Thors1982 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I have a few questions about speaker wire and I have always gotten nothing but amazing help at Klipsch forums so i thought I would ask here. I currently am using Monster XP by Monster Cable for my Reference 7 setup. (5.1) Can't find an actual gauge online but I think most people assume its 16 I just recently bought a used pair of RB-75s and am upgrading to 7.1 and either need to replace all my speaker wire or need to run new speaker wire for just the new back surrounds. I believe my longest run will be right around 50 feet (this is just an estimate). Do you think monoprice's 12 gauge speaker wire (2-Conductor) is good quality? Is it better than what I had? Is there anything else I should look into? I am currently thinking: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=3844&seq=1&format=2 I don't want to break the bank but I also don't want to cheap out and sacrifice quality. Also I have 14 pairs of banana plugs: http://www.amazon.com/QuickLock-MKII-Connectors-Crimping-Terminations/dp/B000WXAX6G Do you think those will work fine with 12 gauge speaker wire? Thanks a lot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 if we forget about all the wires out there that is intentionally made to sound different from standard lamp cord, we are left with the question as to what gauge wire is needed for a given run, depending on the max power we plan to put thru the wire. this chart will help with the later question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I've been using monoprice's 12 gauge wire for a long time. Works perfectly good for me. Also, banana plugs are useful if you move your speakers around a lot or change them out frequentiy. Bare wire is the best connection to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 most brands are just fancy looking. Monster cable is one of them, if you like their aesthetics then get it. Other than that, unless you are an uber audiophile, standard cable works like from monoprice. Jacket size can be a determining factor as well. Some brands have junky jackets, most are fine though! I prefer a little bit of a thicker jacket but that is just personal pref. Make sure your speaker wire is CL2 rated for inwall install. I am a huge fan of banana plugs, best thing since sliced bread....if you buy some decent ones. I had some cheapy monoprice ones and they were meh. I bought the emotiva connection sets and they plugs are very high quality. In the end, you can debate connection pros/cons. One thing for sure is that bare wire clamped down is the most secure way to go and makes a solid connection. When you use plugs, you are connecting it to the plug and the plug to the speaker, thats an extra connection you are making leaving room for error. Basically, if you buy good bana plugs you shouldnt have any issues. I do speaker swaps alot so for me a good set of plugs was a necessity. I put my emo connectors on and havent looked back! Thicker is always better for wire, you dont have to be absurd with the larger gauge sizes. For all intensive purposes, 12ga is the largest you will ever need. For longer in wall runs, you might want to get something that is thicker. As electric flows through wire it encounters friction. The friction creates heat. If you force enough power through a cable that is too small you can actually burn through the jacket exposing bare wire. Bare wire + insulation and wood = house fire = bad! I dont want to scare you but it can happen! Given the chart speakerfritz o so nicely placed here for us, a 50' run would require an absurd sized gauge wire for around what the speakers would use. I dont have any answer for you on what you should sdo based on the chart. All i can say is that if you are pushing 100 watts consistantly, your home theater is going to be pretty damned loud, i mean, very very loud. With that said, you speakers are dynamic and most likely wont be drawing a consistent load since well, music has beats and ups and downs in aplitude so the power draw is extremely inconsistent. With that said, i would still get some thicker wire. Worst case scenario...you buy bigger wire, you dont have wire issues and your house stays together. Someone who is better with home installs should chime in, my experience is non-existant when it comes to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 11, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 11, 2011 I've been using monoprice's 12 gauge wire for a long time. Works perfectly good for me. Also, banana plugs are useful if you move your speakers around a lot or change them out frequentiy. Bare wire is the best connection to use. Yep same wire #14 myself, half the price I could find locally also it's specially made to sound like lamp cord. [Y][] Good wire and cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 14 awg monoprice cl rated. It has the pos and neg wrapped in a white outer jacket. I run mine under the baseboard and it works well. I also have banana plugs from monoprice and love them. If I had to have my wire showing I would probably order some from nezff. I also ordered right angle power cables for my 500 watt subwoofers from monoprice. 14 awg as well. Elemental designs shipped 18 awg cables so 14 may not be nessasary but certainly won't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 if we forget about all the wires out there that is intentionally made to sound different from standard lamp cord, we are left with the question as to what gauge wire is needed for a given run, depending on the max power we plan to put thru the wire. this chart will help with the later question. Is that chart right? I have La Scala speakers with something like 100' of 14ga coming from a receiver with 110WPC. According to the chart you are providing, 120W going only 50' would require an enormous 4ga wire! The copper alone would cost a fortune. Where did you get that chart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 12, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 12, 2011 Is that chart right? I have La Scala speakers with something like 100' of 14ga coming from a receiver with 110WPC. According to the chart you are providing, 120W going only 50' would require an enormous 4ga wire! The copper alone would cost a fortune. Where did you get that chart? Your confusing amps with WPC, not even close, with 120 amps your speakers would burst into flames. [li] Your whole house probably only has 200 amps going into it, and you never use all of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I have regular old 10 gauge wire running to my surrounds and center on bananna plugs. I also have some pretty expensive solid core Audioquest running to my mains and I dont think there is any way in the world someone could hear the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 if we forget about all the wires out there that is intentionally made to sound different from standard lamp cord, we are left with the question as to what gauge wire is needed for a given run, depending on the max power we plan to put thru the wire. this chart will help with the later question. [bs] 10 Amps = 120 Watts, this chart is based on a 12 volt system! Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 ok thank god i am not going crazy! I was looking at it again and i did the same calculation before when i wrote my post. I have a 1000 watt rockford fosgate amp and when i was wiring i calculated how many amps it would draw and it was around 90...at12 volts. I dont know why i didnt pick up on it. When you have higher voltages the current draw is less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Is that chart right? I have La Scala speakers with something like 100' of 14ga coming from a receiver with 110WPC. According to the chart you are providing, 120W going only 50' would require an enormous 4ga wire! The copper alone would cost a fortune. Where did you get that chart? Your confusing amps with WPC, not even close, with 120 amps your speakers would burst into flames. Your whole house probably only has 200 amps going into it, and you never use all of that. dtel, you are on the right track, but most homes are 200 amps, and two legs at 120 volts AC. That's actually 400 amps. [:S] I am not confused, the chart SF attached is confusing, though. The chart looks like it would work for jumper cables, but how does that correspond to speakers? Isn't cable size determined by amps? I don't know where the heck I am supposed to find out how many amps my speakers are using. I do know how many watts, but without knowing the volts or amps, how do I know where to look on that chart? Speakers are AC voltage, I do know that. I know my La Scala's are rated at 100 watts rms. I can't seem to find the volts of amps of them, though. Tell me what my amps or volts are at the speakers, then I can use the chart; however, I wager most people's speakers would not require a 4 guage speakers wire for a 50' run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 OK. I just now hooked the multimeter to the speakers outs on the receiver, and I got a spike at about 25 volts AC. That being said, at lets say 100 watts, the receiver is capable of 110 WPC, we are talking about 4 amps. SF's chart starts at 10 amps. SF, you have a smaller chart in your bag of goodies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hey, found this site which helps discern speaker wire size: http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf VERY revealing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 13, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 13, 2011 dtel, you are on the right track, but most homes are 200 amps, and two legs at 120 volts AC. That's actually 400 amps Not really, if you look at the top it has a 200 amp main breaker, it all shuts down at 200 amps. The two "legs" are each just a different phase, a 220 breaker takes one from each side and single circuits use either side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 dtel, you are on the right track, but most homes are 200 amps, and two legs at 120 volts AC. That's actually 400 amps Not really, if you look at the top it has a 200 amp main breaker, it all shuts down at 200 amps. The two "legs" are each just a different phase, a 220 breaker takes one from each side and single circuits use either side. I'll state it differently. You have access in your home to 400 amps of 120 volt alternating current. If you have 240 volt electrical appliances, they reduce the available current by double what the 120 volt does. [] We both know this, I was only pointing out that I wasn't confused as you stated. Sorry if it sounded as though I was scolding. [^o)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I used that chart to buy these awesome new speaker cables!I love the new clip on banana connectors. [*-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 13, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 13, 2011 That's awesome Rich. How much are they? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 That's awesome Rich. How much are they? They are in that "if you have to ask, you can't afford them" price range. But they really helped to give my system a jump start! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted May 13, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 13, 2011 Too Rich for my blood. I bet your system really "cranks" with those cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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