skonopa Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 What is your opinion on splicing speaker wire? While setting up my shiny new home theater, I had the unfortunate experience of running out of speaker wire (after all where the heck are you going to get decent quality speaker wire at 1 am? - I sure as hell ain't going to try the 24 hour Walmart here). I ended up splicing two shorter pieces together to get the one final piece I needed? I did take great care wrap each half (positive and negetive) in electricians tape and then wrap the whole thing together in more electricians tape. Granted, this is only temporary (I just wanted to get the thing setup so I can try it out!) as I am going to rewire all the surrounds when my second pair of SS-1 surrounds come in with better grade speaker wire (Currently using Recoton 16 gauge wire, but my fronts and center are using very expensive Monster Bi-Wire speaker cables - no need to upgrade the wiring there!). Anyway, to get to my point - is splicing speaker wire verboten - as in one of the 7 deadly sins of home audio, or is it possible to get away with one (maybe two) splices in the length of wire (or even the entire system)? I am aware that to much splicing is not good, however. It is also obvious I am not going to attempt to splice something like that Monster speaker cable I am using on the fronts and center (not at $40+ each). Please bear with me, I have never had anything anywhere near the caliber of what I got now in the past, so working with high-end audio is still pretty new to me. For what I am paying for this stuff, I just don't want to make any expensive mistakes. Thanks Steven K. Fredericksburg, VA ------------------ Steven Konopa Fredericksburg, VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Well, the folks into esoteric speaker cables will probably disagree with me, but IMHO a good, secure splice, soldered or crimped, is not going to cause you any problems. There are similar connections already in the amplifier, run from the amplifier to the speaker, and speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 "Wire Wrangles" are common to audio forums such as this one, Steve... but a valid place to start with wire is putting the first priority on quality system interconnects and a second priority of having at least 12 gauge better quality (but not necessarily oxygen free) copper wire... and upgrade from there as time and tide provides the knowledge and substance to do so. Many of the wire benefits appear subtle at best to most people... but then audiophiles and horn fanciers have never been considered "most people" for good cause. -HornED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 i've had to splice wire on more than one occasion. safety should be your first priority,electrical tape can come unglued under hot (attic) conditions. also don't splice at a stress point if there is tension on the wire, and it might contract under cold conditions, keep these things in mind. as far as a difference in sound,well, i think a well made splice is o.k. btw-i'm using 16 gua. to my rears(length close to 30ft.)twisted,jacketed 'commercial' wire. avman. ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center ksps-6 surrounds RSW-15 sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1 sony playstation 2 sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted April 14, 2002 Author Share Posted April 14, 2002 As for safety and such, this is only a temporary thing. I did go out earlier today and picked up a spool of Monster XP 14 gauge wire. When I pick up my second set of surrounds (tommorrow, after work), I am going to pull up all that 16 gauge speaker wire and replace it all with the new wire. However, your point is well taken. Just from general chatting around with folks at Tweeters, the general consensous is that splicing seems to be a big no-no. I figured it would be best to avoid splicing if at all possible, but if a splice must be made, a good, solid, well-soldered one should not hurt to much. Thanks ------------------ Steven Konopa Fredericksburg, VA Another proud member of the "Klipsch Klub". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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