ACOUSTIC RESEARCH ar 3a speaker cable
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Ed in Tx
Super Member
Depends how long. Being 4 Ohm speakers you would want to use some big gauge wire like the Dayton 12 Ga stuff, nice low resistance high quality wire and reasonably priced.
Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
16ga, no issues, works great with my AR3a speakers. I can crank those buggers louder than I can stand without a problem. Unless you go long distances, over 20' or so, I wouldn't sweat it. No issues with quality either. Try for yourself, use 18ga, then switch to 16ga and see if you can tell the difference. Likely not. That experiment is cheaper than buying some expensive stuff and never knowing it it sounds any better.
Yup, gotta go with standard off the shelf zip cord. My systems quite high powered, so up to 12 gauge, but even this is probably over kill. You can use ultra high dollar stuff for a prettier look if you want to, but wont do a thing for the sound. Maybe even hurt it, as some of this designer stuff is known to have capacitance, which can effect high frequencies.
Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
As did JBL, R.S. and many others. If they think it's good enough, who's to argue, eh?
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
The AR-3a was discontinued about the time the first high performance speaker wires were hitting the market. No wonder AR did not recommend anything other than standard zip cord.
It does make sense to use the smaller wire and adding a bit of resistance for some amps, but in general I like to use bigger wire for bigger power and distance. For a less than 15 foot wire run the 18 gauge should be fine.
It does make sense to use the smaller wire and adding a bit of resistance for some amps, but in general I like to use bigger wire for bigger power and distance. For a less than 15 foot wire run the 18 gauge should be fine.
