Help me...I am not that bright

[Mikehenryjr]

So I am not the most tech savvy when it comes to home audio and I need so help picking a receiver.

 

I am am looking to setup a home theater in a spare room and this is what I was thinking.

 

-Sony A9G 65”
-Sony UBP-X1100ES
-Klipsch R-820f
-Klipsch R-51M pair
-Klipsch R-35
-Klipsch R-41SA pair
-Klipsch R-120SW

 

I was thinking of getting the Yamaha RX-A880. Would this be sufficient and a good choice to go with the items above? I am getting it for $750. 

 

Oh and what speaker wire would you recommend? The longest run would be 25 feet. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

 

 

 

[glens]

No smaller than 14 AWG and no larger than 12.  Stranded copper.

[Alexander]

1 hour ago, glens said:

No smaller than 14 AWG and no larger than 12.  Stranded copper.

And only pure copper wire, no CCA (copper clad aluminum)

[billybob]

Welcome to the forum!

[BigStewMan]

Welcome and by your own admission of not being that bright, that makes you smarter than most here. oh wait, you were referring to audio stuff ... a lot of good knowledge about that here. 

[Dave1290]

Welcome to the Forum Mike.  Gonna be one heck of a bedroom w/a 65" in it.  How large is the room cause you're gonna be rockin! 

[twistedcrankcammer]

2 hours ago, Alexander said:

And only pure copper wire, no CCA (copper clad aluminum)

 

 

 

You do realize that electrons flow on the surface of a conducter and not through it right ?? 

 

I have Silver plated 10 Gauge Copper, is that OK ??

 

LOL !!

[glens]

I forget the formula, but at DC the whole conductor gets used and at 60 Hz I believe it's down to ~1/2" skin depth.  I oughta look it up to be sure but believe that at 20 kHz your plated wire is still moving a good many copper electrons. 

[twistedcrankcammer]

1 hour ago, glens said:

I forget the formula, but at DC the whole conductor gets used and at 60 Hz I believe it's down to ~1/2" skin depth.  I oughta look it up to be sure but believe that at 20 kHz your plated wire is still moving a good many copper electrons. 

 

 

Would NOT affect Audibly... 

[ricktate]

https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Speaker-Wire-14-Gauge-Oxygen-Free/dp/B0758CSSF2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=KT06W6HZPD08&dchild=1&keywords=speaker+wire&qid=1587290762&sprefix=speaker%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-7

[ricktate]

https://smile.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Locking-Generation-Connector/dp/B000O8AHLA/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=GLS+banana+plugs+for+speaker+wire&qid=1587290870&sr=8-10      Locks into the plug also.

[ricktate]

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/onktxsr494a/onkyo-tx-sr494-7.2-ch-x-80-watts-bluetooth-a/v-receiver-new/1.html

[Peter P.]

9 hours ago, Alexander said:

And only pure copper wire, no CCA (copper clad aluminum)

Unfortunately, your big box hardware stores only sell this kind. Well, usually it's one conductor of the two.

 

You can use 18 or 16 gauge lampcord which is always all-copper, and fine for runs up to 100ft.

 

Or go to Parts Express as they sell inexpensive all-copper conductor speaker wire. Standard speaker wire has a more supple jacket than lampcord. If you're running the wire in walls, use wire specifically for the application as it has to meet electrical/fire codes.

[glens]

https://www.pasternack.com/t-calculator-skin-depth.aspx shows 461um for copper at 0.02 MHz, 448 for silver.   That's 1.16 and 1.13 /64"

 

19 AWG (0.036") copper will be "fully" used by a 20 kHz signal, and only the equivalent of that out of larger gauges.  Slightly less depth, evidently, for silver.

[Alexander]

Enjoy gents

[JohnA]

Hi Mike! 

 

I use twisted and braided CAT5E speaker cable, about 11 ga equivalent.  So, Klipsch set up a double blind test of speaker wire at one of the early Pilgrimages in Indy, comparing braided CAT5 to some nasty little test lead wire.  The CAT5 was flat, -3 dB at something like 300 kHz and 2 Hz (?).  I chose CAT5 about 40% of the time.  Guessing should have scored 50%.  I have wire that tests Uber perfect (low resistance, capacitance and inductance from the braiding and insulation), but I can't hear the difference on my La Scalas.  I did hear an improvement in the KLF-C7 I used back then.  Buy fairly thick wire, a little oversized because it's cheap to do, with excellent connectors (gold plated if you can) and call it good.  For 25' I wouldn't use less than 12 ga.  That is what I use in my DJ/Band rig. 

 

As to the receiver, buy a name you know, but insist on one with manual calibration.  A buddy cheaped out on a Sony.  There is only one way to set levels; plug in the mic it has and push a button.  If you don't like it, or want more subwoofer, tough.  If it has Audessey, fine, as long as you can set the speaker levels and adjust tone manually with a sound meter.  Then, go to Parts Express and buy one.  A rating of 100 watts/channel should be your minimum, because a receiver will no longer send rated power to all channels at once.  (Bad.) 

 

TV and Blu-ray are good units, you need a good receiver to match. 

[MechEngVic]

On 4/18/2020 at 8:50 PM, twistedcrankcammer said:

 

 

 

You do realize that electrons flow on the surface of a conducter and not through it right ?? 

 

I have Silver plated 10 Gauge Copper, is that OK ??

 

LOL !!

Yeah, but it's way more complicated than that, but nothing that a dip in shark oil won't fix! (Shark, not snake) 🤪

[Marvel]

While Wikipedia can be rather sketchy, this covers a lot of ground:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

[Alexander]

1 hour ago, Marvel said:

While Wikipedia can be rather sketchy, this covers a lot of ground:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire

 

From Wikipedia - Here is a small portion of the link given above

 

Wire material

Use of copper or copper-clad aluminum (CCA) is more or less universal for speaker wire. Copper has low resistance compared to most other suitable materials.

 

CCA is cheaper and lighter, at the expense of somewhat higher resistance (about the same as copper two AWG numbers up). Copper and aluminum both oxidize, but oxides of copper are conductive, while those of aluminum are insulating.

 

Also offered is Oxygen-free Copper (OFC), sold in several grades. The various grades are marketed as having better conductivity and durability, but they have no significant benefit in audio applications.[4] Commonly available C11000 Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch (ETP) copper wire is identical to higher-cost C10200 Oxygen-Free (OF) copper wire in speaker cable applications. Much more expensive C10100, a highly refined copper with silver impurities removed and oxygen reduced to 0.0005 percent, has only a one percent increase in conductivity rating, insignificant in audio applications.[

 

As for OFC, I personally do not go that far. Years ago when it was the “new thing” I found no difference over regular copper wire, maybe my gear and/or ears were not good enough to tell. We won't go down the rabbit hole with the skin effect.