Speaker Wire Question

[August_West]

This is probably a dumb (or at least a very simplistic question) for this forum but here goes anyway, what size / type of speaker wire does everyone use for hooking up your Heresys to your receiver / amplifier?

[Pete H]

You will probably get a wide variety of answers to this, but I'll put my 2 cents in now. I would run 12 gauge in the shortest possible run you need. I wouldn't break the bank and spend wild amounts of money on name brand false claim cables. Do a search for cables and wires in the forum and you will find the threads with links to some great INTERNET suppliers. I typically purchase in bulk and the last 250' of 12 gauge I purchased off the bay for $45.00. Don't get sucked in to big dollar stuff. IMHO

[Dylanl]

Here is where I purchased my cable. Great cable for a reasonable price along with maximum amout of stranded copper per gauge.

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productmaster.cfm?category=speaker%20wire

I also Agree with Pete's sentiments, no need to go overboard

[neo33]

You don't need to spend 2 arms and 2 legs on this one. You can find standard speaker wires at your local Rat-Shack store.

[Islander]

I'd suggest 14 gauge at a minimum, with 12 gauge preferred. There's little difference in price, so no need to wonder later if you got big enough cable.

Also, a second vote for Knukonceptz. I'm using their Karma Kable, and I'm very happy with the quality and price. The SS refers to its colour, Smoke and Silver, and the tin plating makes it very corrosion resistant.

[jamesV]

I just pick up some 12ga from Mono Price. Plus they are a great place for other wire connections and anything else you might need.

James

[George Roland]

I use outdoor wiring from The Home Depot. This is 12 gauge stranded copper in a black casing. It is about $.75 a foot. I buy termination hardware from Radio Shack--banana plugs, spade lugs, or from Parts Express.

Sounds good to me and the price is right!

Best,

George

[InVeNtOr]

i first agree with James. i carry the motion on knukonceptz. it seems they have very good wire. i used some of their 16awg on a crossover upgrade (KSF 10.5) and liked how it was construsted.

if you would like to try something new check out Anticables. their claim to fame is they provide speaker wire that doesn't alter the sound of your gear. if you are interested you can read all about it and decided for yourself. the cost is low, at least in my opinion. it's a gamble because you actually hear how your system sounds with out "additives or persertives." (trying to make a silly joke). i would reccement it to anyone who has any Heritage speakers.

[wuzzzer]

I just pick up some 12ga from Mono Price. Plus they are a great place for other wire connections and anything else you might need.

James

I also just ordered 100 feet of 12 gauge wire from monoprice - it was just over $20. I'm going to re-wire all my speakers with it and also the wire going from my Forte's input terminal to my crossovers (currently using cheap Monster Cable for it).

[InVeNtOr]

something i would like to ad.

if you are wiring up a HT set up, the choise of wire really don't matter. the only thing you should stick with is 12awg. once you start getting into 2ch set up (a real set up) it starts getting tricky. what i mean about a real set up is, usually some type of heritage (bells, lascala, k-horns, CW, to name a few of the better ones). we are also talking about really really good cd players, amps, stuff like that. accousticly treated room, 1 chair.....that type of set up. some high end money to get it going.

that's when speaker cables, RCA cables, power cables, stuff like that (what most people think "snake oil" is) start mattering. people like me who just do HT, it really doesn't matter what you buy becaues there is too much noise to hear it. i can make good power cables but i only hear the difference when i do the 2ch and test it out. it's hard to hear it while a movie is playing. it usually just turns out to be better crisp dialog. maybe a sharper explosion, stuff like that. when you have 2ch you start hearing more insturments, better string section, stuff like that.

anyways, that's my 2cents on it. i am in the works to make some prototype power cables to see if wire makes an audiable difference. i have already proven that connectors change sounds. (oyaide 037 vs 079).

[Seadog]

This is probably a dumb (or at least a very simplistic question) for this forum but here goes anyway, what size / type of speaker wire does everyone use for hooking up your Heresys to your receiver / amplifier?

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Check out this link. It should answer you questions regarding speaker wire. It's all about wire size and length of the wire.

[neo33]

Would anyone care to do a blind test using "coat" hangers and your "best" speaker wires?

[Arky]

Would anyone care to do a blind test using "coat" hangers and your "best" speaker wires?

BEC did that. Coat hangers won.

[neo33]

Some people claimed to have "golden ears" and sworn that they can tell the different between "coat" hangers and Rat Shack wires in a double blind test. []

[russ69]

I use AudioQuest Type 4 for my Heresys, a very good match.

Thanx, Russ

[neo33]

Hey Russ, so you think AudioQuest Type 4 wires is better then Home Depot wires?

[InVeNtOr]

i am about to do something like that but pertaining to power cables. i have already discovered that a Oyaide 037 and 079 sound exactly how Oyaide says they do. no i am going to make some more cables using the same connectors and different types of wire. i am curious how it will turn out. if it isn't an overwelling difference then it goes down as a no change. anyways should be fun....

[russ69]

Hey Russ, so you think AudioQuest Type 4 wires is better then Home Depot wires?

Never used Home Depot wire, I have however used a lot of different finely stranded copper wire and it all sounds harsh to me. I made some cheap @ss cables from Rat Shack solid hook up wire and that wasn't too bad. The AQ Type 4 is better than the home made Rat Shack wire, I use it on two of my systems. Not many people here use high buck cabling, I'm not sure why. It's either they are too cheap, their systems don't resolve the difference or they like their horns to have a lot of bite. Anyway, I'm one of the few in this group that plays with cables.

Thanx, Russ

[neo33]

So Russ, are you up for a blind test between your AudioQuest Type 4 wires and my "coat" hanger wires?

[InVeNtOr]

russ,

so i take it you are a 2ch guy? what other cables/wire have you messed with? have you taken a look into Anticables? have you gone into power cables yet? custom rca's? what gear do you have? you sig just says Herseys.