• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Any problem with using 12/2 romex as speaker cable? What to do with the ground wire?

wanderfowl

wanderfowl

Resident Phonetician
So, on a fluke today, I picked up some 12/2 Romex wiring (for wiring houses), stripped the ends, and put them in my system between Amp and speaker, just using bare wire as terminations. Now, I'm yet to do any kind of blind testing so I won't talk sound, and I'm not really looking to start a wire thread (hence not in ToL).

I'm just curious whether there are any electrical issues that might come up from this arrangement. I think I've been smart here (making sure there aren't shorts), but if there's some property of romex I don't know about that could be a problem, let me know.

Also, I've just cut off the ends of the third ground wire and left the remainder in the wire. Is that the best idea? I can't think of any reason it'd be a problem, given that both wires are insulated.

Thanks!
 
Register to hide this ad
You can pull the ground wire out with a pair of pliers if you flatten the wire out and pull hard enough.

It makes a great ground buss in a tube amp.

Sounds like you're having fun!
 
I've heard of folks here using romex for in-wall speaker wire.I heard nothing bad about it(sound-wise).You might make a record of it for future reference if it's in your walls,floors and such.They make good wall plates for connectors of all kinds.I've got a ****-load of balanced wire I'd like to use for in-wall low level L-R signal,but it's unshielded, so I'd probably want it in conduit.
As far as romex speaker cable,why not?
 
I think it would work great, but the lack of flexibility might not be so good. As a far as its electrical properties, I think it would be awesome speaker wire. I've thought about trying it myself, but it's too stiff for my liking. I think the 12/2 stuff that comes in the black sheath would be good budget speaker wire.
 
Lack of flexibility not just a cosmetic issue?

hypertone said:
I think it would work great, but the lack of flexibility might not be so good. As a far as its electrical properties, I think it would be awesome speaker wire. I've thought about trying it myself, but it's too stiff for my liking. I think the 12/2 stuff that comes in the black sheath would be good budget speaker wire.
Click to expand...

IMHO, the lack of flexibility (too stiff) MAY damage the speaker or amp. connectors or may not hold well\work loose etc.

Mark T.:music:
 
I use 4 wire, 16 gauge for my speaker wire. The white and black go to the tweets from one amp and the grean and bare copper go to the mid horns from the other amp. Seems to work just find and I only have one wire run for the two horns.
 
I wouldn't use romex.

Solid cable is more inductive than stranded. =more interference and of-course less flex.
 
Truthfully, I've now taken it out of my system. It sounds fine, but really, it was much more harsh to my ears, especially with trumpets, both the GF and I agree. Still, I've got it around for any lower fidelity applications that might come up, where I don't need to bend anything. Back some bulk Audioquest quad cable. :)

Thanks all!
 
bobforapples said:
I wouldn't use romex.

Solid cable is more inductive than stranded. =more interference and of-course less flex.
Click to expand...

I agree with it being less flexible, but not that it's more inductive for a given cross section ....stranded vs. solid. And there's no skin effect argument here, as most speaker wires don't have individually insulated strands.
 
wanderfowl said:
Truthfully, I've now taken it out of my system. It sounds fine, but really, it was much more harsh to my ears, especially with trumpets, both the GF and I agree. Still, I've got it around for any lower fidelity applications that might come up, where I don't need to bend anything. Back some bulk Audioquest quad cable. :)

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

Some swear that all wires need a burn-in period of 50-100 hours or ?. If so then romex would also. I'm not a big proponent or opponent of the burn-in theory. I'm not one to leave my gear on 24/7 for a day or 2 just to burn-in a new component or wire.

The harshness you heard might be the clarity and detail that you weren't getting with your previous wire. Over time you might begin to appreciate the extra clarity and detail or maybe not.

You might consider a left vs right compare between your old wire and the romex. This would allow you to identify exactly what you are gaining with the romex and what you are losing with your old wire in terms of clarity and detail.

The harshness may be something else in your rig that could be addressed/attacked/identified separately.
 
I recently tried Home Depot 14 gauge outdoor extension cord as speaker wire. First, like you, I took one length of cord per speaker. Each cord has three internal wires, like you mentioned, so I went black to black, white to red, and snipped the green. They sounded okay.

I tried a 2nd set, but this time wound the black, white, and green together and used one whole cord per plug, i.e. three wound strands black to black, and three wound strands red to red. There was a noticeable difference in sound!

Here's a link to a page that inspired me:

http://www.theanalogdept.com/hd14.htm

So, in your romex setup, you'd have to get twice as much romex and run two full lengths to each speaker.

I was actually thinking of trying romex, if for any other reason than it would look cool :D

-Phil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom