CRUNCH brand speaker cable??

62vauxhall

62vauxhall

Addicted Member
Earlier today I needed some speaker wires. Rummaging through what I had on hand, I found two 16ft lengths of 14 guage - pretty much what I was looking for.. Printing on the insulation identified the brand as CRUNCH.

I have never heard of it and it is miserable to work with.

Tinning the ends was a real effort. The insulation softens/melts easily, the individual strands seem thick and are stiff plus the strand bundle did not take up solder very well. An application of flux was needed and even then the solder was only begrudgingly accepted.

I am not even sure if the solder pentrated the bundle or just coated it.

Examing a cut cross section and the strands do look like copper. I have no recollection or where I got it or how long I've had it.

Has anyone else here encountered the stuff?

IMG_5580.JPG
 
Register to hide this ad
Yes, I saw that too before posting about the wire. My impression was that those car stereo offerings were more contemporary than this wire because it looks fairly old. The appearance of the insulation makes me think that. Overall examination shows that it was definately in use. I cannot fathom where or how I would have obtained it if it had been incorporated in a mobile stereo install. That is not a product category I am interested in and I have never acquired any sort of "box" of random lengths of wire or cables.

In any case, now that I've prepped the wire, it will do. I just assumed that speaker wire would have been more user friendly as in easier to handle.
 
Since much of the car audio stuff uses jacks, spade connectors and screw terminals, soldering speaker wire probably isn't a problem.
I do wonder though why solder didn't want to wick into that copper wire. :idea: Some copper wire used in inductor coils, some wire inside signal cables, etc. will have the wire enameled. But I wouldn't think that would apply to speaker wire? :dunno:
 
Lavane said:
Since much of the car audio stuff uses jacks, spade connectors and screw terminals, soldering speaker wire probably isn't a problem.
I do wonder though why solder didn't want to wick into that copper wire. :idea: Some copper wire used in inductor coils, some wire inside signal cables, etc. will have the wire enameled. But I wouldn't think that would apply to speaker wire? :dunno:
Click to expand...

Really old wiring can be notoriously difficult to tin, I always suspected it was simply corrosion. Scrubbing with IPA before attempting to tin it may help but usually it takes lots of flux and heat which is a problem with wire with pretty much anything but Teflon insulation.
 
I've heard of the Crunch brand for car audio, most notably with subwoofer installations.
I've also run into occasions where multi-strand copper wire did not take to tinning well. Had to turn up the heat on the old iron to get it to penetrate smoothly.
 
eiraved said:
I've heard of the Crunch brand for car audio, most notably with subwoofer installations.
I've also run into occasions where multi-strand copper wire did not take to tinning well. Had to turn up the heat on the old iron to get it to penetrate smoothly.
Click to expand...
Rosin flux helps for even soldering. :thumbsup:

Sometimes, these wires start to corrode, and green oxide forms on the strands. I toss those wires as they are difficult to solder and can lead to connection issues.
 
Last edited:
RVT1K said:
Really old wiring can be notoriously difficult to tin, I always suspected it was simply corrosion. Scrubbing with IPA before attempting to tin it may help but usually it takes lots of flux and heat which is a problem with wire with pretty much anything but Teflon insulation.
Click to expand...
I've never thought about washing speaker wire with beer before soldering... :idea:













:rflmao:
 
RVT1K said:
Really old wiring can be notoriously difficult to tin, I always suspected it was simply corrosion. Scrubbing with IPA before attempting to tin it may help but usually it takes lots of flux and heat which is a problem with wire with pretty much anything but Teflon insulation.
Click to expand...
That could very well be. And
RVT1K said:
Applying it to the operator prior to the soldering attempt can help reduce frustration..
Click to expand...
And burnt fingers.
 
The OP's speaker wire shown in the picture appears to have dark brownish discolored wires inside the jacket, if that is not an artifact of the lighting and is in other areas of the cable, I would not use the cables.
 
When I hear the word Crunch the first thing that comes to mind is Kellogg Cereals. I still have 100feet or so of the original Monster cable from the 70's and 80's with no dis-colorization. So I am good to go. I did buy a `00 feet of 4 conductor #11 AWG that is flexible and lays nicely . I match up the pairs Black and Green, then red and white which gives me a pair of #9 AWG in one jacket which works great with my 4 ohm line arrays powered by MC 830 direct coupled mono power amps. One run is about 17 feet and the other one about 31 feet. But like I say with a pair #9 AWG going to each speaker I get the sound I am after. It wasn't cheap, but its better than using two runs of #10 AWG THNN to each speaker. That stuff is nasty to work with.
 
Sandman1221 said:
The OP's speaker wire shown in the picture appears to have dark brownish discolored wires inside the jacket, if that is not an artifact of the lighting and is in other areas of the cable, I would not use the cables.
Click to expand...
index.php

The plastic insulation doesn't look too good, either. :(
 
Because it's old, even the wire in the insulation has started to tarnish hence won't take solder easily, some deoxit or vinegar for a minute or two should make soldering easier.
A crocodile clip attached just before the insulation should sink enough heat to not melt the insulation. As mentioned lots of heat to solder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom