dbb Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Hey, gang... I had a room prewired for HT when the house was built. The installer used RG58 coax for the sub run, which he terminated in the right rear corner of the room. I've already replaced his 16awg speaker wire with Monster in-wall CL3 14awg stuff. I think the braided shield on the sub coax would be adequate, but am concerned that the core wire is too small a guage. Am I good, or should I replace the coax, too? All my speaker runs are < 20 feet, into an Onkyo NR900 receiver. The sub is a RSW-10, and the rest are reference products (RB3/RS3/RC3). It's a small 14 x 14 space, so I'm not going to drive this stuff hard, but I want it to be clean. On another note, I was a bit confused when I took the sub out of the box and saw both right and left inputs. From what I read in the forum, I can use either channel, or connect to both with a "Y" adapter. Any preferences? Thanks to all who reply! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 RG58 is just fine for a line level connection to your subwoofer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 I can reply on the sub input, from what I have noticed. Many times there is a selector switch for a mono input, which you could do and run your wire into which ever channel is specified for mono. Or you can always do the Y adaptor thing which many times is included in a subwoofer wire kit. I dont know that it is that necessary. Theorectically some people with out a subwoofer pre-out on their receiver may have a pre-out for a right or left channel and would run that passive signal into the subwoofer, allowing the subs internal crossover to cut off the high frequencies. Some people have noticed the subwoofer output signal on their receivers, to be not that strong, so a person could then use another speaker line level output (pre-out). Out of curriosity, is that RG cable that your contractor used, similar or identical to regular cable tv wire? Probably a little stiff eh, but way more cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbb Posted November 26, 2003 Author Share Posted November 26, 2003 Yep, it's video cable, and it's stiff. But since it's in the wall that doesn't matter - you never see it. All my speaker wiring and coax terminates to faceplates having either RCA phono jacks, binding posts, or coax F connectors, depending on the application. So, using regular patch cables, I just connect my receiver to the jacks on the wall in the front of the room, and plug in my speakers, etc. at their location. I was concerned that the coax center conductor would not be adequate for my RSW-10 sub. Thanks for the reply! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 I wouldnt worry about the size of the conductor. Clarity is the important part. Patch cables differ from speaker wire in that they arent carrying the signal with such force as having lots of watts behind the signal as in a speaker wire. Also, speaker cable is usually braided wire, with many strands carrying the information on the outside of the strand. Electrons travel on the outside of the strand, that is why speaker cable has hundreds of strands in it at times. That may not help, and im sure there is a scientist on here that can explain it better than I can. The only thing I would be wary of is the number of breaks or connections that you have in the path of your signal. Whenever you involve connectors there invariably will be some signal loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbb Posted November 26, 2003 Author Share Posted November 26, 2003 Thanks, Jon. When I said patch cables, I was referring to a length of speaker wire terminated on each end with either a banana plug or binding post pin - the kind of pre-made speaker cable that Monster sells or that you can buy at in any audio department. And I'm using gold connectors, so I'm hoping the signal loss will be minimal. If I remember correctly, the electron "skin effect" you refer to is called histeresis, and it's true, electrons tend to travel on the surface of a conductor. But the thicker the conductor - either solid or by using many twisted strands, as in speaker cable - the greater the surface area. Copper purity also plays into it. It all helps reduce the resistance to electron flow (and keeping those electrons from bunching up and causing that pesky arcing thing). I was just concerned that RG58 coax (I think the center conductor is like 20AWG) would not be adequate for a sub. But, it is only a line level signal, so maybe it will do okay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstanton Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 It also helps to have your amplifier relatively higher than your subwoofer so the electrons get a bit of a boost in speed in your wire as they travel downhill. Acceleration of electrons due to the force of gravity will give a couple dB boost to your subwoofer, depending on how high your amp is, of course.. I've got my amp up on stilts in the corner of the living room and am thinking of putting it up on the roof covered by a tarp in case it rains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbb Posted November 27, 2003 Author Share Posted November 27, 2003 Hey, Jon started it! I didn't intend to get into an engineering discussion, honest. I was just trying to find out if the 20AWG wire in the coax was adequate for my RSW-10... - Are those custom stilts, or ready-made? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 ---------------- On 11/26/2003 1:54:52 AM Jonathan wrote: I wouldnt worry about the size of the conductor. Clarity is the important part. ---------------- I'm sure that's what your wife told you??... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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