Red or Black

[CIGARBUM]

Is red + and black is -

or

is black +and red is -

CB

[Bill H.]

I don't think it matters.............just so long as each end is the same...............

i.e. Red + and Black - at both connection points..............

[Oblio]

Convention is Red +

Bill is correctin that it is phasing that counts, IOW be consistant.

[Cal Blacksmith]

Yep, if you were connecting a battery, red is + and black is -

BUT

when you are wiring speakers, each end needs to be the same regardless of what color it is. All the speakers should be the same. The signal to the speakers is AC not DC so what you are really doing is making sure that things stay in phase, that is all the speaker cones are sucking and blowing together. If you get one sucking and one blowing, you will in effect cancel out each other, not completley but enough to really mess up the sound.

You could use pink and blue wire if you like, the color does not matter..... all the same does.

[WMcD]

I agree with Oblio and Cal B.

One aspect of following the convention is that somone else coming in at a later date will have this information, and will be assuming that the convention is followed.

That other person may be you! It is easy to say "I'll remember." But that is not always the case. That is why I alway recommend marking speaker feed wires, if necessary, with nail polish (red and black) this works well on white zip cord..

RCA feed wires can and should be marked with tabs of masking tape with "feed from CD" or the like. It helps when you're trying to figure out a rats nest of connectors in the not too well lit areas behind the equipment.

It is a simple fact that your "smart person" on day 1 has to make it easy on your "stupid person" who will be looking at it on day 365.

Smile,

Wm McD

[Don Richard]

The generally accepted standards for color coding are:

Electronic circuitry and automotive: Red+ Black-

Electrical and power: Black+ or hot White- or neutral

Thermocouples: Red always- Other color (White, Yellow, Blue, etc.) always+

[Islander]

Electrical tape is available in various colours, so I've got my speaker cables taped at each end with red for Right and black for Left, and two of the XLR interconnects from the Dx38 also have white for Bass. Taping both ends avoids any need for guessing at either end if you disconnect more than one cable or interconnect at the same time.

The speaker cables themselves have two different colours of insulation, blue and clear for woofer cables, smoke and clear for the tweeter cables, so no markers needed there.

[IB Slammin]

In days of old when the air was clean and the sex was safe, we would tie a loose knot in the positive strand..........

tc

[Dylanl]

You can tell phase with a small 1.5 volt battery and whatch how the driver moves. Mark the poles once each driver is tested. Manufactures have been know to hook up wrong from time to time inside a cabinet even so it never hurts to check.

[CIGARBUM]

I did manage to get a bunch of Bob Crites red and black wire, never seen it marked like that, also good wire

CB