Choosing speakers wires

[CrazyCanuck1]

Hi Everyone, I hope I'm in the right forum section for my question. I would like to know how to choose the right speaker wire for my needs. My new purchase is a Pioneer SX 838 and my speakers are Technics SB-2822's. I listen to Rock. Metal. Blues with a little bit of Country. Now I don't know if my music choices would influence anything but what the hey. I know its the gauge of the wire but I don't know if size is everything. So if anyone can give me a hand in getting the right speaker wire it would be cool. Thank you , and have a nice day.

 

[moewillis]

i would purchase a membership and talk with snerp about making a set of wires and interconnects custom made to whatever you need. nice cables with quality ends! and reasonably priced!

this is a hot button topic and i hope everyone can stay civil...

 

[hertzdonut]

Hi CrazyCanuck, my suggestion is keep it simple, yet properly adequate. If you are dealing with less than a run of 50 feet between receiver and speaker, 16 gauge is perfectly fine and will carry your signal without fail. A little less cost than 14 gauge (or 12). You can't go wrong with either 16 or 14. Choice is yours.

 

[moewillis]

both of the options above mine sound perfectly reasonable for your system. my suggestion would be a little pricier and a little more wait time. my suggestion would be if you were looking for something a step above the standard speaker wire.

 

[Chrisxo55441]

16 gauge pure copper wire up to 25ft 14 gauge after that, the cheaper brands like RCA are copper clad aluminum be sure to check on that before buying. Monoprice.com wire is inexpensive and all copper

 

[CrazyCanuck1]

Right . I forgot to mention that I have less than 10 feet to cover. Sorry.

 

[willyrover]

If you're into DIY, here is how I make my cables.

You'll need:

1. Two conductor cable, 12AWG (I use APEX cable just because that's what is available. It's soft, very flexible, doesn't twist, and stays where you lay it. I cut off the ends and throw them in the parts box.)
2. The "Nakamichi" banana plugs are inexpensive on eBay,
3. Heat shrink tubing.



To make this:



(For spring clip terminals I would eliminate the banana plugs and tin the ends of the wires with solder.)

 

[BMWCCA]

I'm still fond of these: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....ting-white-lightning-moonshine-cables.238844/

 

[SoundOfSound]

I think you guys are getting too far ahead of yourselves.

He said SX 838 and SB-2822 both of these have old school spring terminals unless they have been modified.

Try to find some 16 gauge OFC copper wires. You may have to strip off a few strands to make them fit in the holes securely. They look pretty tiny on the back of the SX. I think the SBs should fit O.K.

Just remember to gently push the plastic retainer towards the wire to lock it into place. You should feel a very faint click sensation. If you don't get it the wire may be too fat for the terminal. You want to be sure it will lock into place so it does not come loose or fall out. The SB terminals are a little different but should still lock if the wire is not too fat.

 

[trinhsman]

You have opened a real can of worms. Many say it does not matter what you use, all cables sound the same. I am personally partial to Morrow cables. For the rest that feel it makes no difference, twisting old coat hangers together does a nice job

 

[darkblue94]

 

[mikeybc]

I think you guys are getting too far ahead of yourselves.

He said SX 838 and SB-2822 both of these have old school spring terminals unless they have been modified.

Try to find some 16 gauge OFC copper wires. You may have to strip off a few strands to make them fit in the holes securely. They look pretty tiny on the back of the SX. I think the SBs should fit O.K.

Just remember to gently push the plastic retainer towards the wire to lock it into place. You should feel a very faint click sensation. If you don't get it the wire may be too fat for the terminal. You want to be sure it will lock into place so it does not come loose or fall out. The SB terminals are a little different but should still lock if the wire is not too fat.

This ^ For what the OP owns good OFC 16 ga. bare wire into the spring clips , be sure the clips crush down onto the wire so they have good surface contact area. Periodically check for oxidization and re-strip if needed. Not a fan of hard pins in spring connectors myself, very little surface area making contact.

 

[mkane]

Just my two cents, but if you can't hear the difference between 20 feet of 16g and 8 feet of 12g you're not connecting components worth owning. Spring connectors aren't a good reason to not use 10g or 12g. They're called pin connectors. Use them.

really

 

[moewillis]

Scoot over... and pass that popcorn

 

[darkblue94]

This ^ For what the OP owns good OFC 16 ga. bare wire into the spring clips , be sure the clips crush down onto the wire so they have good surface contact area. Periodically check for oxidization and re-strip if needed. Not a fan of hard pins in spring connectors myself, very little surface area making contact.

So far this is the response with the most sound reasoning. Now watch what happens.

 

[darkblue94]

Scoot over... and pass that popcorn

You got it Moe, we'll have some good seats for the fireworks show.

 

[Alobar]

Well I was pretty much just an ohms law sort with cables and just used #12 stranded speaker wire and kept my opinions to myself (with a smirk) when it came to spending boatloads of money on cables. Then a month ago I was given a set of $350 speaker cables and another $350 pair of RCA interconnects and I'll be damned if it didn't change the sound of my system quite noticeably! I am still deciding if it was an all around improvement or not but to some extent it believe it was. I know one thing tho, I am taking cables a bit more seriously. Of course this is JMHO, and YMMV!

 

[Njoy-Music]

What speakers I have with spring clips take 16ga with some care but work the best for establishing as good a connection as you're likely to get. Should work fine for what you're looking to do. Does for me in most of those smaller setups with speakers with the spring clips.

 

[Pauln]

I would suggest three steps...

1] Get listening today
Go to Walmart or a hardware store and buy a pair of 12 foot two conductor extension cords ($1 to $3 each).
You want "16/2" which means 16 gauge two conductor (don't get three conductor).
This will guarantee that you have foolproof (high voltage high current manageable gauge) wire which you can replace for a few dollars if you mess up.
When you buy them, check that the insulation for one of the two conductors has a "rib" that you can feel; that is how you tell them apart when hooking up (polarity) to ensure "+ to +" and "- to -".
Cut the plug /heads off both ends, separate and strip the ends, connect keeping in mind the polarity.
Verify polarity by turning up the bass all the way, setting the mode to "mono", playing something softly, and turning the channel balance back and forth through its entire range.
When polarity is correct the bass will sound loudest when the balance control is set to the middle.
If it sounds louder when the balance channel is set all the way left or right, then reverse one pair of connections and test again.
Remember when done to set the bass back down and switch mode back to stereo.

2] Play and enjoy a variety of music for a few weeks.

3] Revisit this thread and others regarding suggestions about speaker wires (and speaker placement, room treatments, etc.) and determine how you might want to proceed.

 

[ghamilton]

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/monster-cable-speaker-cable.721871/