Jennifer1 Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 I just bought two RF-15 and an Harman kardon receiver AVR 230. I went to the store to buy cables and everyone sale person say something different. I need to know the truth... 1- What is the best way to hook up the klipsch speaker with the binding posts, (banana plugs, spades, pins etc..) and with what cable size, does a 14 gauge is better than a 16 if the speaker are just less than 10 feet of the receiver... I plan to buy Monster cable speaker cable. ( large gauge ,10 ft, 80$ pair)with angle gold pins. 2- Are fiber optic cable all identical, according to me, fiber optic is fiber optic, a sale person want to sell me the higher end of Monster cable fiber optical cable, (200$)....is it necessary...the standard fiber optic is 40$...a big difference thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Speaker wire and such is a huge markup/profit item for these stores. Unless you plan to disconnect/reconnect your speakers frequently, I'd vote for just bare wire pushed into the hole in the posts of the binding posts on the speaker and on the receiver, without any fancy connectors. And, I'd go buy some 12 gauge speaker wire off the spool at Home Depot. You don't need a $200 fiber optic cable. In fact, I use coax (not fiber) for my digital audio connection. Just get a good quality video coax cable with RCA plugs on each end and use that. I think it's more durable than fiber, and less expensive. Try Radio Shack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer1 Posted September 18, 2004 Author Share Posted September 18, 2004 thanks a lot for your advices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 I agree with Dougdrake regarding coax. It's more durable and, to my ears, sounds better. If you plan to run an extended length though, or have a TON of wires from your components, optical/toslink might be a better choice due to its imperviousness to interference. However, I'd recommend banana plugs over bare wire, even IF you were not to remove them frequently, only because over time the wire may oxidize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Save your money and buy reasonable quality low cost speaker cable from Radio Shack or other electronic store. I would suggest that the only time speaker cable choice is important is for relatively long runs or on extreme high end systems. Then we could maybe consider the better quality options. A Radio Shack coax interconnect will suffice for your system. I personally use an Acoustic Research brand interconnect which cost under $25 and QED Silver Anniversary speaker cable costing around $5 per metre. I use inexpensive banana plugs for my speaker cable. But bare wire is another good choice and probably the preferred option if you don't plug and unplug all the time like I do. Most dealers make a HUGE profit on the accessories they sell with the audio equipment. They play on your enthusiasm to get the 'best out of your system' by making you over spend on stuff that really doesn't matter. You really don't get value for money and frankly most cable and accessory options are blatant ripoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer1 Posted September 19, 2004 Author Share Posted September 19, 2004 so if I buy the Monster Cable, I waste my money? in my RF-15 owners manual they write to buy Monster Cable or similar quality speaker cable. I though that they made good quality cable..but you all seem to say it doesn't matter since I don't have top of the notch equipement..Is there a difference in quality between banana plug and angled pin connector or every connector is good.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer1 Posted September 19, 2004 Author Share Posted September 19, 2004 also the guy at the store wanted to sell me the Monster clean power thing to plug my component in so it filters power pollution that can affect my equipment, do you use it or you just plug it in a conventional bar that protect against voltage spikes? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 We're not saying Monster Cable is bad, cause it's not, and I even run Monster Cable speaker wire to all my speakers. What we're just saying is that a spool of 12-gauge wire from Home Depot will probably be just as good, and will most likely not make any sonic difference to your (or our) ears. As far as connectors go, I personally like banana plugs because they provide good tight connections, and they are convinient to insert and remove into the binding posts. And regarding the Monster Power units, you should run a search on this, because this has been discussed to great lengths (and is a highly controversial subject, at that) and no conclusive opinion has, or ever will be, formed. I have 3 of their units, and I noticed very little improvement in video, and none in the audio department. If anything, they provide surge protection to your gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meuge Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 As far as your connections go, you should probably go for dual banana plugs, which you can find here at $3.50 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=091-334 Installing them in very very easy, but if you feel that you cannot do that, here's a link to some fairy inexpensive but very good terminated speaker wire: http://www.accessories4less.com/Amazing/items.asp?CartId=630-EVEREST-2009EAYDI588&Cc=CAB%2DSTER&tpc= If you decide to do it yourself, which is a good and inexpensive option, you can get this 12-gauge stranded copper wire here: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=100-150&DID=7 For just 2 speakers, 50' should be enough length. Just keep the speaker cables the same length for your left/right speakers. As far as interconnects go, you can purchase cables here: http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=59 Get coaxial digital instead of optical if your devices support it, because it is easier to handle and many people seem to think the sound is better. I don't have an opinion, cause I never used optical myself. Or if you want, you can email me and I could make you very high quality single or even dual-shielded interconnects and digital coaxial cables (in custom lengths) for just the price of the cable and connectors. I like making them and will gladly help out a new Klipsch addict. I've just finished a set for my friend and we A/B'ed them against a set of Monstercable THX Ultra I600 cables and there was absolutely no difference in sound quality between them (using my system which contains RF-3IIs driven by fairly high end separates). As far as power conditioners go, having one may significantly improve analog TV reception (including cable) and may reduce speaker hiss. There is no need to overpay for Monster stuff. This is a link to a good power conditioner that will be just fine for your equipment (and in my opinion looks better than Monster): http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=248-750 Or if you don't want to pay that much just look up a Monster HTS800... they go for about $70 on Amazon and are enough (that's what I am using, but going to switch to Furman soon). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 ---------------- On 9/19/2004 10:06:29 AM Jennifer1 wrote: so if I buy the Monster Cable, I waste my money? ---------------- No, I didn't say that. I think Monster makes some excellent low cost interconnect cables. I would have purchased Monster Cable if it was available in my area - but it's not. It's just that you need to get your system right first. Get the bugs out of it, setup the speakers and the rest of your system properly. Treat your room if necessary (i.e. maybe some curtains etc to dampen excessive highs and any echo effect you may have). Once you are happy, then have a look at what benefits a low cost cable upgrade would make. For example, say you listen to a store sales person, they say; "Here you must buy this cable to make your system work properly". Well you get home. Tweak your system, move stuff around, maybe buy a new cabinet to put your amplifer and player in. Then you find the interconnect or speaker cable you've purchased for big dollars isn't long enough! Or it's too long! Or you want to run the cable under the carpet - "why didn't I buy flat speaker cable instead?" It's like putting the cart before the horse. So what I am saying, stick with the low cost stuff (which may very well include budget Monster Cable!) and then do your research and work out what YOU want and what YOU need - not let some half trained store salesman, who doesn't know one end of an interconnect to another, dictate their ill informed opinion to you . (Apologies to those store salespeople that do know what they're talking about...) Maybe once you've worked out what you need, you could give meuge a call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 If you want great cable (speaker or IC) at decent prices, look into some of the smaller makers like blujean, signalcable, elementcable, or the like. For your system I would also reccomend starting with inexpensive cables, getting the room right, then upgrade the cables if you want to. The Radio Shack suggestion for IC's is right on, as is getting your speaker cable off the spool at HD. If you want to try something different for IC's, go to Circuit City, in car audio they carry a brand called Tsunami Ultra (must be Ultra, not regular Tsunami) that are about $40 a pair and are pretty terrific for home audio. You can always take them back to CC if you don't like them. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Hey, PartsExpress has a 100' spool of 12 gauge wire as their Deal of the Weekend($29). Ends at 5pm on Monday. If your concerned about oxidation, clip off an inch or so, once or twice a year. http://www.partsexpress.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 ---------------- On 9/19/2004 7:19:27 PM edwinr wrote: ---------------- On 9/19/2004 10:06:29 AM Jennifer1 wrote: so if I buy the Monster Cable, I waste my money? ---------------- No, I didn't say that. ---------------- I will... you are better off buying a couple of good CDs. Monster Cable has a marketing deal with Klipsch, it's about sales and marketing, not engineering. ---------------- On 9/19/2004 11:02:37 PM arthurs wrote: If you want great cable (speaker or IC) at decent prices, look into some of the smaller makers like blujean.... For your system I would also reccomend starting with inexpensive cables, getting the room right, then upgrade the cables if you want to. ---------------- I'd agree with arthurs... whether or not you believe the Snake-oil surrounding high-end cables, start with basic wires. If EVER you decide to experiment and upgrade, you'll have a base to compare to... and dumping your basic wires won't represent a major financial loss. There is NO test that has shown that expensive cables sound better... and the electrical properties are pretty well understood and independent of cost. I also agree that http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ are a company which offer no-nonsense, well built, interconnects without any magical snake-oil. For speaker wire I like the exterior grade extension cord wire of attractive gauge... it looks nice, is flexible, and very durable. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 ---------------- On 9/21/2004 1:40:25 AM formica wrote: Jennifer1 wrote: so if I buy the Monster Cable, I waste my money? edwinr wrote: No, I didn't say that. ---------------- I will... you are better off buying a couple of good CDs. Monster Cable has a marketing deal with Klipsch, it's about sales and marketing, not engineering. ---------------- Hey, formica. I'm trying to be diplomatic!!!! But you get the point across nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Welcome to the forum! On a short run of only 10 feet from the receiver, you could use 18 gauge wire without losses that are audible. However, 12 gauge wire is not that much more expensive, so I would recommend purchasing a little larger gauge. I'm with formica, and if I didn't have a bunch of 12 gauge wire thrown in when I bought the speakers, I would have bought some 12 gauge sjoow 2 conductor extension cord. That should set you back about $ 10 cdn. If moving and repositioning your speakers require disconnecting, then banana plugs are nice terminations for the wire, even if they are only on the speaker end. Fiber optic cable is still fiber optic cable, some are more flexible than others, but they pass a digital sigal with light pulses - it is either on or off. Therefore, there is no way that the construction can alter the quality of sound. Where I am located in ontario, you can buy an ultralink fiber optic cable (3ft) for $27 cdn. It does the same job as the $ 10 rca fiber optic cable. If you add some banana plugs form radio shack, you can get equipped for less than $ 50 cdn, and spend the other $ 230 that you would have spent + taxes on some nice dvd's and cd's to enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Welcome Jennifer,I agree with others here get the 12-14 cheap cable at home depot or parts express and if you want banna ends just buy some and put them on yourself,,,easy to do. Then spend the extra money on other things,,,dont listen to all salesmen most just want to sell you stuff you dont need,,,we will help you out here anytime,,,,Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I use bare wire but it would be cleaner install if they were terminated with something. When I upgraded to Monster brand wire from rat shack ther was a substantial difference in sound and I only use a reciever for now. Never heard of fibre optic speaker wire...... ....Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I agree with all here. Buy reasonable 12 guage wire and spend your money on something else. I run Bi-wire Kimber Kable to my speakers at close to $22 per foot. Kinda stupid if you aske me At some point you run out of things to upgrade reasonably to your satisfaction. At that time I would reccomend "monkeying" with cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 NOT that I condone spending hundreds on just a pair of cables, and NOT that I'm disagreeing with the sound advice the folks are giving you here, but just for the sake of seeing everything from both angles, check out this review from Home Theater Secrets. Granted, the interconnects being reveiwed are VERY high-end, but it brings up a very interesting point. That "being reviewed using a special cable test CD, if you can't hear differences between cables you have serious hearing problems." http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_3/wirewold-cable-7-2004.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I suggest spending money on mods where you don't have to ask yourself, "Do I hear a difference?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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