our speaker wire EXACTLY the same length for the +ve and -ve.

One time I had to strip and restrip one run of speaker wire 4 effing times before i stripped the +ve and -ve without mangling the strands. Why do wire strippers suck so much ass?

What are you using to strip the wires and what wire are you using? Zip cord is OK but jacketed in-wall cable is a lot easier to work with- the conductors are separate and easy to strip.

I have been using this kind for close to 30 years and they work. Versatile, too. The one in the link is the newest one but I used one that was a little cheaper but didn't have the Armor Edge cutter. I did car audio for a long time and used to buy a new one every year because they just wore out.
http://www.electricbargainstores.com/gardner-bender-gesp-70.html

 

[Audioholics]

Why can't all speakers use a standard RCA connector to connect it to a receiver?

Cause some numbnutz would connect his CD player to the powered speaker outputs of his AV receiver and sue Yamaha when it blew up and caught fire... RCA-LIKE connectors would be fine, but you can't take something that is low voltage and mix it with high. In case you didn't know, that's why 5-way binging posts often come with the centers plugged up. In Europe the standard 5-way post spacing happens to perfectly fit a CEE 7/16 Europlug...

Somewhere... someplace... there is a guy who plugged his speakers directly into the wall. That man is likely still procreating, so ponder that a moment.

 

[Quickley17]

Somewhere... someplace... there is a guy who plugged his speakers directly into the wall. That man is likely still procreating, so ponder that a moment.

Or at least trying to...

 

[Shock]

using the correct gauge size on the stripper

The correct gauge on the stripper ALWAYS cuts through a bunch of strands....100% of the time.

Clint, I didn't mean it had to be an RCA connector, just something that would make everyone's life easier.

 

[MinusTheBear]

The correct gauge on the stripper ALWAYS cuts through a bunch of strands....100% of the time.

You either have a crappy wire stripper or you are not using the tool correctly.

 

[MinusTheBear]

See my banana plugs have too much girth and I find I can never quite get them in all the way.

Depending on the banana plug, if you do not get a clean strip and the wire is forced into the banna plug, it could possibly expand the tip of the banana plug causing this problem.

I have never had a problem with banana plugs being to big, but I have had a problem with BJC spade lugs not fitting on binding posts.

 

[highfigh]

Cause some numbnutz would connect his CD player to the powered speaker outputs of his AV receiver and sue Yamaha when it blew up and caught fire... RCA-LIKE connectors would be fine, but you can't take something that is low voltage and mix it with high. In case you didn't know, that's why 5-way binging posts often come with the centers plugged up. In Europe the standard 5-way post spacing happens to perfectly fit a CEE 7/16 Europlug...

Somewhere... someplace... there is a guy who plugged his speakers directly into the wall. That man is likely still procreating, so ponder that a moment.

But we have nothing like a DIN speaker plug and that's fine with me. When Jamo and Bang & Olafsen first brought their speakers to the US, the speaker wires were soldered to the crossovers, used a plastic anchor to hold them into the rear of the cabinet and had DIN speaker plugs. That made it a problem for people who needed to splice them for greater distances but didn't know which end of a screwdriver to pound on.

Speaker wires with RCA plugs are the domain of the old compact stereos of the '60s and '70s and they were crap. RCA plugs were never designed for signals stronger than line level and more connections only introduce higher risk of failure, IMO. In half-way decent light, using a good stripper and proper technique, making these connections is easy. Strippers that have a die for each gauge work best when the plane of the blades is square to the line of the wire. With the Gardner-Bender unit I linked to, the width at the nose of the pliers is a good gauge for how much insulation needs to be removed.

It ain't rocket surgery.

RE: plugging speakers into the wall, I worked at an Altec dealer and we had the Model 19 on the floor at both stores. One day, My friend, who was also the service manager and manager of one of the stores, decided that he wanted to see if they would handle being plugged into the wall outlet. They did. He said it wasn't as loud as he would have thought, so I assume they went into thermal compression almost immediately, but they never had a problem from it.

 

[Halon451]

The correct gauge on the stripper ALWAYS cuts through a bunch of strands....100% of the time.

Not in my experience. Have you tried various wire strippers or is one that you're using simply a problem child?

 

[highfigh]

The correct gauge on the stripper ALWAYS cuts through a bunch of strands....100% of the time.

Clint, I didn't mean it had to be an RCA connector, just something that would make everyone's life easier.

But the force needed to cut the insulation isn't much. It's not like trying to cut the wire- good strippers and cutters are sharp and some insulation only needs a nick to make pulling the end off possible. If it takes a lot of squeezing force to strip or cut the wire, the tool needs to be replaced. If I had a problem with wire strands being removed by the stripper, I would have found a different tool and in over 30 years of cutting, stripping and terminating wires of various types in who knows how many homes/offices/retail/etc and over 7000 cars/trucks/boats/one Oscar Mayer Weiner Wagon, I only had problems when the tool was worn and needed to be replaced. I tried one of the kind with flat blades and didn't like it at all. I also have one of the kind that has all kinds of moving parts (similar to what's in post 35) and only use it when I don't have anything else.

 

[gmichael]

But we have nothing like a DIN speaker plug and that's fine with me. When Jamo and Bang & Olafsen first brought their speakers to the US, the speaker wires were soldered to the crossovers, used a plastic anchor to hold them into the rear of the cabinet and had DIN speaker plugs. That made it a problem for people who needed to splice them for greater distances but didn't know which end of a screwdriver to pound on.

Speaker wires with RCA plugs are the domain of the old compact stereos of the '60s and '70s and they were crap. RCA plugs were never designed for signals stronger than line level and more connections only introduce higher risk of failure, IMO. In half-way decent light, using a good stripper and proper technique, making these connections is easy. Strippers that have a die for each gauge work best when the plane of the blades is square to the line of the wire. With the Gardner-Bender unit I linked to, the width at the nose of the pliers is a good gauge for how much insulation needs to be removed.

It ain't rocket surgery.

RE: plugging speakers into the wall, I worked at an Altec dealer and we had the Model 19 on the floor at both stores. One day, My friend, who was also the service manager and manager of one of the stores, decided that he wanted to see if they would handle being plugged into the wall outlet. They did. He said it wasn't as loud as he would have thought, so I assume they went into thermal compression almost immediately, but they never had a problem from it.

At 60 hz, it must have been some rumble. Hey, did that manager reproduce?

 

[bandphan]

Ideal makes a good wire thingy

 

[Halon451]

Ideal makes a good wire thingy

If you're talking about this:

IMHO - waste of money, I've never cared for them. I have nicked many strands of wire using these things, plus the ratcheting feature sometimes kicks back and mangles the bare wire end by pushing the tightly wound strands all apart.

One of the best wire strippers I've used and it's not uncommon at all, nor very pricey, but just works really well (made by Klein):

These are readily available at any Home Depot, and probably most hardware stores. They also make a version of this with a red band on the grip for smaller wire gauges. The one pictured, IIRC is for gauges 16 and larger... ?

 

[Shock]

But the force needed to cut the insulation isn't much. It's not like trying to cut the wire- good strippers and cutters are sharp and some insulation only needs a nick to make pulling the end off possible. If it takes a lot of squeezing force to strip or cut the wire, the tool needs to be replaced.

no no, they cut through the outer jacket with no effort really, problem is they cut through the speaker wire too with little effort.

I'm telling you it's not the wire strippers, I have used probably 5 different models and they all do a crappy job. I would say it might be the speaker wire itself, but again I've used probably 5 different brands and they all have the same problem.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/PliersSnips/SpecialtyPliers/PRDOVR~0584507P/Mastercraft+Wire+Stripper.jsp

Are the current strippers I'm using.

Stripping coax cable is a heck of lot more messy, but the tool they have to strip it properly works amazingly well. Most people would think stripping coax is harder, I would disagree. Not only is it easier, but terminating with compression connectors is super fast.

 

[Halon451]

no no, they cut through the outer jacket with no effort really, problem is they cut through the speaker wire too with little effort.

I'm telling you it's not the wire strippers, I have used probably 5 different models and they all do a crappy job. I would say it might be the speaker wire itself, but again I've used probably 5 different brands and they all have the same problem.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/PliersSnips/SpecialtyPliers/PRDOVR~0584507P/Mastercraft+Wire+Stripper.jsp

Are the current strippers I'm using.

In that case, maybe it's time to ease up on the juice and be gentle with those wires my friend..

 

[bandphan]

If you're talking about this:

IMHO - waste of money, I've never cared for them. I have nicked many strands of wire using these things, plus the ratcheting feature sometimes kicks back and mangles the bare wire end by pushing the tightly wound strands all apart.

One of the best wire strippers I've used and it's not uncommon at all, nor very pricey, but just works really well (made by Klein):

These are readily available at any Home Depot, and probably most hardware stores. They also make a version of this with a red band on the grip for smaller wire gauges. The one pictured, IIRC is for gauges 16 and larger... ?

Klein makes the same one you pictured from ideal. I use Klein primarily for all my electrical work. Klein makes on of the spring loaded strippers like you pictured but @ 179 and 16 gauge to 24, Im not that needy

 

[highfigh]

At 60 hz, it must have been some rumble. Hey, did that manager reproduce?

No, but it wasn't for lack of trying- his ex-wife, well, let's just leave it at that.

He has an extensive electronics background and he took every safety precaution- put a real plug on the ends of the wires, used a switched outlet and it was off when he plugged it in. He even had a fire extinguisher there, just in case but when a speaker manufacturer says their speakers will handle that amount of power, a little skepticism makes an otherwise dull day a bit more fun, especially when the store owner walks in halfway through the "experiment". He later worked for a local speaker company and at one point, another friend of ours called him "the Clyde Crashcup of the speaker industry". At the time, he didn't know who that was but a few years later, when I rented the upstairs apartment of his house, I happened to be looking for something to watch on a Sunday afternoon and saw that a Clyde Crashcup cartoon was on so I thought I'd see what kind of trouble he was getting into. Since the TV sound always went through the stereo in their place, I could usually hear what they were watching and when I could still hear the dialog when I turned mine down, I knew he had the same channel on. After a couple of minutes, I heard "Awwww, man!" and the phone rang immediately, so I knew he had found out.

 

[Rickster71]

If you're talking about this:

IMHO - waste of money, I've never cared for them. I have nicked many strands of wire using these things, plus the ratcheting feature sometimes kicks back and mangles the bare wire end by pushing the tightly wound strands all apart.

One of the best wire strippers I've used and it's not uncommon at all, nor very pricey, but just works really well (made by Klein):

A man that knows his tools.
http://www.kleintools.com/index.html
Klein has been the 'go to' tool of the telecommunication and electrical industry for many, many years.

 

[Alex2507]

If you're talking about this:

IMHO - waste of money.

I have that one and I like it fine. Sometimes I do notice a few stray strands but I figure that the AWG reduction across 1/2" of copper is okay since I'm completely unable to give a sh!t.

 

[highfigh]

no no, they cut through the outer jacket with no effort really, problem is they cut through the speaker wire too with little effort.

I'm telling you it's not the wire strippers, I have used probably 5 different models and they all do a crappy job. I would say it might be the speaker wire itself, but again I've used probably 5 different brands and they all have the same problem.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/PliersSnips/SpecialtyPliers/PRDOVR~0584507P/Mastercraft+Wire+Stripper.jsp

Are the current strippers I'm using.

Stripping coax cable is a heck of lot more messy, but the tool they have to strip it properly works amazingly well. Most people would think stripping coax is harder, I would disagree. Not only is it easier, but terminating with compression connectors is super fast.

I tried one of the strippers in the link and hated it immediately, even though it's stripping area is similar to the one I linked to. That Gardner-Bender is a good one and it can be bought under many names. Since I do low and high voltage, I like the fact that it has the stripper, crimper, wire bending holes and cutter for threaded screws (wall plate screws, etc).

Mastercraft makes better ski boats than tools.

Are you sure your wire isn't metric?