What speaker wires/terminals should I use with new RF7-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.

[CapZark]

I've spent countless hours on here reading about fancy interconnects and speaker wire and I've basically reached one conclusion - most everything is hype. When it's all said and done go with these guys. Their products and prices are reasonable and they don't sell a lot of silly hype. Save the rest of your money for more Klipsch speakers.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

[MikeAK]

I can't comment on bannana plugs as I'm of the camp that believes a bare wire connection is the way to go. I went to Home Depot and picked up some 12g speaker wire from the bulk section and am happy. I was using some monster wire that I picked up before I knew any better and detected no difference in sound at all.

[Youthman]

I was using some monster wire that I picked up before I knew any better and detected no difference in sound at all.

You got it. Wire is wire. Bananna plugs are a convenience, not an "upgrade". I use em since it makes it easy to switch speakers out.

I use www.monoprice.com for all my cable needs. Truly excellent products with unbeatable prices.

[jmcg]

Thanks everyone so far.

1. I've checked out monoprice....great stuff and pricing, but I'm stuck with amazon 'cause I blew the wad on these 3 speakers.....was originally going to do 82's and rc-62 and 5s 62's and a sub.....then started reading about rf7 ii's and rc-64....no I have 3 speakers instead of 6 and spent more than I planned on already...funny how that works. But thankfully it looks like the pricing from Amazon for CL2 12/2 165 strand oxy-free 99.99% pure copper wire 250 ft is only $120 after shipping....monoprice is about 1/2 the cost, but they only have 65 strand, and the PRO stuff from Amazon is 165 strand (they also have the lesser-strand for almost the same price as monoprice. I will use monoprice in the future, I'm sure. Think I'm going to get the 165 strand from Amazon & some plugs ($20 plugs for $50.....pricey, yes, but they were $300 originally so In my mind a good deal...plus I have the credit there so it's like free (my mind does not work in the normal way one is accustomed to, btw)

Is there anything else I should know about installing these? Should be pretty straight forward, I'm guessing. I'm going to bi-amp unless someone chimes in with a good reason not to (i have the extra 2 channels not in use from my denon 2310 so why not bi-amp, right?)

[Youthman]

Should be pretty straight forward, I'm guessing. I'm going to bi-amp unless someone chimes in with a good reason not to (i have the extra 2 channels not in use from my denon 2310 so why not bi-amp, right?)

I thought the same thing but with my setup, it made absolutely no difference in sound quality. Many will tell you that if you want to really benefit from bi-wiring or bi-amping, you will need to bypass the passive crossovers in your speakers and use an active crossover. From my understanding, it's pretty difficult and costly to setup.

The other thought here is that most receivers, although they say they are so many watts x 7, they really aren't. My receiver claims 140 x 7 but bench tests show around 140 x 2, 110 x 5 and a massive 55 x 7. So by adding your additional two channels, you are sending less power to the other speakers which isn't good. You have less headroom and more chance for clipping.

Third reason, save your money on wire and extra banana plugs.

[Youthman]

These are the banana plugs that I use. Link

[jmcg]

Youthman...

I've heard this about receivers and their power loss when using all 7 channels. I called Denon today and asked them about this. They say their avr's have dedicated channels, and that basically I'm wasting 2 channels @ 105 watts per, and that if my speakers are bi-ampable, he would do it. He said I'll still be sending all the wattage to the other channels. Perhaps he doesn't know what he's talking about, but if he does, then it would make sense to me to bi-amp.

Speakers coming on Tuesday....I will try single channel at first but I plan on bi-amping and comparing...will let you know what I find.

[Youthman]

They say their avr's have dedicated channels

I couldn't find any actual bench tests on your receiver. I'm not an audio engineer but I believe the only way to prevent loss of power when all 7 channels are driven is for each channel to have it's own power supply (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Most receivers share one power supply for all channels, thus the reason for the drop in wattage as you add additional speakers.

Perhaps he doesn't know what he's talking about, but if he does, then it would make sense to me to bi-amp.

Even if he is right and your receiver delivers with no drop in wattage, my guess you will hear little to no difference between bi-amping and non-biamping them. I say give it a shot, you have nothing to loose. Just an extra pair of speaker cables is needed to test it out. If you hear a difference, keep them that way. For me and my setup and my hearing (LOL), I didn't hear any difference. Your situation might prove different.

Good luck. Be sure to post some pics of your setup once you get them.

[SuBXeRo]

denon is usually pretty solid with power output which is nice. You certainly see more of the individual power supplies in higher end audio, but its all in the design in the end. Unless you are getting a dedicated amp, you are really going to deal with the power loss to some degree.

Really, all you need to worry about is getting something that is 12 or 14 gauge. I have the same banaolugs as youthman and they are alright. I just got emotiva wire and connection kits and the plugs in the connection kits blow away other baanana plugs i have seen. Emotiva has good cost effective wire too! I know u have ur amazon credit but you can always upgrade later when you get some cash.

Good choice on the speakers, i would have splurged like you did too, well worth the mone in the end.

Wire wise, most of them are just hype, really they are all copper, and the jackets are different. some wires have a live lead in them like power is always going to them which is supposed to be better but those are like $2000 cables and up which, im sorry, you just dont need period.

check out www.emotiva.com when you got extra funds, their stuff is cheaper than bluejeanscable and i swear by it, great price point too.