bugman Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 i've seen RCA, Acustic Research and Monster speaker wires. My question is what is the difference if any in these brands. ------------------ Sex is like pizza, when it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 the price seriously though rca is a plug type though i could be wrong w/ all the brands out there. also check radio shack gold cables. price is right. ------------------ Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C-7, Cornwall I (rear) Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer Monsterbass 400 sub interconnect & Monster CX-2 biwire & Z-12 cable Marantz SR-8000 receiver Sony DVP-C650D 5-disk cd/dvd player Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr Technics dual cassette deck Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box Boa's Listenin Lounge: Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3, cheap little Technics (rear) Monster MCX Biwires Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (vintage 1975) Russound AB-2 receiver switch to RF-3 Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd changer Technics SL-1950 turntable/AT LS500 cartridge Sega Genesis game player Sub: None yet rock on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugman Posted July 19, 2001 Author Share Posted July 19, 2001 well, i'm just trying to save some money since i am a college student. I was looking at 16 Ga wires in the 100ft spools. The RCA costs $19.99, AR cost $29.99 and Monster cost $59.99. I dont have a big enough radio shack around my place, so they wont have anything worth checking out. I jsut want to know which wire brand i should buy. I was leaning more towards the AR, because according to its price, it's right in the middle... ------------------ Sex is like pizza, when it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 bugs, so rca is a brand then. i myself wouldn't waste too much time on it. there is much debate whether dif types/brands of speaker wire makes an audible dif. when i was on a limited budget i used just plain old 16ga. lamp cord w/ my cornwalls (like klipsch recommended). can't say i can hear any dif now w/ the monster Z 12ga. u can pick up lamp cord at a home depot or such for pretty cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 bugman,check out www.partsexpress.com .Do a part number search for Sound King speaker wire # 100-155.Its pretty good wire for the price.They have others also at decent prices. Keith This message has been edited by talktoKeith on 07-19-2001 at 04:21 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 go to a home depot or lowes (or similar place) for some TWISTED 14gua. or 16gua. wire. if you find some audio company's wire at a reasonable price, that would be o.k. also. avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 Not that I would disagree with the avman,but after recently using the 14 ga.from Home Depot(clear plastic cover/stiff)I wouldn't recommend that.Heck,its just .22 cents a foot,but the plasticy cover tends to split down the length of the wire.Could use short pieces of red and black shrink wrap,eliminating the possibility of a short and making the hookup easier.The 100 foot roll of 12ga. from Parts Express($29)is better,IMO. Even better is the $3 ft. AudioQuest Slate from Audio Advisor.Better than that is the.................... Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 i used the 16ga. lamp cord from floyd's hardware w/ no problems. back then i think it was around $.05/ft. i'd go to home depot before lowe's but never have for wire. didn't know they had quality problems. but keiths deal at $29 looks primo. quality does matter for durability & such. & i was going to mention u might as well get 12ga. so u don't doubt & go back for it later after further reading on this forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 boa,noticed at my Dad's house a couple weeks ago that the speaker wire on his "vintage" equipment looked a little rough.So I secretly ordered the 100 ft. spool of Sound King 12ga.wire.At that time (ended 7-14)the wire was on sale for $29 a 100 ft spool.Called him a couple days later and told him to look for the UPS man delivering himself some speaker wire.He replaced the el cheapo wire he was using and delivered this revelation: "my speakers sound better now".I asked if he was sure, to which he replied "no doubt about it,they sound much better".So there's my Dad's non-audio-fanatic take on speaker wire,FWIW. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 20, 2001 Share Posted July 20, 2001 keith, maybe u should send a spool to PWK. heard he's still using that same lamp cord your dad had. but wire will wear out some after a decade or so. think i'll go w/ him, tom nousaine & my own ears. no audible diffrance in reasonably new wires of reasonably equal size. i've been shelling out a lot of $ for gear lately, but never $3/ft for speaker wire. setting the fronts to small - now there's a difference. did pay up for that monster bi-wire but it was the cheapest monster biwire & was convenient & tidy. that's the last thing i'll say on wire. i'm off to read the audio journals. god's speed. ------------------ Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C-7, Cornwall I (rear) Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer Monsterbass 400 sub interconnect & Monster CX-2 biwire & Z-12 cable Marantz SR-8000 receiver Sony DVP-C650D 5-disk cd/dvd player Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr Technics dual cassette deck Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box Boa's Listenin Lounge: Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3, cheap little Technics (rear) Monster MCX Biwires Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (vintage 1975) Russound AB-2 receiver switch to RF-3 Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd changer Technics SL-1950 turntable/AT LS500 cartridge Sega Genesis game player Sub: None yet rock on! This message has been edited by boa12 on 07-20-2001 at 12:20 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXtreme Posted July 20, 2001 Share Posted July 20, 2001 I went to the area Home Depot, picked myself up some low voltage cable (the kind noma moon rays use) and found no difference except it looks prettier. Nothing looks better than black wire IMO. BTW, using bananna plugs was a good idea. Easy to move speakers to clean around them ect.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 20, 2001 Share Posted July 20, 2001 I bought some RCA brand wire at HD. The choice was only based on price for that gauge. The cardboard label said it was "high definition." To me it was just the run of the mill zip cord, here with a clear insulation. I can't believe there is anything especially "high definition" about it . . . not that I think it needs improved definition. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer9911 Posted July 21, 2001 Share Posted July 21, 2001 IMO...There isn't, I believe it must be of "good" guage with connectors, insulated, and the power to boot. I used Monster OMC 20/20 with Adcoms Flagship GFA-585 Limited Edition(1584 of 3000, sold it ..UGH)and my Khorns...sorry folks but the violins and such was clear as a bell.....well under $100US, 5000....SURREEEEE!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 just did a hellacious install-i'm a little 'cranky'- the install wasn't so bad i guess, it's just that the 'sound and security' wire (2-conductor 16 gua., and 4-cond.16 gua.)that i bought at home depot was stiffer than i prefer, had a s***ty jacket that tore, inner wire insulator jacket that tore and had to be repaired-augh!! so per my earlier post, twisted jacketed wire is still imho, a good recommendation, just don't buy CRAPPY twisted, jacketed, speaker wire! ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center sony strda-777ES receiver dishnetwork model 7200 dishplayer satellite receiver/digital bitstream recorder pioneer dvd player sharp 35"tv panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire surrounds and a 'teens sub coming! KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 avman, sounds similiar,if not the same,to the wire I referred to earlier.The tip off I guess is the fact that the jacket is more of a plastic consistency that the rubber consistency of say Monster Cable.When you strip the wire the jacket tends to split,which of course could lead to a nasty short.A solution would be to add some heat shrink tubing to the ends(red and black)to prevent shorts and to help old eyes identify correct polarity. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 This adds to our advice base. Most questions go to whether a given type of wire will sound better. Now advice we give should take into consideration the ease of working with a given type. I've found that black rubbery lamp cord is easy to strip. On the the other hand, the clear plastic stuff is a bit more of a challenge. It is not something I ever gave much thought to. But obviously ease of stripping is a consideration. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc1091 Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 With Klipsch speakers, super-expensive speaker cables are not as important as it is with less efficient speakers. I bought my MIT Terminator2 Bi-Wires for my B&W speakers. These cables (about an inch in diameter) helped my B&Ws tremendously. In fact the difference was jaw dropping. My 85 WPC Dennon suddenly sounded much more powerful. Imaging was much better, and the clarity was just incredible. With my Klipsch speakers connected, the same is true, but to a lesser degree (especially the amp sounding a lot more powerful through generic wire as compared to the MITs). I would still recommend a good quality speaker wire that rejects interference well, and has some technique( real or imagined) for preserving the impedance from one end of the wire to the other (Cardas, Kimber Cable, Audio Quest, Straight Wire, etc). Hardware store stuff is good for short term use, but generally does not reject interference to audio signals well. It also oxidizes quickly, causing the wire to act more and more like a resistor. A well known online stereo equipment retailer out of Michigan who also distributes a catalog has a large selection of speaker wire. Some of it in bulk. I ordered my MITs from there and paid less than half of what my local HiFI store was asking for the same stuff. Next stop...power conditioners.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 This message has been edited by John Warren on 07-26-2001 at 06:56 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgklipsch Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 I purchased "Carol Brand Command Studio Grade 12g Speaker Wire". They are very good. See other people's review at http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/Cable/product_3686.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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