InventiveAudio.com Posted May 13, 2002 Share Posted May 13, 2002 Hi, I'm buying speaker wire for a few long runs to hookup two sets of Heresy speakers. I'm wondering if 10ga wire is overkill? WOuld I be better off with a thinner wire? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted May 13, 2002 Share Posted May 13, 2002 The relative merits of speaker wire is a big can of worms here. How long are you talking about? I think you should take a close look at how heavy a gauge you can work with at the speaker end, and the amp end. 10 gauge may be unworkable and not worth the trouble overall. You might find you can work with 16 gauge zip cord and that is going to be just dandy for up to 100 feet or more. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decibel man Posted May 13, 2002 Share Posted May 13, 2002 And the worms have been let out of the can.... My theory is this: Bad speaker wire is bad Good speaker wire is good Great speaker wire is good Super Great speaker wire is good etc.. Do you need 10ga? Probably not, but it won't hurt if you already have it. I would classify a decent zip cord as good wire. I use 14ga and 12ga for my longer runs and 10 for my mains. Does it sound better than zip cord? I can't tell. I got an incredible deal on a bunch of wire when Sun Television and Appliance went out of business. I spent hundreds on wire and cables. It was at least 60% off of regular retail price; therefore, I have some damn fine cables and wiring. Good luck, JT ------------------ Enjoy and Happy Listening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 14, 2002 Share Posted May 14, 2002 I used two 55' runs of 15AWG IXOS Flat Wire for my rears. It has adhesive back & paintable. Strength plus flexibility. Take a look if you're interested. http://www.accessories4less.com/advscripts/detailpg.asp?sModnum=IXOS-607&sPrice=0.99 Wes ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> This message has been edited by ShapeShifter on 05-14-2002 at 05:48 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted May 15, 2002 Share Posted May 15, 2002 All other considerations aside, the gauge of the wire becomes significant on long runs. Generally the rule of thumb is to allow the wire to cause not more than a .5 dB loss in signal level. With 8 ohm speakers, that will occur at 38' with 18g wire, 60' with 16g, 96' with 14g, 150' with 12g and 240' with 10g. For 4 ohm speakers cut those distances in half. Double the distances for 16 ohm speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 15, 2002 Share Posted May 15, 2002 I used that same scheme to determine that 15AWG over a 55' run should keep me within the desired limits, by the hair of chinny, chin, chin. ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 I haven't done too much experimenting with special wires meant to " change the sound " but in my 6 years as being a part time dj I have found that in general, the bigger the better. In the book entitled " Sound Check - Basics of sound and sound systems " by author Tony Moscal, there is a chart to find out the resistance of common wire sizes and also you can find out how many watts are being " wasted in the wire if it is not of adequate size. Fyi, this book is available from parts express as p/n # 500-336 for the grand total of $ 11.95 us and also has explanations for the layman on horn loading, the different types of horns and their uses. Very informative ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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