Will this wire work well for my RS-42 surrounds?

[slammy77]

I just got the RS-42 surrounds for Christmas (wife won't let me open them yet [] ) and I'm looking for some wire now... The wire will be going from a wall plate behind the receiver up an 8 foot wall, across the ceiling 18 ft to the back of the room, and down the back wall which of course is also 8 ft. That's 34' so far. The ceiling is a vaulted, which makes the math not work out so simply, so I'm estimating 50 feet of wire will be necessary for each speaker.

Assuming my calculations are correct, will this speaker wire serve me well?

http://www.amazon.com/Gauge-Stranded-Copper-Premium-Speaker/dp/B000RMDX5A/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1197781108&sr=8-6

It's 14 gauge speaker wire 99.9% oxygen free copper, about $0.23 per foot.

Or do I need to make sure I get 14/2 wire?

[Bill H.]

Slam,

You start talking wire here, and it's like opening Pandoras box............

Should work though. But if your near a Radio Shack just go there to get your Wire. That way if it doesn't work out, you can return it.

Also your helping your local economy...........Good Luck and Post Pics when you get set up!.

[dougdrake]

Are you planning to run this inside the walls? If so, I'd recommend getting in-wall (CL) rated wire. If not, do you plan to try to hide it in some way - you might want a ribbon-type wire that can be painted and will be less visually obtrusive.

Parts Express is a good source for speaker wire.

[Guest " "]

Before deciding on using this wire....I would look into pro's and con's of using tinned wire. I personally would not use tinned wire.

Product Description

Good Performance and Sound Quality for Most Speaker and Audio Equipment Connections
Delivers fine quality sound in long runs
Parallel Conductors, Polarized Bare Copper-Tinned
99.99% Pure Oxygen-Free Copper Conductors
Clear Flexible PVC Jacket
Black Plastic Spool

SpecsConductor 1 = Copper - 41 strands
Conductor 2 = Tinned Copper- 41 strands
Clear Polyvinylchloride 3.5mm Diameter

 

[Guest " "]

yeah...I just goolged this....tinned wire...bad...is it true...is it not true...why save a buck or two by using it

http://www.tanker.se/lidstrom/bswire2.htm

[Islander]

http://www.tanker.se/lidstrom/bswire2.htm

Interestingly, that site says that tinned copper is not as good as bare copper, but rates it above silver-plated copper, which is rated by most cable companies, at least, as being better than bare copper and is sold at a higher price. Everyone has an opinion.

Tinned copper cable has much better corrosion resistance than bare copper and at least one cable dealer claims that the higher resistance of the tin provides a sort of pseudo-Litz effect, actually improving the sound.

I've been happily using fine-stranded (735 strands per conductor) tinned 8AWG speaker cable for a couple of years, with two different speaker types.

[Guest " "]

""I 've been happily using fine-stranded (735 strands per conductor) tinned
8AWG speaker cable for a couple of years, with two different speaker
types.""

you could be on to something.....735 strands per conductor vs 41 strands.....8 AWG vs 14 AWG......I think I read somewhere that 8 guage is good for up to 30 amps, that will fire up my amp electric dryer with no problem....so you probally could afford the extra 6% resistance that tinned add's...assuming the resistance value was true

"" Tinned copper cable has much better corrosion resistance than bare
copper and at least one cable dealer claims that the higher resistance
of the tin provides a sort of pseudo-Litz effect, actually improving
the sound.""

again...you could be on to something here....maybe this skin effect acts like a metal film capacitor ....is it good....is it bad...????

[Islander]

Actually, 8 gauge is good for 40 amps, as my electrician buddy exclaimed when he saw the speaker cable. I could use it to boost my car if I had to. Like everybody else, I'm on a budget, but wire of that size and decent quality, for only $1.65 a foot, let me feel that in at least one area I was not compromising.

It sounds good and looks good, and I know it's definitely not reducing the damping factor of the amp to the degree that smaller cable would, plus the twisted pair construction is claimed to reject interference.

As for acting as a capacitor, could be. I have no idea. With cables, all sorts of theories and thought experiments pop up, mostly with no clear way to prove or disprove them, other than a "listen-off" among the various contenders. Imagine if a number of people showed up at the Pilgrimage with their favourite speaker cable in hand to try. Then someone would say (maybe me) that you can't really tell in an A/B/X test, you have to live with it for a while, and we'd be back to Square One.

[slammy77]

Are you planning to run this inside the walls? If so, I'd recommend getting in-wall (CL) rated wire. If not, do you plan to try to hide it in some way - you might want a ribbon-type wire that can be painted and will be less visually obtrusive.

Parts Express is a good source for speaker wire.

Why is in-wall rated necessary? Is it a safety issue?

[dougdrake]

Has to do with fire code, I believe.

[Guest srobak]

Yes, it is fire code related. I agree with staying away from the tinned wire... why mess with a good pair of identical wires? While 8ga is certainly sexy - it is also way overkill for RS-42's. Myself, I run 14ga to my 42's.

[slammy77]

Well... I may have spent a little too much, but I bought 100' of 12/2 from Parts Express. It was $72 with shipping... pretty pricy I guess but oh well. It's a done deal now. It's on it's way to my door already.