Tony Boone Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 I've read that having a solid cable from amp to speaker may be better and provide better sound than one braided like standard speaker wire. I was in Walmart and notice some telephone cable that had 6 seperate shielded wires inside a single wrapped casing. Each of these 6 seperate wires was a solid strand of what felt like very stiff copper or some like composition. What do you guys think this wire would sound like if I took and used 3 of those 6 wires for the positive and the other 3 for the negative leads from amp to speaker. If solid wire is better than braided generally wouldn't these 3 each provide good conduction and at the same time good throughput as together I'd estimate they'd average out to about 13-14 guage. And it's inexpensive by the 100 foot roll on top of everything else. About $12 I think. Has anyone or is anyone here using this type of wire for speaker\amp connections? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 refer to your first thread in teck questions, and you would not end up with 13-14 guage wire, i dont have the formula in front of me, but you need each conductors cross sectional area and than it would be plugged into a simple equasion, i will see if i can dig up the formula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foldedhorn Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 see what cable Best Buy sells. Then, HEY, buy some of those "great" new speakers they sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Most telephone wire is 22 gauge. 3 strands of 22 gauge solid wire is a about 17 gauge. Solid wire is not any better than stranded wire. Just buy some good quality 14 or 16 gauge stranded speaker wire at walmarts or other place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhornKerry Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Higher frequencies tend to travel on the outside of the wire this is called the skin effect. So actually a finely braided large wire 12 or 14 gauge is best because it has more surface area. On short runs maybe less than 15 feet it really doesnt matter much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Leeroy Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I have used CAT-5 computer wire to run my side wurrounds and rear center and it seems to work just fine for me. Just another "coat hanger" testimony, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Copy and paste into your browser address bar. http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=29914&forumID=68&catID=19&search=1&searchstring=&sessionID={9F964549-7A83-4807-B6A9-93E49D6F8A0C} http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=29704&forumID=68&catID=19&search=1&searchstring=&sessionID={9F964549-7A83-4807-B6A9-93E49D6F8A0C} A Kelly Classic Moment: "I can't believe I still even read these zip cord comments... It's as if those possessed are proud to be using the same wiring located in their 1972 imitation Toll Lamp. What gives? Can one be this stubborn to think that all these "foolhardy" audioboons aren't hearing anything but their own pitter-patter imaginations run amok like a slinky down a doublewide crawlspace companionway? PWK, our leader, said it's so and by God if it's good enough for PWK, than it's good enough for me!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 "I can't believe I still even read these zip cord comments... It's as if those possessed are proud to be using the same wiring located in their 1972 imitation Toll Lamp. What gives? Can one be this stubborn to think that all these "foolhardy" audioboons aren't hearing anything but their own pitter-patter imaginations run amok like a slinky down a doublewide crawlspace companionway? PWK, our leader, said it's so and by God if it's good enough for PWK, than it's good enough for me!" Yup the AC signal and how it travels has not changed in the last 100 years nothing new here !! Once again I feel compelled to state a fact. Yes speaker wire can change the sound of your system just like placing a resistor or capacitor in the signal path of the wire !! Its called coloring or tayloring the sound to your own likes. It is all subjective !! There is no perfect speaker cable and from my standpoint tuning your system with wire is absolutley insane ! You want wire that passes the signal your amplifier puts out without excessive change when it reaches your speakers basic stranded 12 - 14 - 16 gage copper wire does a fantastic job at this anything else just adds expense and 99% of the time colors the music after it leaves your amp. If your amp sounds horrible then either you need a new amp/preamp/source or your amp/preamp/source is not working up to its potential. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flux Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I thought coloring and tailoring the sound to my own likes is what this thing is all about? Why is using different cap and resistor types to change the sound up O.K., but using different wire types not? Isn't it about finding the best electrical match between components? Or maybe more simply, just the match that pleases the ears the most. Like you said, it's subjective. Everyone must walk alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 But wouldn't one get lonely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I have had clear jacketed wire in the past where you could see the copper turn green. Bad jacket material which had poor periability resistance. The corrosion is nasty. Better cable has better insulation to help prevnet oxidation of the copper over time. Cutting off the last inch or two and restripping every year or 2 cannot hurt. I have AQ type 2 for 2 channel Type 6 for mains in the HT. Not the best. More than adequate to assure cable is not "the weakest link". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Flux, The way people change thru gear in this hobby it would be extremely wasteful from my standpoint to spend the kind of money on cables that these companies charge (which has really inflated markups like 1000%) to end up finding its harsh or flat with your new piece of gear ! To me neutral is the smart way to go. Have you ever seen anyone recoup 100% of the investment in a cable ? It happens often with gear ! Hence my suggestion is get the gear right and just buy descent quality cable's no smoke and mirrors. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Craig is dead on right again. I think meeting him and reading his posts I am beginning to really rely on his knowledge and trust in his judgement as time goes on. Why not use what has been proven really good with our gear? Save your money!! We, who did the listening test at Klipsch at the summer 2003 gathering will tell you, the 3000 dollar werses the 18 guage cable was very very hard to get right 90% or better. In fact and I am not 100% sure, but I think I had the best score of the day with 67% at the Klipsch test on cable. Save your money, go to the commercial wire section at any Home Depot, Lowes store. Buy some 12 guage cable from Woods Wire located in Carmel, Indiana. (They make every one elses "brand." Lets just say they OEM for a lot of "esoteric" read high $$$ names...LOL..) It will be as good or even perhaps even better than probably what 99% of us need. Especially with very efficient Klipsch gear. My 2 cents... Even though this has been beaten to death on this board. (Say your gonna spend 300 or more on speaker wire.) Save your money, take the wife out on an incredible dinner, some wine, buy some good cd's, dvd's, for you with the difference.... Trust me, you will enjoy the results more...and so will you with your wife too.. LOL> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 No, this is NOT about "tailoring the sound" to make it "sound the way you want". Its about accuracy of reproduction. High Fidelity. Get it? Has everyone forgotten was FIDELITY is? Once you cross the line to "I want it to sound the way I like it to sound", you are no longer in the Fidelity camp. Hell, you can make a car radio "sound better" than a Klipschorn (and certainly there are those who actually hold that opinion). Is it accurate sound reproduction? HIGH FIDELITY? Absolutely not. The only reference you have for High Fideltiy is the original sound. Thats the reference I use. Just so happens that was PWK's reference too. Anything else & you're in the "I'm right, because I said so & that's the way I like it" camp. As if an opinion carry's any weight as fact. And as far as Kelly goes, he's a dipass who never did his homework. So he doesn't know any better. And therefore feels compelled to put forth his unqualified opinions as if they were facts. Yes Kelly, its true. All these "foolhardy" audioboons aren't hearing anything but their own pitter-patter imaginations run amok like a slinky down a doublewide crawlspace companionway. And you are one of them. Interesting how he twists that statement into something that implies the objective part of the world is somehow distorted while subjective opinions reign as fact. As far as I can tell, this is his only real talent. Hopefully he's in marketing or sales. But hey, what do you want from an jacka$$ who thinks the cycles of the moon affect the "pace & rhthym" of his Linn turntable. Turntables are not supposed to have any "pace & rhthym". Especially a Linn. If you can hear that, something's wrong (clue). And the fact is, the primary difference in speaker wire is its ohmic resistance. You can move your seat foward or backward a few inches and effect a greater change in the sound than any speaker wire can. Get over it folks. If you really want to hear what's coming from your components, tune your room first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Indy....actually I think 67% was the highest ANYONE had ever scored. That same person took the test a second time & came in well under 50%. Most listeners were in the 47-53% range. 95% correct was required to make the test scientifically valid. No one has ever come close to that figure. And no one has been able to identify either cable(s) consistently. Klipsch is keeping/accumulating data on the test results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhornKerry Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Indyklipschfan and Artto Question on the Indy trip A/B wire test at Klipsch, what gauge was the $3000.00 dollar wire and what length was it? Was the 18 gauge wire the same length? For years I used 14 gauge lamp cord about 10 to 15 feet to run my Cornwalls, when I got the Khorns I went to Lowes and bought a 250 foot roll of 12 gauge speaker wire for about $60.00. The longest run in my system is 55 feet to the rear speakers. In my opinion this wire works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowooo Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Klipsch sure did promote there NEW MONSTER wire in there new line of speakers. Hell, if all these tests came back so utterly inconclusive and negative then Klipsch is just playing us all for fools huh? This is all about Tailoring the sound of your system to your liking. Why wouldn't it be. From the type of power amps we use to the sources we play our music on, it's all tailoring. Is it (fidelity)? WHO cares as long as the individual enjoys the way HIS system presents the music he listens to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Let me see if I got this right now, Mark. You're saying that if I like the sound of my tube amp crammed full of Telefunkens and piped thru $6.00 a foot speaker wire, then that's OK ? Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 mdeneen makes a good point, and without being totally aware of it, that's how I listen to my audio system. But knowing full well that I wasn't seated center row inside the Boston Symphony Hall to listen to Michael Murray record Lemmens' "Fanfare" on the 1949 Aeolain-Skinner pipe organ (1981, Telarc LP: DG-10069), it also didn't detract me from any enjoyment I received when I listened to this digitally recorded LP on my system. I'm fortunant enough to have the "sonic coffee can" in my home...I've used DAT recordings my dad and I made (using only a Panasonic DAT recorder, dbx mic preamp, and two Shure microphones, through Sony MDR-7506 headphones) of our residence pipe organ my dad built for our home as a guide. I know how our instrument sounds played live in the music room, and then to be able to critically listen to a recording of the same instrument through my 2-channel system...Well, the sonic event reproduced through my audio system is fairly close, but naturally not nearly as perfect as the live performance. Someday, when I can relocate my system into the very same room as the organ and then play the recordings back, I suppose then that I could have an actual A/B comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 ---------------- On 7/2/2003 10:29:19 AM artto wrote: But hey, what do you want from an jacka$$ who thinks the cycles of the moon affect the "pace & rhthym" of his Linn turntable. ---------------- They do if you have your turntable set up on the beach, and high tide rolls in. fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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