Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - speaker wire
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bearmtn
11-21-03, 08:35 AM
I really don't know what information to provide when asking this question so I'll start off with the question first.
???How do you know what type of speaker wire to buy for your stereo system. ???
I have a full suround sound system plus two extra jensen speakers that I will put in another room. I noticed I have some really thin wire and I have some really thick wire. What is the difference? I went to Home Depot last night and got lost amoung the wire, so much to choose from.
Corinne
???How do you know what type of speaker wire to buy for your stereo system. ???
I have a full suround sound system plus two extra jensen speakers that I will put in another room. I noticed I have some really thin wire and I have some really thick wire. What is the difference? I went to Home Depot last night and got lost amoung the wire, so much to choose from.
Corinne
alung
11-22-03, 07:06 PM
the stuff at Home Depot is plenty good. In fact, if you get their fattest 12 gauge Monster Cable lookalike for $0.39 per ft, it'll serve you well. Radio Shack sells the same stuff for $1 per ft except it has their name printed on it. If you don't ever play your stereo very loudly, you can use the thinner 14 (or was it 16?) gauge stuff from HD for a tad less $$. Copper wire is copper wire no matter who says what, especially at audio frequencies.
No need to fall for the branded stuff like Monster Cable nor any of the esoteric $50 per ft stuff that 'audiophiles' claim to hear miracles and salespeople would absolutely love to sell you. Big bluff...period! If you're ever tempted to spend so much money on that kind of wire, the same money is more wisely spent on better speakers!!
No need to fall for the branded stuff like Monster Cable nor any of the esoteric $50 per ft stuff that 'audiophiles' claim to hear miracles and salespeople would absolutely love to sell you. Big bluff...period! If you're ever tempted to spend so much money on that kind of wire, the same money is more wisely spent on better speakers!!
kuhurdler
11-25-03, 08:39 AM
I don't claim to be an audiophile so I buy the cheapest 12 gauge wire I can find. Usually from Radio Shack because they sell rolls of it. But Home depot usually sells the same thing.
I think all the crap the salesmen will feed you about capacitance and loss on a 10 ft run of speaker cable is just plain crap. Especially when you have clamps to crimp onto your cables at both ends. If you ever look inside an amplifier they don't use 6 gauge monster cable speaker wire to attach to the speaker connector.s Electrically most of your losses will occur at the clamps/connectors, gold plated or not. Get the cheap wire.
If anyone can actually tell the difference with which cables are better in a blind listening test. I would like to see it.
I think all the crap the salesmen will feed you about capacitance and loss on a 10 ft run of speaker cable is just plain crap. Especially when you have clamps to crimp onto your cables at both ends. If you ever look inside an amplifier they don't use 6 gauge monster cable speaker wire to attach to the speaker connector.s Electrically most of your losses will occur at the clamps/connectors, gold plated or not. Get the cheap wire.
If anyone can actually tell the difference with which cables are better in a blind listening test. I would like to see it.
alung
11-25-03, 11:02 AM
Well, this gets into one of the endless debate type of topics, but the technical claims that the branded wire folks make are true. There is capacitance, inductance, and resistance...that's plain physics that will always be there and it won't change.
But all those claims are overexaggerated, and they just want us as consumers to feel paranoid and buy their stuff so we can sleep better at night. It's a very successful marketing case story for a business class if one ever wants to do a paper on it.
At audio frequencies, a short length of speaker wire has zero effect, more so given the fact that your speakers' loading is far more significant than a few tens of feet of wire will ever present.
Do I care if I have 20db loss per ft at 2Ghz compared to another wire that has only 3db loss? I *really* don't care especially since I can't hear anything beyond 15KHz (yes, my hearing is failing), and that's assuming one has a stereo tied to a speaker that can actually radiate 2GHz--it's called a microwave oven.
But all those claims are overexaggerated, and they just want us as consumers to feel paranoid and buy their stuff so we can sleep better at night. It's a very successful marketing case story for a business class if one ever wants to do a paper on it.
At audio frequencies, a short length of speaker wire has zero effect, more so given the fact that your speakers' loading is far more significant than a few tens of feet of wire will ever present.
Do I care if I have 20db loss per ft at 2Ghz compared to another wire that has only 3db loss? I *really* don't care especially since I can't hear anything beyond 15KHz (yes, my hearing is failing), and that's assuming one has a stereo tied to a speaker that can actually radiate 2GHz--it's called a microwave oven.