RonW. Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Do to my room configeration one cable length would be 30'(+-) and the other would be 12'(+-). Here are my questions: What gauge? Should I make them both the same length? Will the coiled excess length cause any problems? I'm waiting of my Carver M500t MK II repairs (re-cap and re-fresh), what are the best bananna plugs for the 5 way binding post and at the Cornwall II's connnection cup? The Carver M500t MK II pwer will be upgraded from 251 watts per channel @ 0.15% THD (8 ohms) to 395 watts per channel @ 0.15% THD (8 ohms) [8-|] [] [8-|] Thanks in advance.... RonW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I have a similar situation. My cables are abotu 12' and 40'. Cut them to size, don't make them the same length. I use this stuff: http://www.performanceaudio.com/item/Mogami-W3103/5639/ 11 awg which is much more than you need, but it does not coil up and it lays on the floor very nicely and follows your baseboards. I buy bananna plugs off of ebay, Here is what I have used for years (and they still look new): http://www.nakamichiplug.com/product-0534E12.html I bought from ebay so don't know about the seller. Throw away the "nakamichi" outer part and use hear shrink to make a pretty wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 With 16AWG, the 30' run will have .12 ohms of resistance. With 11AWG, it drops to .038 ohms. Is it audible, or a difference worth worrying about? Time for a Double Blind Test!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 With 16AWG, the 30' run will have .12 ohms of resistance. With 11AWG, it drops to .038 ohms. Is it audible, or a difference worth worrying about? Time for a Double Blind Test!! Blind test will not work for the cable that I recommended because I recommend it for its looks. I like it because it rolls out nicely and does not coil up. Follows the baseboard very nicely and the thickness looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Yes just cut your wire to the length you need for each speaker, don't worry about matching lengths. I agree Mogami wire is the very best however I prefer to use Mogami W2921 which is quad cable (4 wires at about 13 gauge each) and I bi-wire them. I love both how they look and sound. Here is the Mogami W2921 cable Then I cover them with tech flex and use cable pants and heat shrink tubing to make them look nice and my favorite banana's are GLS locking banana's from Orange County Speaker http://www.speakerrepair.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=locking Speaker end Amp end Cable and banana's to be installed Installed cable at amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 GLS makes very nice ends and they are reasonably priced. I have never tried their bannana plugs, but I use their RCA's exclusively. Cables that I made about 8 years ago still look like new, no chipping, pitting, turning color or anything like that. Love their products. I use Mogami mic cable for the RCAs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I use Mogami mic cable for the RCAs. Same here, my processor and amps are connected with Mogami W2932 which is 8 channel snake cable (only 7 channels are being used for my 7.1 system) with Neutrik XLR connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftwinger57 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I'm not going to get into the wire quality debate but what I will say is you should cut to the lenght you need and bit extra for placement/cleaning. As for the bananas I used sets from Lowes they are the double set screw type and when tightened down w/ the right screw driver they will never pull out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo171 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I've been looking for new speaker cables myself. I think I might go with Audioquest this time. The speaker cable I am thinking of buying is called Everest. Looks like very nice cables. [8-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 rich guy, beautiful job on those cables. definitely oem quality finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 back when I bought my kg 1's, c. 1991, Klipsch recommended "Special" Wire, but a minimum of 16 gauge; do they still recommend "Special" wire in new owner's manuals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 never mind, here's from modern owner's manual: Use 16-gauge (AWG), two conductor, copper wire at a minimum and larger gauge wire for longer runs. The connection terminals on your loudspeaker will accommo date bare wire, spade terminals or banana type plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 There is some good links there, thanks guys. Thanks for this thread, I just like making my own speaker wires, and telling people I paid thousands for them you should see the look on their face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I have a similar situation. My cables are abotu 12' and 40'. Cut them to size, don't make them the same length. I use this stuff: http://www.performanceaudio.com/item/Mogami-W3103/5639/ 11 awg which is much more than you need, but it does not coil up and it lays on the floor very nicely and follows your baseboards. I buy bananna plugs off of ebay, Here is what I have used for years (and they still look new): http://www.nakamichiplug.com/product-0534E12.html I bought from ebay so don't know about the seller. Throw away the "nakamichi" outer part and use hear shrink to make a pretty wire. do you order from that Nakamichi link? if so, how long does it take to receive your order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I'll be the odd man out. Cut your cables to the same length to preserve the same phase length. Do not coil the extra length just let it pile up in a random fashion. Someone will show up and tell me phase length is a non-issue but I'm too old to change at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 It makes a difference for RF, not for audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I'm usually the guy who says the length differences will not affect quality. But in this case it seems greater than usual. I say make the cable lenghts equal. That way you can use them if your situation changes. And in the present case you'll sleep better, and Russ will sleep better. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Speaker cables would need to have hundreds of feet difference in length to make an audible difference because of length differences. Make the cables the length you need, not only does it look much nicer but having excess cable lying around is one way to pick up hiss, humm and other unwanted noise into your system. Good cable management by not having excess cable and keeping cables separated by speaker cables, interconnects and power cables will help quiet and blacken the systems noise floor which helps to improve the overall sound quality of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I have a similar situation. My cables are abotu 12' and 40'. Cut them to size, don't make them the same length. I use this stuff: http://www.performanceaudio.com/item/Mogami-W3103/5639/ 11 awg which is much more than you need, but it does not coil up and it lays on the floor very nicely and follows your baseboards. I buy bananna plugs off of ebay, Here is what I have used for years (and they still look new): http://www.nakamichiplug.com/product-0534E12.html I bought from ebay so don't know about the seller. Throw away the "nakamichi" outer part and use hear shrink to make a pretty wire. instead of throwing away the part that says "Nakamichi", which I like, goes with my tape deck, you can simply use Acetone to remove the wording and keep those parts without using "hear shrink" to Jerry rig a pretty wire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-length-differences-do-they-matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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