ATLDiver Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 Ok, not to start a flame war here between the two speaker wire camps I have a few questions about bi-wiring and with what type. First of all let me state I have a VERY modest audio system, as stated above I have a set of RP3's mated to a Harman/Kardon 510 AVR receiver. I've noticed since install my H/T stuff last year that periodically I would receive some feedback in my speakers, basically what sounded like a crackle of static. I wasn't too concerned but slowly I've been upgrading to better quality cables and doing away with the cables supplied by various equipment manufactures, in hopes to eliminate that issue. Recently I've decided to move my components around in my room and properly hide my rear surround RS-3's wires from view using wire channels. For this task I bought a bunch of bulk 12ga wire at Lowe's but noticed one side of the run doesn't appear to be pure copper, at the time I thought it might be nickel. Before I wired my rear's up I decided to make a bi-wire set for my RP-3's, when I connected them up I noticed two things. One, my subs would not detect signal and *turn-on* automatically. Second, it sounds like I've lost some of my high-end signal from some of my favorite music/movies I tried out after the switch. This could be my imagination but I don't think so, I now believe that cable had a high content of Aluminum. Ok, to my main questions now. One, Hopefully I didn't damage my speakers by using this Aluminum cable or by bi-wiring the set; thoughts? Two, has anyone tried DIY speaker cable based on CAT5e? If so, how does this sound? I have a ton of this stuff laying around so the cost to experiment is negligible. My final question is where can I buy say 100ft spool of the AR 12ga wire? I had bought some a couple years ago at Lowe's but it seems they've stopped carrying it, I'm not into Monster due to the rip-off they get away with. I know many of you would suggest buying some specialized *boutique* cables but frankly I can't justify the price per performance, for myself at least. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions in advance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 Forget about bi-wiring the RP's. Use a multi-strand copper wire, such as Monster, with your set up. No need to brighten it up any more. Check out www.partsexpress.com for their 12ga which is just as good as Monster and cheaper. Also, check out www.accessories4less.com . Good luck! Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raneman Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 ATLDiver, Quite a while back when I was trying to learn about bi-wiring/speaker wiring options, I ran across a couple of sites where guys talked about using Cat5 cable for speaker wiring, in detail--and they swore by it. I haven't seen this discussed much on this forum, but I haven't been here that long. I can't remember the exact sites, but suffice it to say that this has definitely been tried and the info is out there. I think you have the right idea--might as well experiment if you have the materials and time, and see if you like it. This link might help get you started with your experimenting: http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html Otherwise, do some basic internet searches on cat5/speaker/etc., and I'll bet you find a lot of info. As far as the bi-wiring, you might/might not like it with your speakers--I don't want to get into that debate. However, if your runs to your speakers are short (say under 12 feet), you might consider trying a fairly cheap bi-wire option. Monster makes a 4 x 14ga bulk cable (2 pair of 14ga in one casing). You can terminate the ends yourself if you want, or just twist together the bare ends. I used Monster twist-crip banana plugs for convenience. Easy and tidy option for bi-wiring, and you should be able to buy this wire at a local hi-fi/custom install shop for around $.90 a foot. This has worked quite well for me for bi-wiring my KLF-20s. Perhaps I'll upgrade in the future, but sounds great, TO ME, for now. I know you're not big on Monster (neither am I for the same reason), but this might be an affordable option for you to try. Hope this helps. I say experiment away and see what works best for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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