• 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

Speaker wire

propbuster

propbuster

Stuck in the 70's
Hi All, I found some very heavy gauge speaker wire at the local Thrift store for cheap. I was wondering what gauge wire is appropriate for my JBL 4310's powered by a 35 watt Mitsubishi da-R8. The wire I found is braided copper and is thicker than the connectors on my receiver and speakers. I guess I could solder some terminal ends on to the wire to make them work. Would this heavy wire just be overkill? Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • Speaker wire 002.jpg
    Speaker wire 002.jpg
    68.6 KB · Views: 41
Register to hide this ad
The lower the gauge the better (thicker) . You can get ends that will go on the wire at Radio SH**K for around $10.00 .

You will like the results ..



Barney
 
The gauge of speaker wire mostly depends on the impedance of the speaker and length of run, not the power of your system.

16ga is adequate for just about any home application, but many people use thicker wires for asthetic reasons or peace of mind.

Yeah, in most cases jumper cables, er.. I mean speaker cables are overkill, but nor are they harmful. Except, in some cases to your wallet, or unless they're so heavy or stiff they damage your speaker or receiver terminals.

You could either get some type of connector to put on the ends, or merely trim off enough strands so they fit. Just be sure you don't have any stray strands (they can be hard to see) touching the other terminals or the case of the receiver.

Personally, my front and center speakers are wired with 12ga (~35 feet and the speakers have low impedance dips), my sides and back speakers use 16ga because the distance is less and no low impedance concerns.
 
there is such a thing as over kill for speaker wires but most of the time its hard to reach its more about the power your sending through it and since your only putting 35watts then you would not really need thick wire but its nice to have on hand because never know when you mite get a new receiver and who wants to run more cables pain it the but
 
I use 16awg for the actual stereo and 18awg for the HT, but the HT is just crappy lil' Sony cubes....they worked just the same back when it was the 24awg wire that came with them.


Anyway, that stuff you have there, it should be fine.
 
Those are old Monster Cable. I got tons of the stuff. They work very well, but not exceptional. Quite frankly, I think that they work only somewhat better then lamp cord. But hey, that's just me.

Go to Rat Shack, get some ends, try them out. Or clean up the ends, and tin them with good solder. It's not like you'll be out more then $10 or so if you decide you don't like them and you can probably get that back if you sell them on Craigs List or something.
 
oldhifiguy said:
18 ga lamp cord, used for centuries.
Click to expand...
Until about 100 years ago, lamp cord just wicked whale oil. I noticed a tremendous improvement when lamp cord started to carry electricity. :yes:
---just my opinion. you might think the whale oil wicks sound better.

(Thangque, thanghue verymuch)
 
Opinions on speaker wire/cable from regular folks like most of us, and from "experts" run the full gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime. Do a search on this forum and you come up with a whole evening's worth of reading.

My advice is to try a couple different sizes and see if you can hear any difference, and then go with whatever you like.

I use a braided 14 ga.
 
Considering the internal speaker and amplifier wiring is generally 14-16 gauge, how much benefit can one realize by using 8 gauge wire between them?
The leads coming off my Scott's OPTs are more like 18 gauge.
 
pmsummer said:
The gospel truth about speaker wire.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
Click to expand...
I'd prefer to call it "Some interesting and potentially useful reading about speaker wire"

I have no Gospel Truth about anything. But the closest I come is paying attention to what my ears are picking up. Thee is no substitute for listeing and coming to your own conclusions.

That said, I find cheap speaker cable ($0.60/ft four-conductor OFC from my local hifi shop, Spearit Sound. ---not lamp cord) works just fine in my rig, but I came to that conclusion primarily by listening. I'm open to spending $$ on cables, I just haven't found that it makes as much difference with speaker cables.

But, I feel very strongly that you gotta listen.
 
The wiring inside your unit doesn't need to be thick since it's only linking components that are very close to one another. You can still benefit, especially if the speakers are over 20 feet from the amplifier, or if massive power output is often utilized.

I use 14awg and my runs are only 5 feet or so. Just experiment and hey if it's overkill, so what?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom