-BC- Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 so im getting my xpa-5 amp tomorrow and i need some help with cables. im lookin for the cleanest sound possible, theres just to many different options out there to chose from. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. also......is there options with connection besides receiver goin to the amp with rca's then amp to speakers with bi'wire? would i get more out of my 6inch drivers if i left the jumpers on the speakers terminals and just connected the amp to the bottom posts? all this might sound crazy but im not really sure of the best way to connect my components and with what to connect them with...... :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I don't believe that there is anything to gain from bi-wiring if the original wire is of sufficient gauge. I'd use 12 AWGfrom monoprice. Can't advise you about interconnnect cables as I don't believe they should play a role in altering the sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-BC- Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 I don't believe that there is anything to gain from bi-wiring if the original wire is of sufficient gauge. I'd use 12 AWGfrom monoprice. Can't advise you about interconnnect cables as I don't believe they should play a role in altering the sound so your saying dont remove the terminal straps and just run a larger gauge wire....... any suggestions on which rca's to use to connect the receiver to the amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 If your runs are going to be short, something like this http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=5346&seq=1&format=2 will work fine. If you need longer cables, here's more to pick from: http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021803. Otherwise if you feel the need to spend more of your hard earned money on cables, there's always http://www.bluejeanscable.com. Personally I'd go the monoprice route. I have HDMI cables, optical digital cables, S-Video cables and an RCA to XLR cable in my system and probably spent a grand total of $30 including shipping for all of them combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-BC- Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 as far as XLR cables, whats some good suggestions on those as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 All the previous sources are good. Also look for pro audio cables for solid build no nonsense connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 15, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 15, 2009 as far as XLR cables, whats some good suggestions on those as well? [Y][Y] for Monoprice. Check out XLR cables here. Biwiring your speakers won't make much difference unless you are prepared to bypass the internal xovers in your speakers. I would leave the jumpers on the speakers and connect either the top or bottom pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-BC- Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 as far as XLR cables, whats some good suggestions on those as well? for Monoprice. Check out XLR cables here. Biwiring your speakers won't make much difference unless you are prepared to bypass the internal xovers in your speakers. I would leave the jumpers on the speakers and connect either the top or bottom pair. ok. now as far as the 2 different ways to connect to my amp, just plain rca or xlr/rca, whats gonna be best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I suppose that XRL is only an advantage if it's done at both sides. Does your receiver have XRLpre-outs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-BC- Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 no it doesnt. so im just gonna go the rca rout. looks like monoprice has some really good deals so i might as well try them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 17, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 17, 2009 Yes, no benefit going from XLR to RCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 So I was on that monoprice and they have some great prices, so that brings me to a quick question. Now I know there are several post about cables etc etc... but one question I have is about the speaker wire in the wall, does it not need to be shielded. Or does it make a difference, I dont mean for this to turn into a long post on how cables could be better or not, just if shielded wire is realy going to keep down on the humming noise. duder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 speaker wire, regardless of location, doesn't need to be shielded. i forget the technical info but i think the signal (Hz) is too low for emi/rfi to mess with it. also the power is low enough that if emi/rfi gets in, it won't make it to the amp. i know that may sound like gibberish, but it's close enough. in my opinion, the best speaker wire to use is Twisted wire. the twisted wire helps prevent any emi/rfi if some might by some small chance interfere. if you want no nonsense speaker wire, you can try Anticables. i like their speaker wire because it lets you hear what your system can actually output, not what "cables" add or take away to it. my personal system has all Mil-Spec wire in it. it's all 12awg twisted tinned wire. i like using tinned wire for corrosion reasons. my runs are very short so there isn't any resistance gain over standard untinned copper. second, Youth, there is a difference between RCA and XLR, but only when you have runs over 10' or in high emi/rfi areas. the back of my et center would qualify, but my run would be 15" so i wouldn't have any benefits. my sub cable is 50' long, but my sub doesn't have a balanced input, so i can't use an XLR anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 but one question I have is about the speaker wire in the wall, does it not need to be shielded. But it would be best to buy CL2 rated (fire retardant) wire for insurances purposes. Only a little bit more to pay for that at monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2 Available in 50-foot, 100-foot and 250-foot spools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 These are very good cables: Vampire Wire CC These are audibly better, but just a little: Vampire Wire SC/II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 18, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 18, 2009 second, Youth, there is a difference between RCA and XLR, but only when you have runs over 10' or in high emi/rfi areas. True. My comment was there is no benefit having a cable that has XLR on one end and RCA on the other. At least that is my understanding of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 don't mean to hijack thread, but i got a bunch of monster rca cables (red, white, yellow) lying around that i am eager to put to use once i got enough $$$ for an amp. my question is: can the yellow rca cable (video) us in this application? connecting receiver to amp? i heard it can be used but wasn't sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 but one question I have is about the speaker wire in the wall, does it not need to be shielded. But it would be best to buy CL2 rated (fire retardant) wire for insurances purposes. Only a little bit more to pay for that at monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2 Available in 50-foot, 100-foot and 250-foot spools. I don't know what UL stands for but I always thought that, that was one of the reason this code was put out was for fire reason.. Maybe some insurance company's don't acknowledge this unless is states fire proof. Don't know for sure just asking. also Inventor thank you for answering my questions, you actually answered one that I didn't even think of and it was based off of the corrosive factor. In my first house I put that shielded twisted monster cable in my house for the sole purpose of corrosion(well that's what I told the sales rep what I wanted to accomplish) guess he just sold me some snake oil). Now could it hurt anything if I installed some conduit and ran it through that, just for the easy method of replacing down the road. Or could you say going with the tinned stuff I shouldn't have a problem at all. thanks duder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 but one question I have is about the speaker wire in the wall, does it not need to be shielded. But it would be best to buy CL2 rated (fire retardant) wire for insurances purposes. Only a little bit more to pay for that at monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2817&seq=1&format=2 Available in 50-foot, 100-foot and 250-foot spools. I don't know what UL stands for but I always thought that, that was one of the reason this code was put out was for fire reason.. Maybe some insurance company's don't acknowledge this unless is states fire proof. Don't know for sure just asking. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I guess it just means that its been tested for public safety. Anywho the fireproof stuff from monoprice is still cheaper than the crap I bought from monster. Well now I know were to buy good cheap speaker wire for the new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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