Speaker Wire

[Harry11]

I have recently just moved and am setting up my theater again but am unsure what speaker wire i should use to get the most of out my system. I want good quality wire but dont want to break the bank. I am currently running 2 RP3s (Fronts) 1 Rc3 (Center) and 2 SS1s (rear) all connected to a Yamaha RX-V2095. Could someone please help?

THanks,

Hach

[yromj]

First off welcome to the fray!!!

As for speaker wire, check out www.partsexpress.com and you can grab some 12ga. jacketed wire for pretty cheap. They also have some very nice banana plugs if you need some of them, too.

John

[Cal Blacksmith]

Get yourself down to the local home improvement center and buy 12 ga speaker wire off of the giant roll in the store. The flames will start but for me, WIRE IS WIRE! Spend your money on room treatments or better components. Electrons don't care what the road they travel on is made of as long as it is big enough and the connections are good.

[Harry11]

I was thinking about doing just that but i wanted to make sure i was getting the most out of the speakers. How does monster cable work, why do they not use GA? Is there a way to comapare gaged wire to Monster?

Thanks for all the help!

[doudou]

if you take a big 100% copper wire it will do the job.

cablacksmith and yromj are right.

don t waste money on expansive wire.

expansive wire sometime have silver or gold to carry high frequencies better than coper.

but for a human being it s almost imposible to make the difference.

it s better to buy cheap coper wire and spend the remaining money on good speakers or a good amp or anything that will really improve your system.

if you have the best system of the world, the room that match this system and some perfect ears, expansive wire MAY make a little difference.

[tankhokie]

yep, i bought a run of expensive cable and a section of plain copper strand 12ga from home depot.

couldn't tell a bit of difference. if you think about it ... what wire is run "inside" your speakers? what about the terminal connectors? "inside" your amp? etc.

point being, if you are going to notice a difference in wires with good gear, you probably also dust your driver cones daily to prevent "dust distortion"

everyone will have an opinion on this one

[Trey Cannon]

If you need a good bit of wire. Find a local wholesale place and get a 14/4 CL speaker wire. It will have 4 wires @ 14 gage. The CL = that it can be ran in the wall. It SHOULD NOT be ran from floor to floor. This way you only have to pull "one" wire but can connect 2 speakers with it...I found it for $0.14 / ft.

For the most part wire is wire...

14 ga wire will have about 2.525 Ohms of resistance every 1000 ft @ 20 deg C.

...so 100 ft will only add 0.02 Ohms to your system.

we use 16 ga in most of our speakers today. That is what is in your RP-3.

[Jay481985]

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expansive wire sometime have silver or gold to carry high frequencies better than coper.

but for a human being it s almost imposible to make the difference.

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??? gold is not a better conductor of electricity then copper. silver is though but tarnishes rather easily

[D-MAN]

We are clearly divided into two camps: the pro-wire crowd and the "wire is just wire" crowd.

Here is my PRO-WIRE argument (again)...

Wire is not just wire.

Length, diameter, structure (winding style), and metalurgy all have an impact on the conductivity of wire. Even the type of insulation used can have an effect.

Also if wire was just wire (and hence, conductance is just conductance and is equal for all wires), then there would presumably be nothing such as "super-conductivity", which flies in the face of science, for there could be nothing that one could do to enhance conductivity, period. The fact that conductivity varies with temperature is indicative that wires are subject to environmental variables, too.

Wires of all sorts have variances in conductance that have to do with a variety of things. If you don't think so, then why are there differences in various lightbulbs, fuses, and (gasp) tubes, semi-conductors, IC chips, capacitors, resistors, inductors, transformers, power lines, AC power cables, and amplifiers, tuners, cd players, receivers, preamps, speakers, tv's, relays, and other things that require electrical conductance in order to operate (that is, perform work)? Why don't they all use the SAME EXACT WIRE in them? In all applications, if wire was just wire...

Why do metals vary in conductance? Why do they coat the inside of radar and microwave waveguides with silver? Why does diameter have anything to do with current flow? Why is copper better than lead? The electrical valence is DIFFERENT on a atomic level. Physical differences, undeniably factual, tested, proven.

Ever smelled the burning wiring in a car? Ever blown a fuse?

Ok, we all have, but the RESISTANCE to current flow was the culprit. We can all see that wires have a set of operational LIMITS to the amount of current (due to the RESISTANCE inherent in the wire) that it can take without catostrophic results. It should be plainly seen by all that there are methods that can be employed to OPTIMIZE the ability to conduct current at certain frequencies or ranges.

Here's the short answer:

Wire is NOT just wire. Current requirements vary with the application which includes voltage, current, and frequency, and so does the conductivity requirements on the wire. Choose the wire most appropriate to the application.

This leads us to the SPEAKER CABLE issue; 20Hz to 20KHz or so at several hundred watts (let's assume). Why would 12 gauge wire be better than 28 gauge given the same brand and type? If 12 ga. is good, wouldn't 8 be even better? If wire was just wire, this wouldn't be the case.

Conductivity, kids...less resistance. And conductivity can be optimised.

DM

[Cal Blacksmith]

DM, nice rant but the reality is that you are bringing up a red herring. The differences between wires in a home audio system is so small as to be not there. If you were trying to wire a baseball stadium for example, then you need to take into account how long your runs of wire is, outside interferance, time delays, spls, and more but for the home system IT DOESN'T MATTER!!! If it makes you feel good to spend $15K for interconnects and speaker wire GO FOR IT! But the gain in system performance for the $ spent, is so small as to be foolish. Hey, that is where I stand, remember, I said properly sized wire with good connections, I don't care if it is superstrand gold plated teflon coated RF resistant ultra thin superconductor, or home depot speaker wire. Gauge for gauge, there is no real life difference.

[Lankhoss]

I'm in the middle ground on this subject. While I'm not an audiophile, I do want the best quality of anything I invest time and money into.

My entire system is laced with high end monster wire. While I can tell you, that the difference (especially when you get into the top end of the spectrum) in quality gain isn't proportional to the price gain difference, THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

I think the two biggest difference between Home Depot wire and Monster Cable is winding and shielding.

My suggestion would be to get some lower - mid grade Monster wire. It will give you a definite difference in sound over "regular" speaker wire, and won't be too expensive.

Check out this link and read up on the different cables http://www.monstercable.com/

I am actually selling several monster cables and interconnects if you'd be interested. I've got a set of MCX-2S 10' stereo speaker wires, one MCX-2S center channel 10' wire, a Monster Bass 300 18' subwoofer cable and a few other various things I'm about to sell if you're interested. I really noticed a difference in sound going with the M Series wires, even their "entry level" sets of wires. I will sell them for a lot less than the prices listed on that site.

Email me at b_blanchard@comcast.net if you're interested.

[dodger]

Hello:

PWK recommended zip cord.

Today though it is different as we know that if you want less resitance go to thicker wire - lower number gauge.

Analogy: 3 inch water line brought down to one inch to faucet. A lot of resistance to all that water from the 3 inch line.

Shielding: helps when near high power broadcast antennas, numerous cords buched together.

I have Audioquest Speaker cables and I have Apature. Same ga., can't hear a sound difference.

Another point: most wire even if terminated to gold will oxidize at any points air can reach the wire.

So as cablacksmith notes as does Trey seems to support, you can spend all that you want but if you have thin, poorly termainated or cold soldered connections inside the Component, you will receive all of that "quality" when you hook up your speakers, other components, etc..

If you want wire that is different the suggestion regarding the Monster Cable and offer comes from a very good Forum Member.

dodger

[scott0527]

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On 8/10/2004 8:33:43 AM Trey Cannon wrote:

If you need a good bit of wire. Find a local wholesale place and get a 14/4 CL speaker wire. It will have 4 wires @ 14 gage. The CL = that it can be ran in the wall. It SHOULD NOT be ran from floor to floor.

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Why shouldn't that stuff be run floor to floor?

[D-MAN]

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On 8/10/2004 1:23:51 PM cablacksmith wrote:

DM, nice rant but the reality is that you are bringing up a red herring.

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It seemed like this thread needed the opposing view for an answer to a controversial question. I'm done ranting now.

DM

[Griffinator]

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On 8/10/2004 3:16:59 PM D-MAN wrote:

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On 8/10/2004 1:23:51 PM cablacksmith wrote:

DM, nice rant but the reality is that you are bringing up a red herring.

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It seemed like this thread needed the opposing view for an answer to a controversial question. I'm done ranting now.

DM

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Here - let me add to the opposition viewpoint.

In speaker wire, yes, the differences between wires are extremely subtle. Subtle to the point where in repeated listening tests, ear fatigue will override those differences - hence the best anyone's done in Indy on the A/B/X testing was 17 of 25 correct (I got 16 myself) - HOWEVER - as GaryMD stated, the first time he listened to it the difference was there in that same A/B/X test, and he was satisfied with that first difference that he heard.

I'm about middle ground when it comes to speaker wire. I believe in investing a modest amount of money for good quality wire. I also believe that Monster is grossly overpriced. I also believe that companies like XLO (that I rep for) are way over the top offering speaker wire that runs $1000 a foot.

However, I'm also firmly in the "as much as you can" camp on interconnects, because those low-level signals are so much more sensitive, even in extremely short runs, and are much more apt to be affected by the wire quality, the windings, the shielding (or lack thereof), etc. Put a cheap RCA cable on a path between $5,000 components and you're robbing yourself of all that fidelity.

[D-MAN]

Griffinator, I agree with your opinion EXACTLY.

DM

[dbflash]

I would suggest either Audioquest Type 4 or CV4

I believe that your system will sound better with solid wire instead of stranded when using SS.

I started off using the Home Depot generic Monster Cable. Hated my system. Thought Klipsch were the worst speaker ever made.

Changed speaker wire and IC's. Love Klipsch now.

I am using HD speaker wire for the time being on my new system (2 channel) and cannot wait to upgrade.

I am the lone voice on this, so go with the other guys because wire is wire. If you decide your system is too bright or harsh changing wire is another option and you are only out $75.

Danny

[Guest Anonymous]

well if you don't want to break the bank, buy 12 g but make sure it as at least 100% pure oxygen free copper wire.... if you want to get something a little nicer go for audioauest 12 ga basic wire thats real nice stuff for the price

[Guest Anonymous]

the best conducters of electricity go as follows

plat

silver

gold

copper

now if you ever go to other forums where the people are a little bit more techy, you will find that the reason that people use gold connecters is because the sound tends to be warmer when sound is passed through the connection where as the silver connections are not only a much softer material and break easier but the sound is cold and it tends to have a anegatie effect..... but then again I am preaching the good word to (for the most part) people who believe there is no difference between home depot wire and name brands. Which is find because everyone here can think for themselves just as I do.

[radiob]

For what its worth, I notice a huge difference in cables, but then I have tried several high quality sets. I have MITs, Kimber 8tc,kimber monocle, Monster m5s, custom Cat5s, silver dragon,and am currently listening to my chorus2s and bottle head 2a3s with cheap monster 16 ga. I like its detail in the high freqs. The cat 5 gives a better resonse, deeper base, but sacrafices high detail and sound stage.The kimber 8tc and monocle sound the same to me. The MIT MH750 and MITS3 are much better sounding on my less efficient speakers with SS amp, they seem to be loose sounding with the low power high effecincey speakers. You need to investigate the correct cables for your amp and speakers. Whoever says cable is cable needs to upgrade a component or two, and then try different speaker cables.