wiring advice for soon-to-be-delivered RF-7 II's and RC-64 II

[jmcg]

Hello all...I've been reading your forum and now I've taken the plunge. I have coming to me within 10 days a pair of new RF7-II's and an RC-64 II.

I've been reading up on what wires to buy...here's my problem. I've spent so much on the speakers I'm forced to use Amazon.com because I have credit there. So I'm looking at: Premium 12/2 Awg 250ft CL2 Speaker Wire | Cable - Oxygen Free Copper OR Pro - 165 Strand 12/2 In Wall Speaker Wire 250 ft CL2 Rated

I'm also looking at the 12/4, since it has 4 strands of 12 gauge wire in each sheath, and since I'm bi-amping the RF-7 II's I was thinking about getting 100ft of this, but I don't really have that long of a run so I think I'll just double up the 12/2 for each speaker...which leads me to the question.

What wire should I get? Does the 165-strand PRO wire make more sense? I can't find the strand count on the non-PRO wire....

The PRO is $25 more than the $100 dollar non-PRO....it's 250 feet and I feel it's a good deal, so I'm leaning towards PRO.

But it's some generic brand, and not THX certified (of course, neither is my Denon 2310ci or my Klipsch's....and I'm wondering if this is OK if I should bite on some Monster or Audioquest?

Lastly...was going to buy these plugs.....http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QIYIRC/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=AD6O342M484G6

Are they ok? Other recs (from Amazon)?

Thank you all in advance.

[wuzzzer]

Wire advice:

1) http://www.monoprice.com is your friend. Figure out how much wire you need and the gauge. Easy as that.

2) 12 gauge is probably overkill, although that's what I use personally.

3) Connect bare wire to the speaker terminals. Banana plugs are only beneficial if you unplug your speaker wire constantly. I'm thinking with speakers that weigh around 100 pounds each you probably won't be re-arranging your room often. Banana plugs offer no sonic benefit and many actually make less contact with the speaker input/output terminals than bare wire does.

[Guest davidness]

I second the Monoprice 12 guage bare wire recommendation.I bought a set of fancy (expensive) cables with banana plugs, and although I'm of the camp that belives wiring makes very little difference (beyond a point), the fancy cables sounded worse than bare 12 gauge! Poor banana contact area is suspect, but regardless, good 12 gauge bare wire connections are my recommendation as well. That's what I use on my fancy system (tube amp, Emotiva SS amp, etc), connecting to a pair of RF-7's.

[madfusker]

Thanks wuzzzer! I was in the market for some wire and that looks like the ticket!

[russ69]

I'm the contrary here, stranded wire sounds harsh to me. I recommend Audio Quest Type 2 as an inexpensive speaker wire choice. (Flame on).

[madfusker]

This site cracks me up. Drop 10 big ones on a pair of cables here....

http://www.musicdirect.com/category/41

Theory is here:

http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf

[Sandy West]

Twelve gauge stranded copper speaker wire should be more than sufficient for any home audio application. Exotic and expensive speaker wire is primarily a profit enhancer for the retailer with no measurable benefit to the consumer. Most exotic speaker cables don't hurt, but you'd get a lot more enjoyment by spending your money on CD's to listen to on your new speakers. Just my opinion, of course.

[Ironsave]

Twelve gauge stranded copper speaker wire should be more than sufficient for any home audio application. Exotic and expensive speaker wire is primarily a profit enhancer for the retailer with no measurable benefit to the consumer. Most exotic speaker cables don't hurt, but you'd get a lot more enjoyment by spending your money on CD's to listen to on your new speakers. Just my opinion, of course.

+1!!!

My speaker wire is what came with speakers I have purchased (in the past)....

It is all 12 gauge, but I did be sure to match the brands. (Mixed, so the mains both got the same wire; the center a different; and the surrounds different)....

Good Luck.

[Wunsung]

Jmcg,

Another great place to get good, inexpensive, cabling is KnuKonceptz http://www.knukonceptz.com/productmaster.cfm?category=speaker%20wire

No frills, tinned, OFC copper. Many gauges and styles to choose from. I highly recommend their "Karma SS" wire.

Marty

[madfusker]

Thanks Marty! I already ordered the in wall rated stuff at monoprice but really like the looks of the Karma SS for my mains and center. I'm not really sure if twisted pair is any advantage, though I know it is when it comes to data cables.

[inder19]

After doing a lot of research I went with monoprice 12awg. At under 25 cents per foot you can't really go wrong. I am using bananaplugs for no reason other than habit. I have wired everything and am just waiting for my speakers.

The monoprice cables are also very good quality. I ordered the HDMI, subwoofer cable, and opticals as well. The Net jacket makes the hdmi cables difficult to work with but other than that minor issue I will be ordering all my cabling from them.

[russ69]

Drop 10 big ones on a pair of cables here....

Yeah, the 3 buck a foot AQ type2 is a real budget buster, lol.